Could Barta Structure a "Soft Landing" for Coach Ferentz?

The only way I see Kurt agreeing to walk away is if he knows Brain will be taken care of....meaning Barta will have to hire a weak HC who may have Jerry Jones type orders on who to maintain as assistants.
 
Playmaker said:
The only way I see Kurt agreeing to walk away is if he knows Brain will be taken care of....meaning Barta will have to hire a weak HC who may have Jerry Jones type orders on who to maintain as assistants.
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Hmmm, sounds like a good job for Greg Davis. Or maybe bring back KOK as head coach.

Its interesting that Joe Philbin is hanging on with the Miami Dolphins. He once took orders from Ferentz. Maybe he could be brought in as OC/head coach in waiting.
 
ChosenChildren said:
Michigan structured a "soft landing" for Lloyd Carr several years ago. He was given an important position at Michigan and still is a big part of that community. Carr seems happy and content, secure in his legacy.
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And there's talk that behind the scenes Carr hasn't supported at least one of the Mich coaches since he left.

Keeping a coach around in another "important position" has the danger of split loyalties within the athletic program. Not a good thing.
 
The "wishful thinking" me would hope Kirk would realize he has lost his step and he can no longer right the ship. That he and Gary would reach an agreement that lets Kirk ride off into the sunset. That Kirk has enough integrity to realize it's time to move on. Anyway, that's my dream scenario. :)
 
eveningnewsteam said:
I just don't see KF staying around the university when he's finished. I see him moving a long way from Iowa City.
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I suppose he could leave, but most likely the only way he does is if Kirk gets another job someplace, which a lot of guys in the league respect Kirk quite a bit still, I wouldn't rule it out if he's done after next year.

I'm not Kirk, but he's watched all of his kids grow up here, all his sons played football here, he has a beautiful home, and most importantly the community still respects him. I like the comparison of Lloyd Carr a lot here, both were/are going to be difficult endings, Carr got the boot well before he even needed it which is why Michigan found themselves in this current pain train in the first place imo.
 
hawkjunkie said:
Brian was to be Kirk's next OC. That was Kirk's plan. Was being the keyword. No chance in heck that happens now. Maybe in 4-5 years, but not now. The GD mentoring experiment crashed & burned worse than we could have imagined. Kirk needs to hit a homerun with the next OC, or his days in IC will end next year. And that homerun hit needs to happen in the next couple of weeks. Before the signing date, and ideally before the start of next semester. For three reasons: Current personnel reasons - keep the roster intact, finish recruiting strong, and learn the new system immediately... The search for a new OC had better have already begun, and most likely has thru some channel in the athletic department.... I hate to reference ISU, but they crushed it with their OC hire. KF has to do better. Someone who not only can coach, but also recruit.

One other note, the new OC will have to be completely autonomous. Zero influence from KF, with very little input. Our offenses have averaged a national ranking in the upper 60s to low 70s. That has to change. Quickly.
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Does anyone else find it weird that no one trusts Barta to hire a new coach but everyone trusts Kirk to hire a world-class OC?
 
alexzelada said:
Does anyone else find it weird that no one trusts Barta to hire a new coach but everyone trusts Kirk to hire a world-class OC?
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If you think Iowa fans feel Iowa football is a sinking ship imagine how the coaching community feels!! No quality assistant coach is going to want to come work for a coach that is clearly ineffective. The problems surrounding Iowa football are beyond a staff shake-up as that already happened when Lester Erb, Soup Campbell, Kaz, and Darrell Wilson were let go. Everyone knows Ferentz is the real problem except Ferentz and our incompetent AD!!!
 
CJSHawk said:
If you think Iowa fans feel Iowa football is a sinking ship imagine how the coaching community feels!! No quality assistant coach is going to want to come work for a coach that is clearly ineffective. The problems surrounding Iowa football are beyond a staff shake-up as that already happened when Lester Erb, Soup Campbell, Kaz, and Darrell Wilson were let go. Everyone knows Ferentz is the real problem except Ferentz and our incompetent AD!!!
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KOK? Norm? Gotta hand it to Norm. A real class act. IIRC he won national asst of the year on his way out the door. Split while he was still on top.

Eric Johnson? I know, he quit. Or maybe he figured his boss out? Anyway, it always disgusted me how cyber-fans attacked every coach who left. Kaz I understand. He's a ******. But it was unseemly what was said about the others. Makes me weep.
 
alexzelada said:
KOK? Norm? Gotta hand it to Norm. A real class act. IIRC he won national asst of the year on his way out the door. Split while he was still on top.Eric Johnson? I know, he quit. Or maybe he figured his boss out? Anyway, it always disgusted me how cyber-fans attacked every coach who left. Kaz I understand. He's a ******. But it was unseemly what was said about the others. Makes me weep.
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I realize Eric Johnson said he left the Iowa coaching staff to run a fast food joint in Tennessee because he wanted to spend more time with family, but maybe he also left because he knew he was on a sinking ship. I do remember Eric expressing a lot of frustration on a radio show a few months before he left about about Iowa recruiting, especially on the o-line.
 
I'm kinda ****** off that the Pitt position got filled. Then Kirk could ride off into the sunset like Gary Andersen and coach his beloved Pitt Panthers. Damn, now we're reaching for straws but if that job was vacant today I wonder….
 
hawkjunkie said:
Brian was to be Kirk's next OC. That was Kirk's plan. Was being the keyword. No chance in heck that happens now. Maybe in 4-5 years, but not now. The GD mentoring experiment crashed & burned worse than we could have imagined. Kirk needs to hit a homerun with the next OC, or his days in IC will end next year. And that homerun hit needs to happen in the next couple of weeks. Before the signing date, and ideally before the start of next semester. For three reasons: Current personnel reasons - keep the roster intact, finish recruiting strong, and learn the new system immediately... The search for a new OC had better have already begun, and most likely has thru some channel in the athletic department.... I hate to reference ISU, but they crushed it with their OC hire. KF has to do better. Someone who not only can coach, but also recruit.

One other note, the new OC will have to be completely autonomous. Zero influence from KF, with very little input. Our offenses have averaged a national ranking in the upper 60s to low 70s. That has to change. Quickly.
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At any other college, his days would end now. This horse isn't lame, it's dead. It was lame before Tennessee shot it.
 
DDThompson said:
And there's talk that behind the scenes Carr hasn't supported at least one of the Mich coaches since he left.

Keeping a coach around in another "important position" has the danger of split loyalties within the athletic program. Not a good thing.
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Although it has been successful, see Wisconsin and Barry Alvarez for the college equivalent of Jerry Jones.
 
QuadCityHawkeye said:
I don't seeing Kirk going out unless it's on his own term and I don't think this scenario would be one of them. Kirk will either have to step down on his own or get fired. I don't think Barta can do or say anything to get him to stop coaching. Brian doesn't have enough experience to even been the OC and I don't know why keeping him on the staff would make Ferentz happy. The next coach could come in and fire him if he wanted to.

I think the plan is that Kirk finishes out his contract and somewhere along the line promotes Brian to OC thus making him the coach in waiting when his contract is up.

I wish your idea would work but Kirk is very stubborn and isn't going to bow to anyone no matter what the offer. Plus, once he's done at Iowa I don't think he'll stick around here.
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FRankly if I was KF I would bolt now. Hell a $13M guarantee with NO offset for a new job. Hell if he still wants to coach that bad take an FCS job somewhere warm for $200k/yr. and call it a day. That way he can recruit the players he's recruiting now because he can't get any bluechippers. I wouldn't stick around and be questioned by the likes of you and me at this point. He is so pig-headed he obviously doesn't want to finish like he is a failure I get that but his wife needs to pull his head out of his backside and tell him "Honey we have a golden jet-plane lets ride it!" But I think he's still got 1 in school (he might have to pay for that one if he leaves then OMG Brian may have to polish the resume and find something else. The way BArta did this is SOOOOOOO fiscally and fiduciarially irresponsible he should simply be fired for being such an idiot.
 
Why not replicate what Nebraska, Wisconsin and others have done - appoint a formerly successful football head coach as the AD. Solves two problems.
 
The Original post of this thread would be a fantastic outcome...even a possible outcome if KF saw Gary B as legitimate. Unfortunately, he does not. Inside, I think KF thinks of Gary the same way Pelini thought of his AD at Nebbie. Perhaps, if faced with being fired vs. a "settlement" of some sort, KF would take the soft landing approach. Heck, Carr might even give him some advice. Brian F. has to go, though. That will be an iceberg to landing any successful head football coach at Iowa. No leader will want the former leader's son in the program and the former leader still associated with the program. Time for Brian to earn his own way. No way Mark Stoops would stand for it. Or Diaco, or anybody who has the stones/pride to be a head coach at this level.
 
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