JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Q: People lump you in with Michigan State and Wisconsin offensively. Will your style change from that?
Kirk Ferentz: Time will tell. It depends on what our players do best and what they can do. I don’t think that is a derogatory remark. I like the way both those teams play and they have been productive and efficient. I don’t know how much different we will look overall, but if you are paying attention things will be different. We will try to size up our players over the next 15 days and figure out what the best thing is to do with this group. We will change things game to game
Q: Will you recruit a different style of player?
Ferentz: I don’t see that.
Q: How much have you tweaked your offense year to year before this season?
Ferentz: We always tweak it. With a new coordinator, it gave us a chance to start from scratch. I think a lot of what Greg has done in his past, which is a diverse past, it has all worked out well. The biggest change is in language and the way we call things. We are going with what he has done for the most part. He is the guy calling plays so it has to come out fast. The last group to catch on to all of this is the coaches. The players learn fast.
Q: Are coaches more hard headed?
Ferentz: We are just slow learners.
Q: Spring is always important, but given the coaching changes and a young team is this the most important spring in a while?
Ferentz: They are all important. I would go back to 2008. We were trying to build something with a young team. I think this is similar. I think the change is good for us, too. It forces all of us to be more on edge. We are all learning, even on the defensive side of the ball. We will add new things, guys are at different coaching positions. The players will respond to it and I think we are excited about this.
Q: Has Phil Parker slid anything past your desk that makes you go hmmm?
Ferentz: We had conversations at the onset, where we were going. We will still look like us, but it will be a little different, percentages.
Q: You are not saying you have been too predictable on offense?
Ferentz: My biggest gripe is execution. When you look at film..I watched bowl game 10 days ago. The biggest challenge to me is always execution. Can you be more proficient and execute better? I don;t have any problem with what we were doing. It’s not like we are going to have a lot of new plays, but we’ll see where we go.
Q: You have brought up parallels to 2008. How much of that stems from being in a year with coaching transition similar to 2008?
Ferentz: Little bit of that, but it was where we were developmentally as a team. We had a young tam that year that went through some changes. At that time. Angerer and Stanzi were second team players all spring and in September and ended up emerging. We could see those stories. Like I mentioned King in 2005. He was down the depth chart at the linebacker and finished spring as the number two tackle and wound up being one of the better guys we have had the last decade. I think there are guys capable of doing things we have not seen yet. Dallas Clark in 2000...third team OLB and the next year he was as good a special teams player as we had in the conference then we moved him to tight end. We have to look for those right now and the players have a great chance.
Q: You are a bit of a rover in practice. The D changes, there are some first year instances, Levar Reese, Phil, Darryl. Will you be wandering over there more?
Ferentz: I don’t know about a little more. In spring ball it’s Iowa vs Iowa a lot. LeVar is a new coach kind of, but I have gotten to watch him when Norm was held out two years ago. LeVar jumped in and helped out at linebacker. This past year on the defensive line. He is totally capable and will do a great job. I feel the same way with Reese. He is a veteran coach and knows football. A half hour ago he and Kampman were going one on one and he has been quizzing every guy in the building and talking to people outside of here. I am not worried about that. Darryl is the same way, he has gone out to see some good people. We will be fine. It’s invigorating for everyone. It’s not the same old thing on two. Guys are out researching and getting with people who are really good in their profession. Reese ran into Romeo Crennel in the hall and they talked for 30 minutes on defensive line. That’s the fun part about coaching.
Q: So having an open NFL campus pays off?
Ferentz: It does. It’s not all bad.
Q: Special teams, will we see any philosophy change there, similar to other spots, maybe a fresh look?
Ferentz: I don’t know so much that. We have to do better. there is no doubt about that. I don’t know that we will look a lot different as a team but we have to be better. We left the door open too much and the things we can correct, we have to work on those. That is where we are at right now. We are focused on trying to help as much as we can
Q: Will the average fan notice differences when you roll out next year?
Ferentz: At times, maybe. Not always (snort).
Q: You have mentioned all the new assistants save Brian, what does he bring to table ?
Ferentz: It’s like LeVar, I have a lot of confidence in him. I have not seen him out there on the field like I have LeVar. I know he did a good job the last two years working with young tight ends up there. They came in knowing nothing and it’s a complex system they have, I do know that. For those guys to get that down, he enjoyed that experience. I have heard good things about his work from people I respect. I think it will be fun. Both he and LeVar, not that I was just looking for Iowa guys, but when you can bring guys back who have been in the program, it means a lot of them. That is a good thing.
Q: Did you make a promise to Brian at some point to bring him back?
Ferentz: Absolutely not.
Kirk Ferentz: Time will tell. It depends on what our players do best and what they can do. I don’t think that is a derogatory remark. I like the way both those teams play and they have been productive and efficient. I don’t know how much different we will look overall, but if you are paying attention things will be different. We will try to size up our players over the next 15 days and figure out what the best thing is to do with this group. We will change things game to game
Q: Will you recruit a different style of player?
Ferentz: I don’t see that.
Q: How much have you tweaked your offense year to year before this season?
Ferentz: We always tweak it. With a new coordinator, it gave us a chance to start from scratch. I think a lot of what Greg has done in his past, which is a diverse past, it has all worked out well. The biggest change is in language and the way we call things. We are going with what he has done for the most part. He is the guy calling plays so it has to come out fast. The last group to catch on to all of this is the coaches. The players learn fast.
Q: Are coaches more hard headed?
Ferentz: We are just slow learners.
Q: Spring is always important, but given the coaching changes and a young team is this the most important spring in a while?
Ferentz: They are all important. I would go back to 2008. We were trying to build something with a young team. I think this is similar. I think the change is good for us, too. It forces all of us to be more on edge. We are all learning, even on the defensive side of the ball. We will add new things, guys are at different coaching positions. The players will respond to it and I think we are excited about this.
Q: Has Phil Parker slid anything past your desk that makes you go hmmm?
Ferentz: We had conversations at the onset, where we were going. We will still look like us, but it will be a little different, percentages.
Q: You are not saying you have been too predictable on offense?
Ferentz: My biggest gripe is execution. When you look at film..I watched bowl game 10 days ago. The biggest challenge to me is always execution. Can you be more proficient and execute better? I don;t have any problem with what we were doing. It’s not like we are going to have a lot of new plays, but we’ll see where we go.
Q: You have brought up parallels to 2008. How much of that stems from being in a year with coaching transition similar to 2008?
Ferentz: Little bit of that, but it was where we were developmentally as a team. We had a young tam that year that went through some changes. At that time. Angerer and Stanzi were second team players all spring and in September and ended up emerging. We could see those stories. Like I mentioned King in 2005. He was down the depth chart at the linebacker and finished spring as the number two tackle and wound up being one of the better guys we have had the last decade. I think there are guys capable of doing things we have not seen yet. Dallas Clark in 2000...third team OLB and the next year he was as good a special teams player as we had in the conference then we moved him to tight end. We have to look for those right now and the players have a great chance.
Q: You are a bit of a rover in practice. The D changes, there are some first year instances, Levar Reese, Phil, Darryl. Will you be wandering over there more?
Ferentz: I don’t know about a little more. In spring ball it’s Iowa vs Iowa a lot. LeVar is a new coach kind of, but I have gotten to watch him when Norm was held out two years ago. LeVar jumped in and helped out at linebacker. This past year on the defensive line. He is totally capable and will do a great job. I feel the same way with Reese. He is a veteran coach and knows football. A half hour ago he and Kampman were going one on one and he has been quizzing every guy in the building and talking to people outside of here. I am not worried about that. Darryl is the same way, he has gone out to see some good people. We will be fine. It’s invigorating for everyone. It’s not the same old thing on two. Guys are out researching and getting with people who are really good in their profession. Reese ran into Romeo Crennel in the hall and they talked for 30 minutes on defensive line. That’s the fun part about coaching.
Q: So having an open NFL campus pays off?
Ferentz: It does. It’s not all bad.
Q: Special teams, will we see any philosophy change there, similar to other spots, maybe a fresh look?
Ferentz: I don’t know so much that. We have to do better. there is no doubt about that. I don’t know that we will look a lot different as a team but we have to be better. We left the door open too much and the things we can correct, we have to work on those. That is where we are at right now. We are focused on trying to help as much as we can
Q: Will the average fan notice differences when you roll out next year?
Ferentz: At times, maybe. Not always (snort).
Q: You have mentioned all the new assistants save Brian, what does he bring to table ?
Ferentz: It’s like LeVar, I have a lot of confidence in him. I have not seen him out there on the field like I have LeVar. I know he did a good job the last two years working with young tight ends up there. They came in knowing nothing and it’s a complex system they have, I do know that. For those guys to get that down, he enjoyed that experience. I have heard good things about his work from people I respect. I think it will be fun. Both he and LeVar, not that I was just looking for Iowa guys, but when you can bring guys back who have been in the program, it means a lot of them. That is a good thing.
Q: Did you make a promise to Brian at some point to bring him back?
Ferentz: Absolutely not.
