Ferentz Supporters Enter Here

We all agree Kirk is a good guy; did a nice job rebuilding the program post-Hayden; gave us lots of excitement the past 15 seasons ... and it's not that I don't "support Kirk," I just think it is time for the University to take a hard look at the state of the program. Sixteen seasons at one school is unheard of in today's "me" society. Coaches bolt for the next paycheck and leave programs in the dust in trying to find a replacement.

Kirk has been loyal to Iowa, and in turn, Iowa has been VERY loyal to Kirk in terms of his compensation and contract. I want Kirk to win. We all want Kirk to win. Questioning the state of the program does not mean we are all tossing Kirk under the bus. It means, as in life, if something isn't working then you need to take a long look at what the problem is and how can we fix it.

Three years ago Kirk made staff changes. And right now, it looks like some of those staff changes are not contributing to our program getting back to where it can be and should be. We are a realistic fanbase; we are a patient fanbase; we are a patient university (for the most part). With Iowa's budgets, coaching salaries, facilities, fanbase, and support, this should be a program that regularly wins 8 games a season with a 9 or 10-win season every few years. We aren't Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois ... With our investment in salaries and facilities, and a loyal fanbase... expecting at least 8 wins a season is not asking too much (in my opinion).

When you label yourself "lil 'ol Iowa" ... saying we can't get good recruits to come to lil 'ol Iowa, saying we can't compete with the "big boys" ... well you play into that thinking. There is no reason we can't bring in good recruits. Remember Vivian Stringer? She brought in recruits from all over the country and eventually took us to the Final 4. Those same top recruits thought enough of Coach Stringer, Iowa, the university, the facilities ... to call Iowa City home for 4 seasons. Players will go anywhere ... if you have the right coach in place that can convince them to come to Iowa City.

Sure, we aren't go to land 5 stars from the southeast ... But why can't we land more 4 and 5 stars from the Midwest? Is the weather in Iowa City any different than the weather in Lincoln? In South Bend? In Ann Arbor? Are our facilities that much below ND, Michigan, Nebraska, etc?

Sure our state's population is small. Sure we don't produce 100s of Division 1 talent annually ... To me that is a moot point. We aren't going to build a Top 10 team on Iowa recruits. So what's to stop us from bringing in more 4-star recruits from other states? How does Nebraska do it? How does Michigan State, Wisky, Michigan, etc., do it? We compensate our coach with salary that exceeds most of these coaches so why should have the mentality we are just lil 'ol Iowa?

Fan frustration was not built simply on the loss to ISU. Fan frustration has been building after seeing us lose to teams we should not lose to. It's built on watching us get out coached by the likes of Paul Rhoads, Dan McCarney, Interim coaches at Minnesota, first-year coaches at Northern Illinois ... It's losing games we had no right to lose.

We are seeing the direction the program is heading and the first 3 games of this season have made us question the state of the program. With this team, with this schedule ... We should expect 9 or 10 wins ... In reality, we could easily be 1-2 (we should have lost the Ball State game). The product on the field does not match the money and investment spent on the behind-the-scenes production. I would love to see Kirk to turn this thing around. Right now, it looks like we are stopping ourselves.
 
Last edited:
theboat said:
Most wont disagree. But....

2002-2005= 9.75 wins per season, 76.5%
2006-2009= 8/year, 59.3%
2010-2013= 6.75/year, 52.9%
Is that a direction you like to see? Especially considering how awful they have looked this year?

Ferentz is cashing checks he wrote a decade ago.

I really think the major difference is him. He does NOT coach the same way that he used to and having all yes men as assistants only feeds his stubbornness.
Click to expand...

99-03 6.4 wins per year
04-08 7.6 wins per year
09-13 7.6 wins per year
 
6-5 in bowl games. Most wins and best percentage over any Big Ten team since Ferentz has been at Iowa.
Also 6 bowl wins is third best all time for big ten coaches.
 
I really don't understand how someone can watch Iowa football post 2012, and then turn on any other football game and then think, "yeah, this is good stuff here at Iowa."

I really thought they turned the corner last year, but I think it was just an anomaly of the GD era.
 
David79 said:
6-5 in bowl games. Most wins and best percentage over any Big Ten team since Ferentz has been at Iowa.
Also 6 bowl wins is third best all time for big ten coaches.
Click to expand...

Is that what matters these days? Maybe 25 years ago, going to a bowl game was an accomplishment and winning the game meant something because you were playing a decent opponent. But today, when half the FBS schools qualify for a bowl game, that statistic does not mean much of anything. It's no different than a .500 team making the NBA playoffs and possibly making it into the second round before bowing out. Is that the measure of success?

Not in my mind, and I don't care about the Win/Loss record as much as I care about how they play. If I only cared about the W/L, I would just catch the re-cap on ESPN, but I watch the games for entertainment, and frankly, the current product has diminished in value from what it was. I would like to see an effective scheme on both sides of the line of scrimmage and I'm real tired of seeing this KF-coached team playing not to lose. That is not the Iowa football I've known and I'm not going to remain silent while KF tries to figure things out.
 
David79 said:
6-5 in bowl games. Most wins and best percentage over any Big Ten team since Ferentz has been at Iowa.
Also 6 bowl wins is third best all time for big ten coaches.
Click to expand...
Well I really hope I'm wrong, but it is very possible that the GD offensive era could look like this: 4-8, 8-4, 4-8. If this is the case, do you still stand behind KF? Over the last 10 years Iowa has been a mediocre program with one great season and one really bad season. They had a 6-6 year with no bowl game that was also pretty bad, but an 8-4 plus a bowl win that was pretty good in 2008. But overall, we are basically a 7 win program who is trending downward. You can't argue this. Are you okay with this? Is that what we should expect from a program that has the 11th highest profit margin in the nation? Are we really afraid we might hire somebody that might do worse, or that we don't have the money? Is it better to hang onto the memories of those great top 10 teams and blindly hope that somehow we can get back to that point? The truth is, the blueprint of how to beat a KF Iowa team is out there. Everybody knows what we are going to do, and it won't change. KF is a bad game day coach. Too many mistakes costs us too many close games. We are towards the bottom of the BIG in one possession games over the last 4 season. KF has been paid for his glory days when he lead Iowa to great success. He deserves a lot of credit and all of the years he has gotten until now. But it's over. We are and will continue to be mediocre until he is gone. Still some season left for him to prove me wrong. I hope he does.
 
DJL said:
Well I really hope I'm wrong, but it is very possible that the GD offensive era could look like this: 4-8, 8-4, 4-8. If this is the case, do you still stand behind KF? Over the last 10 years Iowa has been a mediocre program with one great season and one really bad season. They had a 6-6 year with no bowl game that was also pretty bad, but an 8-4 plus a bowl win that was pretty good in 2008. But overall, we are basically a 7 win program who is trending downward. You can't argue this. Are you okay with this? Is that what we should expect from a program that has the 11th highest profit margin in the nation? Are we really afraid we might hire somebody that might do worse, or that we don't have the money? Is it better to hang onto the memories of those great top 10 teams and blindly hope that somehow we can get back to that point? The truth is, the blueprint of how to beat a KF Iowa team is out there. Everybody knows what we are going to do, and it won't change. KF is a bad game day coach. Too many mistakes costs us too many close games. We are towards the bottom of the BIG in one possession games over the last 4 season. KF has been paid for his glory days when he lead Iowa to great success. He deserves a lot of credit and all of the years he has gotten until now. But it's over. We are and will continue to be mediocre until he is gone. Still some season left for him to prove me wrong. I hope he does.
Click to expand...

Well said. Too often some fans revert back to the Top 10 finishes ... or the # of players we send to the NFL; bowl appearances (which mean little when half the teams are invited). I always wonder how we do develop so many NFL players yet we have become a pretty average program. Sometimes you just need to admit that a change might be needed. I know my current employer doesn't care too much about what I did 10 years ago but they do care what I do next week. It's fair ... they compensate me nicely and in return, they expect me to perform and they expect me to stay on top of my game. And if I give them so-so production, chances are I won't be around forever and they will use my salary on someone else. That's the name of the game ... We have become complacent in our expectations of the Iowa football program ... THIS was our year to sneak in one of the 9 or 10-win seasons ... based on our schedule and returning starters. We will not see 9 or 10 wins next year or anytime soon ... we simply aren't that Iowa team/program from 10 years ago. We are now more like Northwestern ... as Wisky and MSU have passed us by.
 
Guys go to my thread I did a comparison between IOWA and Kansas State...it's the coaching pure and simple
 
theboat said:
I really don't understand how someone can watch Iowa football post 2012, and then turn on any other football game and then think, "yeah, this is good stuff here at Iowa."

I really thought they turned the corner last year, but I think it was just an anomaly of the GD era.
Click to expand...

Even my football hating wife knows that Iowa is as boring as watching paint dry. It's pathetic and I have no idea why I continue to watch it week after week other than I hope they turn a corner at some point.
 
thetrza said:
Where is this place we are supposed to enter?
Click to expand...

handicap-entrance-at-rear.jpg
 
Long time KF supporter, long time poster. I just like the fact that he is able to keep the games close. You have to watch all the way to the end to see the gut wrenching loss. The Iowa State loss was a microcosm of the KF era. It was a beautiful thing to watch. You know the outcome isn't determined and it is predicated on so many unpredictable events, but yet you just know how the story ends. People, this is special...and we may not see the likes of a phenomenon that is similar in our lifetimes. Relish this...you have the ability to see the future...one game at a time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top