Howe: It’s Brian Ferentz’s Time to Be Iowa’s Offensive Coordinator

[HawkGold]

Nepotism does happen, all the time, everywhere. Almost every company I've worked for has it, I've even benefited from it at times, and been angered by it others.

Drawing a connection between Iowa's situation and what happened at PSU is beyond reaching though, it's insulting, and inaccurate.

CJ was not abused, to say otherwise is ridiculous. He absolutely should have been pulled out of the game, but he wasn't being forced to play, he was demanding to play, and while he shouda have been told no, for the team's best interest, to say it was abuse is this victim mentality that gets talked about these days. And it's horseshite.

We stand to disagree. It was abuse. Big deal you want to thump your chest and say Iowa can't be PSU. Whether it happens or not, it isn't right at public institutions. You know he was demanding to play? You do know that players with injuries including concussions don't want to come out.

I was stupid enough to keep playing in soccer after playing out my medial meniscus and tearing about everything in my knee. My knee completely inverted and I was in denial. I even scored another goal. Today I pay for that 3 surgeries later.

BF being hired is just plain wrong. If he'd had experience as an OC at a higher level, that would be one thing.

 

[trj]

We stand to disagree. It was abuse. Big deal you want to thump your chest and say Iowa can't be PSU. Whether it happens or not, it isn't right at public institutions. You know he was demanding to play? You do know that players with injuries including concussions don't want to come out.

I was stupid enough to keep playing in soccer after playing out my medial meniscus and tearing about everything in my knee. My knee completely inverted and I was in denial. I even scored another goal. Today I pay for that 3 surgeries later.

BF being hired is just plain wrong. If he'd had experience as an OC at a higher level, that would be one thing.

How in the hell are you getting pedophilia out of KF playing CJB in a game too long? That has to be the worst analogy ever......please dude pick another one.

 

[HawkGold]

How in the hell are you getting pedophilia out of KF playing CJB in a game too long? That has to be the worst analogy ever......please dude pick another one.

Never said it was pedophilia. I said that's how those things happen with little transparency. This will make the lack of transparency even worse. And it is a problem with this program. The media is already afraid of being punished by this guy. KF should be getting pounded by the media over the Outback and CJ alone. He gets a pass....Oh, CJ wanted to be out there. Stupid.

You honestly believe you see that kind of crap often? Can't say I've ever heard announcers trying to call out a coach before about anything like it. NFL maybe. NCAA, no.

 

[trj]

Never said it was pedophilia. I said that's how those things happen with little transparency. This will make the lack of transparency even worse. And it is a problem with this program. The media is already afraid of being punished by this guy. KF should be getting pounded by the media over the Outback and CJ alone. He gets a pass....Oh, CJ wanted to be out there. Stupid.

"Transparency" one of those buzz words people now like to use. The lack of oversight at Penn St. and your perception of the lack of "transparency" by playing CJB too long is still off the mark.

 

[HawkGold]

"Transparency" one of those buzz words people now like to use. The lack of oversight at Penn St. and your perception of the lack of "transparency" by playing CJB too long is still off the mark.

You cannot deny what happened. You cannot deny the rhabdo. You cannot deny there was funny stuff about the dorm rape.

Transparency or over site, whatever you want to call it will take a hit if you look at it objectively. The huge contact was ridiculous. No real over site. I'm closer to being on the mark than your homerism is allowing you to do.

"Oh, we're Iowa where we always do the right thing and nothing is ever a problem...because we are Iowa." Use common sense. Never should be allowed. He doesn't deserve the shot, at least not until he proves himself elsewhere at that level.

 

[RobHowe]

and media can be an outlet to take the pulse on a given topic. Rob, i respect your work and i know you have a lot of knowledge and insight of the UofI, but when I saw your article, that tells me it's already brian. i could be wrong.

Thank you for the kind words. I promise I do not know that it's done deal. If I was betting on it, I would put my money on Brian. But we're not there yet. Who knows who will apply?

The dead period in recruiting ends next week and the staff's focus will be on finishing out this class, as it should be.

 

[tksirius]

They're not just going to hand the job to Brian. They'll open up the job, receive applications and go through the process. If the guy who runs the program, who is here for the foreseeable future whether you like it or not, thinks the best man is his son, he will hire him.

And then they'll just hand it to him lol

 

[RobHowe]

And then they'll just hand it to him lol

Like I said, I think he's the favorite. And that's where my money would go. But as much as we want immediate answers these days, it still must play out.

 

[kameltoez102]

Like I said, I think he's the favorite. And that's where my money would go. But as much as we want immediate answers these days, it still must play out.

I believe Brian is the favorite right now anyway and I am okay with that for one reason and that is for recruiting. I think it helps maintain some relationships but it also gets rid of the debacle of Davis so some of the recruits can see there will be some change and in a timely manner. I hope the decision does not take that long unless the coaches have a great feeling about some lingering recruits and don't think it will matter. From the outside looking in I think it is a big deal if no OC is in place by signing day.

I have two major issues that may be addressed soon but before the season they need to be done. 1) We need a great QB coach 2) we need a great WR coach. If we can surround the coaches and players with great individuals it will help greater than who the coordinator is. I have also stated in one of my post a few months ago it is my opinion we need to have the coordinators on the sidelines.

 

[ClintonIAfan]

He would make a very good offensive coordinator for the University of Iowa. He is one of the top young assistant coaches in the nation. He has coached in the Superbowl, where the position that he coached had a huge impact them making the Superbowl. Under his leadership at Iowa the running game has also been very good. I believe the coaching skills that he has will translate well to the offensive coordinator position.

 

[tksirius]

Oliver says oh hell no to the program with zero passing game.

 

[OkstHawk]

It wouldn't take much to take our philosophy and make it into a Wisconsin/Michigan type of offense. Remember that BF is good friend with O'Brien, and worked with him at New England when he was the OC. O'Brien did well at Penn St. with a pro style with Hackenberg at QB, and Franklin could do shat with Hackenberg at QB.

There a lots of good pro style offenses out there, we just didn't have one under Greg Davis.

And right there is why KF needs to go. Sad to think that Iowa fans now wish we are Wisky, because they've taken advantage of their opportunities the past decade and a half and we've been happy with mediocre. In 2016, Wisky should be wishing they were Iowa, but because of Ferentz ball, they hope they never look like our program. Sad

 

[OkstHawk]

Let's hope Brian gets the job -- it's a win-win. If he does well, the program should sustain itself as a mediocre to slightly better than mediocre program. If he doesn't, then we can fire both of their asses in three (fingers crossed) years for good coaches who have a scheme that works with 21st century football. Yippee!

 

[cincyhawk]

It's my opinion and I stated the reasons why I feel that way in my column. I don't expect others to agree and with the amount of venom spewed at KF on this board, repeatedly, by the same group of posters, I certainly expected blowback on my opinion.

I stand by my opinion for the reasons I've stated. Brian came here with no experience coaching the offensive line. He was a tight ends coach in the NFL. He's done pretty well coaching his position. And then he added the running game to his plate and that has done well. You don't need a guy who's done the job before or there would never be any new offensive coordinators. We'd just recycle the others.

Guys move up the ladder like this all the time. He's handicapped around here because his name is Ferentz. If he was Nick Saban's kid who just coached the OL to the Joe Moore award at Alabama (with much more blue blood talent, mind you) not as many people would be opposed to him being the new OC here. See. It cuts both ways.

He did win an award at Iowa. But he's an average run coordinator.

Last year Iowa was 4th in the Big Ten in rushing, 2nd in the west. This year 9th, 3rd in the west. Last year, 4.8 ypc. This year, 4.5. 2014, 7th, 4th, and 4.1. There hasn't been much aggregate improvement. I'm not sure that is worthy of automatic promotion.

I know Kirk isn't going to change. But the fact that you are consistently in the bottom half of something means you are doing it incorrectly. And this he's the head coach in waiting attitude is disturbing as well. Coaching is a job, not an inherited title. Promotions should be based on merit -- let him earn it.

That said, he's not the worst candidate for the job. He is a fantastic OLine coach and a good TE coach. But Iowa's offensive problems start 5 yards +- the LOS.

 

[deanvogs]

And right there is why KF needs to go. Sad to think that Iowa fans now wish we are Wisky, because they've taken advantage of their opportunities the past decade and a half and we've been happy with mediocre. In 2016, Wisky should be wishing they were Iowa, but because of Ferentz ball, they hope they never look like our program. Sad

Winning 20 game in the last 2 year is mediocre? Winning the B1G West and going to the B1G championship game is mediocre? Going to the Rose bowl is mediocre? Being ranked #9 at the end of the season 1 year ago is mediocre?

I'm beginning to wonder if you understand the meaning of the word mediocre?

 

[HawkGold]

The media doesn't ask hard questions because it's afraid of retribution is just a tired, tired take. And you're going WAY overboard comparing the hiring of an offensive coordinator to what happened at Penn State. Way overboard.

They're not just going to hand the job to Brian. They'll open up the job, receive applications and go through the process. If the guy who runs the program, who is here for the foreseeable future whether you like it or not, thinks the best man is his son, he will hire him. If not, he'll hire someone else.

I'll Google the Rhabdo case and see how many cases I come up with. You Google academic fraud and other NCAA violations and see if Iowa pops up.

No, it's not a tired take. It's real. How can you say that Brian has done well. You really don't have anything to base that on if actual results are anything. Daniels and Wadley had very hard fought yards. The passing game was non-existent in part due to no time to pass.

About PSU, Baylor, and other places it is caused by lack of transparency. You think Brian would ever testify voluntarily against his dad. This isn't a private university or corporation.

University of Iowa Code:


A conflict of interest in employment at The University of Iowa may arise when 1) an individual University of Iowa employee has the responsibility to make, or participate actively in making, decisions or recommendations relating to the employment status of another individual University of Iowa employee (hereafter, "decision-making responsibility"), or 2) there is a direct reporting line between two such individuals.

Given 1) or 2) above, a conflict of interest in employment arises whenever the two such individuals (hereafter, "related individuals") have a current or former relationship occurring outside the work setting that would make it difficult for the individual with the decision-making responsibility to be objective, or that for a reasonable person would create the appearance that such an individual may not be objective. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. relationships by blood, adoption, marriage, or domestic partnership: partner, parent, child, sibling, first cousin, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, spouse, brother- or sister-in-law, father- or mother-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, step-parent, or step-child; or
2. romantic and/or sexual relationships or intense personal friendships, or significant business relationships.

For purposes of these rules, decisions or recommendations related to employment status include those related to hiring, salary, working conditions, working responsibilities, evaluation, promotion, and termination.

For purposes of these rules, the phrase "first neutral supervisor" means the person (usually the director, departmental executive officer, divisional head, dean of the college, or vice president in charge of the department, college, or unit) immediately superior to the one of the two related individuals who, if there were no conflict of interest, would have decision-making responsibility relating to the employment status of the other related individual.

Let me remind you. Who gave KF that monster contract that didn't make sense. Who would be the supr in this case?

 

[RobHowe]

No, it's not a tired take. It's real. How can you say that Brian has done well. You really don't have anything to base that on if actual results are anything. Daniels and Wadley had very hard fought yards. The passing game was non-existent in part due to no time to pass.

About PSU, Baylor, and other places it is caused by lack of transparency. You think Brian would ever testify voluntarily against his dad. This isn't a private university or corporation.

University of Iowa Code:


A conflict of interest in employment at The University of Iowa may arise when 1) an individual University of Iowa employee has the responsibility to make, or participate actively in making, decisions or recommendations relating to the employment status of another individual University of Iowa employee (hereafter, "decision-making responsibility"), or 2) there is a direct reporting line between two such individuals.

Given 1) or 2) above, a conflict of interest in employment arises whenever the two such individuals (hereafter, "related individuals") have a current or former relationship occurring outside the work setting that would make it difficult for the individual with the decision-making responsibility to be objective, or that for a reasonable person would create the appearance that such an individual may not be objective. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. relationships by blood, adoption, marriage, or domestic partnership: partner, parent, child, sibling, first cousin, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, spouse, brother- or sister-in-law, father- or mother-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, step-parent, or step-child; or
2. romantic and/or sexual relationships or intense personal friendships, or significant business relationships.

For purposes of these rules, decisions or recommendations related to employment status include those related to hiring, salary, working conditions, working responsibilities, evaluation, promotion, and termination.

For purposes of these rules, the phrase "first neutral supervisor" means the person (usually the director, departmental executive officer, divisional head, dean of the college, or vice president in charge of the department, college, or unit) immediately superior to the one of the two related individuals who, if there were no conflict of interest, would have decision-making responsibility relating to the employment status of the other related individual.

Let me remind you. Who gave KF that monster contract that didn't make sense. Who would be the supr in this case?

So you want to dismiss his influence on the running game and offensive line by saying Wadley and Daniels did most of the work? Seems you're designing an argument to fit your point. I can do the same. It's really hard to pass protect and run the ball when the defense knows you have absolutely no downfield threat and can pin its ears back, loading the box. Still, Iowa managed to produce two 1,000 yard rushers for the first time in school history.

What happened at Penn State and Baylor were criminal offenses. Finding a new OC hopefully doesn't result in the breaking of any laws.

What is the transparency you're after here? There's a hiring process with rules. They're going to have to follow them. It's the same if they're hiring a professor or a coach.

 

[deanvogs]

So you want to dismiss his influence on the running game and offensive line by saying Wadley and Daniels did most of the work? Seems you're designing an argument to fit your point. I can do the same. It's really hard to pass protect and run the ball when the defense knows you have absolutely no downfield threat and can pin its ears back, loading the box. Still, Iowa managed to produce two 1,000 yard rushers for the first time in school history.

What happened at Penn State and Baylor were criminal offenses. Finding a new OC hopefully doesn't result in the breaking of any laws.

What is the transparency you're after here? There's a hiring process with rules. They're going to have to follow them. It's the same if they're hiring a professor or a coach.

HawkGold is impossible to have a discussion with when he gets like that Rob.....learn from my mistakes, and just let it go, as the rest of the time Gold seems like a good dude.

 

[HawkGold]

HawkGold is impossible to have a discussion with when he gets like that Rob.....learn from my mistakes, and just let it go, as the rest of the time Gold seems like a good dude.

Funny Dean, from the guy who goes on and on with Hawk 22 to the point of absolute absurdity and when such type "discussions" role, your name is most oft associated with it. I guess you can't help it.

Rob, we just disagree on transparency. I don't think the program is very transparent, it seems you do. I think that the contract he got was basically criminal, though nobody got hurt physically from it. There are white collar crimes.

The rhabdo incident is a completely different story and was under his watch.

You mentioned your hot button issue with a passion in the past. Your issue apparently came from within family. Other people have crimes against them that come through an institution and lack of oversight.

We stand to disagree about this and very much so. I very much hope that it doesn't happen. It's wrong. You obviously want it. KF barring a serious run, a NC or going down in flames from a huge controversy will go down in history with a lot of fans and those who aren't.

 

[RobHowe]

HawkGold is impossible to have a discussion with when he gets like that Rob.....learn from my mistakes, and just let it go, as the rest of the time Gold seems like a good dude.

Oh, I know. I try not to make it personal when I'm debating on here. I've got nothing against MOST of you.