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

[HawkGold]

Miles isn't taking a coordinator job anyway. Heck besides losing big games he was largely let go because of how poorly his offense produced with some of the best talent the countries had to offer. I'm not a fan of his for the most part. He can recruit though which is half the battle. Philbin I don't think is the answer either and I doubt he'd want it.

KF and Miles.... what interesting end of game games....

 

[PawkHawk1]

I have changed my mind.
Brian Ferentz is okay by me. What the hell.

 

[Playmaker]

------Brian did make some changes to the running game.

Like on short yardage and 4th down attempts, continuing to run slow developing running plays into an over stacked side of the defensive line? Those were genius!!!

 

[Playmaker]

Q: If Brain gets the job, will be get enough bump in pay to afford getting out of subsidized housing?

 

[earlkoppelman]

I think in the last 5 minutes, I've totally changed my mind....Ferments is the luckiest man on planet Earth, and I do not trust that he does not have one more smoke and mirrors trick left in him. If he is allowed to stay around long enough, smoke and mirrors trick Part III could happen....and if it does, he will acquire more good will....thus, he will retire, and be allowed to hand over the reigns to Brain. THEN, we are stuck with another failed Ferments family member that we will have to give 5 years minimum time.....maybe longer. Why maybe longer? "Because they will not want to hurt Dirks feelings....and also, because "That's not the way we do things at Iowa." Pfffffftttt!!!!!!!

So in conclusion, we need NEW blood with ZERO ties to Ferments!!!!

If Brian was currently the oline coach at another school, with the exact same resume, but his last name wasn't Ferentz....how many of you pro-Brian people would have him on your candidate list?

Making Brian the OC just because his last name is Ferentz is a BIG mistake.

AGREE BUT ITS THE IOWA WAY.AND HE IS GREAT GUY NO?

 

[earlkoppelman]

------Brian did make some changes to the running game.

Like on short yardage and 4th down attempts, continuing to run slow developing running plays into an over stacked side of the defensive line? Those were genius!!!

DID I SEE THAT IN OUTBACK BOWL AT GOAL LINE?AND HE IS GREAT GUY!OH CORRECT RESPONSE WRONG CAP NO?

 

[earlkoppelman]

Why do people keep saying "Brian may be only one who can talk Kirk out of....." or override his decisions?

First of all, that shows we have a coach who's out of touch and doesn't listen.

Second, what evidence do we have that Brian even disagrees with his dad? Do I think the staff is happy with the offense, no.

The offense hasn't gotten any better since Brian has been here. So that tells me either Das isn't listening to anyone, including his son. Or the staff agrees with this philosophy

Brian did make some changes to the running game. Small tweaks that were important. But F me, where was Brian on every god damn 3rd and short when we ran into 10 man fronts with Daniels?

You mean to tell me Brian thought that was a good idea.....the 30x it got stuffed for a loss?

This still shows the lack of creativity and adaptability of our head coach. And if his son, who was in charge of the running game couldn't convince Greg Davis and his dad to quit being so predictable, then what real hope do we have with Brian as OC?

I will say that even if the offense could have ranked 70th - 80th we probably win the division again.

But hey, why score more points and risk a turnover? We won 8 games with one of the worst offenses ever at Iowa

GREAT RESPONSE.CAP IN CHARGE IS ONLY ANSWER TO.ME.BUT VERY CLEAR POINTS.SAD TO SAY ACCURATE.

 

[lightning1]

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.

The scheme isn't the problem. WR recruiting is the problem. I don't think Bill Walsh could turn this offense around with the WR group we have. In order for this offense to really click, you need 2 WRs and a TE that are legitimate threats to a defense. So, unless someone comes in here and starts recruiting WRs and then has the balls to put them in the starting lineup, down field blocking be damned....it's not going to work out any better for Brian.
I hate to advocate this but if "the big donors" want KF to succeed and they want BF to be the next coach, they should find a bag man and buy some quality WRs.

 

[dualradius]

lightning1 has it right. The #1 issue is the lack of recruitment of SPEED. Been the problem since KF got there.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

The B1G, SEC and PAC 12 are destination conferences. Any coach not in one of these conferences likely seeks to be in one. That Brian Ferentz is the ONLY candidate...one with zero OC experience, no offensive philosophy that he's implemented in games and no track record of success or failure with...that can become the next OC is in error.

To your main point; do you really think the Iowa Football program is so low on everyone's totem pole that no OC currently with a job would want to come to Iowa? If so, what does that say about the program? You're whole point is that "we're just little ol' Iowa" and that is the exact attitude that keeps us "just little ol' Iowa."

Hayden Fry never worried about being able to bring new and talented coaches and OC's into the program. Why is that such an uphill battle with Ferentz?

I don't think Brian is the ONLY canidate either I just feel he'd be the best fit.
I don't think that's the reason at all for why I think that. I think it's KF. Safe to say he's been around long enough that the word is out on what type of coach he is to work for right? He's the most loyal of coaches that loyal can be once your in his circle. He doesn't fire people left and right. But to get in that circle it takes a you being 'yes' man and running what he wants. That doesn't endear others to him and vice vesa so much for outsiders. Look at the marriage to Soup. From where I'm sitting that should have been a great fit. He was a great WR coach up in Michigan and didn't he coach DJK and McNutt? But yet he moved on after a short stint and it wasn't to climb the ladder maybe Howe knows more to that story. But I think I'm getting my point across. It's not that as simple as Iowa is Iowa. It's KF. I think Brian is in the best position to put his foot down to him on things...

 

[NEIChawk]

KF is interested in making sure young men at Iowa continue to grow up being fine young men when they leave here. KF doesn't seem to have the eye on the prize, in terms of a Nat'l Championship. As long as he can get kids to come here and get that 8 to10 game win season, he's doing his job. I would like to see change, but at what price? Iowa could do worse, so be careful what you wish for. Graduation rates, getting kids to the pros, and continuing to create decent human beings is his and his staffs mission. Period.

 

[trj]

The scheme isn't the problem. WR recruiting is the problem. I don't think Bill Walsh could turn this offense around with the WR group we have. In order for this offense to really click, you need 2 WRs and a TE that are legitimate threats to a defense. So, unless someone comes in here and starts recruiting WRs and then has the balls to put them in the starting lineup, down field blocking be damned....it's not going to work out any better for Brian.
I hate to advocate this but if "the big donors" want KF to succeed and they want BF to be the next coach, they should find a bag man and buy some quality WRs.

Wisconsin isn't running out dudes who run a 4.4 forty. I don't see the Patriots with a bunch of guys that can stretch the field. Scheme does matter. Right now the only serviceable receiver they have is MV

 

[cincyhawk]

Perhaps. Perhaps not. The chance of us winning one is so remote, we'll never know. (We're only poor little Iowa, after all).

I do know that the guy went 12-0, won a division and came within a hair of the playoff and people are complaining about following up with an eight-win season with a win against Top 5 Michigan and throttling of both ISU and Nebraska like it was an atrocity.

I can explain the Ferentz hate.

I believe Ferentz plays luckball. He plays so conservatively that there's almost no chance of a turnover. He punts consistently to increase the yardage that teams have to go to score to make them take as much time as possible to score. He plays prevent defense for the same reason. This limits the other team's possessions, keeping the score within the reach where a single mistake by the opponent that by chance goes in Iowa's favor can win him the game.

However, when you play for a single chance to win, at best you are giving yourself a 50/50 shot. You are playing football as if it was roulette and betting your mortgage in every game on one chance.

It isn't really skill. It's literally luck. As in luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Some years, Iowa is REALLY lucky (5 in 17 seasons). Sometimes, Iowa is really unlucky, (about 5 times in 17 seasons). Most of the time Iowa is average in the luck department, and gets 7 -8 wins.

Luckball leads to beating Michigan and PSU on last second field goals. Luckball leads to losing to FCS schools and consistently losing to ISU and Northwestern.

He literally plays for the chance to win. Nit to win. The chance to win. It's riverboat gambling, grinder style.

Why should we be excited about throttling ISU? Everyone should throttle ISU. I watched Iowa do it for 17 years straight before Ferentz came here.

ISU is still a bad program. ISU has had two (?) bowl eligible seasons in Ferentz's tenure at Iowa. ISU has had 4 head coaches in Ferentz's tenure.

Iowa shouldn't lose to teams like that as often as it does.

Why shouldn't we be upset about losing to any FCS school? Playing an FCS school is like playing a severely sanctioned FBS school - 65 scholarships and no chance for a bowl game, little chance of making the pros, and little fan support, and poor facilities means tough recruiting which makes it hard to win. Iowa shouldn't lose to teams like that.

NW has been to very few bowl games in Ferentz's tenure, and are almost Indiana and Perdue like in their poor program performance. I get a loss to them occasionally, but not consistently.

Iowa doesn't need to play luckball all the time. I think it is a good strategy against teams with superior talent. But against inferior opponents they should take more risks. They don't. And I don't think they will with the coach's sin as o-coordinator. Apples don't tend to fall far from trees.

 

[Fryowa]

KF is interested in making sure young men at Iowa continue to grow up being fine young men when they leave here. KF doesn't seem to have the eye on the prize, in terms of a Nat'l Championship. As long as he can get kids to come here and get that 8 to10 game win season, he's doing his job. I would like to see change, but at what price? Iowa could do worse, so be careful what you wish for. Graduation rates, getting kids to the pros, and continuing to create decent human beings is his and his staffs mission. Period.

There is no reason Kirk Ferentz can't nor shouldn't have a CFP berth as his goal.

Making sure kids get to the pros is not and should not be the main point of college football. A super tiny margin of players ever get the opportunity and even fewer of them actually make a career of it.

Even more bullshit is the notion that his and his staff's mission is to make sure kids graduate and "create decent human beings". What a load of crap.

This is college, ffs, not some magical soul transformation. As I've said before, a bachelors degree is not a difficult thing to do. It's basically high school all over again. So explain why Ferentz and his staff should be tasked with making sure kids don't turn into shitbags when they grow up. Is that not something a young adult needs to take responsibility for on his own? I finished college in 4 years working 45 hours a week, and I have a good job and family to show for it. I've never killed or robbed anyone, and in 25 years I should retire fairly comfortably. Nobody wiped my butt for me, or made sure I got my homework done and went to bed at a certain hour. Just like a whole bunch of other people who didn't have someone holding their hands through college, much less Kirk Ferentz.

So save the notion that football players are a bunch of disadvantaged puppy dogs who need someone to come around and mold them into good people. That's their personal responsibility (just like yours or mine) and not Kirk Ferentz's job. This isn't "The Blind Side" and he's not Sandra Bullock.

His job is to do within the NCAA rules what it takes to be a contending team in the B1G and produce results commensurate with his and his staff's pay and budget.

 

[HuckFinn]

There is no reason Kirk Ferentz can't nor shouldn't have a CFP berth as his goal.

Making sure kids get to the pros is not and should not be the main point of college football. A super tiny margin of players ever get the opportunity and even fewer of them actually make a career of it.

Even more bullshit is the notion that his and his staff's mission is to make sure kids graduate and "create decent human beings". What a load of crap.

This is college, ffs, not some magical soul transformation. As I've said before, a bachelors degree is not a difficult thing to do. It's basically high school all over again. So explain why Ferentz and his staff should be tasked with making sure kids don't turn into shitbags when they grow up. Is that not something a young adult needs to take responsibility for on his own? I finished college in 4 years working 45 hours a week, and I have a good job and family to show for it. I've never killed or robbed anyone, and in 25 years I should retire fairly comfortably. Nobody wiped my butt for me, or made sure I got my homework done and went to bed at a certain hour. Just like a whole bunch of other people who didn't have someone holding their hands through college, much less Kirk Ferentz.

So save the notion that football players are a bunch of disadvantaged puppy dogs who need someone to come around and mold them into good people. That's their personal responsibility (just like yours or mine) and not Kirk Ferentz's job. This isn't "The Blind Side" and he's not Sandra Bullock.

His job is to do within the NCAA rules what it takes to be a contending team in the B1G and produce results commensurate with his and his staff's pay and budget.

Other than your personal story, I cannot find much of anything in here that I would agree with. And, I have been around even longer than you have. I am sorry you never had a mentor, or two, to help you along when life was tough. I am certainly grateful for my parents and later on, some coaches, and teachers, who kept me on the straight and narrow. You seem more interested in proving your point that KF should only be concerned about winning than in admitting that life is a lot more complex than you would like to believe.
No offense intended. I just fundamentally disagree with your view of the world, as least as it is expressed in this brief exchange.

 

[HawkGold]

There is no reason Kirk Ferentz can't nor shouldn't have a CFP berth as his goal.

Making sure kids get to the pros is not and should not be the main point of college football. A super tiny margin of players ever get the opportunity and even fewer of them actually make a career of it.

Even more bullshit is the notion that his and his staff's mission is to make sure kids graduate and "create decent human beings". What a load of crap.

This is college, ffs, not some magical soul transformation. As I've said before, a bachelors degree is not a difficult thing to do. It's basically high school all over again. So explain why Ferentz and his staff should be tasked with making sure kids don't turn into shitbags when they grow up. Is that not something a young adult needs to take responsibility for on his own? I finished college in 4 years working 45 hours a week, and I have a good job and family to show for it. I've never killed or robbed anyone, and in 25 years I should retire fairly comfortably. Nobody wiped my butt for me, or made sure I got my homework done and went to bed at a certain hour. Just like a whole bunch of other people who didn't have someone holding their hands through college, much less Kirk Ferentz.

So save the notion that football players are a bunch of disadvantaged puppy dogs who need someone to come around and mold them into good people. That's their personal responsibility (just like yours or mine) and not Kirk Ferentz's job. This isn't "The Blind Side" and he's not Sandra Bullock.

His job is to do within the NCAA rules what it takes to be a contending team in the B1G and produce results commensurate with his and his staff's pay and budget.

Nice post. People oft are wanting to sanitize what is before them.

 

[RobHowe]

I can explain the Ferentz hate.

I believe Ferentz plays luckball. He plays so conservatively that there's almost no chance of a turnover. He punts consistently to increase the yardage that teams have to go to score to make them take as much time as possible to score. He plays prevent defense for the same reason. This limits the other team's possessions, keeping the score within the reach where a single mistake by the opponent that by chance goes in Iowa's favor can win him the game.

However, when you play for a single chance to win, at best you are giving yourself a 50/50 shot. You are playing football as if it was roulette and betting your mortgage in every game on one chance.

It isn't really skill. It's literally luck. As in luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Some years, Iowa is REALLY lucky (5 in 17 seasons). Sometimes, Iowa is really unlucky, (about 5 times in 17 seasons). Most of the time Iowa is average in the luck department, and gets 7 -8 wins.

Luckball leads to beating Michigan and PSU on last second field goals. Luckball leads to losing to FCS schools and consistently losing to ISU and Northwestern.

He literally plays for the chance to win. Nit to win. The chance to win. It's riverboat gambling, grinder style.

Why should we be excited about throttling ISU? Everyone should throttle ISU. I watched Iowa do it for 17 years straight before Ferentz came here.

ISU is still a bad program. ISU has had two (?) bowl eligible seasons in Ferentz's tenure at Iowa. ISU has had 4 head coaches in Ferentz's tenure.

Iowa shouldn't lose to teams like that as often as it does.

Why shouldn't we be upset about losing to any FCS school? Playing an FCS school is like playing a severely sanctioned FBS school - 65 scholarships and no chance for a bowl game, little chance of making the pros, and little fan support, and poor facilities means tough recruiting which makes it hard to win. Iowa shouldn't lose to teams like that.

NW has been to very few bowl games in Ferentz's tenure, and are almost Indiana and Perdue like in their poor program performance. I get a loss to them occasionally, but not consistently.

Iowa doesn't need to play luckball all the time. I think it is a good strategy against teams with superior talent. But against inferior opponents they should take more risks. They don't. And I don't think they will with the coach's sin as o-coordinator. Apples don't tend to fall far from trees.

You make some valid points but you're overall hypothesis is oversimplified. There are more factors that go into the equation than just, OK, we're playing a superior team so lets play conservative, or, we're playing a team we're superior to so let's play balls out and be risky.

I think, for the most part, Iowa has gotten what it's deserved through KF's 18 years based on talent, injuries, strength of of opponents, etc.

The Big Ten is way more balanced now than it was when HF was here. And Iowa State did not play in a bowl during HF's 20 years as coach. It's played in 8 during KF's 18 years.

Could we have avoided more upsets during KF's tenure had he played a different style of ball? Perhaps. Would we have enjoyed as many upsets had he played a different style? Perhaps.

We don't know. What we do know is that during the last 18 years, Iowa has one of the best overall records in the Big Ten. I get that it might not satisfy some fans. And that's their right. But to HATE KF for what he's done here I believe is way off base. Just my opinion.

 

[HawkGold]

Other than your personal story, I cannot find much of anything in here that I would agree with. And, I have been around even longer than you have. I am sorry you never had a mentor, or two, to help you along when life was tough. I am certainly grateful for my parents and later on, some coaches, and teachers, who kept me on the straight and narrow. You seem more interested in proving your point that KF should only be concerned about winning than in admitting that life is a lot more complex than you would like to believe.
No offense intended. I just fundamentally disagree with your view of the world, as least as it is expressed in this brief exchange.

But you are making a leap n faith about KF. In life the fairy tale story sounds nice but just now how the world goes round and round. Fairy tale life doesnt happen often at the typical Joe Iowa level and less likely so at the high stake millions of dollars playing field. Makes for nice stories but rarely real life.

 

[Caddy]

There is no reason Kirk Ferentz can't nor shouldn't have a CFP berth as his goal.

Making sure kids get to the pros is not and should not be the main point of college football. A super tiny margin of players ever get the opportunity and even fewer of them actually make a career of it.

Even more bullshit is the notion that his and his staff's mission is to make sure kids graduate and "create decent human beings". What a load of crap.

This is college, ffs, not some magical soul transformation. As I've said before, a bachelors degree is not a difficult thing to do. It's basically high school all over again. So explain why Ferentz and his staff should be tasked with making sure kids don't turn into shitbags when they grow up. Is that not something a young adult needs to take responsibility for on his own? I finished college in 4 years working 45 hours a week, and I have a good job and family to show for it. I've never killed or robbed anyone, and in 25 years I should retire fairly comfortably. Nobody wiped my butt for me, or made sure I got my homework done and went to bed at a certain hour. Just like a whole bunch of other people who didn't have someone holding their hands through college, much less Kirk Ferentz.

So save the notion that football players are a bunch of disadvantaged puppy dogs who need someone to come around and mold them into good people. That's their personal responsibility (just like yours or mine) and not Kirk Ferentz's job. This isn't "The Blind Side" and he's not Sandra Bullock.

His job is to do within the NCAA rules what it takes to be a contending team in the B1G and produce results commensurate with his and his staff's pay and budget.

Perfect post.

 

[Caddy]

You make some valid points but you're overall hypothesis is oversimplified. There are more factors that go into the equation than just, OK, we're playing a superior team so lets play conservative, or, we're playing a team we're superior to so let's play balls out and be risky.

I think, for the most part, Iowa has gotten what it's deserved through KF's 18 years based on talent, injuries, strength of of opponents, etc.

The Big Ten is way more balanced now than it was when HF was here. And Iowa State did not play in a bowl during HF's 20 years as coach. It's played in 8 during KF's 18 years.

Could we have avoided more upsets during KF's tenure had he played a different style of ball? Perhaps. Would we have enjoyed as many upsets had he played a different style? Perhaps.

We don't know. What we do know is that during the last 18 years, Iowa has one of the best overall records in the Big Ten. I get that it might not satisfy some fans. And that's their right. But to HATE KF for what he's done here I believe is way off base. Just my opinion.

Wow. Iowa State plays in bowl games now because there are more bowls. Nice comparison. You think KF has done such a great job with the talent level? Tell me why the talent level is so low, and why we can't recruit worth a damn, or lose top recruits we have committed. We can't expect to recruit better than walk ons and 2 star talent at receiver? Bullshit. Get someone in here that can then. You pay top ten pay to a coach other than this moron, and trust me we will have a coach and staff here that can recruit.