I have NO idea how to account for the decline, obstinacy, chippy quips, etc.

ProfessorHawk said:
I just have a really hard time reconciling the fundraising and generosity towards the children's hospital and the UI College of Liberal Arts with merely pigheaded obstinacy as regards change, innovation, etc. within the program itself. That ain't just write-offs. He could give to the NRA or some other bloated fundraising institution. I don't see Kirk as some mercenary corporate stooge singing the ME ME ME ME ME tune. There has to be more to it than that. In ways, this is like watching the decline and precipitous bottoming-out of a family member. I mean, I'm sure Kirk has changed, who doesn't? But even Miller grants his general goodness and human quality. Those are not bad characteristics in anyone, these days. I am also not going to be one of these guys who invokes my alumnus status and my earned UI BA and PhD as justification for claiming some special status vis a vis "fans" vs. alumni and going down into that cesspool. ****, this is painful enough without measuring puds. Something is also wrong with the word-wrap on my end, so forgive the absence of paragraphs and indents. I see Kirk as the sort of guy who has an unreal abrasive side but who also plays John Denver LPs and puts his feet up, enjoying the simpler things and a good, cool can of beer (shoutout to Catfish Keith). He's probably shocked at the venom and vitriol the entire athletic dept. is getting, because I really DON'T think he saw this coming. I know when the exam preps I give my students come back to me generally good, occasionally exceptional, I take that as an accurate measure of what they are learning. I really think he thought the Hawkeyes had practiced well for the bowl game. His main metric is what he sees on the field in practice. I have no idea what variance exists between practice and game performances, and really neither do any other posters, outside Miller and others with real traction inside the program. I just know that I am very conflicted with the idea of pulling the plug on Kirk Ferentz because I am not convinced he'd just pull the plug on the Hawkeyes, or on us, as alumni, fans, etc. I don't see that he would. Yeah, he singed the contract. He probably also didn't see this coming. I know, I KNOW....the freshmen and sophomores at Tennessee made our Jr/Sr-dominated team look foolish. I also know the game plan had a lot to do with that as did the general malaise surrounding OUR Hawkeyes in general just now. But they are OUR Hawkeyes, and Kirk is one of them, not just a rich "fat-cat", I don't believe he sees the world that way. I freely admit I don't have the answers, but I also admit that I doubt haste, anger, and the weird "what have you done for ME lately" mentality is the right methodology for viewing this interval of Iowa football. I think we should be cautious.
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With you giving the shout-out to Catfish Keith, I MUST give you a shout-out for the shout-out!

I doubt 95% of folks here know who Catfish Keith is without google...
 
guffus said:
Sorry Professor, there was nothing clear in your original post. I am guessing most readers gave up trying to make sense of it by the second sentence. Maybe you would like to try again or start over because I have no idea what your point was.

Other than that, I like your passion.
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I have to admit I took a quick look at it and assumed it was all one sentence.
 
Stealthawk said:
I think the professors point was that we should accept less than mediocre on the field as the new norm, just as society has learned to accept poor grammar, spelling, and writing skills, etc... from our education system.
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And lack of word wrap and <<enter>> key usage.



J/K
 
I think the OP gave a well reasoned post. Many of us are starting to think maybe its time to change. But we also think KF has something to say about it too. Im not sure changing coaches guarentees us anything better. It will be a gamble you same guys will be clamering for change in 2-3 years if it doesant work out. I hope we have some people on the board of regents or some Big Givers that handle this thing right. I don't have much faith in our collage Prs. or our AD
 
Boy, that post was like a bad accident. I just couldn't stop reading.

Thanks for your thoughts Prof, was rather entertaining.
 
Stealthawk said:
I think the professors point was that we should accept less than mediocre on the field as the new norm, just as society has learned to accept poor grammar, spelling, and writing skills, etc... from our education system.
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One of the national academic rankings at the University of Iowa:

#1 writing programs in fiction and poetry (Iowa Writers' Workshop) and nonfiction (Poets & Writers)
 
KF has no answers, at least not any that he's comfortable saying publicly. He's not blind, his overall team lacks the talent of the upper division of the B1G so the only way they will be able to compete is to execute flawlessly and/or the opponent makes critical mistakes. That is more or less what he has said throughout his tenure, they have little margin for error and so his best hope for winning is to keep the games close and hope Iowa gets a break or two that will push them over the hump.

I'm sure if KF watched his own pressers, he would agree that they are not worth attending. He does not have any new answers to give, at least not any that would not humiliate his team. He recognizes his #1 QB only has average skills but he also knows that JR is quick to lose confidence in the ability he does have, thus if he's too hard or critical of JR he knows that whatever confidence he has left will be further eroded. Of course, I am only speculating, but if there is merit to the idea that KF is hesitant to say what needs to be said to JR for fear of making the situation worse, then KF has ceased being the coach he needs to be for the rest of the team.

This is big time college football, it's not time to coddle anyone that doesn't perform, you have to play your talent and if you don't, you won't be able to recruit good talent going forward. That is where KF finds himself now, he needs to make some hard decisions about his coaching staff and his players. He needs to be fair and even-handed with each and every player, coaching them to become better players and convincing them that playing time will be based on merit, not how well they are liked or that they happen to be upperclassmen.

Like anything that has suffered decline, this situation is years in the making and it will not be solved overnight. The question for Barta is this: is KF up to the job? That answer will depend on how well KF has diagnosed the problem(s) and laid out the plan(s) for corrective action. If he gives Barta the "That's football" comment and little more, then Barta has his answer and it's his responsibility to act in the best interest of Iowa football.
 
DJI9424 said:
KF has no answers, at least not any that he's comfortable saying publicly. He's not blind, his overall team lacks the talent of the upper division of the B1G so the only way they will be able to compete is to execute flawlessly and/or the opponent makes critical mistakes. That is more or less what he has said throughout his tenure, they have little margin for error and so his best hope for winning is to keep the games close and hope Iowa gets a break or two that will push them over the hump.

I'm sure if KF watched his own pressers, he would agree that they are not worth attending. He does not have any new answers to give, at least not any that would not humiliate his team. He recognizes his #1 QB only has average skills but he also knows that JR is quick to lose confidence in the ability he does have, thus if he's too hard or critical of JR he knows that whatever confidence he has left will be further eroded. Of course, I am only speculating, but if there is merit to the idea that KF is hesitant to say what needs to be said to JR for fear of making the situation worse, then KF has ceased being the coach he needs to be for the rest of the team.

This is big time college football, it's not time to coddle anyone that doesn't perform, you have to play your talent and if you don't, you won't be able to recruit good talent going forward. That is where KF finds himself now, he needs to make some hard decisions about his coaching staff and his players. He needs to be fair and even-handed with each and every player, coaching them to become better players and convincing them that playing time will be based on merit, not how well they are liked or that they happen to be upperclassmen.

Like anything that has suffered decline, this situation is years in the making and it will not be solved overnight. The question for Barta is this: is KF up to the job? That answer will depend on how well KF has diagnosed the problem(s) and laid out the plan(s) for corrective action. If he gives Barta the "That's football" comment and little more, then Barta has his answer and it's his responsibility to act in the best interest of Iowa football.
Click to expand...

Excellent observations,but this same post was probably posted about 4 years ago. We keep waiting an hoping like Charlie Brown that this will be the year Lucy finally lets me kick the damn ball only to have it ripped away at the last moment. The main reason for the patience is the ridiculous contract that protects kfootball. I will say for the 100th time, the first man to be shown the door is the one responsible for this mess.
 
ProfessorHawk said:
The aura of doucheness is strong with this one...and several others.

I'll avoid posting from my laptop AMAP, just to please ya'll.
Click to expand...
to quote the N. Florida coach..."don't drop your head and get thicker skin"

Some people are just gunnin' with you. The ones criticizing are fairly tame.
 
resized_winter-is-coming-meme-generator-brace-yourself-wall-of-text-is-coming-8e61f1.jpg
 
ProfessorHawk said:
I just have a really hard time reconciling the fundraising and generosity towards the children's hospital and the UI College of Liberal Arts with merely pigheaded obstinacy as regards change, innovation, etc. within the program itself. That ain't just write-offs. He could give to the NRA or some other bloated fundraising institution. I don't see Kirk as some mercenary corporate stooge singing the ME ME ME ME ME tune. There has to be more to it than that. In ways, this is like watching the decline and precipitous bottoming-out of a family member. I mean, I'm sure Kirk has changed, who doesn't? But even Miller grants his general goodness and human quality. Those are not bad characteristics in anyone, these days. I am also not going to be one of these guys who invokes my alumnus status and my earned UI BA and PhD as justification for claiming some special status vis a vis "fans" vs. alumni and going down into that cesspool. ****, this is painful enough without measuring puds. Something is also wrong with the word-wrap on my end, so forgive the absence of paragraphs and indents. I see Kirk as the sort of guy who has an unreal abrasive side but who also plays John Denver LPs and puts his feet up, enjoying the simpler things and a good, cool can of beer (shoutout to Catfish Keith). He's probably shocked at the venom and vitriol the entire athletic dept. is getting, because I really DON'T think he saw this coming. I know when the exam preps I give my students come back to me generally good, occasionally exceptional, I take that as an accurate measure of what they are learning. I really think he thought the Hawkeyes had practiced well for the bowl game. His main metric is what he sees on the field in practice. I have no idea what variance exists between practice and game performances, and really neither do any other posters, outside Miller and others with real traction inside the program. I just know that I am very conflicted with the idea of pulling the plug on Kirk Ferentz because I am not convinced he'd just pull the plug on the Hawkeyes, or on us, as alumni, fans, etc. I don't see that he would. Yeah, he singed the contract. He probably also didn't see this coming. I know, I KNOW....the freshmen and sophomores at Tennessee made our Jr/Sr-dominated team look foolish. I also know the game plan had a lot to do with that as did the general malaise surrounding OUR Hawkeyes in general just now. But they are OUR Hawkeyes, and Kirk is one of them, not just a rich "fat-cat", I don't believe he sees the world that way. I freely admit I don't have the answers, but I also admit that I doubt haste, anger, and the weird "what have you done for ME lately" mentality is the right methodology for viewing this interval of Iowa football. I think we should be cautious.
Click to expand...

See bolded part. Are you talking about Jon Miller, the site owner? Doesn't he live out of state? What traction does he have "within the program"?
 
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