You are clueless as to how this thing works.
The donors are the only ones who are going to tell Kirk what to do. Beth Goetz is not, and the BOR doesn't care enough about wins/losses to do anything.
FYI the donors got rid of Brian, not Beth lol, and they still love Kirk.
Fry, you make a lot of statements of fact and don’t always show your work. Give us your proof that donors fired Brian and not the administration (which indirectly can include the BOR).
Look, I get how much power big donors wield at times. I was following the antics of Bruce Rastetter (also former Regents President) for years, long before his nephew punted a ball for Kirk. Why do you think that young man was repeatedly shanking punts in an Iowa uniform?
I was probably the first on this sight to point out the obvious.
It may very well be wishful thinking on my part, but I want to believe Goetz and others saw how inept and compromised Barta was. They saw the degree of unchecked power and control Kirk was arrogantly throwing around. Enough was enough. Kirk was stubborn, in denial, and out of control in decisions involving his son. He was unable or unwilling to control Brian. You literally saw a glimpse of that Saturday night as he backed away from Brian’s meltdown. When have you ever seen an assistant coach do that directly in front of the head coach? And did Brian ever face public discipline, or any discipline, for going after an official in the press box a few years back?
Do you think Kirk and Brian are both secretly relieved the discrimination suit never went to trial?
If Brian wasn’t Kirk’s son he might have been fired along with Doyle. Who should have been fired after rhabdo but instead was given an award by Kirk. Hmmm…
The University of Iowa is still a well respected, major public university. You like to think the administrators have some integrity and some backbone. Especially when it pertains to their athletic department and doing the right thing.
It is compelling that Goetz fired Brian midseason and declared he would never work for the university again. Kirk seemed genuinely shocked that it was done this way. Why was it?
Fry, I think you are overstating the donor influence on this one. What, those big donor friends didn’t have the decency to give Kirk a heads up?
The irony is Kirk would have never been hired as Iowa’s head coach at the time if it had been up to the big donors. Kirk was no one’s first choice. Bobby Stoops was, save for Bob Bowlsby who allegedly wanted Terry Allen. Ann Rhodes and the UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION, required the formation of a committee before anyone was hired. It was a gift to Donnie Duncan, the AD at Oklahoma. One man, an ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, swooped in and hired Stoops.
Did big donors want Tom Davis out? Or was it Bob Bowlsby? You tell me. We do know Bowlsby was a careerist and was hoping to make a big splash with the Alford hire.
Again, Kirk created this mess because of his motivations and nepotistic approach. It was misguided from the very beginning. From Rastetter the punter, to the Greg Davis hire and subsequent Brian Ferentz OC hire, it’s not hard to argue Kirk has put his own interests before winning games at times.
Whether it was Goetz or Wilson or the BOR or anonymous donors it doesn’t matter because in the end Kirk was never going to remove Brian. Someone had to do it and Goetz did something Barta never had the guts to do.
I think it would be a mistake, Fry, to immediately lump Goetz with Barta. Time will tell.
So we are at a crossroads. How does the next OC get hired? Kirk has whiffed on the last two hires and we know why. Will there be hiring parameters put in place this time and by whom? A’ la carte OC, or is it time to clean house and let the new OC bring in his own staff?
What’s clear is that some of Kirk’s power has been checked. Will this carry over to his MICRO-management of the offense?
Getting back to the original thread: Kirk is stubborn and myopic when it comes to handling quarterbacks. It is truly mind boggling that he wouldn’t insert a backup qb when the starter is failing so miserably, over multiple games. I dare say any other coach in the country would have seen what the backup could do IN A GAME SITUATION. Some guys are ballers, some practice players, some both. And Kirk doesn’t hesitate benching other position players.
Finally, an example of the above:
I was returning from a road trip listening to Dolph and Eddie call the 2014 Pitt game. The one where Beathard replaced Rudock in the second half and rallied us to victory and saved Kirk’s bacon. Eddie’s very first question to Kirk, postgame, was for him to comment on the incredible performance by CJ.
Kirk’s response, and I quote, “At least he played better than he practiced this week”.
You could almost hear Eddie’s jaw drop.
True story. Classic Kirk.
Not all big donors are pro-Kirk.
New donors are created every day.
