Kirk Ferentz: Living Legend

Can't deny it. He's a legend.

But all good things must come to an end. I just hope he's able to see the end and not have to be forced out ala Tom Davis.
 
Well stated, Jon.

Per 1hawkeye1, I think he has 4-5 more years left at the helm; however, I also think that if believes he doesn't, he'll step down. The team is poised to do well in the next couple of years, which can build on itself, about the time a new coach would step in, which would be a good gift to that coach, like what Alvarez left for Bielema. (I'm certain this last part will be picked apart).
 
I've gotten beat up here lately with others voicing my frustration and being critical of KF. Mostly because of my fly off the handle way during game threads. I agree Kirk is a great coach but if adjusted just a couple small things during game time that we arm chair QB's see he would be easily be an excellent coach! My biggest complaint is predictability and not adjusting out of it. When you hear other Big coaches talk Iowa they all say we know what Iowa's going to do. After nineteen years I agree that the competition is going to know so how about some small wrinkles unexpected on offense to keep defenses honest and not load the box on us all the time. WE ALL KNOW that some games we lose every year could of been W's because of it. I sat on the 30 yard line of the Penn st game and watched Corner backs run right to the running back not even being blocked, bumped or even acknowledging our receivers for a quick out down the field.. It can't be that hard to adjust that. I seen it with Nw, Mich st and Prudue along with the games we won also.
 
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Numbers just amaze me at times. It is amazing how close he and Fry are with Ferentz only coaching in 2 more games at this point. They pretty much mirror each other. Hayden coached in an era where they had ties in games.

I agree to call him a good football coach, but I don't know if I'd go as far as calling him a living legend. I think one has to have more of an impact to a degree than just coaching a lot of games.

Seriously, college football was played in 1896? Alonzo Stagg at U of Chicago.
 
Well done Jon. Wish we all realized just how darn good we've had it... For my lifetime there's been 2 coaches Fry and Ferentz. That's nuts in pretty much any generation let alone this one. He's touched a ton of players and their families over the years obviously but he's done so much more beyond football too. With all the coaches out there bouncing around just looking to enhance themselves we've had a coach that's looked to enhance the lives of others. I've met him one time and had the chance to speak with him for a few mins. His memory is ridiculous. He's a great story teller. He's genuine and looks you in the eye and listens to you. By no means does he put you in a feeling of being looked down on. Thanks for writing an article of such on him as if for some reason that were to end up being his last game (sure as heck hope not) I just hope others get an idea of how good we've had it all these years.
 
homes said:
Well stated, Jon.

Per 1hawkeye1, I think he has 4-5 more years left at the helm; however, I also think that if believes he doesn't, he'll step down. The team is poised to do well in the next couple of years, which can build on itself, about the time a new coach would step in, which would be a good gift to that coach, like what Alvarez left for Bielema. (I'm certain this last part will be picked apart).
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For some reason, I'm thinking 3 at the most. Not sure why. Maybe that's enough time to get Brian more experience and pass the torch. Don't know. If when that happens and Brian does get the gig, I could still see Kirk having some kind of role in the program. Advisor or something.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Numbers just amaze me at times. It is amazing how close he and Fry are with Ferentz only coaching in 2 more games at this point. They pretty much mirror each other. Hayden coached in an era where they had ties in games.

I agree to call him a good football coach, but I don't know if I'd go as far as calling him a living legend. I think one has to have more of an impact to a degree than just coaching a lot of games.

Seriously, college football was played in 1896? Alonzo Stagg at U of Chicago.
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Agreed. I suppose he deserves some type of award for sticking around so long in the same job, but living legend is pouring it on rather thick, IMO. 7.5 wins a year in an era with 13 games a year isn't really all that impressive unless you coach in Lames.
 
Ben Rumson said:
I've gotten beat up here lately with others voicing my frustration and being critical of KF. Mostly because of my fly off the handle way during game threads. I agree Kirk is a great coach but if adjusted just a couple small things during game time that we arm chair QB's see he would be easily be an excellent coach! My biggest complaint is predictability and not adjusting out of it. When you hear other Big coaches talk Iowa they all say we know what Iowa's going to do. After nineteen years I agree that the competition is going to know so how about some small wrinkles unexpected on offense to keep defenses honest and not load the box on us all the time. WE ALL KNOW that some games we lose every year could of been W's because of it. I sat on the 30 yard line of the Penn st game and watched Corner backs run right to the running back not even being blocked, bumped or even acknowledging our receivers for a quick out down the field.. It can't be that hard to adjust that. I seen it with Nw, Mich st and Prudue along with the games we one also.
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I agree that Iowa's predictability is the most frustrating aspect of watching Iowa (offensive) football. As a fan, it's most apparent when games are lost, and not appreciated when games are won.
 
I love what he and his wife have done for the hospital with their generousity. In that regards I have often thought what a good a descent family they are.

When Brain got reprimanded for cursing in the press box I found it interesting to hear Kirk corrected Brian, but at the same time I guess I didn’t think it was that big of a deal and actually liked hearing that Brian had that fire in him. God only knows how angry I have been at the officiating over the years.

Maybe I have been too hard on Kirk the last few years. I guess I look at his years of being here and that he now is the longest active tenure coach in the B1G and I had hoped his recruiting would pick up to a point that we could at least be the favorite to win the West on a regular basis. It irks me that Wisconsin holds that privilege.

There has been a lot of talk about how young the team is so maybe, just maybe that will pay dividends in the next two or three years. I would love to see that.
 
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homes said:
I agree that Iowa's predictability is the most frustrating aspect of watching Iowa (offensive) football. As a fan, it's most apparent when games are lost, and not appreciated when games are won.
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Just go back to the Ohio State game, which turned out to be an anomaly. Iowa had Ohio State on its heels, as well as Iowa fans. We didn't know what was coming. It was fun and effective.
 
BigD said:
I love what he and his wife have done for the hospital with their generousity. In that regards I have often thought what a good a descent family they are.

When Brain got reprimanded for cursing in the press box I found it interesting to hear Kirk corrected Brian, but at the same time I guess I didn’t think it was that big of a deal and actually liked hearing that Brian had that fire in him. God only knows how angry I have been at the officiating over the years.

Maybe I have been too hard on Kirk the last few years. I guess I look at his years of being here and that he now is the longest active tenure coach in the B1G and I had hoped his recruiting would pick up to a point that we could at least be the favorite to win the West on a regular basis. It irks me that Wisconsin holds that privilege.

There has been a lot of talk about how young the team is so maybe, just maybe that will pay dividends in the next two or three years. I would love to see that.
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Actually the entire nation going on 2 years now.
 
Balanced said:
First Iowa coach to lose to an FCS team....the true stuff legends are made of....not nonsense like pummeling ISUcks into complete submission 15 straight years....
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How dare you take Coach Ben Donnelly off the hook. In 1893, his Hawkeye squad lost to Grinnell. I can only imagine the grilling he got from the fans back then; fortunately, by the time the mail got to Iowa City, they beat Missouri the next week, so all was forgiven, except for the most strident of critics, probably your great-great-great grandfather.
 
Say what you will about his conservative nature...you can always expect his teams to be physical, and committed to playing with passion. If you look through his tenure, we have rarely been physically dominated...even against the top rated teams on our schedule. You can point to the recent bowl failures as the head scratchers. The other thing that I think points to his ability is that in good years...his teams keep getting better as the year progresses...which is what you should expect. They get on a roll and don't look past teams.

I think the only question mark to me is whether we could have recruited better throughout his tenure at Iowa. I believe more focus and attention there, may have gotten us over the hump in all the close games we have played through the years. I would point to depth as the main topic of concern. 2017 was no different...losing two seniors on the offensive line crippled the offense against the top teams on the schedule not named Ohio State. We were inconsistent in both the running game and pass protection and teams simply loaded up to rush the passer.
 
There is no denying Kirk is a legend at Iowa and has done some fantastic things for the Hawkeye Nation But, I have said it before, I think the Orange Bowl win in 2010 is as high as he will take us. If you take a long hard look from 2010 up until now, 2015 is really the only outstanding season we have had, and that ending in the Rose Bowl was awful. Ferentz Fatigue has taken it's toll on me.
 
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