Kirk Ferentz: Living Legend

[1977Hawkeye]

I agree that KF and HF have had very similar careers. Strong first decade.. Second decade, more average/decent.

I'll never forget the way KF came in and turned things around. 1-10 to 11-2 and an orange bowl in just a few years. I feel KF was on his way to being a great coach, but couldn't quite capitalize on and sustain the early success from 02-04. He had a couple more terrific seasons in 08-09 but after that, things have dipped, which I feel cements KF's status as a good coach, on a national level. In terms of Hawkeye lore, I can agree with legend status, though.

KF has been a success, in my book, despite any flaws he has as a coach, and gets more heat than he should IMO, given the things he's accomplished.

 

[Motigerhawk]

Not a legend IMO. A good coach. A great a man. Heck of a fund raiser. Great philanthropist.

I think they should name the top floor of the hospital after he retires. The Ferentz Family Observation Floor.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Jon
You and I have known each other for a long time, from the boards to selling your dad tickets to sit with me at several Iowa games. You have penned no finer an article. People need to realize what a great man Kirk is. My daughter dated Adrian for a long time and I can tell you what an impact Kirk has on his players. A great family man that personafies our Iowa values.

I know a lot of good guys and gals, but I wouldn't consider them living legends. He's a good football coach for Iowa and has had a nice coaching tenure at Iowa, but, I just don't think it goes to the living legend level.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I agree that KF and HF have had very similar careers. Strong first decade.. Second decade, more average/decent.

I'll never forget the way KF came in and turned things around. 1-10 to 11-2 and an orange bowl in just a few years. I feel KF was on his way to being a great coach, but couldn't quite capitalize on and sustain the early success from 02-04. He had a couple more terrific seasons in 08-09 but after that, things have dipped, which I feel cements KF's status as a good coach, on a national level. In terms of Hawkeye lore, I can agree with legend status, though.

KF has been a success, in my book, despite any flaws he has as a coach, and gets more heat than he should IMO, given the things he's accomplished.

For some reason, that 2005 stud recruiting class that didn't pan out seemed to cause Ferentz and the program to regress a bit. All consistency they had up to that point seemed to be gone for some reason. They were hot 2002 thru 2004 then that highly ranked recruiting class which many in it didn't pan out. I don't think we can look past the significance of that.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

A lot of arguing who is better or how they compare when in actuality they are pretty similar.

Fry took over a dead program. Ferentz took over a program very short on talent.
Fry's breakthrough season was his 3rd. KF's was his 4th.
Both had a pretty remarkable decade. Fry 1981-1991 (11 years actually). KF 2001-2010.
Both coaches had an incredibly disappointing season in that span in which there where high expectations (Fry 1988, Ferentz 2010).
Both had an "all most" season in which a couple close losses derailed a possible great season. (Fry 1984, Ferentz 2005).
Both had a two year lull during that great span (Fry 1988-1989, Ferentz 2006-2007)
After both coaches completed their great decade, the program dropped off and fans got impatient.
Both coaches had one more season after their great decade in which the team looked great but suffered blowout losses that knocked them back down to Earth (Fry 1996 got destroyed by Ohio St and Northwestern at home, Ferentz 2015 got destroyed by Stanford)

Nice job X!

 

[thedukeofearl]

Forest Evashevski, Hayden Fry, and Kirk Ferentz

The Holy Trinity of Hawkeye Football

Very nice article, Jon.....

 

[BigD]

In all time wins for B1G conference games Ferentz is also closing in on very elite company.

1. Hayes 152 wins
2. Bo 143
3. Stagg 116
4. Fry 98

Ferentz currently has 86

No slight to KF but for entertainment value no comparison between the coaches. Fry's games and victories were so more entertaining to watch. That is just my opinion but I would wager that among those who had the privilege to watch both coaches, that most of them would agree.

 

[earlkoppelman]

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.

Well said!! Rather thick YES.A brillant man in many ways yes.Nuff said tonite in NorCal.Beer to be dealt with no?Yo pray for surf huh

 

[earlkoppelman]

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.

Fatigue is awful.I got it.It lingers DAILY.Cure?

 

[trj]

Not a legend IMO. A good coach. A great a man. Heck of a fund raiser. Great philanthropist.

I think they should name the top floor of the hospital after he retires. The Ferentz Family Observation Floor.

I am with you on this. If they want to change Melrose or Hawkins into Kirk Ferentz Way I wouldn’t have an issue with it.

 

[guffus]

For some reason, that 2005 stud recruiting class that didn't pan out seemed to cause Ferentz and the program to regress a bit. All consistency they had up to that point seemed to be gone for some reason. They were hot 2002 thru 2004 then that highly ranked recruiting class which many in it didn't pan out. I don't think we can look past the significance of that.

Well, if you consider those that stayed from that stud 2005 class graduated in 2008 or 2009, they actually finished pretty well with 9-4 aand 11-2 records. Then once they were all gone, thats where Iowa fell apart again.

 

[HawkU]

...The constant fighting of the factions is tiring...

Agreed but this forum is Appalachia. You write stuff like this and it fires up the Hatfields and McCoys.

Surely you are not so naive to think that it will change.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Serious question. I wonder why there are few that don't "dislike" hayden fry? is that generational? because i've seen almost every game under both fry and kirk. if i was going to choose a coach to change the mindset of a program from complete losers who didn't have a winning season in almost 20 seasons, I'd pick fry over kirk. if i wanted a coach to continue the already built winning program, i'd probably take kirk. but kirk has under performed from a W/L perspective and Fry didn't.

<<I wonder why there are few that don't "dislike" hayden fry? is that generational?>>

While there has always been class envy, the post-Clinton era brought it out in spades. That, and Fry comes off as more "yokel/country/farmer" than Ferentz does, I would imagine.

 

[earthman]

The term 'living legend' gets tossed around a lot. For me a 'living legend' must inspire people & leave near unattainable legacies. In my opinion, Kirk Ferentz has done these things & is a living legend. Oh, and he is a good football coach, too. Column:

https://www.hawkeyenation.com/football/kirk-ferentz-is-in-a-league-of-his-own

Evashevski - led Iowa teams have finished inside the AP Top 10 five times during his 9 years, something no other Iowa coach has ever accomplished. ('53, '56, '57, '58 and '60)

 

[SomersHawk]

Ferentz would be the first to dismiss the legend label which is one of the attributes that make him the perfect fit for the head coaching job at IOWA. He has values that MOST Iowans used to have and I am proud he is our coach. Those that are unhappy about it probably look at their 2nd and 3rd wives the same way, always wanting "something prettier".

Legend? When his career is over and is looked back upon you bet your ass. Those that disagree keep looking, happiness is out there somewhere...

 

[FCAS]

Fry was surrounded by national power teams, Nebraska, Michigan, Notre Dame and had to recruit against them. During KF’s tenure all three of these programs were down.

But at the same time, there are several mid-level programs in the area that have gotten a lot better. Also, due to the vast amount of info available to both players and coaches, recruiting has become less regional. I think it would have been a little easier for Fry to keep players like Darboh or Piersbacher in the state. I don't think that KF has much of a recruiting advantage.

Fry beat Wisconsin 15 out of 17 years and now Wisconsin appears to be in the drivers seat. That one is EYE bulging. We would be lucky to to make it two years in a row now.

What are you trying to say here? The fact that Wisconsin has gotten a lot better is not an indictment of KF. It has little to do with comparing KF versus Fry.

Fry had to compete against the entire conference for bowl appearances. You finished fifth you sat at home.

Agree

Fry’s football program didn’t get laced with $30 million dollar gifts from the BTN every year. Now it’s up to $60 million a year. For Fry all the moneys from bowl games was divided up amongst all the Big Ten teams and that was after all the travel expenses for the bowl games which really left very little.

Since every other BIG team gets the same $60 million gifts, how does this make life easier for KF in comparison to Fry?

The program Fry inherited was much worse than what Kirk inherited.

Yes, Hayden brought Iowa football back from the dead, and he will always be #1 to me for that miracle. But toward the end, things were spiraling downward. The talent level that KF inherited was pretty low. So, I'm not sure I would say MUCH worse.

On a related note, I think KF will leave the program in much better shape than Fry did.

 

[FCAS]

The constant fighting of the factions is tiring...and those who feel like they have to come in and piss all over things just because something positive is being mentioned about someone they don't care for, go find someone else to irritate.

Jon, I really enjoyed the article. But, c'mon, you knew this wasn't going to be a lovefest, and that the usual suspects were going to show up to "piss". Don't let them drag you down to their level.

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Fatigue is awful.I got it.It lingers DAILY.Cure?

 

[homes]

Excellent points. And lest people forget, it was Fry who WANTED the "juggernauts" off the non-conference schedule (with good reason, IMO). We went into conference season down numerous players each year. Teams like Nebraska, Oklahoma and Penn State were stockpiling guys on their rosters just to keep them away from opponents' rosters. Between the 1968 and 1981 season, one team aside from O$U and Michigan went to the Rose Bowl, Iowa in the 1981 season. MSU was "champion" in 1978 or 79, but was on probation, thus ineligible for postseason play. Fry broke that stranglehold, but it wasn't like the floodgates opened. Between 1981 and 1990, add Illinois and MSU. And again, it wasn't like there was a logjam atop the conference. Other teams were occasionally in the hunt, but until Alvarez got to Wisconsin and PSU joined the Big Ten, rare was the season O$U or Michigan wasn't the conference participant. And when they weren't the conference representative, it was definitely rare for a school OTHER than O$U/scUM to be a conference representative in one of the other major bowls of the time (Cotton, Sugar, Orange, later the Fiesta).

Frankly, Fry's descent was brought about by both losing assistants AND the ascension of other schools. KF has definitely faced more "parity". But again, though KF didn't inherit a "robust" team, he had Fry's blueprint. Without Fry, there is no KF "discussion". KF would probably the first person to point that out...like he did in a postgame interview when the Fry-tying win question was brought up to him.

Before Fry got here, Iowa was the team that the other schools scheduled to get a Win. Iowa was easy pickings for those teams. In that way, the criticism of Iowa scheduling lesser schools is the very thing that other teams in the 60s and 70s were doing to Iowa. We were that lesser school. Fry flipped the script, he didn't want to be a part of that anymore; those early years with the tougher opponents were already set up before he got here. At least Iowa didn't do a Missouri and bail out of those obligations.

 

[earlkoppelman]

Agreed but this forum is Appalachia. You write stuff like this and it fires up the Hatfields and McCoys.

Surely you are not so naive to think that it will change.

Jon knows!! His text gets MUCHO CLICKS no? Hey he is a FAN like us no? Must REST! Ferentz FATIGUE attack! Yikes a beer at Dave's is calling.Buck 50 Rolling Rock.bb game needs intense start.