Kirk Writing For Hawkeyenation?

[OUTofTOWNHAWK]

Is this kirk spending more time in office?

 

[Knight78]

Have you enjoyed the last four years of Ferentz football? I haven't been excited for a single game since Wisconsin in 2010. Going 4-8 instead of 7-5 really doesn't make much difference for me.

Except for 1996 did you enjoy the last seven years of Fry football? 1995 he went 7-4 with a bowl win to make it 8-4, 1996 he went 8-3 with a bowl win to make it 9-3. So only one of his last 7 seasons he was above your 7-5 mark.

I can't say I've enjoyed it. But there's a difference between 4-8 and 7-5. Just ask the teams that went 7-5 and on to a bowl game.

 

[Knight78]

Iowa fans aren't fair to Kirk Ferentz? Kirk Ferentz has gotten every raise he ever wanted. New facilities. One sided contracts. Iowa fans have ignored nepotism. Use of the University plane.
Kirk Ferentz has made every personnel decision since he's been here. He's hired the assistant coaches that have (poorly) replaced an original staff that won those BIG titles.
He has stability. He has facilities. There are no reasons why his recruiting should have gotten worse over the past 10 years. He's either not as committed to recruiting or his newer assistants have done a poor job. Either way, it's a problem that Kirk Ferentz and only Kirk Ferentz is responsible for.
Iowa fans have seen parking and ticket prices go through the roof. Seating priority bull spit. Tailgating ruined or changed for the worse, at least. Now, Iowa fans want to hold Kirk Ferentz accountable for his work. What's the problem? Are Iowa fans throwing rocks through his windows? No. Iowa fans have stopped buying tickets. They have started to voice their displeasure. Kirk Ferentz can deal with it and so can the people that write that stuff.

I can't disagree with any of your criticisms except one... mainly because you don't want to hear them. But nepotism? Really? You're going there? How many other college (or pro) coaches who have sons of age have hired them as assistants? Please don't tell me none because I know it happens. I couldn't give you exact numbers without a lot of research, but I would bet that it's a more common practice than your jab at Kirk about nepotism would indicate.

 

[PCHawk]

Except for 1996 did you enjoy the last seven years of Fry football? 1995 he went 7-4 with a bowl win to make it 8-4, 1996 he went 8-3 with a bowl win to make it 9-3. So only one of his last 7 seasons he was above your 7-5 mark.

I can't say I've enjoyed it. But there's a difference between 4-8 and 7-5. Just ask the teams that went 7-5 and on to a bowl game.

There is a difference between a Fry coached team and a Ferentz coached team. Kirk just coaches a boring game. Obviously I would rather win with Ferentz than lose with Fry. But if I had to go 7-5 with one, I choose Fry and it's not even close.

 

[MiniMoeHawk]

There is a difference between a Fry coached team and a Ferentz coached team. Kirk just coaches a boring game. Obviously I would rather win with Ferentz than lose with Fry. But if I had to go 7-5 with one, I choose Fry and it's not even close.

At least with Fry he stepped on the clown's throats every year

 

[trj]

At least with Fry he stepped on the clown's throats every year

Given how manageable the schedule has been the last 5 years Hayden in his prime would have absolutely crushed it.

 

[STILLBUSTER]

Except for 1996 did you enjoy the last seven years of Fry football? 1995 he went 7-4 with a bowl win to make it 8-4, 1996 he went 8-3 with a bowl win to make it 9-3. So only one of his last 7 seasons he was above your 7-5 mark.

I can't say I've enjoyed it. But there's a difference between 4-8 and 7-5. Just ask the teams that went 7-5 and on to a bowl game.

There's also a huge difference between 7 and 8 wins. (Just ask anyone around here how they felt in 2013 vs 2014.)
In that regard, your Fry reference was back when 11 games were the norm. Add another directional or 1-AA team, like Iowa plays for it's 12th game these days, and I will GUARANTEE you Fry would have had another win in every single one of his last 7 seasons . This also doesn't take into account some of the non-conf competition during Fry's last 7 seasons - NC State (finished #17), #1 Miami, #10 Colorado, Oregon (finished #11), #17 Arizona.

As long we're pointing out differences ...
Hayden Fry understood he was a COLLEGE FOOTBALL coach and approached the game with confidence, intensity, spirit and the intent to win. He understood that 18-22 year-old young men need to be motivated and psyched up and, when needed, convinced they are good enough to succeed, and, when needed, reminded they are superior, and, when needed, to turn 'em loose to have some fun and exert their dominance. When opportunities arose, he embraced and attacked them -- Hayden Fry would have NEVER played for OT at Ohio State; he was smart enough to realize that such situations and opportunities come around once in a decade and you damn-well better seize them when you can. (Let's not even begin to discuss the countless scoring opportunities that have been forfeited at the end of halves / games by taking a knee ... along with 3 times outs ... to the locker room.)

Look, I have always accepted the limitations of "being Iowa". It's just that I don't believe that those limitations equate to perpetual mediocrity. While it's unreasonable and unrealistic to expect 9, 10, 11 wins, every season. It's completely reasonable and realistic to expect to beat the teams you should (c'mon, we all know what this means), be 50/50 with the "peers" (Wisky, MSU, PSU and, these days, Nebby and Mich) and ALWAYS be prepared, competitive and play to win.

Hayden Fry met these expectations, more often than not, because he approached the game - every game - with intent. derKirkFer approaches the game with hope ... his recipe for winning relies as much on getting a break, the other team making a mistake and avoiding risky situations as it does his strategy to put his team in the best position to succeed and going for it.

Do you guys get it, yet?
It's not just that derKirkFer has averaged 7-5 over the last 10 years (7.3 - 5.4), it's that the 5 losses routinely include the likes of:

Northwestern (6 times); ISU (5 times); Minny (4 times); Indy (3 times); directional schools (3 times - N. IL, W. Mich, C. Mich.), not to mention the numerous come from ahead losses, come from behind wins against Ball State and N. IL and close calls with N. IA (17-16 in '09 and 31-23 in '14).

Those are losses and close calls that simply did not happen with Hayden Fry; certainly not with the frequency they have under derKirkFer.

Sorry for the tirade of truth but, since there still seem to be a few who try to take the apologist stance, I felt compelled to try to explain, again, so, maybe, we can stop these banal defenses of derKirkFer's sub-par performance, once and for all.

 

[Playmaker]

Buster - Great post!

 

[hawkdrummer1]

and Ferentz has had the benefit of a 12 game schedule most of his career at IOWA. That 12th game, being an extra home game against a weak non-conference opponent. A gimme.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Do you guys get it, yet?
It's not just that derKirkFer has averaged 7-5 over the last 10 years (7.3 - 5.4), it's that the 5 losses routinely include the likes of:

Northwestern (6 times); ISU (5 times); Minny (4 times); Indy (3 times); directional schools (3 times - N. IL, W. Mich, C. Mich.), not to mention the numerous come from ahead losses, come from behind wins against Ball State and N. IL and close calls with N. IA (17-16 in '09 and 31-23 in '14).



KF has an average record over the course of his coaching tenure at Iowa, that is if you take out the the sure should be wins each season. KF teams never blow anybody out that they should in the pre-conference. Iowa always seems to play every game close. Iowa seems to always play down to their opponent. They can play up to an opponent as well but they don't beat handedly who they should take care of.

 

[MoseSchrute]

It's interesting...on twitter and facebook, there has been equal amounts of praise and criticism of the piece Sean wrote (he wrote it well over a week ago, I just got around to posting it today). So far here, just the negative. Small sample size thus far. But I can't say I am all that surprised.

Lots of females on twitter and facebook; mostly men here.

 

[knighthawk13]

Yes we have all that. There are other programs that have the same things... and more. Some drawbacks:

-> Beaches along the Iowa River....? My cousin's son will start for his third year at UCLA at center. He could have gone anywhere but chose UCLA over a TON of other schools. Besides being a top business school, UCLA also has the weather and the beaches.

-> The warm winters...? Iowa, like most of the schools in the B1G, has some pretty harsh winters that can start in early November. Lots of the top recruits are in the South, many have never experienced snow or cold.

-> Iowa City is really urban....? Iowa City, no matter how we may think of it, is not a big city. It's a big "small town". If you drive 30 minutes in one direction you likely are in a corn field or have gone by one. The nearest true urban setting is Chicago, which is at least 4 hours of driving away. That turns off a lot of recruits.

-> Geography. Iowa is not close to a hotbed of recruits. Many top recruits grow up being fans of their local universities and dream of playing there. Teams outside of their area are rarely on their radar. It takes a lot to get the 4-stars and 5-stars to look at a school outside their area. Is it any wonder that the SEC keeps the closest and most talented recruits?

-> Integrity. Yeah, that's right, integrity. We use snarky symbols like O$U or $EC when describing these. No one seems to use such snark against Iowa on other boards. Maybe I'm naive but I believe it's because of the integrity our coaching staff has continued to bring to the recruiting process that tends to hold us down. I hope we are never the butt of a joke used in Baseketball:
"Do you think Shaq got rich playing in Orlando? Hardly, he made his fortune moving to L.A. You know how much he makes now?"
"As much as he made playing in college?"


I'm not anti-Iowa, but we do have limitations; some we can overcome and some we cannot.

Despite everything you stated above, Kirk has managed to put how many kids into the NFL? I agree we aren't going to get kids that want the beach experience, but there are only so many schools that can offer that. Our resources and tradition should equate to a consistent 20-30 ranking each year....and the NFL talent has proven that out in my opinion. Kirk needed to get out of his own way a long time ago.....instead he hired a puppet to run the offense.

 

[MoseSchrute]

Do you guys get it, yet?
It's not just that derKirkFer has averaged 7-5 over the last 10 years (7.3 - 5.4), it's that the 5 losses routinely include the likes of:

Northwestern (6 times); ISU (5 times); Minny (4 times); Indy (3 times); directional schools (3 times - N. IL, W. Mich, C. Mich.), not to mention the numerous come from ahead losses, come from behind wins against Ball State and N. IL and close calls with N. IA (17-16 in '09 and 31-23 in '14).



KF has an average record over the course of his coaching tenure at Iowa, that is if you take out the the sure should be wins each season. KF teams never blow anybody out that they should in the pre-conference. Iowa always seems to play every game close. Iowa seems to always play down to their opponent. They can play up to an opponent as well but they don't beat handedly who they should take care of.

....Which makes it harder to develop the backup players in what is supposed to be a developmental program.

 

[tksirius]

Is this Idiocracy?

 

[RocknRollface]

It's to a point I have to not think about Iowa football.

I cannot comprehend or deal with the reality that there are people with such a pathetic mentality.

A sad combination of fear and stupidity.

 

[HobbieHawk]

Bravo, Stillbuster, bravo!