Listen to Sound Off and getting more upset

[ShadasRevenge]

When Alford was flirting with Mizzou and then denied it, when I heard first hand from someone on the Mizzou search committee that they were actively talking to Alford's representatives (agent/dad), I said on the radio that I no longer believed in what Alford had to say about the job stuff, and that he was hurting the Iowa program.

They didn't like that. Asked if I would come in and meet, so I did.

As for what transpired after that, it was pretty frank, but not worth going in to.

Why not? He isn't here anymore, it's not like he's going to fly you down to New Mexico or anything.

 

[JonDMiller]

I think the thing that ticks us off the most is at over 3million per year should get us better than a 9-3 or 8-4 season. 3 million a year should be getting us big ten championships and and NC considerations. Still haven't seen a Rose Bowl in Ferentz reign but he makes more than the other coaches in the Big Ten. 12 years and counting.

I think some people assume this is some sort of coaching nirvanna and winning at the rate Iowa has won at in the Ferentz era is some sort of baseline minimum standard.

This ain't an easy place to win. We've been damn fortunate to have Hayden and Kirk as our last two coaches, and we are performing far nearer to the upside of what is objectively possible...like 16 of 21 NCAA tourney appearances in the 21 years before Alford...and what happened next

The downside risk is immense, IMO, where some think its plug and play. I hope we don't have to find that out for a long time.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

I think some people assume this is some sort of coaching nirvanna and winning at the rate Iowa has won at in the Ferentz era is some sort of baseline minimum standard.

This ain't an easy place to win. We've been damn fortunate to have Hayden and Kirk as our last two coaches, and we are performing far nearer to the upside of what is objectively possible...like 16 of 21 NCAA tourney appearances in the 21 years before Alford...and what happened next

The downside risk is immense, IMO, where some think its plug and play. I hope we don't have to find that out for a long time.

Let's stop the poor-boy act, Jon. Iowa may not have been a "destination" job when Kirk was hired, but it certainly is now. I think we can all agree on that.

When Kirk retires, there will be no shortage of good coaches who would love to have this job.

 

[Rawkhawk73]

I think some people assume this is some sort of coaching nirvanna and winning at the rate Iowa has won at in the Ferentz era is some sort of baseline minimum standard.

This ain't an easy place to win. We've been damn fortunate to have Hayden and Kirk as our last two coaches, and we are performing far nearer to the upside of what is objectively possible...like 16 of 21 NCAA tourney appearances in the 21 years before Alford...and what happened next

The downside risk is immense, IMO, where some think its plug and play. I hope we don't have to find that out for a long time.

Also keep in mind what happens if the administration guesses wrong on the next football coach. It ain't like basketball people. Athletic Directors can afford to "experiment" or take chances on the basketball side because it brings in little to no material revenue. If you get it wrong, it sucks, but it doesn't affect the athletic dept much. But if you get football wrong, you've just killed your entire athletic dept. That's why Kirk is worth $3M per year.

 

[JonDMiller]

Let's stop the poor-boy act, Jon. Iowa may not have been a "destination" job when Kirk was hired, but it certainly is now. I think we can all agree on that.

When Kirk retires, there will be no shortage of good coaches who would love to have this job.

I never said it wasn't a good destination in coaching, so take it easy.

However, just because it's a job that is attractive (good fan following and commitment to the program and $$), that doesn't mean it's a cush place to win. It's not. It's not an 'easy' job. Recruiting to Iowa is probably no better than 5th in the league sometimes sixth.

It's easier to recruit to Michigan, PSU, OSU and now Nebraska...MSU's recruiting rankings are, on the average, better than Iowa's over the last decade. Some years Wisconsin does better there, and they have 5 million people in their state to 3 million for Iowa, so more players of D1 ability.

winning at Iowa is not easy, it's not a guarantee. Heck, Texas and Florida generate more money than Iowa and have far more advantages and look at their teams this year. The slope is more slippery at Iowa.

Which is why I have a hell of a lot of respect for what Kirk has done here, and what Hayden did before him.

If you think it's on cruise control and this is just the new norm at Iowa, you could be in for a rude awakening at some point. I hope that is not the case.

 

[JonDMiller]

Go ask Michigan fans about coaching hires. Talk to the Hurricanes. Check in with Tennessee, too. And Colorado. There are others, but all of these have national titles inside of the last 20 years...I am sure they felt the same way. Michigan's resources and tradition, along with Tennessee's dwarf that of Iowa. Yet, they made mistakes and have paid for it.

There is no auto pilot in Iowa City

 

[ShadasRevenge]

I never said it wasn't a good destination in coaching, so take it easy.

However, just because it's a job that is attractive (good fan following and commitment to the program and $$), that doesn't mean it's a cush place to win. It's not. It's not an 'easy' job. Recruiting to Iowa is probably no better than 5th in the league sometimes sixth.

It's easier to recruit to Michigan, PSU, OSU and now Nebraska...MSU's recruiting rankings are, on the average, better than Iowa's over the last decade. Some years Wisconsin does better there, and they have 5 million people in their state to 3 million for Iowa, so more players of D1 ability.

winning at Iowa is not easy, it's not a guarantee. Heck, Texas and Florida generate more money than Iowa and have far more advantages and look at their teams this year. The slope is more slippery at Iowa.

Which is why I have a hell of a lot of respect for what Kirk has done here, and what Hayden did before him.

If you think it's on cruise control and this is just the new norm at Iowa, you could be in for a rude awakening at some point. I hope that is not the case.

I hardly think it's on cruise control. What I do think is that Iowa is at the point now (and barring a major collapse in the future, will remain there) that there won't be any shortage of quality candidates for the job. Granted, that's 10 years down the road, so it really isn't worth discussing.

I don't know how accurate this is but I'd be willing to bet that Iowa has averaged right around eight wins a season for the past 30 years or so. I'm 30 years old, so it is the norm for me. There isn't anything new about it.

 

[HobbieHawk]

I agree that didn't work out too well, but one of the biggest brain farts under the Ferentz era was insisting that Drew Tate fit the mold of a pocket/under center QB during his junior and senior years, despite all of the success he had being a purely shotgun, somewhat ab lib QB his sophomore year. Watching Drew Tate try to take 3 and five step drops under center and work play action passes trying to throw over the middle behind the line despite his 5'9" frame was just brutal and a horrendous error by the staff. Frankly, if the runningbacks all didn't go down the way they did in 04, we go 7-5 instead of winning the Cap 1 bowl, similar to what happened in 05 and 06.

Post of the freaking year, so far.

Maybe because I've bee saying the same thing for four years and lacked the patience to ditill it down as well you have, Maroon

 

[HawkI101]

Go ask Michigan fans about coaching hires. Talk to the Hurricanes. Check in with Tennessee, too. And Colorado. There are others, but all of these have national titles inside of the last 20 years...I am sure they felt the same way. Michigan's resources and tradition, along with Tennessee's dwarf that of Iowa. Yet, they made mistakes and have paid for it.

There is no auto pilot in Iowa City

I agree with all of this. But that is the curse of success. No one is ever satisfied where they are at. Happy yes, but not satisfied. Since KF proved he can take us to the BCS that starts to become the bar for each season. Just the way it is.

Other wise you can go hang out with Gaylord Focker and his 10th place wrestling ribbons.

 

[JonDMiller]

I hardly think it's on cruise control. What I do think is that Iowa is at the point now (and barring a major collapse in the future, will remain there) that there won't be any shortage of quality candidates for the job. Granted, that's 10 years down the road, so it really isn't worth discussing.

I don't know how accurate this is but I'd be willing to bet that Iowa has averaged right around eight wins a season for the past 30 years or so. I'm 30 years old, so it is the norm for me. There isn't anything new about it.

You are not tracking me here...there can be a number of quality coaches interested. However, hiring the right guy for the task that is this job is the trick. In hoops, Alford was THE hot name on the scene...Lickliter was national coach of the year.

Recently in football Rich Rod has won a TON of games at WVU and Clemson. Callahan had an NFL resume and he didn't get it done at Nebraska. There is no guarantee that a successful person somewhere else is going to be successful at this job.

And Iowa has averaged 7.3 wins per year since 1980, not counting this year's record

 

[SeattleHawkeye]

I'll say this, Jon. On NW's final possession of the game, Podolak was being openly critical on the air as to why Iowa was continuing to rush four and play their base defense. It was not until NW reached the Iowa 20 that Iowa finally switched to a nickel.

On Iowa's final possession, Podolak was also critical of Iowa's play calling. At one point, it was mentioned that Iowa had run something like 11 or 12 plays and only gained 34 yards. Iowa had two timeouts, the middle of the field was open, but for whatever KOK (or Kirk, whatever) wants to throw five yard out patterns that don't do anything but waste time.

I'm not one who's critical of the coaching staff, but the play-calling on the final possession was atrocious. Just like it was last week.

If they don't pull their heads out - and I'm talking everyone, it's not going to pretty next Saturday.

You and Podolak are both wrong, then. IA was in nickel much of the last NW drive, including the double corner blitz in which Persa broke contain and ended up running for about a 20-yard gainer.

Also, the 5-yard outs you are referring to are on Stanzi throwing to those WR's. There were multiple times on the last drive that Stanzi flat out made poor decisions w/ where he was throwing the ball OR he just made bad throws, in particular not throwing deeper over the middle on crossing routes in which WR's were running WIDE OPEN. A perfect example of this is the checkdown to A-Rob that A-Rob drops. Recall that one? I want to say it was 3rd & 15 and if A-Rob catches that ball - w/ 3 NW defenders right behind him - the clock very likely runs out. Stanzi should have unquestionably NOT thrown that pass to A-Rob.

I'm in no way a huge fan of some of the coaching philosophies (as discussed in multiple threads this past wk and in which some of you took the "macro" and "just trust the coaches" stance), but any notion of firing either coordinator is a bit knee-jerk. I think it's much more a situation of making a few tweaks here and there and not being so vanilla and predictable in both their offensive and defensive gameplans. I think both units just being slightly more aggressive and attacking could do wonders, b/c I think both units have almost -0- razzle dazzle now. Sometimes I feel like Ferentz coaches this team a bit too much like an NFL team where the physical differences aren't as obvious. Other teams have athletes just like IA, but I feel the IA coaches don't try to exploit those differences like other college coaches do, particularly against what are often less talented teams in IU and NW.

 

[JBHawkfan]

We as fans have been so acustomed to the defense being there for the team at the end of a game and this year they are not. I personally think the primary problem with the defense this year is the lack of Norm's involvement.

The offense has the been weak point on the team for a long time and I am growing tired of the excuses. We talk often talk about players having to execute and they do, but I think the plays we run require a very high level of execution to be successful because a well prepared opposition defense knows exactly what we are going to run. We tried 1 screen today, thats it. No reverses today. Continually running into 9 men or more in the box, I am just sick of that. We have to use the passing game for more than just play action.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

You are not tracking me here...there can be a number of quality coaches interested. However, hiring the right guy for the task that is this job is the trick. In hoops, Alford was THE hot name on the scene...Lickliter was national coach of the year.

Recently in football Rich Rod has won a TON of games at WVU and Clemson. Callahan had an NFL resume and he didn't get it done at Nebraska. There is no guarantee that a successful person somewhere else is going to be successful at this job.

And Iowa has averaged 7.3 wins per year since 1980, not counting this year's record

I get that. However, I think that when it does come time to make that hire, Kirk will be very involved in the process. Either way, it's a long ways away.

 

[JonDMiller]

I get that. However, I think that when it does come time to make that hire, Kirk will be very involved in the process. Either way, it's a long ways away.

I hope so

 

[olivecourt]

We as fans have been so acustomed to the defense being there for the team at the end of a game and this year they are not. I personally think the primary problem with the defense this year is the lack of Norm's involvement.

The offense has the been weak point on the team for a long time and I am growing tired of the excuses. We talk often talk about players having to execute and they do, but I think the plays we run require a very high level of execution to be successful because a well prepared opposition defense knows exactly what we are going to run. We tried 1 screen today, thats it. No reverses today. Continually running into 9 men or more in the box, I am just sick of that. We have to use the passing game for more than just play action.

I don't understand what you're saying here. The point of any passing play is to get guys open. We had guys wide open today, and we didn't hit them... most crucially on the 4th quarter INT when Stanzi had his pick of two guys 15 and 30 yards downfield and instead threw it to the double covered guy. There were guys open in the middle of the field on that last drive and Stanzi kept checking down... not sure why.

The pass calls on the two 3rd quarter scoring drives were as aggressive as it gets, especially considering the way A-Rob was running. But they don't work if players don't execute the pitch and catch. There's no magic play you can call that will allow you to move the ball without completing a pass, making a block, hitting a hole, etc. Conversely, if you do those things, your OC looks like a genius.

 

[bamahawkeye]

Have we underacheived?
Absolutely!
Call this season whatever you want and you won't get a disagreement from me. KF and this staff should answer for the lifeless team that has taken the field the last two weeks. This team is lacking toughness and confidence. This reflects the lost nature of KF this year. This whole team has been shaky all year.
But this is exactly what happens every time Iowa has lost the last 3 years. Fire KOK is the first thing out of everyone's mouth. Then it's "KF needs to change his philosphy and his conservative nature." Then we move on to the poor execution and start pointing fingers at Stanzi and the other players' whose mistakes came at costly times.
The bottom line is anybody who isn't disappointed in today, and this entire season needs their head examined. But I am quickly reminded that Iowa is in a better place today than it was 3 years ago. It could certainly go further south this year. No doubt about it. But I choose to believe that the leadership of this senior group will pick this team up.
The one thing I know is the cohesiveness and longevity of this staff has played a big part in this program's success over the last decade. Do I agree with every decision they make? Absolutely not! But make no mistake, Jon is correct.....the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I'm as disappointed as anyone, but I'll put my faith in KF and this staff to right the ship this year and continue to keep this program in the Big 10 title conversation each year to come.

 

[ShadasRevenge]

Have we underacheived?
Absolutely!
Call this season whatever you want and you won't get a disagreement from me. KF and this staff should answer for the lifeless team that has taken the field the last two weeks. This team is lacking toughness and confidence. This reflects the lost nature of KF this year. This whole team has been shaky all year.
But this is exactly what happens every time Iowa has lost the last 3 years. Fire KOK is the first thing out of everyone's mouth. Then it's "KF needs to change his philosphy and his conservative nature." Then we move on to the poor execution and start pointing fingers at Stanzi and the other players' whose mistakes came at costly times.
The bottom line is anybody who isn't disappointed in today, and this entire season needs their head examined. But I am quickly reminded that Iowa is in a better place today than it was 3 years ago. It could certainly go further south this year. No doubt about it. But I choose to believe that the leadership of this senior group will pick this team up.
The one thing I know is the cohesiveness and longevity of this staff has played a big part in this program's success over the last decade. Do I agree with every decision they make? Absolutely not! But make no mistake, Jon is correct.....the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I'm as disappointed as anyone, but I'll put my faith in KF and this staff to right the ship this year and continue to keep this program in the Big 10 title conversation each year to come.

The time for that has passed. They didn't do it.

 

[HandsyHobo]

Let's stop the poor-boy act, Jon. Iowa may not have been a "destination" job when Kirk was hired, but it certainly is now. I think we can all agree on that.

When Kirk retires, there will be no shortage of good coaches who would love to have this job.

Come on, dude. Wisconsin and Iowa are one bad coach away from being Minnesota. That's a self-evident fact.

 

[jsmhawk]

ok 5 guys who brought a worse gameplan against MSU
Wisky 24
Mich 17
Ill 6
Minn 8
ND 31

Iowa 37

Disagree???

so the guy should be fired cause common opponets had less points then him??? I'm not saying the guy shouldn't take his share of the blame I just want people to tell me what play call should been called. We recruit pro style tight ends and solid offensive lineman because of our system. I wouldn't want to be Michigan would you???? We wouldn't ever be able to recruit that way anyways.

We had what three interceptions against Cousins in the MSU game- one returne for a touchdown. The score was NOT because of the play calling or the highpowered offense. We scored 37 because of the MSU turnovers. So many times, if we don't get turnovers, our offense does not put many points on the board.

 

[dekhawks]

Have we underacheived?
Absolutely!
Call this season whatever you want and you won't get a disagreement from me. KF and this staff should answer for the lifeless team that has taken the field the last two weeks. This team is lacking toughness and confidence. This reflects the lost nature of KF this year. This whole team has been shaky all year.
But this is exactly what happens every time Iowa has lost the last 3 years. Fire KOK is the first thing out of everyone's mouth. Then it's "KF needs to change his philosphy and his conservative nature." Then we move on to the poor execution and start pointing fingers at Stanzi and the other players' whose mistakes came at costly times.
The bottom line is anybody who isn't disappointed in today, and this entire season needs their head examined. But I am quickly reminded that Iowa is in a better place today than it was 3 years ago. It could certainly go further south this year. No doubt about it. But I choose to believe that the leadership of this senior group will pick this team up.
The one thing I know is the cohesiveness and longevity of this staff has played a big part in this program's success over the last decade. Do I agree with every decision they make? Absolutely not! But make no mistake, Jon is correct.....the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I'm as disappointed as anyone, but I'll put my faith in KF and this staff to right the ship this year and continue to keep this program in the Big 10 title conversation each year to come.

I hate to tell you this, but this year is almost over, and the ship has long set sail The opportunity to right the ship long passed after the loss to Arizona and it started to sink verses Indiana and today it sunk.