Miller and Deace buried the Iowa program,

[WinOneThisCentury]

I realize the numbers are stacking up and it's difficult to stomach some of these facts; but wouldn't it be better to wait until th end of the season before fanning the flames/jumping ship/burying the program? We are still in the hunt, control our own destiny, and are heading down an extremely important stretch. Piling on the program is not what is needed right now. Regardless of what you may think of KirFer and co, this team deserves support. If you think players and coaches don't hear the noise; you are just either naive or lying to yourself.

Yeah...avoid the "Willies" and don't bail on adversity. I don't care what the issues are...you don't bail on your teammates like Willies just did. You can just as easily quit at the end of the year...and what happens if Smith gets hurt against NW...or Powell...well, you role just got larger. Willies is a big quitter and what's wrong with society and kids these days.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

I wouldn't say buried. There are aspects and issues that are certainly troubling, but there and few, if any, that can’t be righted.

But the data that Morehouse and Dochterman brought up the other day about how many weeks it had been since Iowa was ranked in the AP Poll, and how that is approaching the longest drought since the end of the Fry era to the middle of the 2002 season.so this is the second longest drought since the 1970’s. I mean, the data sort of speaks for itself when you bring it all to light, does it not? Iowa is 17-18 in Big Ten play since the start of 2010. Since losing to Wisconsin at home in 2010, Iowa is 12-12 in Kinnick against FBS opponents. All of this with one of the Top 12 most profitable athletic departments in FBS and a football program that is among the most profitable in the land. The results have been lacking.

I hate it when people use facts to support their arguments.

 

[DaHawk56]

Jon - didn't you have Iowa at 5-2 at this point in your preseason predictions? Why all the hate? Is it because a redshirt freshman that had a couple nice catches in the Spring game thinks he is bigger than the program and decided to transfer mid-way through the season? Do we even want players like that on the roster (i.e., the cancers in the locker room)? Or maybe we're better off with young guys like Reese Fleming that stand by their coach and team through thick and thin and are busting their butts to get on the field and make an impact. Your boy, Rob Howe, had a nice article about how condemning the coach also indicts players (http://iowa.scout.com/story/1472062-howe-condemning-coach-also-indicts-players). Worth a read before getting your panties all up in a bunch about how the sky is falling as we are sitting a half game out of 1st place in the West Division halfway through the season. These two early bye weeks have been tough on the Iowa fans. Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

 

[DP5555]

Which coaches? You mean, the next "Football Jesus" that was Will Muschamp? Or the next "Offensive Football Savant" that was supposed to be Lane Kiffin? Or, on the flipside, Pete Carroll was darn near all but washed up in the NFL and gets lucky with the USC job, and absolutely kills it.

The problem is....it's a crap shoot more than half the time. Some programs get it wrong and then don't ever get it right again.

Totally agree with this assessment.

Hiring a new head coach in a lot of respects is a complete crapshoot. Look at Brady Hoke for example. Every single time I heard him interviewed when he accepted that job I was impressed. Then I saw the recruiting classes he was bringing in. I thought for sure he was taking Michigan on a quick trip back to dominance. And... fast forward a few years later and Michigan is probably in the worst state it has ever been in. No one, I don't care what you say, absolutely no one would have predicted the poor results we have seen from them.

I'm not saying this is a reason we should keep Kirk. I'm just saying replacing him is a lot like playing Russian Roulette. Could be good. Could be bad. The program could survive to move forward and accomplish the things we all expect them to. Or it could slide back and become a bottom feeder. I really don't know what the right answer is. Personally, I think the less amount of change the better. Greg Davis has got to go and hiring an exciting offensive coordinator would be a big step.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

The eyeball test is all you need to know about this team. It doesn't pass at this point. I will tell you, last year, MSU through 6 games didn't pass either. They, however, had a great defense so you knew they were going to be good there and keep them in games. What happened with MSU though offensively, is that their QB started to make plays and it opened everything else up in the offense...the running game for example.

Do we have a Connor Cook on our team that can turn things around and make all the throws and plays when the moment calls for it?

I've honestly been a supporter of JR throughout the season...but if I'm honest and answering that question with the "eyeball" test...I'm saying Beathard would be more likely to be our Connor Cook...and big toe.

 

[DDThompson]

I realize the numbers are stacking up and it's difficult to stomach some of these facts; but wouldn't it be better to wait until th end of the season before fanning the flames/jumping ship/burying the program? We are still in the hunt, control our own destiny, and are heading down an extremely important stretch. Piling on the program is not what is needed right now. Regardless of what you may think of KirFer and co, this team deserves support. If you think players and coaches don't hear the noise; you are just either naive or lying to yourself.

I haven't read anywhere that the team shouldn't be supported. So that's a strawman.

Even if this turns out to be a 9 win season the facts would still remain the same: a program that is mediocre that had a great 3 year run a decade ago.

 

[JHHawk]

I agree that October has been a long painful month for Iowa football, with only two games to break the non-stop negativity from some fans.

All this time to kvetch does not help the situation. Thankfully, starting tomorrow, we have 5 weeks of games to examine...good or bad.

I can only hope that all the outside noise has given the players and coaches the bunker mentality of them vs the world and they come out determined to prove noisy fans wrong and their coaches right.

Just win, Hawks, and everything will work out. Saying that a 9 win season proves nothing is difficult to hear. It makes some fans sound intractable in their non-support of KF. If we win 9, that means that we win 4 of 5...and probably tie for the Big Ten West title, but not enough?
C'mon.

 

[hawkinn3]

Which coaches? You mean, the next "Football Jesus" that was Will Muschamp? Or the next "Offensive Football Savant" that was supposed to be Lane Kiffin? Or, on the flipside, Pete Carroll was darn near all but washed up in the NFL and gets lucky with the USC job, and absolutely kills it.

The problem is....it's a crap shoot more than half the time. Some programs get it wrong and then don't ever get it right again.

Let me understand your thinking; things are bad, but they could get worse so best not to do anything. Are you are a senator?

 

[528646]

I wouldn't say buried. There are aspects and issues that are certainly troubling, but there and few, if any, that can’t be righted. But the data that Morehouse and Dochterman brought up the other day about how many weeks it had been since Iowa was ranked in the AP Poll, and how that is approaching the longest drought since the end of the Fry era to the middle of the 2002 season.so this is the second longest drought since the 1970’s. I mean, the data sort of speaks for itself when you bring it all to light, does it not? Iowa is 17-18 in Big Ten play since the start of 2010. Since losing to Wisconsin at home in 2010, Iowa is 12-12 in Kinnick against FBS opponents. All of this with one of the Top 12 most profitable athletic departments in FBS and a football program that is among the most profitable in the land. The results have been lacking.

Where are all the apologists jumping down Jon's throat??? C'mon, I want to hear some convoluted arguments for the program being mediocre like "Michigan sucks" (???) And "$4M isn't THAT much money". Gimme a break.

 

[Bluesman]

I wouldn't say buried. There are aspects and issues that are certainly troubling, but there and few, if any, that can’t be righted.

But the data that Morehouse and Dochterman brought up the other day about how many weeks it had been since Iowa was ranked in the AP Poll, and how that is approaching the longest drought since the end of the Fry era to the middle of the 2002 season.so this is the second longest drought since the 1970’s. I mean, the data sort of speaks for itself when you bring it all to light, does it not? Iowa is 17-18 in Big Ten play since the start of 2010. Since losing to Wisconsin at home in 2010, Iowa is 12-12 in Kinnick against FBS opponents. All of this with one of the Top 12 most profitable athletic departments in FBS and a football program that is among the most profitable in the land. The results have been lacking.

I think the only thing that will effect positive change in the Iowa football program is when Kinnick starts looking like Ross-Ade stadium on Saturdays. The result would be that Iowa will no longer be among the most profitable football programs in the land.

Ferentz supporters never address the facts that Morehouse and Dochterman brought up; they're still living in 2002-2004 and think Iowa is an elite program and Ferentz an elite coach. Losers live in the past; this team has been painfully average for the better part of the past ten years. For as much as we pay our coach and as much money as this program brings in we should expect much better.

 

[hawkinn3]

I think the only thing that will effect positive change in the Iowa football program is when Kinnick starts looking like Ross-Ade stadium on Saturdays. The result would be that Iowa will no longer be among the most profitable football programs in the land.

Ferentz supporters never address the facts that Morehouse and Dochterman brought up; they're still living in 2002-2004 and think Iowa is an elite program and Ferentz an elite coach. Losers live in the past; this team has been painfully average for the better part of the past ten years. For as much as we pay our coach and as much money as this program brings in we should expect much better.

I never want this to happen, and it shouldn't. It is infuriating that the program seems to care so little about winning as long as the cash is rolling in. Say want you want about the SEC but I respect that winning is #1 down there. It doesn't matter how much money a program makes if their coach doesn't win he is gone.

However, I agree with your basic point. Change will only happen if doing nothing costs more. Winning is nice but money is better.

 

[JonDMiller]

It seems like every year the knee-jerk reactions after each game or maybe even each piece of news are greater and greater and louder and louder. Not just about Iowa football but across the country and regarding the NFL as well. Whether it is on the radio, message boards or on ESPN. After every game the hyperbole's fly like crazy.

I don't disagree with this and I try to remind myself of this every preseason..but it seems to fade

 

[JonDMiller]

Jon - didn't you have Iowa at 5-2 at this point in your preseason predictions? Why all the hate? Is it because a redshirt freshman that had a couple nice catches in the Spring game thinks he is bigger than the program and decided to transfer mid-way through the season? Do we even want players like that on the roster (i.e., the cancers in the locker room)? Or maybe we're better off with young guys like Reese Fleming that stand by their coach and team through thick and thin and are busting their butts to get on the field and make an impact. Your boy, Rob Howe, had a nice article about how condemning the coach also indicts players (http://iowa.scout.com/story/1472062-howe-condemning-coach-also-indicts-players). Worth a read before getting your panties all up in a bunch about how the sky is falling as we are sitting a half game out of 1st place in the West Division halfway through the season. These two early bye weeks have been tough on the Iowa fans. Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

No. 6-1. But that isn't really it. If they looked remotely like they had a clue offensively, and were 4-3, I'd be fine with it. But they don't...the offense is a complete and total disaster...without any semblance of consistency or organization. Greg Davis and Ferentz are a bad offensive marriage, and that is not going to change. Look, if they turn it around and roll, I'll write a column slamming myself and everyone can pile on. No worries.

Iowa doesn't stretch the field under Davis. That isn't indicting the players.

 

[DJI9424]

I don't want to presume more than I should but the Iowa football program looks to be experiencing a lack of leadership, both on the field (players) and on the sidelines (coaches). Being on the outside, it's impossible to know the dynamics of the situation but their lack of cohesiveness could also be driven by conflicting leadership, that is, competing visions of what the team should be doing.

From my observations over the KF years, it seems their best results are obtained when they have clear leadership on the field and everyone knows the role they are to play. Generally, once KF is comfortable with his coordinators' assessments and the team's leaders, he delegates the specifics to his staff and players to execute the game plan. And that is what a head coach should be doing, no one wants him micro-managing, especially during the game.

However, based on what I have seen this year, I'm not sure that any clear vision for how he wants the team to play has been established. I don't know if it's a communication problem, i.e. not being able to articulate the vision in an effective manner that allows his team to develop a consistent identity or if something more is going on. But one thing I do know, KF is the head coach and it's his responsibility to identify what is not being done so that it can be rectified. It's painfully obvious that the 2014 version of the Iowa Hawkeyes is under-performing their talent (at least in the games to date) and will continue to flounder until some real leadership manifests itself.

 

[HawkPrdatr40]

Jon - didn't you have Iowa at 5-2 at this point in your preseason predictions? Why all the hate? Is it because a redshirt freshman that had a couple nice catches in the Spring game thinks he is bigger than the program and decided to transfer mid-way through the season? Do we even want players like that on the roster (i.e., the cancers in the locker room)? Or maybe we're better off with young guys like Reese Fleming that stand by their coach and team through thick and thin and are busting their butts to get on the field and make an impact. Your boy, Rob Howe, had a nice article about how condemning the coach also indicts players (http://iowa.scout.com/story/1472062-howe-condemning-coach-also-indicts-players). Worth a read before getting your panties all up in a bunch about how the sky is falling as we are sitting a half game out of 1st place in the West Division halfway through the season. These two early bye weeks have been tough on the Iowa fans. Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

These are the posts that just make me shake my head. It is this way of thinking that sends struggling programs into even further struggles. I'm really glad your in the Minority DaHawk56.


Keep up the great work Jon and everyone else in the media that is not afraid to call it like they see it..

 

[OkstHawk]

Jon - didn't you have Iowa at 5-2 at this point in your preseason predictions? Why all the hate? Is it because a redshirt freshman that had a couple nice catches in the Spring game thinks he is bigger than the program and decided to transfer mid-way through the season? Do we even want players like that on the roster (i.e., the cancers in the locker room)? Or maybe we're better off with young guys like Reese Fleming that stand by their coach and team through thick and thin and are busting their butts to get on the field and make an impact. Your boy, Rob Howe, had a nice article about how condemning the coach also indicts players (http://iowa.scout.com/story/1472062-howe-condemning-coach-also-indicts-players). Worth a read before getting your panties all up in a bunch about how the sky is falling as we are sitting a half game out of 1st place in the West Division halfway through the season. These two early bye weeks have been tough on the Iowa fans. Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

I'm not quite sure what to do with this post, but I think printing it out and then wiping my butt with it is a start. Nowhere is anyone 'hating' on the program. Why can't fans be allowed to critique the program and point out what every analyst in the country sees with this program without being called "fans"? How do you know that DW thought he was 'bigger than the program' and a 'cancer in the locker room'? Yeah, it's great to have guys like Reese Fleming, but last I checked he hadn't really been setting the world on fire or made much of an impact like you claim. Not sure what you have seen in the first 7 games that makes you think Iowa has a chance at winning the division, but just in case you missed it we lost to powerhouses ISU (at home), Maryland, and almost Ball St. and UNI. That's not a team on the up and up. Perhaps instead of getting your panties in a bunch, you should check tape.

 

[LASBUR]

There is no jumping ship. No one called for Kirk's job and I made it clear I was not doing that. And also said every game is winnable. We didn’t plan on things going where they did, they just did. I am guessing you are reacting without having listened.

But you are feeding the Beast. On one hand your just doing your job. on the other your beating the golden goose. One thing I have always admire about you is you figured out how to make a living out of being a Hawk Fan. What a Great Gig. More power to You

 

[ohhawk]

HN podcast point............an AD should always hold the leverage card over all the reporting coaches. Barta gave that away in the Ferentz contract. He has little, if any, ability to enact change. Only adds to the frustration of some fans as they look for hope in the future. Maybe he won't have to enact change if we see the return of Ferentz 3.0 but as mentioned in the podcast no one can recall that there has ever been a college coach that has resurrected a program three times at the same school.......twice is rare, three times is unheard of.

Comment made about WI in the podcast and the direction they have taken vs. Iowa in recent years..........I think you only have to look at their AD. He's bold, unafraid, and thinks big.

 

[docholihawk]

The eyeball test is all you need to know about this team. It doesn't pass at this point. I will tell you, last year, MSU through 6 games didn't pass either. They, however, had a great defense so you knew they were going to be good there and keep them in games. What happened with MSU though offensively, is that their QB started to make plays and it opened everything else up in the offense...the running game for example.

Do we have a Connor Cook on our team that can turn things around and make all the throws and plays when the moment calls for it?

I've honestly been a supporter of JR throughout the season...but if I'm honest and answering that question with the "eyeball" test...I'm saying Beathard would be more likely to be our Connor Cook...and big toe.

I thought Sargeant Hulka was the big toe.

 

[STILLBUSTER]

I realize the numbers are stacking up and it's difficult to stomach some of these facts; but wouldn't it be better to wait until th end of the season before fanning the flames/jumping ship/burying the program? We are still in the hunt, control our own destiny, and are heading down an extremely important stretch. Piling on the program is not what is needed right now. Regardless of what you may think of KirFer and co, this team deserves support. If you think players and coaches don't hear the noise; you are just either naive or lying to yourself.

I just can't comprehend this "lemming" mentality. You acknowledge the evidence but are so blinded by hope and devotion (to KirkFer? Iowa football? I have no clue), that you refuse to accept the reality of the most probable outcome. I've got to dig out my abnormal psych and sociology books because, while it sounds like a frighteningly futile state of mind, I'm both dumbfounded and fascinated by it.

We all support the players, individually and collectively, by virtue of our desire to see them perform at a respectably competitive level, on par with their abilities and talents, and, hopefully, achieve victory. It's not their fault they are
handicapped in their mission and we DO NOT blame them for it.

However, I will assure you of this, they know the truths; one of them is that, as much noise as you think they hear from us, they know that much of the legitimate reason for and source of the loudest noise is their coaches. In fact, those coaches are creating their own "noise" through their decisions and strategies. To believe otherwise is just as naive of you and, imo, even more belittling of those players' intelligence and talents.

Feel free to wait, Eda, but I will guarantee you this ... You aren't going to turn Rain Man into a rocket scientist just because the calendar turns to December. It's gonna be the same in a month as it is now. You choosing to ignore and deny it ... talk about lying to yourself.