MSN.com 5 most overrated college football coaches

EstronHawkKing

EstronHawkKing

Well-Known Member
Ferentz came in at #5, but Harbaugh also made the list (it mentions how Michigan lost to a very mediocre Iowa team last November.) Below is the write up on our head coach..............

© Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Is Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz overrated?

"Kirk Ferentz is probably one of the best people in college football and he’s certainly a good coach. You don’t stay at one school for as long as he has without having some kind of tangible coaching talent. It helps that he treats his players like family, and for all intents and purposes he runs an NFL Draft pipeline in Iowa City.
Ferentz has seen highs and lows with the Hawkeyes, but outside of 2015’s Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl appearances, lately things have been mostly average for Iowa.
After going 11-2 in 2009, Ferentz went 8-5, 7-6, 4-8, 8-5 and 7-6 before the 12-2 2015 season. That’s a season that was exciting for Iowa fans, but could it have been an anomaly? The 2016 season may be proof that it was, considering the fact that Iowa brought back a talented and experienced team but only put up a mediocre 8-5 record with a bowl game loss.
And that’s the problem with Ferentz. He’s a legend in his own right, but right now, the best word to describe Iowa football is average.
The Hawkeyes are always tough, and Ferentz always sends players to the NFL. But for a coach who recently signed a contract that will keep him in Iowa City until 2026 at a price tag of $4.5 million per year, average should no longer be good enough."

5 / 5 Pages
 
Last edited:
"It helps that he treats his players like family, and for all intents and purposes he runs an NFL Draft pipeline in Iowa City."

WTH.... Isn't this what the best players are looking for? I've never understood this. This should be a recipe for kicking ass and bringing in highly ranked recruiting classes... Not somewhere in the 40s!!!
 
I can't argue with Jesse's take. I'm a KF supporter, but the facts is the facts. Aside from 2015...pretty average results. I like the way Iowa plays, physical, wear you down football, but you have to win games. I will say, beating Nebraska probably helps make those 8-5 seasons feel like 9-4 / 10-3.
 
Kirk's been on these lists for the last 10 years. He usually leads the team to good/great seasons whenever he is on them. Glad they put him on it again.

Harbaugh over-rated after the mess he inherited there? No way man.
 
Lets face it recruiting was way down a few years back. In fact I remember going into the 2015 season, some blogger saying that Iowa's recruiting was at a 10 year low.

When Iowa has good players, they have a good team.

I duno, it is what it is.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
I can't argue with Jesse's take. I'm a KF supporter, but the facts is the facts. Aside from 2015...pretty average results. I like the way Iowa plays, physical, wear you down football, but you have to win games. I will say, beating Nebraska probably helps make those 8-5 seasons feel like 9-4 / 10-3.
Click to expand...

Yep KF is ho-hum to the T. He does have some attractive intangibles though. The pay has gotten a little exorbitant over the years. While what he does here at Iowa is valuable and our level of above average consistency is nothing to scoff at, I no longer believe the salary is warranted for the product. 3.5 Million a year with bonuses for B1G west and B1G championships and bowl wins is a lot more in line with a coach that averages 7 & 8 win seasons with the occasional excellent outlier, does it staying pretty clean of scandal, and keeps you on the edge of relevance. I think the salary is the main factor in determining "over-rated".
 
statistics term indicating that over time, results return to a predictable average dependent on variables...I was just thinking about the "average" rating with periods of outstanding success within KF's football wins.
 
HuckFinn said:
statistics term indicating that over time, results return to a predictable average dependent on variables...I was just thinking about the "average" rating with periods of outstanding success within KF's football wins.
Click to expand...

It sounds like your agreeing with me. Kirk's statistical mean boils down to 7/8 wins a year meaning at a 4.5 million a year he is probably over payed and therfore "over rated".
 
Can't really disagree with that article, at least as it relates to the past 6-7 years. There was a time that I felt that KF was worth every penny he was being paid.. What he did in the 2000's was pretty remarkable. 2002-04, 2008-09, in particular. I'm not saying KF doesn't still care (I'm sure he does) but in the early 2000's, I have a hard time not believing that he had more fire & energy back in those days when he was younger and still had more to prove.. Didn't have a fat contract, and probably also had a better assistant coaching staff around him in those days.

The guy's a good coach. His past record proves it. He still is, IMO. But I think those tough teams of the early 2000's are a thing of the past. 2015 aside, I think 7-5 and 8-4 type seasons are most likely about the best we can realistically expect most seasons.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
Can't really disagree with that article, at least as it relates to the past 6-7 years. There was a time that I felt that KF was worth every penny he was being paid.. What he did in the 2000's was pretty remarkable. 2002-04, 2008-09, in particular. I'm not saying KF doesn't still care (I'm sure he does) but in the early 2000's, I have a hard time not believing that he had more fire & energy back in those days when he was younger and still had more to prove.. Didn't have a fat contract, and probably also had a better assistant coaching staff around him in those days.

The guy's a good coach. His past record proves it. He still is, IMO. But I think those tough teams of the early 2000's are a thing of the past. 2015 aside, I think 7-5 and 8-4 type seasons are most likely about the best we can realistically expect most seasons.
Click to expand...

I believe we are pretty close on the scale together on this topic, but I wholeheartedly believe Kirk is laying in the cut waiting for another remarkable season to ride out the sunset on. The recruiting started to really come about last year until an almost comical collapse mid-season. With the apparent refocus of emphasis on recruiting higher caliber players and the infusion of new and younger coaches to the mix, I believe we are destined for another B1G title run in the next 4-5 seasons. I honestly would'nt rule out the 2017 season. We have the traditional successful building pieces. Great RB. Experienced OL. TE's galore, Rookie QB. The defense has some ? marks, but the defense always seems to be the unit that carries the water for Iowa. I doubt that will change this year no matter who we are replacing.
 
Adam said:
It sounds like your agreeing with me. Kirk's statistical mean boils down to 7/8 wins a year meaning at a 4.5 million a year he is probably over payed and therfore "over rated".
Click to expand...


I was not really agreeing or disagreeing with what you said. Just commenting.
 
with what schools make a year now in college football - namely Iowa - paying your head guy 4.5 million out of 100's a millions doesn't seem all that out of whack.
 
InGoodCo said:
with what schools make a year now in college football - namely Iowa - paying your head guy 4.5 million out of 100's a millions doesn't seem all that out of whack.
Click to expand...

I can see some sense to that rational, but I also see it as contingent on a factor or 2. My Uncle owns 4 McDonald's restaurants and 1 of them has consistently out performed the other 3 by strides. The performance of said store is related to demographics. The store has been predictable without fail through multiple management changes. My Uncle does not pay the managers any more or less then what he pays the managers of the other stores. So the question is does Ferentz as a manager push the demographic capabilities of Iowa's earning potential? If yes, then he is worth the salary. If no, then he is over payed and overrated. I can't answer this because I don't have the relevant data and any attempt would be based on to many assumptions. I'm sure some on here are brave enough to try though.
 
SteveGarvey1 said:
Kirk's been on these lists for the last 10 years. He usually leads the team to good/great seasons whenever he is on them. Glad they put him on it again.

Harbaugh over-rated after the mess he inherited there? No way man.
Click to expand...
The cupboard wasn’t bare when Jim got there. Pretty much QB was the main question mark they had and JR fell right in his lap as the perfect stop gap. Recruiting wasn’t really Hoke’s problem. His system and how he tried coaching them up was.
 
How many different ways can this same article be re-packaged? Not many, I think is the answer. I'm all for hiring the coach that can get Iowa an annual 9-win, minimum, season, a BT championship game on a fairly regular basis, a BT championship now and then, a CFP spot every so often, and a NC. What bin do we get that guy out of?
 
That’s a pretty fair 2 cents way of looking at KF. He didn’t take a snap shot view of the program over a small period. Mentioned more positives than negatives really. He just thinks as far as bang for the buck goes there should be more to show for it. Hard to disagree with that. Now if Iowa were to have been one of those schools that wanted to rotate coaches every 5 yrs or so like most would Iowa have won even one more game than what KF has? We’ll never know…
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top