SIAR: Ferentz on the "hot seat"?

[AreWeThereYet]

I would argue that Iowa hasn't been an average mid-tier team. They have been mid-tier but they are anything but average. In fact I would label them as one of the stranger teams in division I football. Most teams aren't in as many close games that come down to the wire as Iowa. Most teams don't put out many NFL players when they have 7-5 seasons. I can't name a team that has been more defensively oriented than Iowa. I also can't name too many D-1 teams that have been so unvarying with their fundamental sets as Iowa. Iowa has been conservative to a fault.

 

[BSpringsteen]

07-03-2012 06:08 PMBSpringsteen
KF is going to get a pass this year and he should regardless of what happens.

I think that he needs to go 8-4 or better in one of the next two seasons to not have major job security issues.

Surprised to hear Bruce say this.
Bud, no "pass" in one's 14th year.

The talent level is way down and everyone knows it. That combined with the staff turnover is why he gets a pass this year.

 

[MisterLucky]

There is a lot to like about Coach Ferentz, but 7-5 seasons are hard to take and especially if you lose a bowl game as well. This type of record will usually finish third in the Legends Division and would mean a series of Insight-like bowl games.

 

[BSpringsteen]

There is a lot to like about Coach Ferentz, but 7-5 seasons are hard to take and especially if you lose a bowl game as well. This type of record will usually finish third in the Legends Division and would mean a series of Insight-like bowl games.

I agree with a lot of this.

For me I've always said that 8-4 is what should be reasonably expected year in and year out.

3-1/4-0 out of conference and 4-4/5-3 in conference.

If you look at our finishes since 2008:

Winning a bowl game is nice, but at the end of the day it doesn't really make me feel any better if the season was mediocre.

 

[OUTofTOWNHAWK]

With how good the other big ten teams are and brutal rivals like ISU, Minnesota, Indiana, and Purdue(who I hate). 5 wins is a good season. KF isnt going to be able to produce 7 wins every year and 8,9,and 10 win season only come along once in a while.

If you are a real Hawkeye fan you should know that KF is the best coach that would take on a school like Iowa. 5-6 wins a year is all you can get at Iowa(even with one of the better coaches in the nation) with how hard it is to get kids to come to the midwest. Acting like Kirk would ever get fired really makes me wonder if you are a real Hawkeye fan.

 

[dchawk75]

I hope this post was tongue in cheek which I assume it was to label Minny, ISU, Indiana, NW and Purdue as powerhouses. With that lineup of games, we should never lose five games.

 

[herkyattack]

With how good the other big ten teams are and brutal rivals like ISU, Minnesota, Indiana, and Purdue(who I hate). 5 wins is a good season. KF isnt going to be able to produce 7 wins every year and 8,9,and 10 win season only come along once in a while.

If you are a real Hawkeye fan you should know that KF is the best coach that would take on a school like Iowa. 5-6 wins a year is all you can get at Iowa(even with one of the better coaches in the nation) with how hard it is to get kids to come to the midwest. Acting like Kirk would ever get fired really makes me wonder if you are a real Hawkeye fan.

Is this serious?

 

[Golfer]

Waits anxiously for the answer, and some entertainment for the evening.

 

[SpecialKHawk]

I can think of 32 million reasons why firing KF will not happen anytime soon in the next 5-6 years. There is no blogger or booster that is capable or willing to right that check.

8 seasons x 4 million contract buyout

That would only be the starting cost as hiring a new staff will be require at least that commitment and maybe more with no certainties.

I really laugh whenever this talk surfaces.

 

[1st]

Both the majority of Iowa fans and KF are fine with continued 7 win seasons.

 

[KansasHawkeye]

Like 2010?

As others have alluded to, 2013 and 2014 could be setting up to be very special years.

And 2010 was [SIZE="1="]thisclose[/SIZE] to seeing us play in the Rose Bowl. It took miracles for four teams (Wisconsin: missed XP, fake punt; Ohio St: Pryor scramble on 4th and 12; NW: Persa TD as he tears his achilles; Minn: Onside kick) to beat us that year. Ah, what could have been.

=

That's the rub. We have difficulty finishing. Whether it's against teams we should put away in the first half, or very competative teams when we are right there with them. We lack the killer instinct, which is a coaching fault no matter how you slice it.

Am I calling for KF's head? No. I just think he should change his "play not to lose" to "play to win."

 

[DwayneTwill]

I just think he should change his "play not to lose" to "play to win."

True. Kurt definitely needs to take care of this.

 

[OUTofTOWNHAWK]

The only way Kirk could possibly make Iowa football better is if he was to change the jerseys to something a little more trendy.

 

[DwayneTwill]

Obvious troll is a d0uche.

 

[Golfer]

I can think of 32 million reasons why firing KF will not happen anytime soon in the next 5-6 years. There is no blogger or booster that is capable or willing to right that check.

8 seasons x 4 million contract buyout

That would only be the starting cost as hiring a new staff will be require at least that commitment and maybe more with no certainties.

I really laugh whenever this talk surfaces.

You're right about no hot seat, but $4MM per year is not the buy out.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Like the long-suffering Cubs fan that I am, I always look forward to the coming Iowa football season, expecting that things will be better than the last disappointment, whatever previous year that might have been.

But I am especially looking forward to this year with two new coordinators, hoping that they can shake things up a bit. I realize one is/was an understudy of the previous one and may not change things a lot, and that KF still holds considerable control over the play-calling. Still, let's see what Phil Parker and Greg Davis bring to the table.

 

[SpecialKHawk]

You're right about no hot seat, but $4MM per year is not the buy out.

You are right the buyout is 2.6 million per year.

Ok new math 8 years remaining x 2.6 = 20.8 million owed;

The 10-year contract worth nearly $40 million that Ferentz signed on the eve of the 2010 season includes a buyout that would cost Iowa roughly $2.6 million a year through 2020 if they fired him without cause.

I'm not advocating a firing at all. I just laugh on these 'hot seat' and fans calling on a coach to be let go without once mentioning the financial implications.

You see most bloggers say 'x' coach had better produce this record or else. You never see those same bloggers mention that they will also be footing the bill for the buyout. That's all I'm saying.

 

[SmalltownHawk]

If KF would leave it would be a classic example of 'you don't know how good you have it until it's gone' kinda thing, ala Tom Davis. KF is a GREAT Iowa fit. Iowa is NOT for everybody(Steve Alford). Iowa will generally get 7/8 wins with a few spectacular seasons sprinkled in. Savor the great one(2009). Things run in cycles and our cycle will repeat in a few years, 2013/2014. It's good when 'the bad' isn't so bad.

 

[Tierney]

I would like it if ferentz was gone. I was a pretty big fan until he reorganized his staff to make room for his sons job on the offensive line for $500,000 a year. Thats pretty offensive to me. ferentz will never make Iowa great in football anyway. I think Fran might be on the way in basketball though.

 

[wundergrape]

The talent level is way down and everyone knows it. That combined with the staff turnover is why he gets a pass this year.

I don't know it. Maybe at key positions, but any team with James Vandenberg, James Morris, Micah Hyde, Christian Kirksey, Keenan Davis, James Ferentz, CJ Fedorowicz, Tanner Miller, Kevonte Martin-Manley, and an absolute slew - and I mean a ton - of young bucks in the barn should be gunning for a division championship. No limits.