Supporting Ferentz - change your mind?

ibahawkeye

ibahawkeye

Well-Known Member
Serious question...

If you currently want a change in leadership, what would it take for Coach Ferentz to gain your support, if anything?
 
Nothing short of a Rose Bowl victory will do it for me. He has squandered way too much good will with his incessant mediocrity. Time for something different.
 
You know I'm torn on this one.... I look at Universities such as Florida, Michigan, Cal, USC (until interm coach took over). When a program hires a new coach it always seems like a good idea (especially to the fanbase), the first year or two they do really well with the old recruits the prior coach couldn't win with and then.... Other teams in the conference learn how to defend their schemes and then all of a sudden the new marriage starts to get rocky and seats get warm. Penn State did well first year with new coach then this year not as well, Florida same, Notre Dame (still not doing too bad) same. I was ****** after last year now I feel better. I think Iowa in its second year with new OC and more time with the system is looking better. We are 7-4 with loses to good teams (NUI is still undefeated) with a chance to win 2 more. We have heard about Kirk being a good guy and I do think that matters so I say keep him around alittle longer and see how this story ends. Go hawks!
 
vegashawki said:
Penn State did well first year with new coach then this year not as well
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Yeah, there's no reason at all that Penn State should be struggling at this point. The fact that they have won 6 games at this point with 50 some kids on their roster is a MIRACLE. Kirk can barely win 7 with 105 players.
 
I hope he wins enough to stay around. Because I'm a TN vols fan to and I have seen close up what coaching changes can do to a program. If Ferentz wins out this yr I think this will be one hell of a yr.
 
I wouldn't say I'm ready for the change in leadership, but I am still very critical. For me it would take a couple of things.

1. Consistency. I admit this is a bit ironic because one of my criticisms of KF is his seemingly resistance to change but with the exception of 2 maybe 3 years, KF's teams have been inconsistent. One half they look great, the next not so much. Or the defense can put it together, but the offense can't.

2. A good offense and good defense are not mutually exclusive entities. I understand KF does not want a quick strike offense as his game plan is to control time of possession. But why can we not run an offense that is ranked in the Top 40?

Those two things would go a long way to helping me feel less skeptical of KF.
 
Every institution is different. What the Iowa Board in Control of Athletics values in coaches will always weigh in the selection of coaches. Things like integrity, honesty, demeanor, decorum, and character matter much. For some fans these qualities are of no or of little concern, it is just win baby win.

I'm still in the camp that student comes before the word athlete. This years football team has at least three potential academic all B1G members; Rudock, Van Sloten, and Morris. Recently it was released that Iowa was in the top 25 graduation rates.

I believe Coach Ferentz has put a competitive team on the field most of the time and has done it with student athletes. Professional scouts have a very positive attitude about the preparedness of Iowa players for professional play. Much of the criticism is based on the salary he is paid in relation to wins and losses. Yet people forget that much of his treasure has been donated back to the University for charitable reasons. Looking around I see a number of programs that wish they were Iowa is at.
 
Like tubahawk, I remain somewhat critical of Ferentz and am dubious whether he can elevate the program to a higher level.

- Offense. The Greg Davis hire continues to mystify and I am not seeing what he brings to the program besides a short-passing strategy that didn't work at Texas with the better athletes that program can attract. It is beyond me why Kirk didn't go after some hot young offensive coordinator from a smaller program or even a highly qualified assistant OC at a bigger program who could come in and stir things up. Kirk didn't allow himself to step outside of his comfort zone and bring in someone who could help Iowa put up better offensive numbers.
- Taking the foot off the gas. Even if Iowa had an offense capable of scoring a lot of points, I'm not convinced Kirk would allow that to happen. He is tremendously risk-averse, as we have seen, and is perfectly willing to take a knee and head to the locker room with a small lead or to play for overtime rather than try to let his players win in regulation. Maddening.
- Replacing under-performing players. No need to re-hash particulars from years past here; they're well known. Will simply note there is something seriously wrong when the starting quarterback has all the snaps en route to a 4-8 season and his back-up doesn't see action until the first play of the following season.
- Clock management. This has been a perpetual problem for Ferentz-coached teams at Iowa. It is laughable when the TV guys say Iowa is going into its two-minute drill at the end of a half; Kirk DOESN'T HAVE a two-minute drill in the playbook.
- Recruiting. Sure, it's tough bringing the nation's top athletes to Iowa. But Kirk Ferentz has been at Iowa long enough, supposedly has a good enough reputation among high school coaches and others, and has shown that Iowa can put players in the NFL, that a few four- and five-star athletes should be knocking on the Kinnick door. They're not. (And honestly, after watching the player introductions on TV, I'm not convinced Iowa has that good a record of getting players to the next level, but that's probably a whole 'nother thread.)
- Competitiveness. Other than Ohio State, which likely will always be the cream of the B1G crop, Iowa should be competitive year-in and year-out with every other top-tier conference program, namely Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State, and regularly should be considered a contender for the conference championship game. The record with some of those programs has been pretty lop-sided.

That said, congratulations to the Hawks -- including Kirk Ferentz & Co. -- for a season that has exceeded expectations. Would love to see them extend the streak on Friday.
 
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Some good points by all. I haven't wanted Ferentz to be fired but I have been critical over the years of some aspects of the offensive play calling and game management. You know, the use of timeouts, the not going for it from the opponents 35 yard line when you have a stout defense. blah blah And I have thought that many times we were too safe and soft on 3rd and long over the years.

I would say the overarching theme I hear in KF criticism is his lack of offense and not having the consistent play.

I agree with that criticism because I posted a thread once that showed if the hawks had just a little more scoring , a TD a game, over his tenure he would have won about 20 more games which would have made his legacy look great.

I would have liked to see more offensive scoring.
 
after seeing the team play against ohio state I decided I will not say anything against kirk for three years---he is going to get them back once again. I do love his style of play when his teams are the bullies like they were against Michigan.
 
Nothing would change it. I mean a Rose Bowl victory would be great but it won't happen. The facts are in. KF is stubborn and painfully conservative. You can't be an elite team with terrible to below average offenses which over his tenure he's proven he produces.
 
Please recall that mac Brown changed the O at TX basically without notice. TX did nto have the type players to go to the power game and then the O really tanked and Davis was fired. No one complained when they won a NC with that O.
 
eyekwah said:
Every institution is different. What the Iowa Board in Control of Athletics values in coaches will always weigh in the selection of coaches. Things like integrity, honesty, demeanor, decorum, and character matter much. For some fans these qualities are of no or of little concern, it is just win baby win.

I'm still in the camp that student comes before the word athlete. This years football team has at least three potential academic all B1G members; Rudock, Van Sloten, and Morris. Recently it was released that Iowa was in the top 25 graduation rates.

I believe Coach Ferentz has put a competitive team on the field most of the time and has done it with student athletes. Professional scouts have a very positive attitude about the preparedness of Iowa players for professional play. Much of the criticism is based on the salary he is paid in relation to wins and losses. Yet people forget that much of his treasure has been donated back to the University for charitable reasons. Looking around I see a number of programs that wish they were Iowa is at.
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This. I pretty much agree with everything here. I love cheering for a team that wins football games, but in the end there are other things that are just as important. As long as he can consistently win and give us some special seasons every couple of years I'm happy to say Kirk Ferentz is the head coach of my favorite team. I was on the fence going into this season, but he's since regained my faith in him. Very few people in this thread who remain against KF couldn't imagine the Hawks being in position to win 8 games this year. Now they are and he gets very little credit. It's the same ol' BS. He's a class act, and his priorities are in the right place. No need to add anything else.
 
One more time. READ THE SIG!

KF has been entirely consistent through his coaching career at Iowa.

At Iowa - 8 wins is a good season.
Anything below that is dissatisfying on some grounds - either a .500 season and a bowl win, or a bowl loss. (I don't give an eff about pre-season expectations with Iowa or any other team)

KF has gone three years below the mark and then three years above the mark. If you take the last 8 years, it looks bad, as that is 5 bad and 3 good. However, if you took another 9 year block, it would be 6 good and 3 bad.

So here's the deal. If KF wins this week, he will actually break the down cycle a year early, which would be a hugely positive sign. If he doesn't win, then it is just the normal cycle, which you should all be accustomed to by now.

So why is everybody so bunched up?
 
I am a vocal Ferentz detractor and continue to be. We are having a good year but nothing short of a big ten title will make be believe he shouldn't be let go.
 
I would have no problem if he were to step down this season. He's a great guy, and he is a good coach. He's a great teacher of the game, he's just not the strongest at in game managment.

I am just tired of the boring and predictable play, and it comes down to the offense. We consistently rank near the bottom of BCS schools in offense categories, and we are usually in the upper half for defensive categories. And we're almost always near the bottom in our own conference for offensive stats.

This pretty much creates the same game experience every week, no matter who the opponent is. Why does almost every game come down to the final drive/minute? IMO, it just gets old to see Iowa dominate a game, physically, statistically, and yet we're losing or about to lose because we go ultra conservative on both sides of the ball (Running three straight stretch plays with MW, or going into prevent on defense)
.

I don't need to see the offense score 55 pts a game (though it would help our record), but just show some competency on offense, and to gameplan against the other teams weaknesses. Too many times it seems like we call our plays to be balanced. "Oh, we've thrown the ball 15 times already? Better call a run on 1st and 2nd down to get balance"

Next year is critical for me. If this team can continue to grow, and maybe....MAYBE even KF become a little looser with his lease on the offense, we could be looking at a great year and being BACK. But we've got so much history on our side to suggest KF will continue to play the same game next year, and we'll end up with 7-8 wins.
 
CAARHawk said:
One more time. READ THE SIG!

KF has been entirely consistent through his coaching career at Iowa.

At Iowa - 8 wins is a good season.
Anything below that is dissatisfying on some grounds - either a .500 season and a bowl win, or a bowl loss. (I don't give an eff about pre-season expectations with Iowa or any other team)

KF has gone three years below the mark and then three years above the mark. If you take the last 8 years, it looks bad, as that is 5 bad and 3 good. However, if you took another 9 year block, it would be 6 good and 3 bad.

So here's the deal. If KF wins this week, he will actually break the down cycle a year early, which would be a hugely positive sign. If he doesn't win, then it is just the normal cycle, which you should all be accustomed to by now.

So why is everybody so bunched up?
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CAAR is awesome. Ever since I have been on these boards, CAAR has been posting this. He is spot on. I think when you look back after the next two years (after the 2015) season everyone will be happy. I think it will be 3 straight 8+ win seasons at that point, and that would make it 8+ wins in 6 of the last 8 years '08 (9) '09 (11) '10 (8) '11 (7) '12 (4) '13 (8+) '14 (8+) '15 (8+)

Obviously that isn't written in stone, heck we have to get to 8 yet this year. I think they will, but it isn't a sure bet. Either way, even if it is 7 wins in '13, we are set up to have a good year next year and the following as well.
 
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