The case for Kirk: Back to Reality

[HawgEyeState]

After last Saturday, subsequent to almost every team's 12 game season (not Big 12, I guess)........
the Jeff Sagarin Computer rankings have IOWA ranked as the #41 team in the nation.

Certainly, 2014 was a BIG disappointment. Someone told me recently, 'they knew our season was over'
after dropping the thing to ISU. That was pathetic, I'm sorry. That cannot happen. KF should make a
donation to the Univ of Iowa foundation, or Athletics for that huge calamity. I repeat...that CAN'T happen.

Iowa did improve, somewhat during 2014 and although it's certainly only 'moral victory' to say that the
Hawkeyes were really close, yet far away from winning their division. It is true, however.

Looking as the computer rankings, I see Penn State, Okla State, Texas, Pitt, BYU, Cal and Michigan ALL
ranked below Iowa in 2014. So, there's quite a few other Major programs in worse shape, perhaps.

As I said, this season was a huge disappointment. But, to make a Knee-jerk change of the kind that
the Cornholers just did is EXTREMELY risky. Especially, at Iowa. Remember the Tom Davis change
& where that eventually left the IOWA bb program? As Hawkeye fans, we must be patient, be supportive
and positive. GO HAWKS

 

[thetrza]

What is this "reality" you speak of?

 

[1hawkeye1]

You make a few reasonably sound points. But the whole "be careful what you wish for" thing is worn out. I'm tired of it.

No, you don't go and shoot yourself in the foot like Nebraska just did by firing your coach and pulling some name out of a hat. There's a better way to go about it.

Ferentz has to go and the sooner the better. For him and for us.

 

[ArvadaHawk]

After last Saturday, subsequent to almost every team's 12 game season (not Big 12, I guess)........
the Jeff Sagarin Computer rankings have IOWA ranked as the #41 team in the nation.

Certainly, 2014 was a BIG disappointment. Someone told me recently, 'they knew our season was over'
after dropping the thing to ISU. That was pathetic, I'm sorry. That cannot happen. KF should make a
donation to the Univ of Iowa foundation, or Athletics for that huge calamity. I repeat...that CAN'T happen.

Iowa did improve, somewhat during 2014 and although it's certainly only 'moral victory' to say that the
Hawkeyes were really close, yet far away from winning their division. It is true, however.

Looking as the computer rankings, I see Penn State, Okla State, Texas, Pitt, BYU, Cal and Michigan ALL
ranked below Iowa in 2014. So, there's quite a few other Major programs in worse shape, perhaps.

As I said, this season was a huge disappointment. But, to make a Knee-jerk change of the kind that
the Cornholers just did is EXTREMELY risky. Especially, at Iowa. Remember the Tom Davis change
& where that eventually left the IOWA bb program? As Hawkeye fans, we must be patient, be supportive
and positive. GO HAWKS

If you do not make a change out of fear of making a mistake, then you are in trouble if change is warranted. You must have the fortitude to make changes despite your fears. kfootball has underperformed for 4 of the past 5 seasons and 2 of those 5 (2010 & 2014) should have been B1G championship type seasons. Each time, all kfootball could do is muster 4-4 B1G season records. Virtually EVERY competent college FBS level head coach could steer Iowa to an average record. kfootball isn't doing anything so magical and remarkable that someone else could do it. There should be NO fear in making a head coaching change at Iowa.

 

[HawkPrdatr40]

Iowa did improve, somewhat during 2014 and although it's certainly only 'moral victory' to say that the
Hawkeyes were really close, yet far away from winning their division. It is true, however.

As Hawkeye fans, we must be patient, be supportive
and positive. GO HAWKS

Finishing 7-5 with this schedule wasn't an improvement and I've been patiently waiting for 5 years. So how much longer does this fan base need to wait.

 

[1hawkeye1]

"Ya can't steal 2nd and keep your foot on 1st"

 

[blubberhawk]

After last Saturday, subsequent to almost every team's 12 game season (not Big 12, I guess)........
the Jeff Sagarin Computer rankings have IOWA ranked as the #41 team in the nation.

Certainly, 2014 was a BIG disappointment. Someone told me recently, 'they knew our season was over'
after dropping the thing to ISU. That was pathetic, I'm sorry. That cannot happen. KF should make a
donation to the Univ of Iowa foundation, or Athletics for that huge calamity. I repeat...that CAN'T happen.

Iowa did improve, somewhat during 2014 and although it's certainly only 'moral victory' to say that the
Hawkeyes were really close, yet far away from winning their division. It is true, however.

Looking as the computer rankings, I see Penn State, Okla State, Texas, Pitt, BYU, Cal and Michigan ALL
ranked below Iowa in 2014. So, there's quite a few other Major programs in worse shape, perhaps.

As I said, this season was a huge disappointment. But, to make a Knee-jerk change of the kind that
the Cornholers just did is EXTREMELY risky. Especially, at Iowa. Remember the Tom Davis change
& where that eventually left the IOWA bb program? As Hawkeye fans, we must be patient, be supportive
and positive. GO HAWKS

I would love to be patient, but...
I am watching TCU move the ball at will against ISU as has everyone who has played ISU this year have done. EXCEPT IOWA.
No excuse for **** poor coaching like that. I said it before. I will say it again. Ferentz should have been fired, immediately following the ISU debacle this year. That game was mismanaged as badly as any collegiate game I have ever seen. Sorry buddy. Ferentz needs to go.

 

[blubberhawk]

If you do not make a change out of fear of making a mistake, then you are in trouble if change is warranted. You must have the fortitude to make changes despite your fears. kfootball has underperformed for 4 of the past 5 seasons and 2 of those 5 (2010 & 2014) should have been B1G championship type seasons. Each time, all kfootball could do is muster 4-4 B1G season records. Virtually EVERY competent college FBS level head coach could steer Iowa to an average record. kfootball isn't doing anything so magical and remarkable that someone else could do it. There should be NO fear in making a head coaching change at Iowa.

You are correct and Iowa would not have has to pay 4 million a year for those results either.

 

[iowalaw]

TCU does not start a Rudock at QB and the only jewish running back in D1 football. Enough said.

 

[smbhawk1]

I may agree with you if the was an isolated incident, but Iowa Football has been underperforming for years.
The downfall started when Norm Parker got sick. Iowa has never been the same since. Norm was the only person that stubborn Kirk would listen too. Ferentz can't make qualified game day decisions on his own.

 

[thetrza]

Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity. Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked...........

 

[RocknRollface]

After last Saturday, subsequent to almost every team's 12 game season (not Big 12, I guess)........
the Jeff Sagarin Computer rankings have IOWA ranked as the #41 team in the nation.

Certainly, 2014 was a BIG disappointment. Someone told me recently, 'they knew our season was over'
after dropping the thing to ISU. That was pathetic, I'm sorry. That cannot happen. KF should make a
donation to the Univ of Iowa foundation, or Athletics for that huge calamity. I repeat...that CAN'T happen.

Iowa did improve, somewhat during 2014 and although it's certainly only 'moral victory' to say that the
Hawkeyes were really close, yet far away from winning their division. It is true, however.

Looking as the computer rankings, I see Penn State, Okla State, Texas, Pitt, BYU, Cal and Michigan ALL
ranked below Iowa in 2014. So, there's quite a few other Major programs in worse shape, perhaps.

As I said, this season was a huge disappointment. But, to make a Knee-jerk change of the kind that
the Cornholers just did is EXTREMELY risky. Especially, at Iowa. Remember the Tom Davis change
& where that eventually left the IOWA bb program? As Hawkeye fans, we must be patient, be supportive
and positive. GO HAWKS

"Knee jerk" would have been firing him in 2006 after the first of many poor seasons to come. Since then there's been 5 out of 8 more years of mostly bad football.

Firing him now would be the direct opposite of knee jerk.

Thinking that such a reaction would be based on the last year is delusional.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

You make a few reasonably sound points. But the whole "be careful what you wish for" thing is worn out. I'm tired of it.

No, you don't go and shoot yourself in the foot like Nebraska just did by firing your coach and pulling some name out of a hat. There's a better way to go about it.

Ferentz has to go and the sooner the better. For him and for us.

Agreed. Is "Remember Tom Davis" the best argument KF's supporters have for keeping him? Or that other programs are in even worse shape? If so, that's not good enough.

How long do we have to stay patient? KF has been our coach for 16 years, and the trend is down.

 

[Cory]

I may agree with you if the was an isolated incident, but Iowa Football has been underperforming for years.
The downfall started when Norm Parker got sick. Iowa has never been the same since. Norm was the only person that stubborn Kirk would listen too. Ferentz can't make qualified game day decisions on his own.

Spot on sir. Without Norm he has been proven to be a below average coach.

 

[cincyhawk]

"Knee jerk" would have been firing him in 2006 after the first of many poor seasons to come. Since then there's been 5 out of 8 more years of mostly bad football.

Firing him now would be the direct opposite of knee jerk.

Thinking that such a reaction would be based on the last year is delusional.

$571,428.57/win.

I got a deal for you. Let's tell the next coach we will pay them that. that means if they win the national championship game as an undefeated (16 - 0), they stand to get $9,142,857.12.

And he should have been gone after 2006. Coaches may be able to turn a program around once, but doing it twice is just unheard of (within a single stint with the team, Snyder taking over a second time at K-State doesn't count). As we've seen, outside of the 2009 season, the Hawks haven't been able to put together 9 and 10 win seasons again since pre-'05. Once the slope goes positive, when it goes negative again, it is time for the coach to go, because they just don't recover. Also, the peak of "Ferentz 2.0" was lower than the original peak.

It isn't hard to determine why this happens -- when a coach gets his first major college job, he brings a staff that he has had success with for a long time with him. He brings new recruiting ties to a program that has had (usually) stale/failing recruiting ties with their ole ball coach. These things lead to a temporary boost in recruiting classes and coaching talent on the team during the turnaround (if the coach is competent).

Then, "success" happens. Coordinators and position coaches get to take credit for their piece of the success pie. They leave for their own head coaching gigs, taking some staff and recruiting connections with them, diluting the talent pool of both the now "successful" head coach's assistants and recruiting areas. Teams without a long-standing national title winning tradition, like Iowa, plateau when this happens. The plateau is slightly below the peak of success, which, for Iowa, means going from 10/11 wins to 9/8 wins a year. This plateau of success leads to still more position coach attrition, till the talent pool is so diluted that the recruiting begins to fail and the team begins a downward spiral.

Once that downward spiral begins, there is no other way to bring the program out of it other than firing a head coach and cleaning house (for a mid-level upper division team like Iowa, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Cal, Virginia Tech, etc.). The reason is that the head coach spent his entire career building the relationships necessary for that big turnaround at the major program -- recruiting relationships, subordinate relationships, etc. It usually takes a lot longer to reach the major college level than they spend there. They simply can't rebuild relationships that they built over decades in less than ten years. It's impossible for one person to rebuild something as complex as a college football program on their own.

Spurrier couldn't do it twice, why do you expect Kirk Ferentz could? Exceptional coaches come along once every 20 years or so in each conference -- coaches like Tom Osborne, Bowden, Paterno, Bryant, Hayes, Schembechler -- that can hold staffs together for a long time or are just so good that they can win with interchangeable parts or turn around a perennial national championship contender from a previous temporary bad hire.

Kirk needed to go a long time ago. Every year he stays and doesn't change, the dilution of time and talent works against him, and the program. If he stays just one more year, I am willing to bet that the next coach will have an even deeper ditch to climb out of talent-wise than Ferentz. It's death by a thousand paper cuts.

Now, to address your fears, any winning coach in the Mac or Mountain West could move his entire staff to Iowa City and go at least 7 - 5 after three years, and for another three years after that. I think fans would want more after three years of waiting on success, but they could at least do that.

Without Weisman next year, Iowa has no options at running back that can take a B1G pounding, and really lost their main provider of TDs without prepping a backup. I think next year is 5 - 7 at best. BTW, I predicted 7-5 this year. The ship isn't sinking. It's sunk. So if you are afraid of failure from a new coach, we're already there.

 

[Bluesman]

After last Saturday, subsequent to almost every team's 12 game season (not Big 12, I guess)........
the Jeff Sagarin Computer rankings have IOWA ranked as the #41 team in the nation.

Certainly, 2014 was a BIG disappointment. Someone told me recently, 'they knew our season was over'
after dropping the thing to ISU. That was pathetic, I'm sorry. That cannot happen. KF should make a
donation to the Univ of Iowa foundation, or Athletics for that huge calamity. I repeat...that CAN'T happen.

Iowa did improve, somewhat during 2014 and although it's certainly only 'moral victory' to say that the
Hawkeyes were really close, yet far away from winning their division. It is true, however.

Looking as the computer rankings, I see Penn State, Okla State, Texas, Pitt, BYU, Cal and Michigan ALL
ranked below Iowa in 2014. So, there's quite a few other Major programs in worse shape, perhaps.

As I said, this season was a huge disappointment. But, to make a Knee-jerk change of the kind that
the Cornholers just did is EXTREMELY risky. Especially, at Iowa. Remember the Tom Davis change
& where that eventually left the IOWA bb program? As Hawkeye fans, we must be patient, be supportive
and positive. GO HAWKS

Kneejerk reaction? Have you been following this team the past several years? It isn't just about this season.