This coaching staff is a total failure.

[Mademyaccount4u]

I'm honestly not even sure what you're trying to say here. I read through this mind-numbing prose three times and couldn't find any substantive argument to respond to. You should probably work on your articulation; it will benefit you in the long run.

I don't know what I was thinking, I just expect more of online forums, I guess.

Let's try this: How can you blame a coaching staff for Stanzi getting hurt? Was it a bad call? Maybe, but I can't understand putting that injury on the coaching staff, especially a coach that is no longer on the staff. I was surprised you didn't blame KF for Ott getting hurt, as he was in on a punt return when he was injured.

The Ohio State game was the correct call. Vandenberg was rattled and was a series or two away from throwing a pick-six, which was fortunately called back on a penalty, and then the throw to Moeaki into double coverage, again he was lucky it wasn't a pick. Ohio State essentially did the same thing, playing conservative, I guess them winning the game was a bad call.

The Wisconsin game, I wasn't a fan of the fake punt, but it does happen. The real problem would have been to point out the subsequent fake punts. Again, this is with different coaches, so I'm not sure how that is relevant. It's likely that if Iowa hadn't missed a pat, they probably win in OT. Though, I'm probably just optimistic.

2007, I guess I thought 6-6 was bowl eligible. Thanks for correcting me.

2014 Minnesota, at least you've got a game with most of the current coaching staff. Minnesota commented about how they spent much of the off season preparing for Iowa. They obviously did what they wanted to. Iowa got depantsed, it happens. It's what concerns me about the Penn St. game, the offensive coordinator from Minnesota is now the O-line coach at Penn St.

The "pattern" I see is "fans" looking for reasons this coaching staff is bad etc. I do think some things need to be done, primarily in the passing game. The running game isn't too bad, especially given the problems the passing game has shown. As for the defense I like a tough hard hitting defense. I don't know that a 3-4 defense is the right answer to improve, as I believe it will be difficult to consistently find a NG. I do like where Iowa is going which is more of a 4-2-5, like TCU.

 

[Mademyaccount4u]

The key part of this is "pedestrian this year". Lots of teams, hell almost every team, have down / pedestrian years. But comparing them to Iowa is misleading for several reasons.

1) Iowa is pedestrian MOST years. Every 4 or 5 years they rise above that, but pedestrian is clearly the norm.
2) The coaches of those teams struggling this year are likely doing whatever they can to right the ship. KF and his staff will do little if anything- HOPING the players "develop" enough to eventually succeed.
3) The coaches of those teams struggling this year may be "on the hot seat", because their AD's and boosters expect better than pedestrian. Here? Our AD will delay any further contract extension discussions for a little while.

1) "Teams across the nation that get top rated recruits every year and are pedestrian this year." What I'm implying here is that there are teams with much more, at least perceived, talent that are doing poorly. I might be misleading, because I assume Iowa shouldn't be considered with the likes of Texas, Georgia, ND and UCLA. I would mention MSU, too, as they may not have an NFL QB on the team for the first time in, what, a decade? Also, I would hardly consider 7-8 wins a year terrible, especially given the talent.

2) Iowa is like someone investing their money in stocks, you put money into multiple places. There are returns, and sometimes you don't make as much as you think you will. Let's face it, Iowa doesn't have the "money" to to make large bets, hell it's hard to get a seat at the table most of the time.

3) Maybe I'm just playing it safe, but I don't want to be Iowa State. I'm sure Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, Rutgers, etc, etc, etc just don't have the recruits in their back yard that Iowa has. Without Ferentz we are one of those teams, but with less talent.

I know it's hard to look at the big picture, but look around. If you think you can get Meyer, Saban, or Harbaugh I disagree. I think Iowa is more likely to land a Beckman, Hazel, or Brewster.

 

[Bigtenchamp]

Last year Was 95% great... almost all time.. until the end of the Mich state game... then the players really didn't care anymore.

There is NO excuse for how bad we have been this year... and we have seen it time and time again with Kirk.

It's just old and tired and really you can tell people have had enough because.

1. there is apathy everywhere.
2. The people actually left who care that much are mostly are furious.

I don't think Kirk (regardless of contract) will last another year like this. I don't think he will be fired but I think he will walk away.

 

[BillSPrestonEsq]

I spent some time at work today thinking about the Iowa Hawkeyes and where we are as a program. I thought to myself, "you know STLHawkeye, it's really not that bad. We have some wins over SEC teams. We have two BCS appearances and won one of them. We almost made the CFB Playoffs. We have some nice memories--"The Catch," the game-winners in '09, etc. We've put lots of successful players into the NFL."

But then I thought about the truly AWFUL and PATHETIC losses this program has sustained under the Ferentz era and the lost opportunities. It is truly heartbreaking to look at where this program could have been if not for horrible coaching decisions promulgated by this staff over the years. Here are some of the worst, most inexplicable losses that come to memory:

Stanford - Chance to win our first Rose Bowl in years. Blown off the field. Never even competitive. Failure by the coaching staff to adequately game-plan for McCaffery. All of the energy and excitement an electricity gone from the stadium within the first minute, literally.

Michigan State - Probably the "best" worst loss of the games on this list. Chance to win an outright B1G Championship and claim a spot in the CFB Playoffs, which would have been huge. Nothing really to say about the coaching in this game. I thought KF and crew actually had a decent game plan, just didn't make the right plays here and there.

Iowa State (2002) - This is the one that pisses me off the most. I was there. Go into halftime up 24-7 on Seneca Wallace and crew, everyone thinks it's over, and Ferentz lets Iowa State make a comeback for the ages (in Kinnick nonetheless). Excruciatingly painful because then we fin out, finish the year 11-1, and might have had a claim to play for the national championship that year against Miami.

Northwestern (2009) - Probably my second place game behind 2002 Iowa State. After a 9-0 record start, with a chance to go undefeated, win the B1G, etc., the coaching staff inexplicably calls a naked bootleg in the endzone, effectively ending Stanzi's regular season. All of the momentum we had built up until that point in the season was literally wiped out (I was there). To this day I believe we would have beaten Ohio State with Stanzi at the helm. Which leads me to...

Ohio State (2009) - Hell of a fight by our players in this game but heartbreaking nonetheless. Kirk Ferentz gets the ball back in regulation with decent field position and MORE THAN ENOUGH time to drive down the field and put Iowa in range to win the B1G in the horse shoe. Instead of playing to win, chooses to sit on the ball and take the game to OT. I'm sitting here watching the Cubs game and just watched Maddon make a risky play sending Kris Bryant home on a shallow pop-up in the outfield--a play to win, not a play to "not lose." I wish we had a coach like that.

Wisconsin (2010) - Had the Badgers on the brink of defeat in Kinnick with a chance to cap off a pretty good season. Coaching staff pisses the game down the leg by giving up a fake punt. I was at this game as well, watching in excruciating pain as Monte Ball drove the ball down the field at will against us.

Western Michigan (2007) - Honestly speaks for itself. Truly awful and pathetic effort from the coaching staff on a Senior Day with a chance for bowl eligibility. Instead of taking care of, you know, a bad team at home, the coaching staff instead gives up over 500 yards and blows the game and bowl-eligibility. Iowa sits at home during the holidays.

Minnesota (2014) - They just crushed us here, but I'll go ahead and put it on the coaching staff for failing to galvinize the team against a rival.

Losing one of these games is a fluke (for example, Michigan losing to Appalachian State and Michigan State (on the blocked punt)). But this many losses? With so much opportunity. No, this is a pattern of incompetence.

I'm probably missing some, but I'll just stop here because it's honestly sickening that a coaching staff that his made this MANY poor decisions that have cost this program and his players and this state so much opportunity. Hell, I'm even thinking of my favorite memory as an Iowa fan - the 2005 Capitol One Bowl - and the end result of that game was a result of Ferentz' incompetence (time management) instead of his coaching "genius."

Now, Ferentz is losing our best recruits, doing nothing to develop our returning players, losing at home to FCS and FCS-like opponents with those same players, and collecting his millions.

This staff, particularly Ferentz, truly is a national embarrassment.

Hate to say it but these guys f#cking blow. Before, during, and after the game, all throughout recruiting, all three phases of the game, etc. they get lucky 1/5 years. problem is we aren't getting any kind of overhaul until KF and his monkey boy Barta are gone.

 

[seepig]

Once again a Phil Parker led defense looks terrible with 2 weeks to prepare. This is just like watching us trying to play in a bowl game. It's another 45-17 shame game in the making.

 

[seepig]

Once again short and 1 can't make it...this is pathetic football

 

[seepig]

A mystery how a team that prides itself on O Line play can be so bad at O Line play.

 

[theboat]

A mystery how a team that prides itself on O Line play can be so bad at O Line play.

State sponsored estate plans

 

[Mademyaccount4u]

A mystery how a team that prides itself on O Line play can be so bad at O Line play.

Iowa took a chance on building it's receiving core. They were light on linemen and heavy on receivers, most of the receivers didn't pan out or left, which is why we are heavy on walk on linemen. It should not be a surprise that it isn't up to the usual expectations.

 

[jfwolfe]

This is part of the problem. The number of people who suffer from the delusion that they have a personal relationship with KF.

I never once mentioned anything about a "personal relationship" with him. I don't hate him is all I was saying and painting me as delusional is just silly. It's not about him as a person any more for me either. He is out of touch with 2016 as far as winning football. Still a good person, IMO.

 

[Joshbrown]

painting me as delusional is just silly. It's not about him as a person any more for me either. He is out of touch with 2016 as far as winning football. Still a good person, IMO.

Hey, you're entitled to your opinion. But to judge him on the quality of his character from the few moments you get to see him on a TV screen is silly. And yes I admit that works both ways.