He's been coaching for like 16 years and doesn't have 100 loses yet. It's actually pretty incredible.
No, it wasn't that different, and I agree, nobody needs to shit on him. I also don't think we need to glaze each other and pretend he was better than he was. Good in some ways, subpar in others. Average coach imo, but I respect those who make the case that he's above average given suspect institutional support, but then, I think he's at least partially at fault for that, too. But certainly not a great coach. Great coaches don't spend 15 years with one team and go 2 games above .500 in league play. That's just nonsense. Purely meant to give context to your claim. I contend that the actual win-loss record over a sample of 15 years doesn't support Fran being an above average coach. You couldn't pay players until the very end, so Iowa's paltry NIL fund doesn't tell the whole story. But, goodness, would you put up money to pay for players for Fran? I wouldn't.
Fran and KF are pretty similar coaches if you look at just the regular season. They were usually in the top half of the conference. The difference between the two of them is that KF made a bowl every year (which is roughly equivalent to making the tourney and losing the first game), but KF has had 3-4 nationally relevant years where Iowa was in the hunt for the playoffs, conference title, or BCS Bowl game. 2002, 2009, and 2015 were all equivalent to Elite 8 runs, at least. 2002 was probably closer to a final four appearance. That is what separates KF from Fran. Fran was never great. Just good.
I dont really agree with you here. Making a bowl game is 100% based on regular season so you can't really compare that to how far Fran goes in the post season. Out of the three relevant years Kirk had, two of them were only based on regular season because they lost badly in the post season. Fran had 2 years where we were nationally relevant based on regular season. One was 2015 where we got up to number 3 and had a lot of national relevance. That season fizzled out about 2 weeks early tho so if you want to not count it I'm not going to fight too hard. (Also 2013 falls into thos category too where we hit the top 10). The other year was Garza's senior year where we were ranked high all season. That one definitely compares to Kirk's 02 and 15 season.
Great find and awesome article, thanks for posting!While we're at it, here's another article that talks about his offensive system, the freedom the guys have in the system, how he got his start in coaching, and quotes from other coaches like Shaka Smart, etc. I'm not sure if there's a paywall. My apologies if there is.
Meet Ben McCollum, the Division II coach winning titles and turning heads across college basketball
McCollum has won three national titles at Northwest Missouri, and counts Shaka Smart, Buzz Williams and Mark Adams as among his admirers.www.nytimes.com
That's some Fran colored glasses there. KF has won the conference twice and played in the conference championship 3 times. Fran has not even sniffed a regular season title. He did win the tourney once. In 2002, Iowa was ranked 4th at the end of the season. That is close to saying Final Four in basketball, but at least Elite 8. 2009 and 2015 Iowa were at least Elite 8 years, but certainly Sweet 16. Iowa has finished the season after the bowls, ranked in the Top 10 three times under KF. The best Fran can say is he finished tied for 17th place with 16 other teams. Twice. Come on. No comparison.
I am not sure that I would be boasting about a coach who has gone 21 straight years with out winning a conference title. Show me a coach in any power five conference that has that record and is still coaching for that team.
Yeah, well, Nebraska fans would've seen a lot better football over the past decade if they hadn’t subscribed to this thinking. Kirk has been on the precipice twice since 2004, just couldn’t quite get there in 2009 or 2015. Still, three west titles is nothing to sneeze at.
There is a lot of "ifs" and "buts" there.
But once again you are comparing what you do over the course of a season vs what you do during a single elimination tournament. If you want to compare finishing the regular season as a top 10 team vs getting a top 2 seed in the tournament that makes more sense and also helps your argument. But Kirk also had the benefit of playing in the west during the end of his career. That's a huge help. I can definitely be persuaded to agree Kirk has been slightly better. But it's not by much. Also one year Kirk finished 8th by finishing 5-3 in the Big 10 and needing a miracle finish in a bowl game. 2003 was a strange year.
Excellent post!!! Spot on.
Except I got the bowl game wrong. We rolled Florida in 2003. It was the 2004 season that ended with Tate to Halloway. Still tho, 2003 and 2004 were both pretty strange years now that I think about it. Kirk has had 3 or 4 really good teams. 2002, 2008, and 2009 were really good. He ruined 2008 by hanging on to Jake C. He tried to ruin 2009. 2015 were great results, but the team itself was probably his 4th best. Fran had great teams in 2015, and 2021 (I think thats the year, but Garza's senior year). He had really good teams in 2013 2019, and 2020. And he had a good team that over achieved in 2014 with White. Again their regular seasons were very similar but we tend to hold onto tournament results in basketball and disregard bowl results in football. Both coaches are about as good as Iowa can hope to get and hold onto unless you have a coach with ties that is a future hall of famer like we just got!
