Ferentz was an "unknown" to most people.
Unknown, he was definitely unknown as a D1 head coaching prospect.
And remember he coached the first two years at Iowa without a signed contract, just a handshake and a paycheck. That was gutty on KFs part 'knowing' he could get the job done.
One could say that Iowa has had 3 really good decades of football out of the last 60 years.
Evy's career, Fry from 81-97 minus a few years, and KF from 2001-2011. Even if Iowa went after the best coaches available when an opening comes up they might still miss on the hire. But I think the chances of keeping the winning ways is better hiring a proven BCS or mid-major coach than the unproven types like the mid-60's to late 70's.