What is the model to follow?

[HomerChampless]

I saw the proverbial Iowa can't get the athletes post... That is bulllshirt. For example, does Baylor have the cache to recruit their offense or TCU their offense or defense? NO, but if the coach builds it, they will come... even to Iowa.

 

[teachercoach]

Iowa football can reach the next level without changing much. Start going after the best kickers in the country. How many games have been lost by 1-6 points in the last 10 years? These losses alone would have made a huge difference in this conversation. A lights out kicker is huge to any program. A cluch punter turns field position in every game played. Bring in a great punter and kicker every year, and Iowa is playing for Big 10 titles on a regular basis. All great teams, have great kicking games, period.

DITTO 10x.... David Bradley, Donohoe - not a coincidence that was when Iowa played better. Fans don't understand how critical this is if you are a 'bend, don't break' defense philosophy.

 

[gjhawk]

Finally an intelligent thread. I've avioded the board for quite awhile because I was tired of reading all the negative stuff. This to me is what a message board is for: discussion and suggestions to be debated. Not just complaining and name calling. Thanks to all who participated in this post. Agree or not, good thoughts by all.

 

[BLKNGOLD48]

I saw the proverbial Iowa can't get the athletes post... That is bulllshirt. For example, does Baylor have the cache to recruit their offense or TCU their offense or defense? NO, but if the coach builds it, they will come... even to Iowa.

Agree, this is my thoughts as well. Our facilities are top notch and that used to be the reason in the past we couldn't recruit studs. All that is now, is just an excuse.
Let's face it, KF is not a great recruiter. Parents love him because he is a straight shooter, but the athletes want their egos stroked, KF is not doing that. Case in point, Iowa currently is ranked 11th in the Big Ten recruiting as we speak.

 

[mysteron]

Agree, this is my thoughts as well. Our facilities are top notch and that used to be the reason in the past we couldn't recruit studs. All that is now, is just an excuse.
Let's face it, KF is not a great recruiter. Parents love him because he is a straight shooter, but the athletes want their egos stroked, KF is not doing that. Case in point, Iowa currently is ranked 11th in the Big Ten recruiting as we speak.

Ironically, it's the quality people like most about KF which keeps him from being a good recruiter. You have to possess some smarmy salesmanship skills to get most top recruits. Kirk won't do that. So he handicaps himself before his team takes the field. You add his game day coaching problems with an inability to always identify the best talent and the stubborn field position game where being up 10 points means take your foot off the gas.

Well, he used to have the recipe for success that others could look to, now he has perfected the recipe for losing to weaker schools that other coaches want to avoid.

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

I will start with one model: Oregon. Their recent history:

• 80's
  • 46% win%
  • 0 years ranked at end of year
  • 4 seasons above 0.500
  • 0 major bowl wins
• 90's
  • 59% win%
  • 3 years ranked at end of year
  • 7 seasons above 0.500
  • 0 major bowl wins
• 00's
  • 70% win%
  • 7 years ranked at end of year
  • 9 seasons above 0.500
  • 1 major bowl wins
• 10's
  • 89% win%
  • 5 years ranked at end of year, counting this year (out of 5)
  • 5 (out of 5) seasons above 0.500
  • 2 major bowl wins (perhaps more this year)

They have been remarkably patient. They have not fired a coach since 1976, and they are on their 4th coach since then (Brooks, Belloti, Kelly, and now Helfrich). Along the way they have established a family atmosphere where it really means something to be part of Oregon FB.

They have had the advantage of huge Nike money and marketing, which Iowa clearly does not have. They also brought in fresh blood (most notably Kelly as OC) to keep the program on the rise. And as much as the Nike thing helped their brand, I think their style of offensive FB was nearly as important. They do not have great in-state recruiting, but they are close enough to California to be able to make hay in that area (especially when USC and UCLA are down).

So how does Iowa follow this? We have already achieved the stability; we can really keep it going if Ferentz can step away on his own as opposed to being fired, as long as things do not drop too far in the meanwhile.

I think they need to improve "the brand" somehow. Can they do that with a pro-style offense? That led to a pretty exciting brand of FB at USC, but I don't think Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, or Mike Williams will be coming to Iowa anytime soon. I don't really want Iowa to become just another spread team. What coordinator out there could make Iowa unique and exciting? Could Iowa's brand be established by their defense instead of their offense, and still attract national attention? How would you feel about the next Paul Johnson (he is not coming to Iowa, but an up-and-coming triple option coordinator)? Help me complete this plan.

Amen ... I lived in Oregon in the early 90s ... Fan interest was non existent. Oregon was a state not that much different than Iowa ... laid back ... did not (and still does not) produce a lot of Division 1 talent ... and look at where Oregon is today ... I wish we (as a fanbase and as a school) would stop settling for the past and settling for having an average program ... We don't pay average salaries and we don't have average facilities ... For 16 years we have listened to Kirk say we "aren't a sexy football program" and "that's football." ...

I have been a Hawk fan for 35 years ... had season tickets for 10 years ... was an I-Club board member ... and even I have been able to take my Hawkeye blinders off and really question the direction of Iowa football ... and Iowa athletics as a whole ... It's time to have higher expectations ... dream big ... expect to win ... expect more Top 25 rankings ... expect to compete for Big 10 titles more often than not ... We are not Grinnell college ... We are not sisters of the poor ... Oregon did it ... and trust me ... Oregon football was pretty much non existent when I lived there from a fan and facility standpoint ... As the saying goes ... you are what your record says you are ... Well ... as a fanbase ... and as a program ... we are what we say we are ... an average program ...

 

[Knight78]

Iowa football can reach the next level without changing much. Start going after the best kickers in the country. How many games have been lost by 1-6 points in the last 10 years? These losses alone would have made a huge difference in this conversation. A lights out kicker is huge to any program. A cluch punter turns field position in every game played. Bring in a great punter and kicker every year, and Iowa is playing for Big 10 titles on a regular basis. All great teams, have great kicking games, period.

Didn't we just graduate the highest scoring place kicker in school history the year before? Haven't we had several of our punters drafted?

I agree last year was bad for our place kicker, but under Kirk that's more of an aberration. This year we were 8th in FG%, 11th in FG made, tied for 6th in XP made and tied for 1st in XP%. Not good, but also not bad after graduating a kicker that held down the position for 4 years. I think we will definitely improve next year; both Ellis and Recinos are freshman.

In punting we were tied for 8th in number of punts (not a bad thing) and 11th in punting average. We do need some work there, but I think with Kidd and Kornbrath we have to improve.

 

[99topdawg]

Iowa should hire someone like Tom Herman, The OC at OSU for $2M as the head coach. And offer $1.5M to Pat Narduzzi to be DC. And hire kevin wilson when he gets fired at Indy, to be OC for $750k.

Total amount $4.3M for HC and 2 coordinators.

Thats a cant lose combo. Today in CF there is too big of gap between HC and his assistants in pay. The HC should be paid less and Coordinators paid more.

We may not even have to look for a new OC. From Wikipedia:

Herman began his coaching career (1999-2000) at University of Texas as a graduate assistant under the mentorship of Greg Davis

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Looking simply at the question, I'd say Kate Upton is the answer...

 

[kicker22]

I think the biggest thing that holds us back is the style of play. I've never been a KF hater (feel free to hold it against me), but the problem, as so many point out, is we simply live and die playing boring football. I find it similar, in a sense to Lickball, where the elite athletes simply don't want to play that style of football. Sure it might be great for the guys in the trenches, but what stands out to me about Oregon, Baylor, and even Wisconsin is the fact that these programs are looking to score every offensive snap where we are systematically trying to pick up enough yards each play to consistently and methodically move the chains.

Elite athletes want space. They want opportunities to go 1v1 in open space for a shot at the "homerun" play. Wisconsin's lines have provided those opportunities for their backs year in and year out which allow them the opportunity to bring in game breakers. Oregon and Baylor are programs that recruit elite athletes based on their schemes and tendencies.

We simply lack that. In my opinion the model needs to focus primarily on reestablishing a product and a branding our identity. If we are going to be focus on the being the "bullies" ten we have to get bigger and stronger up front and live up to that. If we want to bring in WR's we need to demonstrate that we will throw down field frequently, essentially opening up the playbook. We also need to enhance the return game as playmakers generally see special teams as an opportunity to get on the field early in their careers.

Who we want to be and who we are two completely different things. We either redefine what we have become or determine what we need to do to become the program we want to be. That is the only way we this program turns the corner.

 

[guffus]

The whole model of trying to be stronger fell apart a couple years ago. There are limits to how much you can push the human body. Getting bigger and stronger is no longer the answer.

Just like the push to get quicker and faster has its limits too.

 

[thetrza]

I'm not really into following models on twitter or facebook. I just don't think its worth it when they only post photos so often, and the rest of the stuff they share is irrelevant or stupid. You realize that these girls often have the IQ and attention span of a common goldfish. Plus your friends see the person on you list or by looking over your shoulder and you look like a desperate loser. Don't bother sending them instant messages or direct tweets because you won't really get a response, and if you do its probably a scammer or con artist or catfish deal like Mante Te'o.

 

[kicker22]

The whole model of trying to be stronger fell apart a couple years ago. There are limits to how much you can push the human body. Getting bigger and stronger is no longer the answer.
Just like the push to get quicker and faster has its limits too.

Maybe not necessarily stronger, but we can go bigger. Look at the size of Wiscy's Oline in comparison to ours. While we may not be able to physically be stronger in the trenches, we can recruit bigger players to put on that muscle. And if you're right and trying to be stronger fell apart a few years ago, then its time to shy away from the "bullies of the big ten" mentality and rebrand our offense into something that can kick start both the program and the fan base.

If our style of play (our identity) isn't bringing in the players or attracting the players to be effective in taking us to the next level then its safe to say that there is no ground for improvement without change. Iowa has always had a history of producing linemen, however if we aren't recruiting at a high enough level to put elite athletes in the skill positions then it may not matter how good those linemen are. If the power ground game isn't getting it done and our O-line isn't the "elite" unit it was once believed to be (which I'm not saying it is or isn't) than rather basing success on the O-line, scheme, and chance maybe its time to look into to a new look.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

Okay, what have they done differently than us? What steps would Iowa need to take to duplicate their success?

Simple. They beat the teams they should beat on a consistent basis. The Purdue's, NW's, Minnesota's, etc...........Im not even going to get into the dogshit teams they would steamroll like Iowa State and the MAC teams Iowa loses to. They beat those teams, then they knock off Ohio State and Michigan State once in awhile.