Why Ferentz is a Great Coach

I would not go so far as to say that Ferentz is a great coach. Over the course of the last 14 years, I have no reason to not think that Ferentz is a good man. I think he is a great teacher and developer of talent, at least on the OL line. He has done good things for University of Iowa.

However to say he is a great coach is a stretch. Ferentz does a poor job of making in game adjustments. He does not recognize game situations and react accordingly (fake punts, onside kicks). He does not adapt to the strength of his players and game plan around them. He is constantly trying to force his system even when it has proven over and over to not work. He consistently loses to inferior teams.

Ferentz is said to be a Belichek disciple. Belichek adjusts and adapts to the strength of his team, so to put them in a position to win. Belichek beats the teams he is supposed to.

A great coach does not lose to Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Minnesota, ISU, and Northwestern on a continual basis. Will it happen on occasion, sure, but not consistently. A great coach knows how to manage the clock. A great coach knows how to run a 2 minute offense. A great coach knows when onside kick or a fake punt is coming. A great coach adapts and makes in game adjustments. KF has proven over and over that he is not able to do this.

So is KF a great coach... NO. Is he a good coach, I would say yes. Has he done good things for Iowa, yes, in the past.
 
Travisam said:
It's not one game LG. It's several seasons. In 2010 we went 8-5 which is a winning record. How many people are excited about 2010? It's not JUST the losses...AGAIN. It's how we're losing and who we're losing to. Seems like quite a simple thing.
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I agree with this. You have to look at that 8-5 record in its context, not just in a vacuum.. That's a perfectly solid record if you're talking about a down/rebuilding year. Problem is, the 2010 team was coming off a BCS win and had most of that team back, and was ranked in the Top 10 preseason. That was a 10+ win team that went 7-5 in the regular season, and was spared 6-6 thanks to an Indiana receiver dropping a sure TD pass the last play of the game.

There have been other similar disappointments - preseason Top 10 in 2005 & 2006 as well, just to finish unranked, and a losing record in 2006.
 
I think hes a great teacher but not a great coach. Lets not forget that prior to his arrival in Iowa he had been a position coach for almost all his career. He has approached the head coaching job the same way he did as a position coach. Teach the fundamentals of the game and execute well. In my opinion his lack of experience beyond being a position coach has handicapped him as a head coach. His lack of gameplanning ability clock management etc. Have been glaringly obvious throughout his tenure. These days football just isn't that simple.
 
Travisam said:
It's not one game LG. It's several seasons. In 2010 we went 8-5 which is a winning record. How many people are excited about 2010? It's not JUST the losses...AGAIN. It's how we're losing and who we're losing to. Seems like quite a simple thing.
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What? You would not even bring up 2010 if it were not for the 5 losses. IT IS THE LOSSES.

2009 vs. 2010--The primary difference between those seasons is that we lost the close games in 2010 that we won in 2009. That is it. The 2009 team didn't play markedly better than the 2010 team. We just got the bounces in 2009. That is my whole point. 2009 is remembered as a magical season because we won games. 2010 is remembered as a crappy season because we lost games.
 
LG210 said:
2009 is remembered as a magical season because we won games. 2010 is remembered as a crappy season because we lost games.
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mind%20blown.gif
 
joshhawk said:
I think hes a great teacher but not a great coach. Lets not forget that prior to his arrival in Iowa he had been a position coach for almost all his career. He has approached the head coaching job the same way he did as a position coach. Teach the fundamentals of the game and execute well. In my opinion his lack of experience beyond being a position coach has handicapped him as a head coach. His lack of gameplanning ability clock management etc. Have been glaringly obvious throughout his tenure. These days football just isn't that simple.
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Exactly. I've seen many examples of great sales people, who were promoted to management and just sucked. Different job skills and talent requirements.
Ferentz appears to be a great teacher and position coach...that has been promoted above his level of competence. The peter principle at its best.

Peter Principle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
I think people have always made way to much of the Belichek connection. He only worked for the guy for 3 seasons in a time when most considered Belichek to be a failure. I think he ks more a Ted Marchibroda disciple myself.
 
LG210 said:
Wow--this is insane. You guys are completely missing the forest for the trees.

First--see my post where I admitted that the 8-0 was an extreme example to prove the underlying point that it is the losses that are driving the overwhelming majority of the anger of the fan-base. Using logical extremes is a common technique in logical analysis. Didn't they teach you that while you were at Iowa?

Second--it is the losses that are driving the overwhelming majority of the anger of the fan-base.

Third--it is the losses that are driving the overwhelming majority of the anger of the fan-base.

Fourth--it is the losses that are driving the overwhelming majority of the anger of the fan-base.
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You're not wrong, evarbody else is!!1!
You know who you sound like, don't you?
 
smbhawk1 said:
I would not go so far as to say that Ferentz is a great coach. Over the course of the last 14 years, I have no reason to not think that Ferentz is a good man. I think he is a great teacher and developer of talent, at least on the OL line. He has done good things for University of Iowa.

However to say he is a great coach is a stretch. Ferentz does a poor job of making in game adjustments. He does not recognize game situations and react accordingly (fake punts, onside kicks). He does not adapt to the strength of his players and game plan around them. He is constantly trying to force his system even when it has proven over and over to not work. He consistently loses to inferior teams.

Ferentz is said to be a Belichek disciple. Belichek adjusts and adapts to the strength of his team, so to put them in a position to win. Belichek beats the teams he is supposed to.

A great coach does not lose to Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Minnesota, ISU, and Northwestern on a continual basis. Will it happen on occasion, sure, but not consistently. A great coach knows how to manage the clock. A great coach knows how to run a 2 minute offense. A great coach knows when onside kick or a fake punt is coming. A great coach adapts and makes in game adjustments. KF has proven over and over that he is not able to do this.

So is KF a great coach... NO. Is he a good coach, I would say yes. Has he done good things for Iowa, yes, in the past.
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This^^^^^
 
Travisam said:
Right, because if the hawks went 8-5 this season, people would be ****** about it like they were about 2010 right LG? Dude you're way off on this one. Give it up.
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What people are upset about is losses with the prospect of more losses in the future. Nothing more.

BTW--I have no idea why you are disputing this. Winning = happy fans. Losing = sad fans. Do you think it is more noble to be upset about something beyond the mere losses?
 
Agree with the OP. The program is down now. Many of us think Ferentz will bring it back to a BCS game level. Others don't. We shall see who is right. Its only been a few years since Iowa destroyed GT for an Orange Bowl win. (The score may not have indicated it, but it was a complete domination.) Has the game passed him by since then? Of course not. Talent is down (which is certainly on Ferentz) and team kind of stinks now. Happens to every team. Of course, to defend Ferentz and his body of work on a message board like this is to invite the virtual wrath of every genius who believes that he has cashed it in and no longer cares now that he makes a lot of money, and that his ability to keep his composure during game and in interviews is an indication that he doesn't care.
 
joshhawk said:
I think people have always made way to much of the Belichek connection. He only worked for the guy for 3 seasons in a time when most considered Belichek to be a failure. I think he ks more a Ted Marchibroda disciple myself.
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As much as it pains me to say it, I honestly think this says alot. Belichek's failures led to his success as he was able to learn from those mistakes and correct what needed to be corrected. KF left before Belichek became the coach he is now and as a result KF wasn't able to experience Belichek's use of his failures as a blueprint to his success. KF didn't have the opportunity to learn how use such failures as a tool to redefine the game. KF was only there for part of the journey which may have everything to do with why very little change has been made while he has been at the healm. He never learned how to manipulate that failure and has no insight as to how to reconstruct those failures and use them as a building blocks for the programs success.
 
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