Winning not not main focus to Kirk & program?

1

1013Hawk

Well-Known Member
Q. Emphasis on the outcome of this game because as you say you lost two to get some momentum going?
COACH FERENTZ: Momentum is a great thing. Winning is a great thing, creates momentum. But I've been here 16 years. I haven't talked an awful lot about winning -- obviously we talk about it. But I think these guys are smart. They're in college.
And I'm not sure -- I don't mean to say this in a professorial way. But these guys invest an awful lot, players invest a lot in terms of time and sacrifice, et cetera. Endure injury. They go through an awful lot. Think about the average career of a college football player. And it's not unique to our program. It's just part of being a Division I athlete.
So to suggest that winning is not important that would be almost insulting if you said that to any player or coach. But to that point the focus we've always tried to do, our emphasis is on being let's maximize what we have and play our best, and that's a tough goal to reach.
So wins and losses don't always measure that, but that's the ultimate goal and that's going to be our goal this next three plus weeks is to practice as well as we can and then go out and compete as well as we can against Tennessee and it's never easy. It's a competitive endeavor. But that's our goal is to do the best we can.

This could be interpreted in a BAD way. I think winning should be ultimate goal for program besides being a competent student .
 
I get it too. I graduated from college. We have a FB coach that sounds more like a player development director for the NFL than a coach that is dedicated to winning FBS championships. Of course, getting better is necessary to be in a position to win. Just saying that getting better is the goal is kind of insulting to those people that look to our FB leader to figure out how to compete and win against all comers. That is why he is paid the money he is paid. it is not to just get better, it is to figure out how to win. I think Purdue is getting better. Maryland is getting better. Rutgers is getting better. Minnesota got better, faster. The rest of the Big Ten is getting better. Can we get better fast enough to not have the program sink lower in the conference? If we are truly "competitive" people it must feel pretty bad to get pasted 51-14 by a team that has just leaped past Iowa as a football program.
 
Look at this pile of garbage that they tossed out for the media and fans to think they are really evaluating talent and perhaps going to play the best player. Except we know without a shadow of a doubt that will never happen. He will evaluate until the cows come home but Rudy is still behind center and MW is still firmly entrenched at TB. Say what you want Kurtis but you can't teach an old dog new tricks….:


The fresh-slate theme extends to every position battle, Ferentz said — including quarterback. Without using their names, Ferentz wouldn't rule out starting sophomore C.J. Beathard (a native Tennessean) over junior Jake Rudock.

Rudock was off-and-on in compiling a 6-5 record as a starter. Beathard became a fan favorite by rallying Iowa past Pittsburgh after Rudock was hurt, then won his only start at Purdue the following week.

"We sit here at 7-5 right now, so I can't imagine that we won't evaluate," Ferentz said. "I can't imagine there's not too much that's not open for grabs. It's been that way all season. It'll be that way over the next month. Everybody's got to earn their spot, their position, their playing time.

"We're a 7-5 football team. We're looking to get better. That leaves everything up for discussion. Most importantly, open to competition."
 
Whoops let me add to Kurtis' quote. He's talking out both sides of his mouth. Every position will be up for grabs, then follows that up with you can be sure the captains are starting? What? So rest assured we get one more chance to watch the Hebrew Hammer on 10 stretch plays, whew had me nervous coach…

Q. Do you feel like you got enough out of your quarterback this year? Do you anticipate any kind of reevaluation of that position either for the Bowl game or going forward?
COACH FERENTZ: I'll say this about every position. We sit here at 7-5 right now. I can't imagine there's too much that we won't evaluate or too much that's not open for grabs.
And it's been that way all season. It will be that way certainly over the next month. Everybody has to earn their spot in their position, their playing time, and I don't see that changing. But the thing that has changed now we've got three plus weeks and a lot more practices than you would have in a game week to make some evaluations.
But the three captains you'll visit with tonight, my guess is they'll all line up and start in the Bowl game. I'd be surprised if they didn't.
 
hawkphan00 said:
"We sit here at 7-5 right now, so I can't imagine that we won't evaluate," Ferentz said. "I can't imagine there's not too much that's not open for grabs. It's been that way all season. It'll be that way over the next month. Everybody's got to earn their spot, their position, their playing time.

"We're a 7-5 football team. We're looking to get better. That leaves everything up for discussion. Most importantly, open to competition."
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I read this to mean that, because of the play at the end of the Nebraska game, Scherff will be given a chance to take over for Weisman as starting halfback.
 
I looked forward to reading the presser. I don't look forward to you guys parsing the presser. Let it go. It is unfortunate that a fan base is so quick to dissect every spoken word from the coach.

This is why kids feel entitled. They need an answer for everything. This is what I gathered from the presser.

We didn't perform well this year.
I am not comfortable in my position because that is not possible in collegiate athletics with message board nonsense screaming for the head coach to be fired.
Coaches are evaluated constantly.
Willies and I will have a discussion when the bowl is over.
The AD from Neb spoke the truth.
I am disappointed in the record for this season. I want to win like everyone else. To say winning is not important is blasphemous.
Everyone has a chance to improve, but I see 3 guys definitely starting in the bowl game.

What did I miss?
 
Kirk wants to win every game. I am just not sure he knows how to like in 2002. I dont think he has the coaching staff like he did in 2002 and KF himself cant figure it out.

It seems an easy analysis that the hawks need to score more points. Defense played well enough in most games even though the Dee could play better.
 
Whatever Kirk is saying -- or not saying -- to his players behind closed doors ... whatever he says or does not say to the media ... the bottomline is the program is average now. We have fallen behind MSU, Nebraska, Wisky, Minnesota, possibly even Maryland ... We are more on par with Northwestern ... Would love to see us get back on track ... And for all of us to be excited about Iowa football once again ... In a state where you either bleed black and gold or cardinal and gold ... it's tough when the team you love and support is a shell of what it used to be ... or could be ...
 
SterlingWarriorHawk said:
I looked forward to reading the presser. I don't look forward to you guys parsing the presser. Let it go. It is unfortunate that a fan base is so quick to dissect every spoken word from the coach.

This is why kids feel entitled. They need an answer for everything. This is what I gathered from the presser.

We didn't perform well this year.
I am not comfortable in my position because that is not possible in collegiate athletics with message board nonsense screaming for the head coach to be fired.
Coaches are evaluated constantly.
Willies and I will have a discussion when the bowl is over.
The AD from Neb spoke the truth.
I am disappointed in the record for this season. I want to win like everyone else. To say winning is not important is blasphemous.
Everyone has a chance to improve, but I see 3 guys definitely starting in the bowl game.

What did I miss?
Click to expand...
That you complained that guys parsed the presser.


And then you parsed the presser in summary form?
 
I cannot even begin to imagine what KF said that did not prioritize winning as the major goal for the Iowa football program. Geez.
 
1013Hawk said:
Q. Emphasis on the outcome of this game because as you say you lost two to get some momentum going?
COACH FERENTZ: Momentum is a great thing. Winning is a great thing, creates momentum. But I've been here 16 years. I haven't talked an awful lot about winning -- obviously we talk about it. But I think these guys are smart. They're in college.
And I'm not sure -- I don't mean to say this in a professorial way. But these guys invest an awful lot, players invest a lot in terms of time and sacrifice, et cetera. Endure injury. They go through an awful lot. Think about the average career of a college football player. And it's not unique to our program. It's just part of being a Division I athlete.
So to suggest that winning is not important that would be almost insulting if you said that to any player or coach. But to that point the focus we've always tried to do, our emphasis is on being let's maximize what we have and play our best, and that's a tough goal to reach.
So wins and losses don't always measure that, but that's the ultimate goal and that's going to be our goal this next three plus weeks is to practice as well as we can and then go out and compete as well as we can against Tennessee and it's never easy. It's a competitive endeavor. But that's our goal is to do the best we can.

This could be interpreted in a BAD way. I think winning should be ultimate goal for program besides being a competent student .
Click to expand...

Didn't KF basically just say that winning ("playing the best that we can", etc. etc.) was the ultimate goal? At least that's the way I interpret this. I'm sure KF goes into every game wanting to win.

KF is in my dog house these days, and I think it's valid to argue that he has the fire he used to and whether he always makes the best decisions with his players and staff, etc. but common, let's get real.
 
15 years and I've still never heard KF say the words National Championship and Goal in the same breath....that's all I need to know about him, and our future until he's gone.
 
RocknRollface said:
One thing is beyond doubt, he needs to be gone before next season.

This whole thing is crap.
Click to expand...

This^. He needs to go now. Open competition, what a load of crap. He says that every single season, yet the best players sit on the bench behind his little pets.
 
SterlingWarriorHawk said:
I looked forward to reading the presser. I don't look forward to you guys parsing the presser. Let it go. It is unfortunate that a fan base is so quick to dissect every spoken word from the coach.

This is why kids feel entitled. They need an answer for everything. This is what I gathered from the presser.

We didn't perform well this year.
I am not comfortable in my position because that is not possible in collegiate athletics with message board nonsense screaming for the head coach to be fired.
Coaches are evaluated constantly.
Willies and I will have a discussion when the bowl is over.
The AD from Neb spoke the truth.
I am disappointed in the record for this season. I want to win like everyone else. To say winning is not important is blasphemous.
Everyone has a chance to improve, but I see 3 guys definitely starting in the bowl game.

What did I miss?
Click to expand...

But yet here you are reading what people have to say about the presser.
 
1013Hawk said:
Q. Emphasis on the outcome of this game because as you say you lost two to get some momentum going?
COACH FERENTZ: Momentum is a great thing. Winning is a great thing, creates momentum. But I've been here 16 years. I haven't talked an awful lot about winning -- obviously we talk about it. But I think these guys are smart. They're in college.
And I'm not sure -- I don't mean to say this in a professorial way. But these guys invest an awful lot, players invest a lot in terms of time and sacrifice, et cetera. Endure injury. They go through an awful lot. Think about the average career of a college football player. And it's not unique to our program. It's just part of being a Division I athlete.
So to suggest that winning is not important that would be almost insulting if you said that to any player or coach. But to that point the focus we've always tried to do, our emphasis is on being let's maximize what we have and play our best, and that's a tough goal to reach.
So wins and losses don't always measure that, but that's the ultimate goal and that's going to be our goal this next three plus weeks is to practice as well as we can and then go out and compete as well as we can against Tennessee and it's never easy. It's a competitive endeavor. But that's our goal is to do the best we can.

This could be interpreted in a BAD way. I think winning should be ultimate goal for program besides being a competent student .
Click to expand...

You don't understand. As a player you can't control who wins or loses a game. You can only control what YOU do. No successful coach talks about winning or losing. What they all talk about is getting each player to play their best. THAT is a goal you can control. THAT is the emphasis of any good player and good coach. THAT is what Kirk is talking about. The thing is, if each player plays his best then the team plays its best... then can you really ask for any more?

Now I'm not saying this has happened this fall. I don't know the exact reason why it hasn't happened this fall. But that is the goal - to get each player to play his best every Saturday.
 
Knight78 said:
You don't understand. As a player you can't control who wins or loses a game. You can only control what YOU do. No successful coach talks about winning or losing. What they all talk about is getting each player to play their best. THAT is a goal you can control. THAT is the emphasis of any good player and good coach. THAT is what Kirk is talking about. The thing is, if each player plays his best then the team plays its best... then can you really ask for any more?

Now I'm not saying this has happened this fall. I don't know the exact reason why it hasn't happened this fall. But that is the goal - to get each player to play his best every Saturday.
Click to expand...

The ultimate trophy in the sport of football is named after a guy who said the following:

"If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?"
"Winning isn't everything, its the only thing"
"Winning isn't a sometime thing, its an all the time thing"
"Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing"
"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser"

I'd say his success is beyond doubt.

In regards to KF's comments about goals, and doing their best, etc, it doesn't really bother me. I think its pretty comical for people to believe that he doesn't want to win, or its important to him, or its not his ultimate goal. Of course it is.

But I also believe its silly not to believe that it is very important for Ferentz to win his way. And unfortunately for Iowa fans, his way of coaching doesn't give Iowa a schematic edge. It never has. It used to give Iowa a physical edge, but most teams have either caught up or passed Iowa in that regard. His coaching often keeps Iowa close, but it also usually costs Iowa at the end.
 
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