Iowa needs to give Kirk Ferentz an ultimatum to make offense changes or lose his job
Call me an old sap, but watching Saturday’s game made me feel a little sad for the Iowa defensive players. Despite giving up 47 points (the other seven were on a pick-six), that is a legitimately top-line defense and it was continually put in difficult positions by a defense that is horrifyingly inept. It really is unbelievable that after all of the decades that Kirk Ferentz has been at the helm in Iowa City that he has not been able to establish a tradition of, at least, offensive competence to complement his traditionally stingy defense.
Now, I know that much of the problem stems from Kirk elevating his own son from a very good offensive line coach to a middling offensive coordinator and running back/tight ends coach to a completely ineffectual OC and quarterbacks coach. Our Meredith Hein wrote a phenomenal article about the scourge of nepotism at Iowa last week, and it is clear that everybody in Hawkeye Nation understands the issue as well.
Of course, I understand how difficult the situation must be for Kirk; knowing that you have pissed away a potentially historic season because you have continued to pretend that your son is not completely out of his depth and getting worse by the minute has to be hard, both as a coach and as a father.
Athletic Director Gary Barta clearly doesn’t want to fire Kirk Ferentz, and Kirk Ferentz clearly doesn’t want to fire his son, but it is incumbent on Barta to force Kirk’s hand. The Iowa administration needs to tell Kirk that if he does not completely overhaul his offensive staff during the offseason (preferably sooner, but at this point, I can’t see Brian getting canned midseason), it will be the end of the head coach’s tenure in Iowa City.
I realize that it is tough to get exceptional offensive talent to play for the Hawkeyes, but they don’t need a juggernaut-level output to keep Iowa competitive; they just need competence, and if Kirk refuses to do what is so painfully obviously necessary, then Barta needs to find someone who will.
Just sayin': Hell, he was given a contract extension just this year. I will be really expensive (i.e. like $42M) for Iowa to fire Ferentz.
Iowa football signs head coach Kirk Ferentz to contract extension through 2029 season
“Kirk’s consistent leadership and success over 23 years has been amazing and appreciated as he has led our football program in a first-class manner,” athletic director Gary Barta said via the school's press release. “His success over the past 23 years speaks for itself. He is an asset to the University of Iowa and our athletics department as a whole. The foundation of his program is strong, and the future looks bright.”
https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...act-extension-salary-age-hawkeyes/6527911001/
But if that's what the university decides, it will owe Ferentz 100% of his remaining base and supplemental salary, and he's under contract through 2029. So, if Iowa wants to move on after this season, it would need to pay him $42,000,000, paid out in monthly installments.
