The weekly interviews with Iowa assistant football coaches continued on Wednesday as three more members of Kirk Ferentz’s staff met with the media.
Wednesday’s lineup was offensive line coach Brian Ferentz, defensive line coach Reese Morgan and recruiting coordinator Seth Wallace.
The head coach’s son, a coaching genius and the person in charge of Iowa’s recruiting was a lot for one press conference in mid-April.
Brian Ferentz by himself would be a lot for one press conference at any time. To say that Kirk Ferentz’s oldest son has a gift for gab would be putting it mildly.
Brian and his father are similar in that their lives revolve around coaching football, but their personalities are like night and day, at least publicly. Kirk guards his emotions, while Brian wears his on his sleeve.
Brian Ferentz thrives on situations like Wednesday’s press conference because he talks a good game. His words and his way of expressing himself have an impact.
The problem with words, though, is that they only last for so long. At some point, the message gets lost no matter how impressive the delivery might be.
Are we there yet with Brian Ferentz?
It depends on who you ask.
Some fans still swear by him and believe that Brian, who turned 32 on March 28, is the only person who could persuade his father to shed his conservative ways.
Others aren’t so sure about Brian Ferentz.
It seemed like a good fit when he left the New England Patriots after the 2011 season to be reunited with his father at Iowa, where Brian played as an offensive lineman from 2002-05. It still could prove to be a good fit, but so far the results have been average since Brian become the offensive line coach in 2012.
Iowa has a 19-19 record over the past three seasons with Brian Ferentz on the staff. It’s only natural that some of the glow would fade.
Fans are frustrated with the prolonged stretch of mediocrity. And judging from Brian Ferentz’s interview transcript, he also is frustrated with the state of the program.
I wasn’t there to listen to Brian answer questions, but somebody who was present described him as being edgy and unfriendly, especially when he was asked about his new responsibility as running game coordinator.
“Your guys’ job is to write stories and to create stories and do all those things,” Brian Ferentz said to the reporters in the room. “I think if you look around the country, this is a pretty common. If you walk down that hallway in there, which none of you are invited to do, that’s the nice thing about this building; there is locks and keys and things like that. But if you were to walk down that hallway, there’s nine full-time assistants on our staff. There’s five that carry some type of coordinator title. So if more than half of your assistants are coordinators, my question would be what is really in a title?
“This is really just a clerical, I don’t know – it’s almost a formality. I don’t think it really means too much, if that answers the question.”
The hallway to which Brian was referring in the new Iowa football complex is off limits to the media. Most of the new football complex is off limits to the media without authorization.
I’m just not sure why Brian Ferentz needed to point that out while answering a question about his new coaching responsibility or why he took so much satisfaction in telling reporters where they can’t go.
It’s not as if members of the Iowa media hide in the shadows looking for stories.
And if Brian’s new title is just a clerical thing, why even bother given it to him? His father had to realize that it would draw attention, especially when the coaching staff is being so heavily scrutinized.
I’m probably not the only person who has wondered if Brian Ferentz is being groomed to replace his father as the next Iowa head coach.
The problem with that scenario is that being average won’t allow it to happen.
I applaud Brian Ferentz for not making excuses for last season’s shortcomings. He made it clear on Wednesday that the offensive line under-performed during Iowa’s 7-6 season. The group was average at best despite being led by 2014 Outland Trophy winner Brandon Scherff at left tackle.
“We didn’t get the things done that we needed to do,” Brian Ferentz said. “We did not establish the run consistently enough. We didn’t protect the passer well enough.
“I guess I’m living in my world right now, but that’s really all I can control and that’s what I focus on.”
Brian’s world, much like his father’s world, is filled with pressure as they try to lead another resurgence. It has reached the point where winning is the only option left for them.