Kirk Ferentz is many things at 61 including a survivor
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – On Oct. 28, 2000, the Iowa football team lost a competitive game against Wisconsin 13-7 at Kinnick Stadium.
The close score was a subtle sign of progress under second-year head coach Kirk Ferentz, but the outcome was more of the same.
It was Iowa’s 18th loss in 20 games under Ferentz and frustration was growing, along with doubt and concern that Iowa had hired the wrong person to replace Hayden Fry.
Iowa then defeated Penn State and Northwestern in consecutive games, and then almost defeated Minnesota in the 2000 season finale, providing some hope and momentum for the future.
Hope and momentum only go so far, though.
The 2001 season was crucial to Ferentz’s survival at Iowa. His record was just 4-19 heading into the 2001 season, so there was only so much time left for Ferentz to prove himself.
He was at a crossroads.
Iowa could’ve kept on losing and Ferentz ultimately would have been fired like four of his previous five predecessors had been at Iowa, or the 2001 season would be the start of a resurgence, as it proved to be.
Iowa finished 7-5 in 2001, capped by a 19-16 victory over Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl in which Ferentz said afterwards that the Hawkeyes were back.
He was right.
Iowa would go on to finish 31-7 over the next three seasons from 2002 to 2004, winning two Big Ten titles and two January bowl games along the way.
The rest is history that still is being made to this day with the 61-year Ferentz preparing his 18th Hawkeye squad to face Florida in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 2 in Tampa.
This will be Iowa's 14th bowl appearance under Ferentz and its fifth appearance in the Outback Bowl since the 2003 season. It's the reward for staying the course during a season that barely a month ago appeared on the verge of collapse.
"They're familiar with Kirk and his staff and how they coach, the values and what they bring to the table, " Iowa Athletic Gary Barta said of the Outback Bowl decision makers. "They've watched our program finish strong here in the end, and they know our fans. They've been to Kinnick Stadium. They've watched our fans travel down to Florida, so they have great admiration for what the Hawkeyes do.
Ferentz is many things as a head coach, including stubborn and proud, but he’s also durable and a survivor.
Some fans ask why Ferentz has lasted for so long at Iowa when the answer is obvious.
For starters, Ferentz has wanted to last this long at Iowa. He could’ve bolted for the NFL a long time ago, or to a more prestigous college program. But he stayed, partly out of loyalty, but also because Ferentz has it real good at Iowa.
Some will say too good, but that’s a matter of opinion.
Ferentz has earned the right to be firmly entrenched as the Iowa coach based simply on wins and losses.
Only twice since 2001 has Iowa finished with a losing record. It happened most recently in 2012 when Iowa finished 4-8 in Greg Davis’ first season as offensive coordinator.
The other time came in 2006 when Iowa lost to Texas 26-24 in the Alamo Bowl to finish 6-7.
Iowa also has had five double-digit win seasons since 2001, including last season’s 12-2 record, which set a school record for most wins in a season.
A victory over Florida in the Outback Bowl would give Iowa nine wins this season and 36 over the past four seasons.
That would average out to nine wins per season over the past four years.
To expect anything more than that level of productivity from the head football coach at Iowa is naïve and unrealistic. It’s just asking to be disappointed.
You certainly can hope for more because that’s part of being a fan. And Ferentz should be held accountable, especially at this stage in his career.
But it was less than two years ago when some fans wanted Ferentz replaced because they felt he wasn’t getting the job done anymore.
Ferentz Fatigue became a popular way of describing fan frustration in the wake of the 2014 season, which saw Iowa unravel down the stretch, losing its final three games.
Ferentz’s job wasn’t in jeopardy, nor should it have been after the 2014 season.
But there was a sense of urgency and a growing concern about the future of the program.
Even Barta voiced his concern by telling the media that the 2014 season was unacceptable. That raised a lot of eyebrows because it was out of character for Barta to be anything but positive and politically correct when speaking publicly about Ferentz.
But trouble was brewing.
Ticket sales were on the decline, while fan apathy was on the rise.
Ferentz had to deliver or at some point his job would have been on the line.
If this season and last season had been similar to the 7-6 campaign in 2014, Ferentz wouldn’t have near the job security that he has now, nor would he have another 10-year contract.
Attendance would be an ongoing problem and Barta would be under pressure to make a change.
Fortunately, for Barta and for Iowa fans, all of that messy stuff was avoided by winning.
Iowa has combined to win 20 games this season and last season, but it hasn’t been easy.
The current team many thought was on the verge of collapse after the 41-14 loss at Penn State on Nov. 5, which lowered Iowa’s record to 5-4.
But like he has so often before, Ferentz rallied the troops and led an improbable resurgence as Iowa defeated Michigan, Illinois and Nebraska to close the 2016 regular season.
Iowa was so impressive in defeating Nebraska 40-10 in the season finale that it moved the 8-4 Hawkeyes ahead of the 9-3 Cornhuskers for the Outback Bowl.
Ferentz was asked this past Sunday if defeating Nebraska so convincingly served as a springboard to the Outback Bowl.
"Well, it certainly didn't hurt," Ferentz said. "I think that's one thing I learned a lot time ago, if you have success on the field, it just gives you more opportunity in all regards. We got knocked out of the conference race a while back, but you're still playing for a lot of things that are significant, and going to a bowl is very special for anybody that competes as a college athlete. With every win, typically you get a better venue, and not with any disrespect to the other bowls that were being talked about."
Just when you think that Ferentz’s time maybe has run its course, he finds a way to respond, as we're seeing right now with the late-season surge..
A Ferentz supporter would stress that Iowa has combined to win 20 games in the past two seasons and has won at least eight games in three of the past four seasons, while a Ferentz naysayer would counter by saying Iowa has lost at least five games in five of the previous six seasons, and at least six games in three of the past six seasons.
How you feel about Ferentz depends on your perspective and on your personal agenda.
What can’t be disputed, though, is the simple fact that Ferentz has won enough games over the long haul to be where he is today.
Ferentz always finds a way to stay afloat in rocky waters. He’s done it at least three times at Iowa after the initial rebuild, beginning in 2008, followed by the mini-resurgence in 2013 and then last season’s historic turnaround.
Each time Ferentz had to deliver and he did.
He might not have felt much pressure from his employer, but in each of those three cases, a portion of the fan base was frustrated to where anymore losing would have been a major problem with regard to ticket sales and fan apathy.
Iowa had combined to finish 12-13 in 2006 and 2007, including 6-10 in conference games. The offense performed woefully in 2007, scoring 13 or fewer points in five games.
Ferentz probably could’ve survived for another two or three seasons at the most under those circumstances.
Despite what you might think, Barta has a breaking point with Ferentz. It might not seem that way, considering Ferentz just recently signed his second 10-year contract in which the buyout compensation gives Ferentz leverage over his employer.
However, a Big Ten football coach can only lose for so long before the market says enough. The time to prove yourself is even shorter for a head coach who has little to no experience.
That was Ferentz back in 1999 when he took over at Iowa. He probably would’ve been fired after the 2002 or 2003 season if the losing hadn’t stopped.
Ferentz stopped the bleeding, and nearly two decades later, he still has a solid foundation.
Iowa isn't an elite program by any means, but it's superior to many programs that have just as many advantages or disadvantages, programs like Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota.
Ferentz has relied mostly on developing under-valued recruits to be successful. His recruiting methods have been questioned this season in the wake of four Texas native de-committing from Iowa's 2017 recruiting class. Ferentz's no-visit policy for committed players has come under scrutiny, but he has stood firm in his beliefs and in his way of doing things.
Part of Ferentz's approach is to stay calm and level-headed during the peaks and valleys. This season with its highs and lows has tested Ferentz. The same team that lost to FCS power North Dakota State 23-21 in September at home defeated Michigan and Nebraska in November, allowing each team to score just one touchdown.
Ferentz was asked on Sunday how he doesn't go crazy trying to figure this season out.
"Well, that's Iowa football, right," Ferentz said in reference to one of his popular phrases. "Well, that's football at Iowa. Let me be more specific."
Football at Iowa has been pretty good for a long time under the watch of just two head coaches. Fry lasted 20 seasons from 1979-98, and now Ferentz is close to matching him in longevity, thanks to winning.