Iowa fans should hope that father knows best
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kirk Ferentz met with a curious media on Monday and delivered some news that was surprising not for the details, but for the timing.
Ferentz wasted no time in promoting his son, 33-year old Brian Ferentz, to offensive coordinator, with the announcement coming barely 72 hours after Greg Davis announced his retirement from coaching.
“Really, in my judgment right now, I think he’s the best person and fit to lead our offense moving forward,” Kirk Ferentz said of Brian Ferentz, who graduated from Iowa City High School before playing as an offensive lineman for his father at Iowa. “He knows Iowa. He knows our players. He knows our program.
“And most importantly, I think he knows what works here and what doesn’t work. And that’s important for all of our coaches, and is certainly important for all of our players, too. So I’m really excited about this announcement.”
Brian Ferentz was considered the overwhelming favorite to replace Davis, but you figured the process would take more time in order to satisfy all the concerns about nepotism.
I’m not suggesting that Kirk Ferentz or Brian Ferentz or the University of Iowa cut any corners or did anything shady because for one, they wouldn’t do that, and two, they couldn’t do that. I just didn't expect the search to last for barely a weekend.
Kirk Ferentz said he considered other candidates, but felt strongly that Brian was clearly the best option.
We can assume in this high-profile case that every T has been crossed and that every I has been dotted to assure transparency.
Kirk Ferentz has a right to promote whomever he chooses, and why would UI officials question the decision or the motives of somebody who they just rewarded with another 10-year contract?
Iowa has put its trust in Kirk Ferentz and now Kirk Ferentz has put a tremendous amount of trust in his oldest of five children to help lead the Iowa offense.
Nobody protested when Kirk Ferentz promoted long-time assistant Phil Parker to defensive coordinator after Norm Parker retired in 2011. So shouldn’t Brian Ferentz receive the same treatment?
Brian Ferentz would be a worthy candidate for the offensive coordinator job even if his father wasn’t the head coach.
Brian just finished his fifth season as the offensive line coach and his second season as the running game coordinator. He also spent four years with the New England Patriots, serving as tight ends coach in 2011.
So this isn’t a case of daddy handing over the keys to a son who isn’t qualified.
Being Kirk Ferentz’s son probably helped Brian land the New England gig, but Brian has taken it from there and done well for himself.
Iowa produced two 1,000-yard rushers for the first time in school history this past season and won the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate offensive line.
Brian Ferentz deserves some credit for those milestones. He has accomplished enough as a Hawkeye assistant to where his father feels proud and justified to promote him.
Brian started his part of Monday’s press conference by talking about his Hawkeye roots that date back to him being born in Iowa City in 1983 when his father coached the Iowa offensive line under Hayden Fry. Brian talked about wearing his Hawkeye jersey as a kid and playing football in his front yard, which was just a few blocks from Kinnick Stadium.
He talked about the joy of playing football for his father at Iowa and about how proud he is to be a Hawkeye assistant coach. Brian also landed a veiled jab against Iowa State.
“It’s been like a dream to me and I just feel so excited and so happy to be a part of this program for such a long time,” Brian Ferentz said. “And with that being said, certainly my history helps me appreciated the responsibility that I now have as the offensive coordinator and I feel that responsibility to my former teammates, to all the alumni of this program, to our institution, to our great fans and to the people of this great state being that we are the flagship institution and football program.”
That last part about Iowa being our state’s flagship institution and football program is vintage Brian Ferentz. Unlike his politically correct father, Brian often speaks without a filter and says what is on his mind.
In that respect, Brian Ferentz will be a fresh change. If anybody could convince his father to think out of the box a little bit, it’s the new offensive coordinator.
Kirk and Brian will either succeed or fail at Iowa. There is no in between, not at this stage with Kirk Ferentz having just completed his 18th season as head coach.
Iowa probably could sputter along as a .500 program for two or three years with father and son running the show before fans would start saying enough at the ticket office.
Contrary to popular opinion, Kirk Ferentz doesn’t have a life-time pass to coach the Iowa football team. But he wields a lot of power and has created an environment from which his son has benefitted greatly.
Brian has been given every chance to succeed under his father, which some might view as nepotism or at least as favoritism.
This kind of thing often happens in the business world where a rich and powerful CEO father helps pave the way for his ambitious son.
It just doesn’t happen very often in college football. So when it does happen, some view it with suspicion and wonder if Kirk Ferentz is paving the way for Brian to replace him as head coach.
Kirk Ferentz also has his son-in-law on the staff with Tyler Barnes serving as Iowa's director of recruiting. So it is a family affair in some respects.
Any talk of nepotism likely would fade if Brian Ferentz has success. Brian will continue to report to Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta as part of the university's policy with regard to nepotism.
Brian Ferentz acknowleded on Monday that he has no experience with coaching quarterbacks. That’s a concern under any circumstance, but especially since you could argue that Iowa’s last three starting quarterbacks all regressed under Davis.
“I have no plan moving forward as far as where we'll be,” Brian Ferentz said. “I think we need to figure out what's best for the football team and attack it that way.
“But of course, I would have almost zero comfort coaching quarterbacks at this moment as I stand in front of you; I've never done it. I've been around people that did it and I thought did it very well. It's like anything else, I hadn't coached the offensive line until I came here and coached the offensive line. I think what you do is, whatever you end up doing, just like when I coached the offensive line, you seek out good people and you seek out their counsel and you learn; and we're all students.”
Brian Ferentz referred all questions about possible coaching changes or staff reshuffling to his father. It seems obvious that Iowa has to hire a quarterback coach and passing-game coordinator to complement Brian’s strengths.
And from what I'm hearing, you can expect that to happen.
The future of the Iowa football program looks similar to the recent past as Kirk Ferentz continues to put his stamp on everything.
All that’s really left for the 61-year old Ferentz to accomplish before retiring is to make Iowa elite again and then sustain it. Kirk Ferentz has done practically everything else to the point where 8-win seasons aren’t what they used to be at Iowa.
Kirk believes strongly that Brian Ferentz is the best person to fill the offensive coordinator position. And what Kirk believes is usually widely accepted by UI officials. They gave Kirk all this power and now he's using it to help his son.