By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The most depressing football game I have ever covered was played on Nov. 21, 1998 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Gophers put the final nail into an Iowa football season that already had been left for dead, demolishing the Hawkeyes 49-7 in the season finale.

Iowa had lost its final five games, and wasn’t even competitive in the final four losses, which came against Wisconsin, Purdue, Ohio State and the Gophers by a combined score of 161-35.

But it wasn’t just the collapse on the field that had me feeling depressed as I stood on the sideline not far from the Iowa bench.

It was evident long before the Minnesota beat-down that Iowa left much to be desired as a team, and that there would be no quick fix.

The 42-point deficit was more than anybody probably had expected, but the cause of my sadness had more to do with the look on Hayden Fry’s face in the fourth quarter.

Iowa’s legendary and charismatic head football coach looked tired and almost resigned to the fact that he was helpless under the circumstances.

I remember wondering while standing on the sideline at the Metrodome if Fry, who was approaching his 70^th birthday, would have enough enthusiasm and energy to rebuild the program again because it certainly needed a rebuild in 1998.

But then shortly after the season, the truth finally came out. Fry had been undergoing radiation treatments for prostate cancer, and he really had no choice but to retire.

The look on his face in the fourth quarter was that of a man whose life was flashing before him. There I was wondering if Fry had another rebuild in him, while he probably was wondering if he would survive.

Don Patterson was a member of Fry’s staff from start to finish at Iowa, including being the offensive coordinator for the final seven seasons.

Patterson doesn’t remember many specific details from the 1998 season, but he looks back now and realizes just how difficult the circumstances were with Fry being almost 70 years old and battling prostate cancer, and with defensive coordinator Bobby Elliott also being treated for a blood disorder.

Elliott returned to coaching, but was plagued by health issues until his death in July 2017.

“All I can remember is it just got more difficult with each passing year to recruit well because the Big Ten schools would acknowledge, yeah, coach Fry is a great coach, but how much longer can he coach?” Patterson said. “That was their response, so it got to be a little tougher with each passing year to recruit well.

“But I don’t remember any details of that last season other than I knew that coach Fry had health issues and then later on we found out that Bobby Elliott also had health issues.”

For me, it hurt to watch Hayden Fry's legendary career end on such a down note because he had touched my family personally by keeping my injured brother on scholarship in 1979. 

The 1998 season was a physical and emotional grind that took a heavy toll on Fry's aging body.

It just felt like his spectacular run was over after the Minnesota beat-down. I remember thinking as I left the Metrodome that night that Hayden Fry would never coach again, and I knew that many others felt the same way, that the inevitable would happen, sooner than later.

And it did, barely 24 hours later when Fry announced his retirement.

Iowa’s 1998 team was not without talent, but there just wasn’t enough of it.

Senior defensive tackle Jared DeVries was the only player on the team to make first-team All-Big Ten, while senior safety Eric Thigpen made second-team all-conference.

Thigpen was distraught as I interviewed him after the Minnesota loss. It was his final game as a Hawkeye and the emotions came spilling out.

"I wanted so much to give coach Fry a win in my final game," Thigpen said in the moments after the game. "He deserves better than this."

That's what I remember most about the Iowa players after the Minnesota loss, how upset they were about failing to win for coach Fry.

The players weren't aware of Fry's medical situation at the time, but you could sense that they felt something was seriously wrong.

Combine Iowa's shortage of talent with a head coach and a defensive coordinator that were both battling serious health issues and the odds were certainly stacked against the 1998 team, which finished 3-8 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten.

The 1998 squad also lost to Iowa State 27-9 in the second game of the season at Kinnick Stadium, ending Iowa's 15-game winning streak in the series.

“Without their health issues, I think the season would have turned out much differently,” Patterson said.

Fry announced his retirement shortly after the 1998 season, tears rolling down his face as he looked back at his legendary career and ahead to an uncertain future.

Kirk Ferentz was hired to replace Fry, and little did we know at the time that Ferentz, a former Fry assistant from 1981-89, would go on to match his former boss in longevity at Iowa.

Ferentz also needs just one more victory to surpass Fry as Iowa’s time winningest football coach.

So yes, the program has rebounded nicely from the 1998 season, as has the 89-year-old Fry, who currently lives in his home state of Texas after having spent much of his retirement living in Mesquite, Nev.

Fry’s legendary 1983 coaching staff will be honored at FryFest on Friday and at Iowa’s season opener against Northern Illinois on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Fry will be unable to attend the event, which was started 10 years ago in his honor, but his spirit and his influence will be on full display.

In addition to being a master rebuilder of college football programs, Hayden Fry is also a survivor.

He stood up to cancer and has lived for two decades, his 20-year retirement being the final chapter to a life filled with milestone moments.

It also is incredible to think that every member of the 1983 coaching staff is still alive.

“That’s pretty amazing in itself isn’t it,” Patterson said. “It really is.”