Hard to believe a succession plan already is in place for Brian Ferentz to replace his father
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Festering beneath the surface is a debate on how Iowa football will proceed without Kirk Ferenrtz as head coach.
On one side are those who believe that a succession plan is already in place where Ferentz will hand the job over to his 36-year old son, Brian Ferentz, who is Iowa’s current offensive coordinator, and a former Iowa offensive lineman.
On the other side are those who believe that a succession plan will be approved only if Iowa achieves a certain level of success in the remaining seasons under Kirk Ferentz.
Put me on that side, but it’s not that I have any inside information. It’s just a guess, or a hunch.
It seems obvious that Kirk Ferentz would like to have his oldest of five children succeed him as head coach, and the head Hawk certainly has a right to feel that way despite what some might feel about nepotism.
Brian Ferentz is being groomed for the job, you could say.
I’m willing to agree with that, but that still doesn’t mean a succession plan already has been approved.
Kirk Ferentz should have something to say about who succeeds him as the Iowa head coach, given everything he has a done for the program.
But so should what lies ahead on the field.
If the current team goes on to win the Big Ten West Division, and that would prove to be the start of another glorious two-or-three-year stretch under Kirk Ferentz in which the offense does its part, then yeah, hiring Brian Ferentz to replace his father would make sense, and would be hard to argue against.
But that’s a big if at this stage.
Iowa is 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten as it enters the second bye week on the schedule.
This season still has a chance to be special from a record standpoint, but it’s hard to know for sure just how good Iowa is because five of its six wins were against teams that, quite frankly, aren’t very good.
Iowa’s three victories in conference play have come against Rutgers, Purdue and Northwestern, who are a combined 1-14 in Big Ten games and 6-18 overall.
Iowa’s two losses have come against Michigan and Penn State, who are a combined 9-2 in conference play and 14-2 overall.
The closest Iowa has to a signature win is its 18-17 victory over Iowa State on Sept. 14 in Ames, but even that victory has lost some of its glow with the Cyclones now 5-3 overall and coming off a devastating loss at home to Oklahoma State this past Saturday.
Iowa has to defeat Wisconsin in its next game on Nov. 9th in Madison, Wis., to still have a realistic chance of winning the West Division.
The Badgers have certainly come back down to earth with back-to-back losses to Illinois and Ohio State, but it’s still Wisconsin, which has won six of the last seven games against Iowa.
It’s hard to picture a succession plan working for Brian Ferentz if the Badgers continue to dominate Iowa and continue to dominate the Big Ten West Division.
This still is a very fluid situation, especially since Kirk Ferentz shows no signs, or has given any hints, that he is even thinking about retirement despite being 64 years old.
Kirk Ferentz seems to really be enjoying himself at this stage.
His health appears fine, the passion to coach still seems to burn within him, and the program is on solid ground with a 15-6 overall record since the start of last season.
The media rarely asks Kirk Ferentz about retirement, because despite his age, it isn’t a timely question under the current circumstances.
The media also doesn’t ask about whether a succession plan is in place because Kirk Ferentz would avoid answering it, even if there was one in place, as would Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta.
It could reach a point where Iowa gets on a roll in the next year or two and then announces that Brian Ferentz will succeed his father as head coach, but at a date yet to be determined.
The problem with that approach, besides the nepotism argument, is the risk of making the announcement too soon and then having the program struggle before the succession plan can take place.
My belief is that part of what motivates Kirk Ferentz these days is the hope of finishing on a high note so he could have Brian succeed him with little to no talk about nepotism.
I just have a hard time believing that UI officials already have approved a succession plan without knowing how Kirk Ferentz’s career will end, and without knowing if Brian Ferentz has what it takes to even be a successful offensive coordinator, let alone a head coach.
There is also Phil Parker's situation to consider.
Parker has been a member of Kirk Ferentz's staff at Iowa since the beginning in 1999, and is now in his eighth season as defensive coordinator. The Iowa defense has performed well under Parker, including during this past Saturday's 20-0 victory at Northwestern. It was Iowa's second shutout against a Big Ten opponent this season, and its fourth shutout against a Big Ten opponent dating back to the start of last season.
So a strong case could be made for the 56-year old Parker to replace Kirk Ferentz as the Iowa head coach.
The offense has shown flashes under Brian Ferentz since he was promoted in 2017, but not nearly enough to say that he has been a success and deserves to take that next giant step as a coach.
Brian Ferentz still has a lot prove as a coach, including learning how to better control his emotions, while his father still has a lot to give as a head coach.
Kirk Ferentz has a lot of power and influence, but enough to already have a succession plan in place seems beyond even his reach at this stage.