Kirk Ferentz has made a mess on offense that he probably can’t clean up without making changes
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Let me start this column by saying that I’m not demanding, or even suggesting, that Kirk Ferentz should make any coaching changes during the season.
Or, more specifically, I’m not saying that he should fire his son, Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, during the season.
In-season firings never have made much sense to me, because in the case of Brian Ferentz, who would replace him during the season?
What coach with any credibility would want to join this mess right now?
And just think of how awkward it would be to demote Brian Ferentz, and his $900,000 salary, and then promote somebody on the staff who isn’t being paid nearly as much.
Kirk Ferentz created this situation when he promoted his son to offensive coordinator in 2017 because you know the old saying; you never should hire somebody you can’t fire.
Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta also has played a role in creating this mess because he allowed Kirk Ferent to promote his son despite concerns about nepotism.
Kirk Ferentz has a serious problem that just keeps getting worse in that the situation on offense is beyond ridiculous, the latest evidence being Saturday’s 9-6 loss at Illinois in which the Fighting Illini, who are coached by former Hawkeye nose guard Bret Bielema, won despite committing three turnovers, and despite losing their starting quarterback to an injury late in the first quarter.
The fact that fifth-year senior Spencer Petras has taken every snap at quarterback for Iowa this season, besides being weird under the circumstances, gives the impression that Kirk Ferentz is doubling down on his stubbornness and his unwillingness to admit that maybe what he’s doing is wrong.
David Eickholt from 247Sports reminded Ferentz after the Illinois game that Iowa has scored seven or fewer points in six games in the last calendar year, and that the Iowa offense ranks near the bottom nationally in total offense, and then Eickholt asked Kirk Ferentz if he would consider making any coaching changes during the bye week.
And while that is a fair question under the circumstances, and the kind of question that some Hawkeye fans accuse the Iowa media of not having the guts to ask, Kirk Ferentz’s answer was predictable, and probably very frustrating for some fans to hear.
He looked at the big picture.
“We won ten games last year,” Kirk Ferentz said. “You’re aware of that. So, I look at that. We’ve won a lot of games since the 2015 season.
“We’re not doing well enough right now. I think that’s fairly obvious. So, we’re going to work on solutions and see what we can do to get better.”
Kirk Ferentz also said that Iowa “can’t change dramatically during the bye week,” and he’s right.
The only real solution under these difficult circumstances is to work on solutions.
However, based on how the offense performed against Illinois, you would have to wonder if there are any solutions right now.
Some fans will say that Iowa won 10 games last season despite the offense.
Iowa’s next game is against undefeated Ohio State on Oct. 22 in Columbus, Ohio, and the thought of how that game might turn out is depressing.
If Kirk Ferentz has been anything as the Iowa head coach, it’s resilient and resolute.
He’s won a lot of games, made a lot of money and helped a lot of players achieve incredible success.
But he also appears to have made a serious mistake by handing the offense to his son because it clearly hasn’t worked out. Brian Ferentz was also named the quarterback coach during the offseason, and that, obviously, hasn’t worked, either.
Brian Ferentz has certainly had his moments as the Iowa offensive coordinator, most notably the 55-24 beat-down against Ohio State in 2017 at Kinnick Stadium, and the 49-24 victory over the University of Southern California in the 2019 Holiday Bowl.
But those moments have been few and far between, and one happened five years ago, while the other happened three years ago.
A lot can happen in big-time college football over three years.
Just ask former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, who was fired after five games this season and replaced by Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard on an interim basis.
Nebraska also fired Scott Frost as head coach after four games this season, so in-season firings are a hot topic right now.
Rutgers also fired its offensive coordinator on Sunday, while Indiana fired its offensive line/running game coordinator on Sunday.
Most offensive coordinators probably would’ve been terminated by now if they had Brian Ferentz’s track record.
But most offensive coordinators don’t work for their father, who also happens to be the all-time winningest football coach at the school for which he works.
Kirk Ferentz has said throughout the season that the offense has practiced well. But fans are tired of hearing that because it hasn’t carried to the games.
Kirk Ferentz has earned a great amount of respect and gained a huge amount of leverage as the Iowa head coach.
His contract runs though the 2029 season, and Gary Barta is one of Kirk Ferentz’s biggest fans.
Iowa also has respectable 66-28 record since the start of the 2015 season and won the Big Ten West Division last season an in 2015.
Those accomplishments certainly deserve praise.
But on the flipside, Iowa has now lost five of its last eight games dating back to last season, and the offense is getting worse.
The Iowa offense is currently ranked last nationally amongst the 131 FBS teams in total offense, next to last in yards-per-play and No. 127 in scoring offense.
Much of the blame has been directed at Spencer Petras, and deservedly so because he has struggled.
But the problems against Illinois on offense went far beyond what Petras did or didn’t do on the field in his 25th career start.
Petras was sacked five times and Iowa was held to just 52 rushing yards on 30 attempts, continuing a disturbing trend that has festered throughout much of Kirk Ferentz’s time as head coach.
There are three phases to football, and right now Iowa is rock-solid on defense, which is ranked ninth nationally in total yards, and on special teams, but horrible on offense.
Iowa’s coordinators will meet with the media on Wednesday as part of the bye week.
The interview with Brian Ferentz should be interesting to say the least.
He held a zoom conference with the media earlier this season, but a lot has happened since then, and most of it has been bad.
Former Wisonsin quarterback and assistant coach Jon Budmayr was hired as an offensive analyst before the season, and is being paid just under $95,000 over six months to help specifically with the quarterbacks, and yet, the offense has gotten worse since he climbed on board.
Some fans want Kirk Ferentz to switch to more of a spread offense, which is what multiple teams run these days.
However, the problem with that is Iowa isn’t built to run a spread offense based on the current personnel.
Kirk Ferentz has been in difficult situations before as the Iowa head coach.
He lost 18 of his first 20 games as head coach in 1999 and 2000, and he had losing seasons in 2006 (6-7) and 2012 (4-8). Iowa also finished 6-6 in 2007 and didn’t make a bowl game.
But in all three of those cases, Kirk Ferentz was able to right the ship by trusting his instincts and by sticking to his core beliefs.
He now seems determined to solve the current problems on offense the same way.
There is always the chance that it could work, but the circumstances just seem worse now compared to 2006, 2007 and 2012, because for one, it’s now, and two, his son is the embattled offensive coordinator.
The concern is that Kirk Ferentz at 67 years of age has created a mess that he won’t be able to clean up anytime soon.
The other concern is the threat of fan apathy because it’ll be inevitable if this continues.
All seven of Iowa’s home games are sold out this season, but the odds of that happening next season based on how poorly the offense is performing, would be slim to none.
Fans can only take so much, especially when it doesn’t come cheap.
There is nothing wrong with disgrantled fans voicing their displeasure, nor is there anything wrong with fans that still choose to look at the bright side and remain hopeful.
But just because somebody isn’t willing to look at the bright side right now doesn’t make them any less of a fan.
Another concern is recruiting because imagine how tough it must be right now to convince offensive skill players to join this offense.
The Iowa offense has become a national laughingstock and a punchline.
Petras has been ripped on social media almost since the start of last season, and it just keeps getting worse.
But it isn’t Petras’s fault that his head coach believes he gives Iowa its best chance of winning, or that his head coach refuses to play another quarterback.
Remember, this is the same Kirk Ferentz that had James Vandenberg take every snap at quarterback during the 4-8 season in 2012.
Should the offense continue to struggle and keep Iowa from having a successful season, Kirk Ferentz will have some serious soul searching to do during the offseason.
The fact that Brian Ferentz reports to Barta as a way to avoid charges of nepotism seems to have more to do with appearance than substance because it’s hard to imagine Barta taking a stand in this case without Kirk Ferentz’s approval.
Kirk Ferentz still has half of the regular season left to fix what’s wrong with his sputtering offense, because let’s face it, this is Kirk Ferentz’s offense.
His son is just running it, unfortunately, to the ground.