Kirk Ferentz still not thinking about making coaching changes during season
Ferentz asked again after Saturday's 54-10 loss at Ohio State if he's ready to replace his son
By Bob Baptist
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Kirk Ferentz finally changed quarterbacks.
What’s next? Don’t get your hopes up.
After switching from Spencer Petras to Alex Padilla at halftime of the Hawkeyes’ 54-10 loss to Ohio State, Ferentz was asked again after the game – a game in which the offense failed to score a touchdown for the second game in a row – if he may be ready to replace his son, Brian, as offensive coordinator.
“I answered that question two weeks ago” after a 9-6 loss at Illinois,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I’ve never done that in my career and I don’t plan to start right now.
“Our approach has always been to address what what’s out there (on the field) and to see what we can do to improve it. It’s been pretty consistent for almost 24 years now, and that’s the plan moving forward. It’s been fairly successful.”
Ferentz is 181-114 in 24 seasons at Iowa but 3-4 this year.
Why was he willing to change quarterbacks mid-game but not coordinators midseason?
“I think you’re talking about two different areas of responsibility,” he said. “I know (other coaches) do it. It’s just not my preference. My preference is to play it out, and there’s evidence to show it’s worked well in the past.
“Everything’s not over. When the season’s over, we’ll make a decision on what’s best for the program.”
Ferentz was pressed further on whether he thinks he might be putting the program in a bad position by leaving his son in charge of such a woeful offense.
“It has no bearing on who the person is. It’s just a matter of who’s coaching our football team,” he said. “The guys on our staff are guys who I think have demonstrated success, they’re good people, and we’re going to keep pushing forward.”
At the end of the season, he was asked, will be evaluate his son any differently than any other assistant?
“I’ve tried to treat everybody consistently on our staff, past and present, same as the players,” he said. “I’ve had three family members play as well in our program. They’ve got to earn everything they get, same as coaches do.”
There is at least one evaluation that will be made in the next several days. Who will be Iowa’s starting quarterback next Saturday against Northwestern?
Padilla, the only quarterback made available to the media after the game, said all he can do is try to win the job in practice this week. His action against Ohio State was his first of the season.
“I can’t speak to that. That’s a coaches’ decision. i’ll be ready if they need me,” he said. “I think they have (confidence in him). If they didn’t, I don’t think they’d have put me in the game today.”