There is misconception about Brian Ferentz’s revised contract
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – There is a misconception, or so it seems, about the performance objectives that were recently added to Brian Ferentz’s contract.
Some apparently believe that Brian Ferentz would be terminated as the Iowa football team’s offensive coordinator should he fail to meet all the amendments in his contract, which include Iowa winning at least seven games and averaging at least 25 points per game.
While that could happen, it certainly isn’t written in stone.
There is always the chance that Brian Ferentz could have his current contract terminated after this coming season, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that his job would be terminated.
This is one of those strange and delicate situations that will have to work itself out throughout the course of the 2023 season.
Iowa Interim Athletic Director Beth Goetz met with the media on Thursday, and she confirmed that Brian Ferentz now reports to her, and that that the amendments are still in his contract.
Goetz sort of danced around the topic when asked what would happen to Brian Ferentz should Iowa fail to average 25 points per game, and that’s understandable.
She doesn’t have to answer that question, partly because she probably doesn’t have an answer right now.
There is a lot of ambiguity with Brian Ferentz’s situation, and the only real course of action is to just wait and see what happens.
“We’re excited about what they’re going to do on the field, and we understand it’s unique,” Goetz said. “We understand it’s going to be talked about a lot.
“But it’s just not something we’re going to be thinking about week in and week out. We’re going to cheer for the team, support the program, support our coaches the way we always do, and we’ll evaluate at the end of the season.”
It seems hard to believe that Brian Ferentz would be relieved of his duties should Iowa go on to win the Big Ten West Division, but while averaging fewer than 25 points per game.
There are just too many things that could or couldn’t happen that make the 25-point requirement too vague and rigid.
Because let’s say Iowa is leading Nebraska 23-14 with less than 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter and has the ball on the Nebraska 1-yard line.
With the way in which Brian Ferentz’s contract is now set up, Iowa would have to score a touchdown, or at least kick a field goal, to meet the 25-point requirement.
But that would also go against everything Brian’s father, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, stands for as a coach, as a strategist, and as a person.
The safest play would be to take a knee and let the clock expire because there would be little chance of making a mistake, and it would also show respect for the opponent, which is important to Kirk Ferentz.
There is no way Kirk Ferentz would risk something going wrong by trying to score points just so his son could meet a requirement in his contract.
It would not only be risky, but it would look horrible from an optics standpoint.

And just imagine the cries of nepotism that would occur if it ever looked as if Kirk Ferentz was breaking from his normal coaching beliefs and philosophies just to help his son.
Kirk Ferentz wouldn’t do that, even for his son.
That’s why the amendments in Brian Ferentz’s contract are hard to figure at this point.
Former Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta, who retired last month after having held the job since 2006, has been criticized for coddling Kirk Ferentz, and for being soft on Brian Ferentz.
Whether you believe that or not, one thing seems certain, which is that Barta finally took a stand when he added the amendments to Brian Ferentz’s contract this past March.
Perhaps it was easier for Barta to make this stand knowing that he was close to retiring and that he wouldn’t be Kirk Ferentz’s boss anymore.