By Pat Harty

IOWA CTY, Iowa – For years, Gary Barta gave Kirk Ferentz everything a head coach could want.

From money to security to power and leverage to ways to avoid nepotism restrictions, Barta was Kirk Ferentz’s biggest fan.

He gave him 10-year contracts with massive buyouts, and he basically gave him the freedom to hire whomever he pleased, even family.

The family thing would ultimately backfire, though, as Brian Ferentz has struggled as his father’s offensive coordinator, and the struggles became a national story last season because of how poorly the offense performed, and because of the father-son connection.

Iowa finished last season ranked 130^th out of 131 FBS teams in total offense, and only had seven passing touchdowns.

Brian Ferentz was ridiculed and mocked and accused of being coddled and protected by his father, and by Barta.

The Iowa offense became the source of jokes and a national punchline.

Iowa defeated Kentucky 21-0 in the Music City Bowl, but the offense was outscored by the defense, which had two pick-sixes.

The national media jumped all over the Brian Ferentz storyline last season, and hasn’t let up on Brian, or his father.

Brian Ferentz is popular on social media but for all the wrong reasons as some now are using AI to .

.And what did Barta do before retiring in August?

He just made it worse by revising Brian Ferentz’s contract, and then by making it public.

The new one-year contract includes a salary cut from $900,00 to $850,000 and performance incentives that will have to be met for Brian Ferentz to return to his two-year rolling contract.

One of the incentives is that Iowa must average at least 25 points per game, or as some are now calling it, the drive to 325, and with that comes a lot of scrutiny for Kirk Ferentz.

His decision to allow sixth-team walk-on running back Max White to score a touchdown in the closing seconds of last Saturday’s 41-10 victory over Western Michigan was met with ridicule and with accusations of scoring only to help his son.

You could debate all you want about whether the 25-point incentive was a factor in Kirk Ferentz being more aggressive than usual in that kind of late-game situation.

But it won’t change anything.

Iowa faces a huge challenge against Penn State on Saturday in State College, Pennsylvania, and let’s say the final score proves to be 10-7, win or lose, the drive to 325 will be a storyline, and Brian Ferentz and the Iowa offense will probably be mocked and ridiculed.

This storyline will fester throughout the season because with each Big Ten opponent, the story will recycle.

You can recognize and even believe that Kirk Ferentz has shown preferential treatment for his son, and that Barta coddled both Kirk Ferentz and Brian Ferentz, but also believe that the amendments shouldn’t have been added to Brian Ferentz’s contract because they accomplish nothing besides putting Kirk Ferentz in an awkward situation and providing more ammunition for the critics and naysayers to poke fun.

There is a misconception with some in the national media that Brian Ferentz would be terminated if he doesn’t meet all the performance incentives.

But that just isn’t true.

There isn’t anything in writing that says that.

What if Iowa were to win the Big Ten West Division for the second time in three years, and win 11 games this season, but then only average 24.5 points per game?

You really think somebody in the administration would order Kirk Ferentz to fire his son?

Please.

Be serious.

While it’s hard to know what Barta was thinking when he added the amendments to Brian Ferentz’s contract, the timing makes sense since Barta would go on to retire just a few months later.

Barta doesn’t have to deal with the backlash, or with Kirk Ferentz or Brian Ferentz anymore.

Those wondering if Iowa Interim Athletic Director Beth Goetz could remove the amendments from Brian Ferentz’s contract, that would seem highly unlikely with her having the interim tag.

But even if Goetz is ultimately named the athletic director, some would accuse her of being weak and a Kirk Ferentz apologist if she removed the amendments.

It seems more likely that Brian Ferentz would be given a new contract.

And while there were people that Barta answered to at Iowa, namely the president, nobody stopped him from adding the amendments, so they must have had no problem with them being added.

Gary Barta left Iowa as a polarizing figure who made some good decisions, but also some poor decisions that led to some costly lawsuits and settlements.

He was long considered, fair or not, a Kirk Ferentz apologist who was afraid to take a stand.

And then when he finally took a stand, it came across as weak and vague.

To win seven games and to average 25 points per game isn’t asking a lot.

But why even ask?

Why bring more attention to an already difficult and embarrassing situation?

Especially if you knew you wouldn’t be around to deal with it.

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