By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa football’s decision to not make the coordinators, or at last offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, available to the media during this current bye week has drawn the ire of some fans, and some in the media.

It supposedly gives the impression that Brian Ferentz is receiving preferential treatment by avoiding what would certainly be an uncomfortable question-and-answer session due to the poor performance of the Iowa offense.

Iowa is 6-2 overall, but with little help from the offense on a consistent basis.

There have been spurts from the offense, including the 254-rushing yards against Western Michigan and the 200 rushing yards against Wisconsin.

But there hasn’t been nearly enough of them, and the bad has been shockingly bad, like rushing for just 11 yards in last Saturday’s 12-10 loss to Minnesota at Kinnick Stadium.

Fans and the media deserve to hear from Brian Ferentz at some point this season, and they will hear from him.

The plan, according to Iowa Sports Information Director Matt Weitzel, is to make all the assistant coaches available at some point this season.

Iowa does a good job of making its assistant coaches and three coordinators available at least once during the season, and contray to what some might think, that will continue this season.

It would’ve been nice from a media standpoint if Brian Ferentz had been made available this week because he is hugely popular right now, just in an unpopular way if that makes sense.

Sophomore quarterback Deacon Hill has met with the media multiple times since becoming the starter, as have other players on offense, while Brian Ferentz hasn’t met with the media.

Some consider that a double standard, but that’s just how Iowa, and how some other programs, conduct business.

If Brian Ferentz is treated the same as fellow coordinators Phil Parker and LeVar Woods, then that seems fair.

The offense has become the focus of jokes and ridicule, and the performance incentives in Brian Ferentz’s revised contract, which include that Iowa must average at least 25 point per game, have made a bad situation worse and more embarrassing.

So, maybe Kirk Ferentz didn’t want to make his son available this week because of the timing with Iowa coming off such a devastating loss in which the offense failed miserably.

While some might take exception to that and consider it Kirk Ferentz coddling his son, it isn’t a big deal unless Brain Ferentz should go on to avoid the media for the entire season, but Iowa assures us that it won’t happen.

Kirk Ferentz might be worried that his son will say the wrong thing, and then give his critics and naysayers ammunition to dwell on during the crucial stretch drive of the season.

Brian Ferentz met with the media during the bye week last season, and that’s when he struck a nerve with fans when asked about the downside of giving then backup quarterback Alex Padilla a chance to play since the offense was struggling behind starter Spencer Petras.

“What is the upside,” Brian Ferentz said with sort of a snarky tone.

The anti-Brian Ferentz narrative became even more intense after that four-word answer, and it hasn’t let up more than a year later.

Perhaps Kirk Ferentz made more of a tactical move by not making Brian Ferentz available this week than a move in which he was protecting his son.

The last thing Iowa needs right now is for Brian Ferentz to say the wrong thing and create another distraction.

Brian Ferentz has a gift for gab, but he also speaks without a filter, and doesn’t mince his words, and that could be dangerous from a public relations standpoint.

The players and coaches say that they try to ignore and block the outside noise, but they’re human, and they live and interact with other humans and hear stuff.

Brian Ferentz used to be a media favorite, and a fan favorite, but that was before he became his father’s embattled offensive coordinator and before the offense became borderline dysfunctional.

These are tough times for Brian Ferentz, and that makes it tough on his father.

But they also have a responsibility to meet media obligations, and there is no reason to think they won’t.

Kirk Ferentz might think it would be more beneficial for Brian Ferentz to meet with the media near the end of the season.

There is also the possibility that Brian Ferentz had a scheduling conflict this week.

Whatever the case, as long as Brian Ferentz is made available to the media at least once this season, or shortly thereafter, I don’t see the probem.

The amount of media accessibility has increased significantly since I started covering the Iowa football team in the early 1990s.

I rarely remember interviewing the coordinators under Hayden Fry unless it was media day or pre-arranged.

Players also weren’t made available back then as much as they are now almost year-around.

Brian Ferentz has cut back on the number of interviews he now grants, and according to Scott Dochterman from the Athletic, his interview with Brian Ferentz before the start of this season was an exclusive and the only interview that Brian Ferentz granted.

And if that is the case, fine.

Brian Ferentz isn’t required to grant multiple interviews.

But he should have the same media obligations as his fellow coordinators and assistant coaches, and up until this season, he has had the same obligations, and this season isn’t over.

Kirk Ferentz is obviously smart enough to realize that shielding Brian Ferentz from the media would go over like a turd in a punch bowl.

Brian Ferentz will be made available to the media at some point this season.

Iowa says that’s the plan, and I believe them.