By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kirk Ferentz should seriously consider stepping outside the Iowa football program to hire his next offensive coordinator.

Nothing against his current assistant coaches, but it just seems that the Iowa offense needs a fresh start and a different viewpoint.

Kirk Ferentz also should look long and hard for somebody who has experience in coaching quarterbacks and with running an offense at this level.

A critic or skeptic might counter by saying why would anybody with any experience and credibility want to risk working for a head coach who seems stuck on how he believes an offense should operate.

The answer to that is simple: somebody that wants to earn at least $1 million per year running an offense for a Big Ten program that has earned 20 bowl game invitations since 2001.

Iowa’s problems on offense have overshadowed the good things about Hawkeye football under Kirk Ferentz.

From having sustained success to having a loyal and devoted fan base, Iowa football is hardly a second-rate program or a coaching graveyard.

But Kirk Ferentz also will have to be willing to make some changes to make the job more attractive.

He will have to bend a little on offense if he wants to land a proven coach.

He doesn’t have to completely overhaul his offense because it might be too late for that with the 68-year-old Ferentz in his 25^th season as head coach, and also with how Iowa recruits.

Something has to change on offense, considering Brian Ferentz is the third offensive coordinator to leave Kirk Ferentz’s staff under tough circumstances.

Ken O’Keefe had worn out his welcome by the end of the 2011 season, while Greg Davis was never welcomed during his five years as offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2016.

One name that will likely be mentioned as a candidate is Jon Budmayr, who joined the Iowa staff as an offensive analyst before the start of last season.

Budmayr played quarterback for Wisconsin and coached for the Badgers before spending one season as the offensive coordinator for Colorado State.

He would be a step up from Brian Ferentz from an experience standpoint with coaching quarterbacks.

But the offense, and especially the quarterback position, also has performed woefully since Budmayr joined the staff.

So, that has to be a concern.

LeVar Woods might also get consideration because he has excelled in every role Kirk Ferentz has given him as a Hawkeye assistant coach.

But Woods is also extremely valuable as the special teams coordinator and moving him to offense might jeopardize that team strength.

Kirk Ferentz needs to hire an offensive coordinator that can develop quarterbacks and that can help the offense evolve.

He gave his son a chance, and stuck with him almost for seven years, but it just didn’t work out.

The Iowa offense is a national laughingstock right now, but there has to be somebody out there who is qualified and willing to take on the challenge of fixing it.

It now will be up to Kirk Ferentz to find that person, and to take the necessary steps, and make the necessary changes to hire him.