By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Neither Kirk Ferentz nor Beth Goetz provided much additional clarity about what exactly went into the decision to announce on Monday that Brian Ferentz would be relieved of his duties after the 2023 season.

Kirk Ferentz held his weekly press conference on Tuesday, and of course, the hot topic was Monday’s news that Brian Ferentz would be fired as the Iowa offensive coordinator once the season ends.

Goetz, Iowa’s Interim Athletic Director, listened from the back of the room as Kirk Ferentz addressed the media for approximately 32 minutes.

Goetz then answered several questions from the media afterwards, though, she mostly stuck to her statement that came with Monday’s announcement.

She was asked about the timing of the announcement, and why it came during the season, and if the decision to fire Brian Ferentz was her decision.

“I think the statement speaks for itself,” Goetz said. “Obviously, I had conversations with President (Barbara) Wilson, but we thought it was important to provide clarity and that’s what was in the statement yesterday.”

The one question that I wanted to ask Kirk Ferentz on Tuesday, but somebody beat me to it is whether the decision to fire Brian Ferentz would impact how long Kirk Ferentz would remain as the Iowa head coach.

Kirk Ferentz was asked in the wake of what happened on Monday if he could say for certain that he would return as the Iowa head coach next season.

“Things are as they always are, to worry about this game and bigger scale, bigger picture for these four games,” Kirk Ferentz said. “That’s where my focus has been this entire season. Obviously, there was more than four games a week ago, two weeks ago. That’s what I think about.

“Each and every year it’s been pretty consistent, just like the other things I referenced.”

Kirk Ferentz probably would have preferred to focus exclusively on Saturday’s game against Northwestern, which will be played at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

But he was willing to address his son’s situation to a point, including the timing of the decision, which Kirk Ferentz mentioned in his opening statement.

“Basically, my philosophy and my practice has been pretty consistent. Typically, we go through the season and then run an evaluation of the program top to bottom afterwards,” Kirk Ferentz said. “Yesterday’s announcement is certainly a departure from that practice, but that’s really what we’ve tried to do for the past 24 years.”

Kirk Ferentz also was asked if the decision to let Brian Ferentz go after the season would impact his relationship with Beth Goetz moving forward. His answer included a reference to former Iowa head coach Hayden Fry and former Hawkeye assistant coach Dan McCarney.

Goetz was promoted to Interim Athletic Director after Gary Barta retired in August.

“The only forward I’m thinking about right now is now until Saturday,” Kirk Ferentz said. “It’s been that way each and every week of my career. That’s how you operate when you’re in season.

“There’s a chain of command in everything we do. Coach Hayden Fry would frequently remind us, some of the younger guys — I think he was referring to myself and Dan McCartney. Could have used some time in the military to learn the chain of command. I know he threw the insubordination term around, but hopefully I was never guilty of that with him or anyone else.

“There’s a chain of command to everything, and I respect that, and we move forward.”

When asked Tuesday when he was notified about the decision to fire his son, Kirk Ferentz said:

“I had access to the announcement that you read, that we all read over the weekend.”

His answer gives the impression that Kirk Ferentz wasn’t given much notice before the decision became public, and that probably didn’t sit well with him.

It doesn’t take a mind reader to know that Kirk Ferentz is upset with how this whole situation has been handled.

He seems upset as both a head coach and a father.

Kirk Ferentz is used to calling the shots, running the show and getting his own way, but all of that was taken from him with the decision to fire his son, whose offense is currently ranked at or near the bottom nationally in multiple statistics.

I get the sense that Kirk Ferentz feels betrayed by how this decision was handled, and he is hurt by it.

He wanted a chance to finish the season and to see if his son could find a spark for the offense.

However, Goetz apparently had seen enough.

And when Barbara Wilson didn’t stand in her way, Goetz made the call to get rid of Brian Ferentz.

Goetz and Kirk Ferentz crossed paths briefly on Tuesday, and it was awkward to say the least.

Their relationship probably will never be the same.

In fairness to Goetz, the Iowa offense has been horrendous since the start of 2022 season and some fans are upset and feel that Brian Ferentz has been given preferential treatment.

It’s also reasonable to believe that some donors have expressed their displeasure to Goetz, and she was asked about that on Tuesday.

“I think any time you’re in these situations you tune out what’s around,” Goetz said. “It’s our job to evaluate all the information we have. You make the best decision you can at the time for both short and long term of the program, of the institution and that’s what you go with.”

And while injuries have certainly contributed to the problems on offense this season, as Kirk Ferentz pointed out Tuesday, the offense also struggled before the injuries at tight end and running back had started to mount.

Iowa only had 284 total yards in the 24-14 victory over Utah State in the season opener and just 235 yards in the 20-13 win over Iowa State in the second game.

Senior quarterback Cade McNamara was hobbled by a soft tissue injury when the season started, but most of his supporting cast was healthy in the first two games.

Kirk Ferentz is more than halfway through his 25^th season as the Iowa head coach. His team is 6-2 overall and in the thick of the Big Ten West Division race.

He also has a contract that runs through the 2029 season, but it’s hard to envision him at the age of 68 coaching the Hawkeyes for another six seasons.

I’ll go even further than that by saying it would not be a shock if Kirk Ferentz decided to resign after this season.

I’m not ready to make that prediction just yet. But so much has changed with the decision to fire Brian Ferentz that it’s hard to see Kirk Ferentz moving forward as if it’s business as usual.

Some might have a hard time believing that Kirk Ferentz would walk away from $42 million, but in this unique situation, family might come first.

And besides, Kirk Ferentz already has made enough money that will support his family for decades to come.

This is personal.

Kirk Ferentz was Brian Ferentz’s father long before he became his boss, and it can’t be easy juggling both roles.

Much of what we heard on Tuesday I believe came from the father-side of Kirk Ferentz.

“Obviously, we have a biological relationship. I’m very fond of him,” Kirk Ferentz said of Brian Ferentz. “I’ve had a lot of relationships with people that have worked here, and that’s one of the things we do. If it was anybody on this staff that fell in this category, I’d feel bad about it.

“I’m guessing they would encourage us to keep moving forward too. It’s what you have to do.”

This isn’t to suggest that Kirk Ferentz was being less than truthful with that answer. But it’s hard to believe that his son being fired doesn’t hurt more than a non-family member being fired.

Kirk Ferentz took a huge risk when he hooked his legacy to his son, because as the old saying goes, you never should hire somebody that you can’t fire.

Kirk Ferentz was asked Tuesday if he there was anything he regrets about the 25-point performance incentive that was added to Brian Ferentz’s contract in the offseason.

“I’m not good at that looking back picture because it really doesn’t serve much purpose,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I think, when all that took place, Brian is the one who signed it, and I think he thought it was the best option available, and I would have co-signed it. Not that it was my business.”

It was Gary Barta’s decision to add the performance incentives to Brian Ferentz’s contract, but all it did was make a bad situation worse.

It was one of the few times when Barta ever took a stand with Brian Ferentz, but now Barta isn’t around to deal with the fallout.

Brian Ferentz reports directly to the athletic director because of nepotism policies, and his new boss is different than his former boss.

Beth Goetz raised more than a few eyebrows by taking such an aggressive stand with Brian Ferentz, and by announcing in-season that he would not be returning next season.

She made a lot of Iowa fans happy with the decision, but she also might have caused irreparable damage to her relationship with Kirk Ferentz.

As for finding a replacement for Brian Ferentz, that seems very low on Kirk Ferentz’s list of priorities.

“Really, what I’m worried about right now are the next four weeks,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I think anything beyond that is getting way ahead. That would be an injustice to our football team to be thinking about any of those things that you mentioned.

“That’s my first loyalty is to the football team. Things are in your control, which I think this is. You do what you can do that will give us our best chance to be successful knowing that all four of these games are going to be challenging. That’s not going to change. I’d be foolish to be giving thoughts to things that are outside the realm of that.”

This has been a tough stretch for Kirk Ferentz, personally and professionally.

He was disappointed when Iowa agreed this past March to pay $4 million to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit that was filed by some former players.

Then came the performance incentives in his son’s revised contract.

And now this, his son’s dismissal.

Combine all of that with this new age of the transfer portal, name, image and likeness and Big Ten expansion from coast to coast and Kirk Ferentz could decide that he’s had enough.

He seemed determined to keep coaching when asked at Big Ten media day this past July about his future, but that was before his son was fired with apparently little notice.

It’s uncertain when or if the interim tag will be removed from Goetz’s title.

Barbara Wilson recently told the Daily Iowan that the interview process to hire a permanent athletic director hasn’t even started yet.

Iowa had better be careful, though, because another school could sweep in and hire Goetz.

And the next thing you know, Iowa could have to hire a new head football coach for the first time since 1998, along with hiring a new athletic director at the same time.