From 2-18 to 200 wins; Kirk Ferentz continues to build on his Hawkeye legacy
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – When Kirk Ferentz lost 18 of his first 20 games as the Iowa football coach, it was easy to assume that he was in over his head, and that Iowa had made a huge mistake by not hiring Bob Stoops.
I remember feeling that way and remember talking to numerous fans and members of the media that felt the same way.
And it certainly didn’t help that Stoops, a former Iowa defensive back and assistant coach under Hayden Fry, would go on to lead Oklahoma to the 2000 national title in his second season as head coach.
For Hawkeye fans, that was just like pouring salt on a festering wound.
The feeling was that the Iowa search committee not only had let Stoops slip away, but also hired somebody who just wasn’t ready for the challenge.
The program seemed headed for another dark age after having three straight losing seasons, the first of which came in Fry’s last season in 1998.
But there were signs of hope late in the 2000 season as Iowa defeated Penn State and then 18th-ranked Northwestern in back-to-back games in November. Iowa also had defeated Michigan State earlier in the season.
So, after finishing winless in conference play in 1999, the Hawkeyes won three league games in Ferentz’s second season.
Iowa’s 3-9 record in 2000 certainly wasn’t anything to brag about, but it was enough improvement from the 1-10 record in 1999 to convince UI officials that the program was headed in the right direction under Kirk Ferentz.
To say that Iowa’s patience and trust in Kirk Ferentz has since been rewarded would be an understatement.
Iowa stuck with Kirk Ferentz and Kirk Ferentz has stuck with Iowa, and now thanks to Saturday’s 40-16 victory over Washington, he ranks second all-time in Big Ten history with 200 career wins.
Ferentz now trails only Woody Hayes’ 205 wins for Ohio State.
The same guy who looked overmatched early in his time as the Iowa head coach now looks up to just one coach on the Big Ten all-time win pedestal.
So, say what you want about Kirk Ferentz’s offense being stale and outdated, and about him being too conservative, and that he made a mistake by promoting his son to offensive coordinator in 2017, a person doesn’t accomplish what Kirk Ferentz has without having a gift for coaching, and for being a leader.
Kirk Ferentz has shown humility and grace since the day he took the Iowa job, and that will never change.
His humility was on display when asked after Saturday’s game to comment on his milestone win..
“Then as far as the 200 part, you have to be lucky,” Kirk Ferentz said. “You have to be in the right place, first of all. You have to be with a lot of good people, and that’s coaching staff and support staff.
“A lot of people are involved in this. I’ve worked with nothing but great coaches my entire career. I’ve been lucky wherever I’ve been.”
Kirk Ferentz could’ve left Iowa for other jobs in both college and the NFL.
He seriously considered taking the Jacksonville Jaguars job after leading Iowa to an 11-2 record in 2002, and there have been reports that Michigan and Penn State both have tried to hire Ferentz.
But he has withstood the temptation to leave, which says a lot about Kirk Ferentz and about Iowa.
Of course, Kirk Ferentz’s critics will say that he has stayed with Iowa mostly because he has been allowed operate with little to no meddling or constraints from the people above him.
Nobody stopped him from hiring his son as an assistant coach, or from hiring his son-in-law to the support staff.
Kirk Ferentz also has had 10-year contracts that include massive buyouts, so yes, he has been treated well.
His now quarter-century journey as the head Hawk is the kind of story that probably won’t happen much anymore in college sports because staying in one place for so long has sort of lost its appeal.
There have been lots of peaks along the way, but also some valleys, including the racial unrest from the summer of 2020 when Kirk Ferentz admitted to having a blind spot after multiple former black Iowa players accused the program of racial discrimination.
Kirk Ferentz’s decision to promote his son, Brian Ferentz, to offensive coordinator in 2017 also was a mistake, or a lack of judgement, as Brian Ferentz was fired with four games left in the 2023 season, and he now works as Offensive Special Assistant for Maryland.
Beth Goetz was the Iowa interim athletic director when she announced that Brian Ferentz had been fired.
Goetz has since been promoted to full-time athletic director and she walked to the podium near the end of Kirk Ferentz’s post-game press conference on Saturday to offer her congratulations.
“On behalf of the university I want to congratulate and thank you for the 200 wins,” Goetz said with Kirk Ferentz standing by her side. “I know this milestone — you know, coach isn’t big on the record books, and you heard him give credit to everybody, but it means a lot to all of us.
“How big of an impact when you think about those moments, 200 moments for all those student-athletes and all of us fans that have lived those with you.
“I’m grateful I’ve gotten to get a few with you, and I know you have more to go. Congratulations.”
Kirk Ferentz’s contract runs through the 2029 season, but he will also turn 70 next August, and the landscape continues to change around him in this age of the transfer portal and NIL.
He will retire sooner than later, but until he does, we’re watching history unfold.
The offense might be hard to watch at times, and it’s been a while since Iowa has flirted with being elite.
But a lot of other schools would love to have what Iowa has had with Kirk Ferentz for now going on 26 seasons.
He has spent 35 seasons as a member of the Iowa coaching staff if you include the nine he spent as Hayden Fry’s offensive line coach from 1981 to 1989.
Fry took a chance on Kirk Ferentz when there wasn’t a lot of proof that Kirk Ferentz could coach at this level.
Fry obviously had gift for judging people and for seeing their potential.