By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa football team held its annual early national signing day press conference on Wednesday, and it was also an opportunity for Kirk Ferentz to address his future.

The 69-year old head Hawk basically said in so many words that he has no plans to retire.

Kirk Ferentz was asked about all the rumors and speculation saying that he might retire due to how much the landscape around him keeps changing in this age of the transfer portal and NIL.

It was the perfect time and opportunity with it being national signing day for Kirk Ferentz to respond to the negative recruiting that is almost certainly being used against Iowa because of Kirk Ferentz’s age.

Kirk Ferentz couldn’t have asked for a better question under the circumstances.

“Somehow we just keep moving forward,” Kirk Ferentz said. “There’s a lot of things, I won’t say frustrating, but a lot of things really make you step back a little bit and think that’s interesting. But the more the game changes the the more the circumstances change. But it’s still about being around good people. An what our key is and what I think we enjoy, and I think I speak for our whole staff. when you get the right guys on your team, that’s a lot of fun.

“We’re a a hundred-plus population so not everybody is going to be perfect and we’re not all going to best buddies. But I think there’s a mutual respect amongst our team and the people in the program. And to be a part of that on a daily basis is pretty special.  So, I’m enjoying that part it. There’s things that frustrate you, obviously at times. Injures frustrate you, but you can’t do a thing about them. It’s just a part of the game. And I wish it was twenty degrees warmer the other night, quite frankly.

“But a lot  of things you can’t control, but the good stuff is still the goods stuff. An that hasn’t changed and that’s the fun part about this thing.”

Kirk Ferentz will turn 70 on Aug. 1.

He will not only be the longest tenured coach in the country next season, a title he has held for a while, he will also be the oldest head coach in all of FBS next season, unless somebody older than 70 is hired before the start of next season, which seems highly unlikely.

Other than his family, and maybe some close friends, there isn’t anything Kirk Ferentz likes and cherishes more than football.

He once told the media if forced to take a one-year sabbatical, he would spend it traveling around the country to observe football practices.

The game has been good to Kirk Ferentz in so many ways, and he’s been good for the game in so many ways.

Kirk Ferentz, and his legendary predecessor Hayden Fry, helped to turn Iowa into a destination job because they both could have left for other jobs, but they ultimately chose to stay.

Anyone who has stayed in one place for as long as Kirk Ferentz has been at Iowa has probably rubbed some fans the wrong way and caused some fans to become bored to where they lose interest, a trend known as Ferentz Fatigue.

But the good still outweighs the bad with Kirk Ferentz if you judge him fairly.

Kirk Ferentz’s current contract runs through the 2029 season, so that still gives him five years to show recruits when promoting Iowa’s continuity and stability.

To the fans that would prefer that Kirk Ferentz retire, you certainly are entitled to your opinion, but that decision still is his to make with Iowa having won 18 games since the start of last season.

Not many Big Ten programs have had as much sustained success as Iowa has had under Kirk Ferentz, who will tie Woody Hayes as the Big Ten’s all-time winningest coach with his next victory.

To those that think Kirk Ferentz should be forced to resign, you’re not being fair or reasonable.

His son, former Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, deserved to be fired due to poor job performance, and he was fired with four games left in the 2023 season.

Kirk Ferentz, on the other hand, deserves to coach for as long as he so chooses because the program still is performing at a level that meets a certain standard.

But should Iowa stumble in the next season or two, then the circumstances would change.

Kirk Ferentz would lose some leverage and his age would bring more scrutiny.