By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – At the age of 70, retirement is sooner than later for Kirk Ferentz.

His staying power is the stuff of legends, but the end is coming.

It’s unavoidable.

And when it happens, Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz should reach out to Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell to at least gauge his interest.

He wouldn’t necessarily have to be her first call, or even her second or third call.

But Campbell should at least be among those who would get a call.

He might have absolutely no interest in ever being the Iowa head coach, but you still make the call. Just to make sure.

Of course, Goetz already has her own short list, and maybe she wouldn’t be interested in hiring the head coach from Iowa’s instate rival because it would undoubtedly cause some awkwardness and resentment.

Hawkeye fans and Cyclones fans already dislike each other enough.

So, imagine the reaction if Iowa, which plays at Iowa State on Saturday, were to hire away someone who is already arguably the greatest coach in the history of the Iowa State football program.

Out of respect, though, for what Campbell has accomplished in Ames, Goetz still when the time comes should put out feelers and then worry about the possible fallout later.

Cyclone fans might believe that under no circumstance would Campbell leave Iowa State to coach at Iowa.

Okay. Fair enough.

That might be true.

But to suggest that Campbell would deserve to be a candidate for the Iowa job isn’t just a compliment to him; it also shows how much the Cyclone program has improved under his watch.

Cyclone fans would almost certainly be resentful if Iowa were to try to hire Campbell after Ferentz retires.

But Cyclone fans should also feel proud if that were to happen because it would show that Iowa wants something they have, in this case, something as valuable and as important as a head football coach.

The problem for most Iowa State head coaches has been sustaining success over a period of time.

Dan McCarney rebuilt the program in the late 1990s, but he also had seven losing seasons in his 12 season as the Iowa State head coach.

The Cyclones finished 9-3 in 2000, but then never won more than seven games in McCarney’s final six seasons. His 2003 squad finished 0-8 in conference play and 2-10 overall.

And speaking of McCarney, remember, he grew up in Iowa City, played football for the Hawkeyes and would go on to coach at his beloved alma mater under Hayden Fry.

McCarney then joined former Iowa assistant coach and close friend Barry Alvarez on the staff at Wisconsin in 1990, serving as defensive coordinator under Alvarez through the 1994 season.

But when Iowa State made McCarney an offer he couldn’t refuse, it didn’t matter that he was born and raised as a die-hard Hawkeye fan, and it didn’t matter that he grew up despising Iowa State.

Dan McCarney wanted to be a major college head coach, and when Iowa State gave him the opportunity, he learned right away to love the other school from instate that he used to hate.

Matt Campbell is from Ohio, so he probably didn’t pay much attention to the Iowa-Iowa State football rivalry while growing up.

When Campbell was hired by Iowa State in 2016, it marked the first time that he would coach for a school outside the state of Ohio.

Campbell was the head coach for Toledo when Iowa State hired him, and had previously coached for Bowling Green and for Division III power Mount Union.

Pride might have Cyclone fans believing that it would be a lateral move at best for the 45-year old Campbell to leave Iowa State for the Iowa job.

But if you look at the two jobs objectively, the Iowa job is a cut above.

Kirk Ferentz makes approximately $7 million annually coaching the Hawkeyes, while Campbell makes approximately $5 million coaching the Cyclones.

Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium has a seating capacity of just slightly less than 70,000 while Iowa State’s Jack Trice Stadium seats about 61,500.

Iowa is a member of the 18-team Big Ten Conference, which along with the SEC Conference, are the two driving forces in college football, while Iowa State competes in the Big 12, which is a respectable power four conference, but has less power and influence than the Big Ten Conference.

One thing favoring Iowa State, besides the fact that Campbell seems to truly love being its head coach, is that he is now setting the bar for Iowa State football. You would be hard-pressed to find a head coach with more job security.

Iowa State looks built to win under Campbell for the foreseeable future, so yes, he would be giving up a lot to take any job.

It would be interesting to see where Hawkeye fans stand on the possibility of Campbell being Kirk Ferentz’s successor.

Some would almost certainly be against hiring Campbell just because they don’t like Iowa State.

There would also be a push to hire from inside the Iowa program out of respect for Kirk Ferentz, with at least four Iowa assistant coaches probably getting some consideration: defensive coordinator Phil Parker, assistant head coach Seth Wallace, special teams coordinator LeVar Woods and offensive coordinator Tim Lester.

In his 10th season as Iowa State’s head coach, Campbell already has shown his loyalty to the Cyclones. His name has been mentioned for multiple jobs that would be considered better than his current one.

His popularity cooled somewhat when Iowa State finished 7-6, 4-8 and 7-6 from 2021 to 2023.

But now it’s back on the rise with the Cyclones coming off an 11-2 season, setting a program record for most wins in a season.

Iowa State is 2-0 this season and ranked in both polls.

Iowa is 1-0 and flirting with being ranked in Kirk Ferentz’s 27th season as head coach.

And while it’s fair to look at who might replace Ferentz when he finally decides to retire, in no way is it a suggestion that he should retire anytime soon.

Iowa has won at least 10 games under Ferentz eight times, including three times since 2019.

Iowa also has won a share of two Big Ten titles under Ferentz, and has had just two losing seasons since 2001.

If Campbell were to achieve those numbers at Iowa State, they’d build a statue for him in Ames

On the flipside, Campbell still hasn’t won a conference title, though in his defense, the last time Iowa State won a conference title was 1912.

Campbell also still hasn’t tasted victory over Iowa in Ames, with his record currently 0-4 against the Hawkeyes in Ames and 2-6 overall in the series.

But Campbell’s body of work still would make him worthy of consideration to be Iowa’s next head coach.

He would deserve at least a phone call that probably wouldn’t amount to much due to the circumstances, but the call still should be made when the time comes.

If Campbell were the head coach at Purdue, Indiana, Kansas or anywhere except for Iowa State, and was having this kind of success, listing him as a possible successor to Kirk Ferentz would be a no-brainer.

The fact he coaches at Iowa State shouldn’t make it unrealistic or unreasonable.

is also just 45-years old.

He didn’t grown up as an Iowa State fan, but Iowa State is where his coaching career, his reputation as a coach and his appeal as a head coach have received a significant boost.

Campbell has been mentioned for multiple head coaching jobs since rebuilding Iowa State’s program, including some NFL jobs, and deservedly so.

But he has stayed the course in Ames where he is treated like royalty and paid $5 million annually.

One of the rub-it-in points whenever Iowa State beats Iowa in football is that Iowa supposedly has all the built-in advantages