By Pat Harty

Kirk Ferentz has no interest in ever coaching in the NFL again, which now seems pretty obvious as he prepares for his 28th season as the Iowa head coach and for his 71st birthday on Saturday.

But there are two things about the NFL that Ferentz wishes the college game would start to emulate, and the sooner the better.

Ferentz, who coached the offensive line in the NFL from 1993 to 1998, spoke at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago on Tuesday, telling reporters that he is “concerned” about the state of college football and with all the changes that have occurred.

“To me, that’s our biggest single issue right now,” Ferentz said. “I kind of prefer to work with boundaries within a system and a system in place. “I spent six yeas in the NFL and I really don’t have any aspirations of ever going back there and haven’t since I left there. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed every job I’ve had.

“Two things I really appreciate about the NFL; contracts are contracts. They mean something. And there’s a salary cap. So in the NFL there’s equal enforcement. Everyone gets enforced and the rules get enforced in the same way with all 32 teams. You have 32 teams operating in the same system and with the same set of circumstances and rules.

“So it really gets down to the players and the coaches; imagine that.”

Ferentz then gave a brief history lesson about Big Ten football and how Iowa finally broke the stranglehold that Michigan and Ohio State had on the conference throughout the 1970s by making the Rose Bowl in 1981 in Hayden Fry’s third season as head coach.

Ferentz was in his first season as the Iowa offensive line coach in 1981.

“I would suggest the Big Ten has been healthier since 1981 than it was during the 70s,” Ferentz said. “That’s just me as a participant. That’s how I look at it. And I think if we’re not careful we could go down that road again as a bigger enterprise college football.”

There is proposed legislation called The Protect College Sports Act that takes aim at conference realignment, player eligibility, media rights and the transfer portal, among other issues. The Big Ten and the SEC have said they don’t support the bill in its current form. The bill was introduced by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in May.

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti issued a statement on Tuesday explaining where the Big Ten currently stands in regard to The Protect College Sports Act:

“We would like to thank Senators Cruz and Cantwell and their staffs for their efforts and interest in returning stability to college sports,” he said. “We are reviewing the bill and working through all of its provisions. We are committed to a future that best serves our student-athletes and will continue to work with our colleagues and members of Congress as this process moves forward.”

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Ferentz supports 24-team playoff: The college football playoff currently consists of 12 teams, but there is a push to double that total, which Kirk Ferentz supports.

“I’m in favor of 24 certainly,” Kirk Ferentz said. “But the other part of the story is I think our focus needs to be on some other issues that are probably bigger to college football right now than the playoff discussion. But I’m totally in favor of 24 to answer the question. ”

“I think it benefits everybody and not just a school like ours.”

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Tom Moore making an impact: One of the biggest moves Kirk Ferentz made in the offseason was hiring veteran coach and former Hawkeye Tom Moore as a senior consultant to the head coach and offensive adviser.

Moore has over 60 years in coaching, including more than 30 years in the NFL where he was a four-time Super Bowl winner (two with Pittsburgh, one with Indianapolis, one with Tampa Bay).

Moore also played quarterback and was a kicker at Iowa in 1959 and 1960 before becoming a graduate assistant coach in 1961 and 1962.

Ferentz was asked Tuesday how Moore can help Ferentz as a head coach, while also helping the offense evolve.

“Just wisdom and experience,” Ferentz said. “You can’t put a price tag on that sometimes. Tom’s an amazing person; played at Iowa. He never started a game as a quarterback. That was his position. But he found a way to help the team as a kicker and punter. But he’s got such an appreciation for his experience and he’s got an appreciation for the game of football and the people involved.

“So he stands to me for all that’s good in football. And then as far as a coach goes, I think one of the beauties with Tom is his wisdom is extensive and his clarity, his ability just to really cut to concise points that really matter. He’s got an innate ability to do that. To have him with us, it’s a benefit to everybody in our building, everybody on our coaching staff, starting with me. But everybody has benefitted from it, and our players as well. They gravitate towards him and they want to ask him questions. To have his experience available to everybody, I feel very fortunate to have that.”

The fact that Moore is 87 years old also has its benefits, at least for Ferentz.

“Plus, I wanted to get someone in the building older that me,” Ferentz joked.