Although , the head coach of Iowa, is a true evaluator and visionary, it’s possible that he is blind to the ways in which collegiate athletics is changing righKirk Ferentzt now.
The city of Iowa City This week, the main topic of conversation has been Brian Ferentz, the offensive coordinator for Iowa, leaving the university after the 2023 season. The level of hostility among the fan base and the poisonous public discourse surrounding the offense had escalated to an unbearable extent.
Although Kirk Ferentz is a true evaluator and a critical thinker, he would prefer to wait until the end of the season. Sadly, that isn’t the current trend in college football. The current season must serve as the beginning of the preparation for the next since there is no longer a true offseason. It was improbable that Brian would have returned the following year given how awful the offense has been.
Throughout the Ferentz tenure, his weekly focus is on the task at hand, but he also wants to prioritize and protect his players from unnecessary distractions. That includes the public finding out about Brian’s future prior to the end of the season.
“My policy has typically been to evaluate everything — players, coaches, all that — postseason because in-season we have a lot on our plates,” he said. “That’s kind of been the nature of it, and it’s been that way probably since I got started full time in ’81. There’s not enough time in the day. That’s where our focus is.”
“Everything you do is precious in terms of time relations. So to me, it’s a better time. It’s a less emotional time. I can give you a lot of reasons why I’ve done it that way, but it really doesn’t matter. It’s really not significant right now because we’re dealing with something that we have to deal with, and we will.”
The main question after Brian’s future became public was… why now? Interim Athletic Director Beth Goetz has been around the block at every level of college athletics. She’s not a rookie. Goetz doesn’t make emotional irrational decisions. She also understands where college athletics is trending.
The elite coaches are able to evaluate, make decisions and plan out the future while taking control of the current opportunities. For Iowa to retain as much talent as possible, Goetz had to make Brian’s future known to the public.
Over the next month, Iowa will have to finish off the season strong while making itself look as appealing as possible for transfer portal additions. The hard truth is that no matter how great Iowa’s NIL situation is, it would be nearly impossible to draw in high-level immediate contributors with the way the offense is currently constructed.
There may not be an offensive coordinator in place when the portal opens, but there can be a more thought out plan of how to attack the portal and how to retain some of the current talent that’s on the roster. It also provides Kirk and his staff an opportunity to think about potential changes that they’ll make to the offense.
Coaches are known more as the CEO of the football program. The voice and the face of everything that happens. While Kirk has always been a visionary and focused on the long-term plan, there’s a sense of urgency to focus on the here and now.
Regardless of any potential tension between Goetz and Kirk Ferentz, there’s still a clear amount of trust from Goetz in Kirk.
“We empower our head coaches to make decisions that they think are best in the hiring process,” Goetz said. “Of course, administrators are involved in how we engage with them and exchange ideas. But those are decisions that we’ll leave up to that coach.”
Kirk has shown a willingness to be resilient and change. The change comes a lot later than most fans would like. He’ll face another critical crossroads this offseason. In modern college football, it’s feasible to flip an offense in a year or two. With USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon coming into the Big Ten, Ferentz’s next hire as offensive coordinator could be one of the most important hires of his tenure.
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