Rumblings: Brian Ferentz will step down as OC.

Donate To GopherHole
Can you believe he was making $850,000????
 


MaxyJR1 said:
I think it's absolutely malpractice to have an OC/QB coach that was a linemen in college and the NFL.
Click to expand...
Limegrover was Ol’ Jer’s OC, but I believe the OL coach (not QB). He actually devised some very creative game plans.
 


Sparlimb said:
Did anyone else notices the stat they showed during the Iowa game... It said Capt Kirk lost to MN in his first season as an OC at Iowa. And he lost to MN in his last season as OC at Iowa.

Then he lost to MN in his first season as Head Coach.

Was really strange, like they are trying to tell us this is his last season. Wouldn't surprise me.
Click to expand...

Ferentz has never been an OC.
 


Gophergrandpa said:
Jerry Burns (video above) had big Iowa connections, and was kind of like Kirk Ferentz in some ways (taciturn, etc.), but was different in that he a personality and sense of humor. Burns was an assistant coach at Iowa under Forest Evashevski for seven seasons before becoming Iowa's head coach, tenure 1961 through 1965. To my knowledge, Burns never hired his son as OC!
Click to expand...
Kirk has a son in law working in the football department too.
 



2nd Degree Gopher said:
We don't know whether she gave him those options or not, although I can't imagine him wanting to be demoted. Maybe she did and he told her to stick it. She's letting him stay (and get paid) through the end of the year. We'll see whether he does that or whether he leaves early.
Click to expand...
Maybe she’ll hire him as a”fund-raiser” for the University of Iowa. I understand the fans in Kinnick Stadium have always been just crazy about him…
 




Weird Kirk isn't part of the announcement?


Also - this sucks. I think they should give him one more season and see what happens.
 


If you had money on a chicken dance impersonation being the final straw for Iowa's OC, it's time to make it rain.
 



"Noooooo!!!!! He hasn't achieved his final form of head coach! We want the wins!!" - B1G Conference fans in Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois, and Rutgers.
 

Haven't the gophers scored 13 more points than Iowa this season?
 

Extension with poison pill. Yachts in San Diego for all in the family. Can't get it done by air or ground, so try sea.
 

Sparlimb said:
And to be fair, Ferentz isn't the only issue. There is a dire lack of talent on offense. And you can't win on defense and special teams every single week (as seen in the MN game). No offensive coordinator can make up for that.
Click to expand...
We’re not trying to win on defense and special teams, only defense. We literally don’t try to do anything on special teams.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Jerry Burns (video above) had big Iowa connections, and was kind of like Kirk Ferentz in some ways (taciturn, etc.), but was different in that he a personality and sense of humor. Burns was an assistant coach at Iowa under Forest Evashevski for seven seasons before becoming Iowa's head coach, tenure 1961 through 1965. To my knowledge, Burns never hired his son as OC!
Click to expand...
Burnsie was a solid offensive mind. He also worked for Vince Lombardi in Green Bay on the defensive staff, so he worked for and with a lot of really good coaches. A lot of what he developed with the Vikings with using running backs more frequently in the passing game is still seen today.

Anyway, I've got a pretty good Burnsie story. I never met the guy in person, but one day I was driving down Crosstown 62 and I was in a hurry to get to one of my kid's school events. There was a car in front of me that was driving really slow and making frequent lane changes for no apparent reason. I admit that I was getting frustrated and tailgating a bit, but every time I tried to pass, the car ahead of me would change lanes again. After a frustrating few miles, I finally got around the car ahead of me. I looked over and it was Jerry Burns kind of hunched over the wheel in kind of a grandpa pose. We made eye contact. I couldn't read his lips, but I'm pretty sure he was swearing at me.

This was years ago and I'm old and I'm sure that younger drivers behind me are experiencing the same frustration I did on that day.
 

Wasn't she also the one that finally told Jerry Kill to step aside due to his health issues? She seems to have a pulse on what needs to be done to take some pressure and distraction away.
 

walrus said:
A lot will depend on how many times we play a TOP 3 in the country ranked team. Will it be ONLY two times (Michigan & tOSU), OR 3 Michigan, tOSU AND Michigan again, I would guess that may lower the Gopher ppg metric, which the Gopher wasn’t asked to or stupid enough to agree to. A 25 ppg mandate with the schedule the Gopher team has this year. The stinking Hawkeye was shut out by PSU, the only top ten ranked team (at the time) they played.


Hell, even that Ferentz led stinking Hawkeye team held the Gopher to 13 points in their kinnick stadium in front of their trash-throwing crowd. So, are you saying that makes the Gopher offense “Iowa-like?”

And: who is stupid enough to agree to a 25 ppl mandated metric any way?
Click to expand...
You're overselling the Gophers. They only scored 12 in Iowa City. ;)
 
Last edited:

Bob_Loblaw said:
Weird Kirk isn't part of the announcement?


Also - this sucks. I think they should give him one more season and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Iowa actually has a nepotism policy--surprise! I understand that, because of the policy, Brian Ferentz's contract is administered by the school's AD not the team's head coach. AD decided not to renew the contract. End of story; not the HC's call under the nepotism policy. I am sure Kirk has interceded and pled Brian's case to the AD in prior years, but adverse fan sentiment was just too much this year, I suspect. Nepotism, when so out in the open and so embarrassing, is a problem. Kirk should have given Brian a less visible but still remunerative position, such as the assistant coach position Jay Harbaugh (Jim's son) holds at Michigan.
 

Ope3 said:
Your overselling the Gophers. They only scored 12 in Iowa City. ;)
Click to expand...
I’m trying to get in the running for the new offensive coordinator job that some people are lobbying so hard for at the U. 13 just looked so much more impressive on the resume.

I’m also pretty damn old…another sign I fear.

;0)
 

The 25 point average requirement, given where the median B1G team settles in (because of how tough many B1G teams play defense), is very tough to achieve but for the few teams with explosive offenses. In other words, Brian was effectively informed last year that 2023 would be his last year in a nepotism position—unless he truly excelled (performed well above average). A different but perhaps more meaningful requirement might have been that the offense’s point per game average must exceed the defense and ST’s points allowed per game average by some plugged number—say 3 points per game. Offense could not count defensive scores toward its average; only scores by the offense would count. This test would recognize the benefits of complementary football.
 
Last edited:

Again, 9 out of 14 B1G teams are currently below the 25 PPG requirement.

Some say the B1G has stodgy offenses; others say it's because the B1G has good defenses.
 

RememberMurray said:
Again, 9 out of 14 B1G teams are currently below the 25 PPG requirement.

Some say the B1G has stodgy offenses; others say it's because the B1G has good defenses.
Click to expand...

Not sure what it is, but post-2019 the median Big Ten scoring offense is noticeably worse than pre-pandemic. Post-Covid malaise? QB brain fog? Head coach brain fog?

No, my hypothesis is the portal has had some effect, gutting depth in some places and adding it in others. The madcap great QB migration has created some spectacularly bad play. Gelling of offenses has been slowed.

I don’t know. The Big Ten just looks BAD this year, everywhere. Cheatin’ Wolverines are asterisked.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Iowa actually has a nepotism policy--surprise! I understand that, because of the policy, Brian Ferentz's contract is administered by the school's AD not the team's head coach. AD decided not to renew the contract. End of story; not the HC's call under the nepotism policy. I am sure Kirk has interceded and pled Brian's case to the AD in prior years, but adverse fan sentiment was just too much this year, I suspect. Nepotism, when so out in the open and so embarrassing, is a problem. Kirk should have given Brian a less visible but still remunerative position, such as the assistant coach position Jay Harbaugh (Jim's son) holds at Michigan.
Click to expand...
I mean, I get it, I just think it's weird Kirk wasn't part of it as an act of solidarity with the program. Even though we all know it was the AD forcing him out, these things usually end with Brian stepping down and Kirk and everyone appearing to be on board.
 


50PoundHead said:
I usually don't want to dump on a guy when he's down, but I am tempted to when it comes to Ferentz the Younger. Different last name and he's probably polishing up his resume so he can finally become assistant night manager at the Iowa City Holiday Station.
Click to expand...
Nah, he's afraid that one of the black players might rob it.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom