The University of Iowa announced Monday afternoon that offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, son of head coach Kirk Ferentz, will not return to the Iowa program, effective at the end of the 2023 season.
"After conversations with head coach Kirk Ferentz, coach Brian Ferentz and President Wilson, I informed Brian that our intention is for him to be with us through the bowl game, but this is his last season with the program," interim athletic director Beth Goetz said in a statement. "Making this known today is in the best interest of the program and its loyal fans; it provides clarity during this pivotal time in the schedule."
Brian's resignation brings closure to the now-infamous contract amendment that stipulated 25 points per game and at least seven wins for the Iowa football team this year in order for Brian to keep his job as offensive coordinator.
The "Drive for 325," as it was quickly (derisively) nicknamed for the amount of points Iowa would need to score in a 13-game season, turned out to be anti-climactic; Iowa suffered a spate of high-profile injuries on offense and is currently averaging just 19.5 points per game through eight contests, nearly a touchdown per game off the pace.
Iowa's struggles show up even more starkly in offensive yardage, as the Hawkeyes are now dead-last in FBS at 232.4 yards per game for 2023 after 252 ypg (second-worst) in 2022 and 301 ypg (10th worst) in 2021.
Brian's contract stipulations revolved around team scoring, though, and Iowa would have needed to average 33.8 points over the last five games (or 32.2 over the next six, depending how the Big Ten West race shakes out) to meet a 25-ppg threshold. With injuries hammering the Hawkeye offense this season, that kind of production seems so unattainable that the total scoring line for this weekend's Iowa-Northwestern tilt has dipped as low as 29.5, an all-time low in FBS oddsmaking.
In order to keep his job, then, Brian Ferentz needed the Iowa offense to return to basic competence in 2023 after two years of anemic production. One step of that process occurred as the offensive line took significant strides forward, but "better" didn't always translate to "good," as Iowa was still held under 100 yards rushing in four of its eight games so far this season.
The true damage was evident in the passing game, though; even as college football veers toward passing as a dominant offensive approach, Iowa's offense cratered through the air. Iowa averaged 180 and 157 yards passing in 2021 and 2022, respectively, as QB Spencer Petras struggled with young and overmatched teammates populating most of the offensive two-deeps. Things only got worse with backup QB Alex Padilla, who has since transferred to Southern Methodist, where he's a third-string senior.
Petras suffered a significant shoulder injury in 2022's season finale against Nebraska and was forced to take a backseat this year to Cade McNamara, who transferred in from Michigan over the offseason. McNamara quickly earned the coaches' trust once he got to campus, even as he rehabbed a November 2022 knee surgery, but a quad injury suffered at Kids Day mere weeks after being cleared for 11-on-11 practice submarined McNamara's ability to heal completely or to work more closely with his receivers in fall camp.
McNamara's ACL tear against Michigan State, then, only turned a bad situation worse.
Sophomore QB Deacon Hill, a transfer from Wisconsin who had originally committed to transfer to FCS Fordham, was suddenly pressed into the starting role over sophomore Joe Labas, who had also missed most of summer practice with injury. True freshman Marco Lainez is the last scholarship quarterback available on the Iowa roster, and he has been an expected redshirt all season long.
With Hill comfortably ahead of Labas in the QB competition almost by default — only Hill was able to practice to any meaningful extent with the Iowa receivers in the summer — the Iowa offense leaned on the sizable sophomore by necessity. It hasn't worked either.
Hill has led Iowa to just 17.8 points per game and a 3-1 record, including the 26-16 win over Michigan State where Hill took over for McNamara in the first quarter. Hill has completed 37 of 98 passes — an anemic 37.8% completion percentage, worst by far among FBS quarterbacks with at least 20 attempts this season. Hill has 427 passing yards and two touchdowns on those 98 attempts; he has thrown three interceptions and fumbled five times, leading to three more turnovers.
McNamara was incrementally better before his injury, completing 50.5% of his passes for 505 yards, four touchdowns and three picks, but even still the Iowa passing game looked dreadfully limited under McNamara's guidance — even beyond the dimensions missing due to his lack of mobility as he played on (at least) one bad leg.
All told, Iowa is averaging just 113 yards passing per game this season, third-worst in FBS and only ahead of Air Force and Navy, two stalwart triple-option offenses.
Kirk Ferentz is expected to meet with the media Tuesday afternoon.
