IOWA CITY — On Monday, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz met with reporters to discuss his team's bowl preparation and his search for an offensive coordinator to replace Brian Ferentz, who is planning to coach Iowa in the bowl game after athletic director Beth Goetz announced in late October that Brian would not return in 2024.
Kirk Ferentz told reporters Monday that he had not made a hire — and that such a hire would not come until after the Citrus Bowl.
"There won't be a decision before the bowl," Ferentz said. "I can assure you that. I don't know if there legally can be a decision by then. We'll figure it out; we'll get it done some time in January for sure."
Ferentz did offer some information about the progress of his search, even as the end is less than imminent.
"I've made three phone calls so far, hopefully get one more in this week, and then we'll really turn our attention to it when we get back here [after the bowl]," Ferentz said. "I feel total confidence that we'll have a really good person here, and there's some strong interest from people that would make a lot of sense and really fit what we need."
Candidates
The pushback from Ferentz's camp to rumors involving former Nebraska head coach (and former Oregon OC) Scott Frost has been substantial and unequivocal, and Ferentz went one step further in burying Frost on Monday — if not quite by name.
“I can think of a guy who entered the conference recently that came with widely acclaimed offensive stats and all that," Ferentz said while discussing which stats he values. "That’s usually how those guys get to become well-known, because of whatever they're doing, throwing it... And then you look a little deeper, what's this guy's wins per game? "
Ferentz was much kinder to the likes of Joe Philbin, his former offensive line coach from 1999-2002, and former foe Paul Chryst, most recently head coach of Wisconsin.
"I've got great respect for Joe," Ferentz said. "He did an excellent job here, was an excellent coach with Green Bay. I think they set records when he was a coordinator there. Great person, great football coach; no question about that."
Philbin was hired away by Green Bay in 2002, eventually serving as offensive coordinator when the Packers won Super Bowl XLV in 2010 with Aaron Rodgers leading the way. Philbin parlayed that success into a head coaching role with the Miami Dolphins, where he went 24-28 before being fired four games into his fourth season.
Philbin is currently an offensive analyst for Ohio State; a source close to the OSU program referred to him as a "sanity checker" for head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes.
Chryst got the same treatment from Ferentz.
"I've always had tremendous respect for Paul," Ferentz said. "He did an outstanding job at Wisconsin. Since we got here 25 years ago, that was a team that we've been chasing."
Not that Ferentz won't remind fans how that chase has gone recently. "The good news is, over the last five years, we've got more wins than they do and I'm happy about that," he said.
Should Ferentz Act Sooner?
Ferentz's announced timetable is, in typical fashion, deliberate. One significant factor: compliance with state regulations, which is generally out of a coach's control when hiring a big-ticket position like offensive coordinator.
"We opened the search officially at the end of last week," Ferentz said. "It's out there; it's got to be posted for two weeks. By the time we're legally allowed to do something, that'll coincide with my schedule."
That level of deliberation often backfires in a world like college sports, where the hiring markets for coaches can become as hotly competitive — and volatile— as the games themselves.
Ferentz took a more practical approach to how the timetable informs his decision.
"It's going to work out just fine, unless the bottom falls out," Ferentz said. "There's going to be a new market of people out there in January," he continued, before wryly adding "...or February," without elaboration.
Suffice it to say that if Ferentz really does wait until February, something has gone wrong with his current candidates, he's being militantly obstinate to prove a point, or he's keeping the door cracked for someone currently on an NFL staff. Even by Ferentz's standards none of the three options are particularly plausible.
Still, the fact that (at least) two candidates won't be as beholden to the pressures of the hiring cycle means that Ferentz has the luxury of patience as his team prepares for its trip to Orlando — or, at minimum, believes he has it.
Brian's Future
Brian Ferentz was on a one-year amended contract that mandated seven wins and 25 points per game in 2023; Iowa obviously met the first goal, going 10-3 and earning a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game and the Citrus Bowl. The second was just as obviously missed, as Iowa averaged a dreadful 16.6 points per game — fourth-worst in the nation, and one of 10 Big Ten teams below the mandated Mendoza line.
Ferentz didn't address the mandates directly, but did take a subtle jab at them — before reminding the gathered reporters about the success of his tenure.
"The objective still is to win. We had a little exception to that, okay, but the objective has always been to win football games," Ferentz said. "We have won a few games; I know sometimes we all forget about that. I wouldn't be standing here after 25 years if that weren't the case. Complementary football is the best way to win here, in my opinion."
With that reminder, Kirk said Brian would be coaching in the bowl — as long as he didn't have another job to do.
"I think he's intending on [coaching the bowl]," Kirk said. "He's got to worry about himself right now too, and that's probably first and foremost on his mind. I'll tell you this, if he gets a job tomorrow, I don't expect him to be here. If he is, I might have to 'have a visit' with him about that."
Iowa faces Tennessee in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on January 1, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT, with TV coverage from ABC.
