Pioli wants Ferentz

by The Mexican't on Dec 31, 2008 12:18 PM CST Comment 28 comments

Here we go again:

Another name surfaced in Cleveland's coaching search: Iowa's Kirk Ferentz.

ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen reported that if Pioli is hired, one of his top choices for coach would be Ferentz, who worked with Pioli in Cleveland for three seasons.

Ferentz said he hasn't been contacted by the Browns.

"I've gotten into the habit of not commenting on that," he told the AP in Tampa, Fla. as the Hawkeyes prepared for Thursday's Outback Bowl. "I've got a great job. I'm happy here. I've been at Iowa 10 years, so not much else to say on that topic."

Every time the rumors start we always hear that Ferentz only considers leaving Iowa if the Browns come calling...so what's everyone's take? Does James factor into the decision, since he's got up to 4 years left as a Hawkeye? Is Ferentz tiring of the sometimes fickle fanbase? Will Wile E. Coyote EVER catch the Road Runner?

Assuming the worst, what effect does this have on the in-state recruits? Would Wegher, Cotton and Davis feel slighted and re-open their recruiting with just a little over a month until national signing day?

I sure as hell hope he stays, and cannot imagine who Gary Barta and co. would peg as the new leader in Iowa City. Dan Gable, maybe?

Let the rampant speculation begin.

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Not gonna happen

Not while Ferentz’ sons are wearing black and gold.

IMO

by rockyh on Dec 31, 2008 12:59 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Iowa fans are fickle????

If he’s tired of our fickle fanbase, why on Earth would he EVER want to go to the NFL?

I don’t see him going anywhere for a while, and wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he never moves back to the NFL at all.

by Bucketochicken on Dec 31, 2008 1:13 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

No kidding

There’s no such thing as job security in the NFL. He would have been fired from Iowa after the 2007 season (if not 2000 or 2006) if Iowa were a pro franchise.

I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks

by Oops Pow Surprise on Dec 31, 2008 3:57 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I posted this same thing about a month ago

And it was roundly rejected. I stand firm, though, in saying that I think there’s more to this than in previous years. I don’t think KF has the “itch” necessarily, but because of his relationship with Pioli, he may keeps his ears open.

by imadirtyoldman on Dec 31, 2008 1:37 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Oh

And that was not meant as a “toot my own horn because I caught this earlier” post. More of a “PHEW, I’m glad somebody else is wondering about this too!” post.

by imadirtyoldman on Dec 31, 2008 2:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I dunno

I think his ultimate goal is the NFL, and he may not get too many more shots. He’s also good friends with Pioli. The timing is pretty bad though. I have a hard time believing he’s going to leave while James is still in school, particularly since he likes his job and has a lot of support from the administration anyway.

by NorseHawk on Dec 31, 2008 2:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

No shot...he's not going anywhere. Why?

A) college coaches have been a disaster in the NFL…fans don’t like them as a result and Cleveland needs to land a coach the fans can believe in.
B) he is a huge family man, so I don’t see him leaving his son.
C) he is young and can turn to the NFL later on after he wears out his Iowa welcome…he has at least 5 more years left to work here with minimal frustration.
D) loves his assistants, who are essentially unemployable at the NFL level.
E) he is back on the upswing at Iowa. Why leave now? The time to leave was last year.
F) paid WAAAAY more at Iowa than he would be paid in Cleveland. Crennel was paid $1.75 mil this year. Only 6 NFL head coaches will make MORE than Ferentz’s $3 million next year—and all of them have coached a team in the Super Bowl.

"I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
- George Rogers, one-time South Carolina RB

by StoopsMyAss on Dec 31, 2008 11:54 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

The fact that the team is on the upswing is exactly why he's a wanted NFL commodity again

No one would have hired him for a HC job last year. Also, I don’t think the fact that NFL teams and fanbases in general are wary of college coaches is particularly relevant as long as one GM is still interested in him, as Pioli seems to be.

by NorseHawk on Jan 1, 2009 8:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Pioli asking for Ferentz money

Ran across this bit about Pioli wanting BIG money from the Browns ownership to entice Coach F. from IOWA.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3803345

SikPuppy57
Life is what you make, not what your handed.

by sikpuppy57 on Jan 1, 2009 1:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Info from Game Watch

Just watched the bowl game at a Philly Sports Bar with Marcus Wilson and a linebacker alumni from the Fry era. The linebacker claimed to be close to the Iowa coaches and situation. According to him, they all think he would take the Cleveland job. I hope he is wrong, but would understand if Ferentz left. Between Greene and Ferentz, I hope we can keep one of them.

by Duez I say on Jan 1, 2009 2:19 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I didn't like the sound of his response

after the game at all. It wasn’t nearly dismissive enough to make me feel good about this. Who the crap would we hire if he left right now that would allow us to keep most of the staff intact?

by Third Generation Hawk on Jan 1, 2009 10:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I couldn't agree more

The last few times he’s been asked, it’s always been a resounding no. But today, he danced around his response quite a bit. Personally, I think he’s gone, assuming Pioli gets the Cleveland job. I don’t think he’d follow Pioli to a team like Kansas City though.

by imadirtyoldman on Jan 1, 2009 10:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Iowa will hire Brian Kelly from Cinncy if Ferentz leaves

I personally don’t think he is leaving. For lots of reasons (see above for starters). Truthfully, I have always been uncomfortable with the negativity people have displayed toward Ferentz and KOK too. But, if the stars align and he leaves we have such a good team returning, and are (for now) in the best possible shape on the hiring front, I can imagine a good hire. Not anyone better than Ferentz, but a good solid hire like Kelly or Gill.

Hawk fans will learn though, while success at this school is very possible not anyone can achieve it. THis staff is special. If we get an Alford on the football side, you’ll see just how great Ferentz was, is and would have been.

"I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
- George Rogers, one-time South Carolina RB

by StoopsMyAss on Jan 1, 2009 11:53 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Dunno if we'd actually hire him

But Kelly would be an incredible catch. He’s one of the best coaches in the country. He’s done very well at Cinci and the way he turned around Central Michigan (who, for those who don’t remember, were an absolute abomination before he showed up) was absolutely unreal. Ferentz is a great coach and I don’t want him to leave, but landing Kelly would take away a lot of sting. I haven’t really seen anything to suggest that he’d be one of the candidates though or that he’d even be all that eager to leave his current situation (though a big enough pay raise would probably do it)

by NorseHawk on Jan 2, 2009 1:48 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That's a strong statement

Brian Kelly wouldn’t be a bad choice, but I don’t see any reason to blow the whole thing up with a guy who’s never been part of the Iowa program. Why not Joe Philbin?

I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks

by Oops Pow Surprise on Jan 2, 2009 6:37 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Only hire people who have been head coaches....somewhere along the line

We are not a program that needs to gamble on these coordinators. The leap to head coach iss a huge one. The skills needed are much, much different. We are one of the top 25 programs in the country in my opinion. When you factor in what we bring to the table:
- great fan base
- first-rate academic reputation
- elite conference (despite our down bowl record)
- big $$$ to pay coaches
- good, if not excellent facilities
- great TV exposure
And so forth…Kelly caught lightning in a bottle with Cinncy. He will be looking to get out of there ASAP. It is a stepping stone job. He will not get a job in the SEC or any other major conference in all liklihood. He is a midwest guy and that is his network. He has had almost all his career in Michigan, prior to Cinncy. He is not real hapy at Cinncy by all accounts too. He has had trouble getting the school to accept football as the #1 sport (rather than basketball) and there is no money to improve facilities. Yes, he does not have Iowa roots. Looking over all the guys who do, no jump out to me.

We just might have to do a Hayden Fry and go outside the family.

Before yesterday I would have sadi there about a 2% chance of Ferentz leaving. Now I think it is 50% and if Pioli gets a job outside of NE, it goes up to 75%.

"I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
- George Rogers, one-time South Carolina RB

by StoopsMyAss on Jan 2, 2009 9:01 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

An outside, unbiased opinion

Might say that the Big Ten’s TV exposure is great, but decreasing. Likewise with our elite conference athleticisim.

by Duez I say on Jan 2, 2009 10:08 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I live in the NYC area

and I see Penn State, Ohio State, Mich, Wisc. and Iowa all the time, throw in the BTN (which I got on FiOS recently, and I see every game I want. That just isn’t the case with SEC teams or Big 12 teams. So, these Jersey kids00and they are pretty damn good football players—see the Big 10 all the time. I can’t speak for exposure on the west coast (which we do not recruit) or the Southwest and Southeast. But, I do business in Florida and those kids know and see their fair share of Big 10 games.

"I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
- George Rogers, one-time South Carolina RB

by StoopsMyAss on Jan 2, 2009 2:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Good

I live near Jersey but try to avoid going there at all costs. So thats good to know that they have exposure to the conference. I just worry that the BTN is taking away from all those games we used to have on ESPN2.

by Duez I say on Jan 2, 2009 2:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I live in Iowa

and I see about 1/2 as many basketball games as I did pre-BTN.

by jebushchrist on Jan 2, 2009 4:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

But now you can view them streamed on teh interwebz!!!1!!1

Of course, I’m not much of a basketball watcher and have not really been affected. Here in Muscatine, the BTN was immediately available in the extended basic package, while Iowa City was forced to wait for Mediacom to cave. I will agree, though, that the TV deal seems to have done more damage than good in terms of BigTen exposure.,

¿Quieres chiclets?

by The Mexican't on Jan 2, 2009 5:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It's mostly taking away games that used to be on ESPN+

Given that the BTN is now fairly widely available, I think it probably helps exposure overall. We’ve still had plenty of games on ESPN and ESPN2 the last couple years, and I don’t see any reason why that won’t continue.

by NorseHawk on Jan 2, 2009 5:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This just in...hmmmmmmmmmm

From ESPN: (Cleveland Brown’s owner) Lerner is hesitant to hire another first-time NFL head coach after Chris Palmer, Butch Davis and Romeo Crennel all came to Cleveland with sparkling resumes but no experience running a pro team. All failed.

"I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
- George Rogers, one-time South Carolina RB

by StoopsMyAss on Jan 3, 2009 9:12 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

This will help me sleep better tonight

It might serve Kirk well to know there are no Pancheros in Cleveland…

by Duez I say on Jan 3, 2009 9:42 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps this will help too

Ferentz just signed up for a new gym membership. Oh, wait, that was me. Nevermind.

"I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
- George Rogers, one-time South Carolina RB

by StoopsMyAss on Jan 3, 2009 9:56 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Pancheros is the fountain of health

Tortillas are made from 125% Organic Whole Long Half Grain Grade A Tortillas freshly squeezed in front of your eyes. It is the only gym you’ll ever need.

by Duez I say on Jan 3, 2009 10:03 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

they're talking Ferentz in KC if Pioli is hired by the Chefs

they shit can the happless Herm Edwards

this place smells like feet. i’ll bring a can of lysol next week.

by pfac51 on Jan 3, 2009 6:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't see that.

The lesser Hunt’s own the Chiefs and aren’t going to throw $3 mil at a first time NFL coach. I read earlier the Brown’s are talking Mangenious – good luck with that.

by txhawkeye on Jan 4, 2009 1:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs