But what they can do is invest in a coach like a championship contender, and it's worked for the Iowa program so far. At the first sign of Ferentz's success in 2002, it was generally assumed that he would bolt either to an elite college program or the NFL, because Iowa wasn't considered a "destination school." Now, today, it certainly appears that Iowa is among those destination schools.
Kirk Ferentz's contract extension through 2020 - CBS Sports
From an article by yours truly for CBS. Yep. More info on that tomorrow; for now, congrats to Coach Ferentz.
over 1 year ago
Adam Jacobi
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Nicely done.
What will be interesting is if the program’s momentum will translate into consistently top 25 quality classes. That, imo, is the difference between Iowa being a perrenial Big Ten contender championship and an occassional MNC threat and where it is now a greatly overachieving team that probably doesn’t have the kind of depth that can stand the assorted injuries to get to the MNC games and the kind of special talent that can win it when they get there. Iowa, won’t likely ever be an atop elite school in terms of recruiting but, if they can can but together Virginia Tech like classes year in and year out(2005 was an aberration and you can’t build a serious MNC contender on a single top 10-15 class. Well, maybe, and with all due respect, if you have Boise State’s or TCU’s usual schedules you can.).Then you can have the depth and breath of numbers to do it. Another BCS bowl season and perhaps you see Iowa not only finish in the top 25(and yes, rankings are the be all, end all. They are a rough measurement of talent.) this year, but a big bump in next year’s class and forward.
I agree
The only difference with Virginia Tech is that the talent pool in Virginia is so much bigger than Iowa. The Hampton Roads area is especially prominent for producing a ton of D-1 talent, and there is nothing comparable in Iowa at all. Right now Beamer has that area on lockdown, but it will be interesting to see if UVA rebounds with London in charge, he had a lot of success at Richmond mining that area and made significant inroads.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
I read it. I like it.
I love you.
Belay my last.
by steaming_pile_of_awcrap on Sep 2, 2010 9:36 PM CDT reply actions
Great job Adam, as always.
Glad to see your name out there more and more and in bigger and better places.
"All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again."
"congrats to coach Ferentz"
Congrats to the Hawkeye Nation as well, we’re the real winners from this.
by TEXaco on Sep 2, 2010 9:58 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
first ever mobile post
Threw my back out and confined to couch. So happy I just got smart phone.
by TEXaco on Sep 2, 2010 10:00 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
KF was signed during my freshman year
and I distinctly remember think “who the fuck?!?” One of my best friends said she thought he was cute which just made him more irritating to me. 12 years later (I you kidding me?) I can’t think of anyone that I’d rather lead the Hawkeyes. Here’s to another 8 years of Kirk Ferentz at the helm of Iowa…and then a passing of the torch to Tim Dwight.
Also, Adam, is there any way you can replace Dodd and Doyel?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
Holy typing fail.
That would be “thinking” and not “think” and “are you kidding me” and not “I you kidding me” although apparently I am kidding me/I/whatever.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Sep 2, 2010 10:08 PM CDT up reply actions
I think it might be a case of...
I-O-W-A tourettes.
I knowO I have W a case A of it.
I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them.
-- Judge Smails
by WaterlooChazz on Sep 3, 2010 4:01 PM CDT up reply actions
When did you start cashing CBS checks?
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Sep 2, 2010 10:07 PM CDT reply actions
Don't know
but I guess that means he’s buying at the next BHGP Kinnick tailgate.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Sep 2, 2010 10:08 PM CDT up reply actions
You can make it big in Des Moines!
Watch out, Sean Keeler!
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Sep 2, 2010 10:13 PM CDT up reply actions
This is a testament to the wisdom of Kirk Ferentz
so let’s see…should I bolt for the NFL where one bad season and i’m putting my belongings in a cardboard box, or should I plan on an overall winning career at Iowa, putting away several mil a year all the while and never have to pay for a beer, a meal, or a round of golf in the entire state until the day I die? Hmm…lemme think..
He's been tot he NFL, he knows the culture. Osborne, Bowden, Paterno, Bear...
…they’ve all had fine legacies staying in college.
And I certainly don’t know Ferentz anymore than anyone else who reads here, but it seems like he really does enjoy the “molding boys into men” thing college affords. NFL (and other pro sports) are often referred to as “a business”, rightly so. College football is, too, obviously, but as for a coach:player relationship, it’s a vastly different story.
I know a lot of coaches don’t like the recruiting aspect of it, but it would seem a lot more emotionally satisfying (or something) to convince kids to come to your school than to dash the dreams and hopes of men trying to make careers.
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
He's made a few comments over the years
that roughly translate into “I don’t want to be an NFL coach, although I considered it in the ’03 – ’04 time period”.
"If you need a rah-rah speech at halftime, you’re playing the wrong sport." - Pat Angerer
Yep.
If he thought the Hawkeyes acted like fat cats in 2007, then you can only imagine how he’d feel about being a head coach in today’s NFL. A third of that job (NFL) anymore seems to be preening for the media, and the other 2/3 is working 20-hour days just to prove to your owner that you’re earning your keep.
Meanwhile, you can work 20-hour days at Iowa, but if you win 8 games a year, you get treated in a first-class manner, probably for life.
I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them.
-- Judge Smails
by WaterlooChazz on Sep 3, 2010 4:05 PM CDT up reply actions
The whole contract extension was unexpected for me.
I don’t follow contracts that closely, but I suspect the recent conference expansion, and division announcements were instrumental in making the Iowa administration make a move. It’s obvious we have a really good coach that understands the challenges Iowa faces as a program. We’re the state school from the least populous state in the Big 10, and unlike Minnesota or Wisconsin, we share our smallest state with another BCS school. He has put together a program that has proved it can be competitive at a level that can win the Big 10. He’s faced setbacks, and adjusted, while keeping the basic ideology consistent. I think the recent division announcements reveal that Iowa under its current leadership may be the favorite to win the Big 10 “west” in its first few years. Ferentz probably has always planned on leaving Iowa for the NFL, however year by year, as he builds a legacy and a nationally prominent program, the chances of his becoming a lifetime Iowa coach may be growing. Why risk everything to go to a throw away culture like the NFL when you can become a college football legend? The conference is experiencing a period of transition. With a coach like Ferentz at the helm, and the program he built running on all cylinders, Iowa is in a perfect position to become a national power. The administration knows that, and Ferentz knows that. The recent contract solidifies our program’s future (and recruiting) in a time of conference transition. Its an exciting time to be a Hawkeye!
I clearly remember the anger
that Bob Stoops wasn’t hired.
Should add though
We’re the state school from the least populous state in the Big 10,
That’s true only for the next nine months though. But Nebraska clearly shows it’s possible to be a national power from a small Midwestern state.
by Josh Timmers on Sep 3, 2010 12:41 AM CDT up reply actions
True,
but that fact is mitigated by the other fact that they’re the only show in town. Yes, they only have 1.8 million people to our 3 million, but they also:
- Don’t have another BCS program leeching in-state recruits, donors, and media attention
- Don’t have a top-tier D-1AA program leeching in-state recruits, donors, and media attention
- Are located (this is often overlooked, and pretty critical) in what amounts to an urban area of well over a million people. They love to play up the “just a buncha big-smilin’ farmers all tucked into our nice stadium here!” marketing angle, but the Lincoln-Omaha corridor is the biggest deal between Minneapolis and Kansas City. That means a crap ton of big, quality high schools with kids who want nothing more than to play for Big Red, and it means big, rich companies flush with Husker alumni that want nothing more than to open their wallets for the same.
Situationally, Nebraska is advantaged.
by Third Generation Hawk on Sep 3, 2010 3:38 AM CDT up reply actions
The money part is certainly true
But speaking as an alum of one of the most dominant HS programs in the state, NE high school football is nothing special. Hawks are better off having a deeper pool to pick from.
Well, isn't what LeBron did last night the living embodiment of The Secret, leaving millions on the table and turning himself into a hometown villain, all for the sake of winning?
Neil Paine, basketball-reference.com
Where did you go? What year?
( I think this is the first time I’ve ever done this on a blog.)
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
I don't think we can quite call Iowa...
a destination job right this minute. It is probably like the program is, a top 20 or 25 program in the nation. In Iowa, you almost have to pay BIG money to keep quality people (cough, Lute Olson, cough).
Now, in 5 to 10 years, if Iowa stays on this trajectory, then it very well could become a top 10 to 15 program, and a true destination job. While I wasn’t extremely happy that we gave a relatively quick heave to Lickliter, I’d say there was not too much unfair kicking by the media or fans. So that also helps the university’s reputation (along with our growing rep as being pretty competitive, financially).
And if AIRBHG would quit pelting IC with floods, tornadoes, and torn tendons, then this place would be paradise (except for the snow).
I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them.
-- Judge Smails
by WaterlooChazz on Sep 3, 2010 4:12 PM CDT up reply actions
Prep '97
Well, isn't what LeBron did last night the living embodiment of The Secret, leaving millions on the table and turning himself into a hometown villain, all for the sake of winning?
Neil Paine, basketball-reference.com
It also helps
that they established their legacy when most there weren’t so many schools taking football as seriously as they do now.
"If you need a rah-rah speech at halftime, you’re playing the wrong sport." - Pat Angerer
That's why those first few years are going to be so important as pecking order is established.
Fortunately Michigan is going through their troubles and Nebraska will have the schedule from hell to contend with. We’ll have lost some key seniors but hopefully will still be able to get to the first few conference championship games. The first few years are very important for recruiting.
by HawkeyeRecon on Sep 3, 2010 10:32 AM CDT up reply actions
They're very important
To establish ourselves as a national power. Making the Big Ten Championship game in one of the first couple of seasons and beating Nebraska in what is going to be a nationally televised game after Thanksgiving is going to put us on the map as one of the national powers.
Assuming we do that, of course
KF, Solid
I wad a senior at Iowa when KF was hired. I had never heard of him. My uncle, who lives on Solon and was heavily involved with the booster club and was on a first name basis with all the coaches and half the players, told me, “he’s the right guy, he’ll out-do Hayden if he’s here for 20 years.”
Prophetic!
by hawkeyeinstl on Sep 3, 2010 6:35 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
KF is a class act and represents Iowa well
Cheers on this from a Northwestern fan. You’re in good hands
by LincolnParkWildcat on Sep 3, 2010 12:34 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
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