Iowa's Athletic Director Gary Barta met with members of the media yesterday and took questions on the open coaching positions, Mika'il McCall and the Big Ten's playoff proposal.

Barta says next week is when interviews begin for Iowa's openings on the football coaching staff. The lone opening on the defensive side is linebacker coach and LeVar Woods is thought to be the leader in the clubhouse. An official announcement naming a new LB coach could come next week. The openings on the offensive side could take a little longer.

Per Barta,

"[Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz] decided his best option was to promote on the defensive coordinator [Phil Parker]," Barta said. "Now that's done, he [Ferentz] turns his attention to the two assistant coaches first, not the offensive coordinator. We have a process on campus, and football follows that process just like everyone else does."

About the length of time, Barta adds,

"Whether it's hiring a coach or an administrator, we have a process of approval we have to go through," Barta said. "We have to advertise the position a certain number of days and we work with the campus human resources and have done that throughout."

Marc Morehouse points out that the process is same whether Iowa hires from within or from outside the program.

Some other tidbits from Morehouse's piece:

• Barta wants to fight for a post season tournament game for the men's hoops team
• Barta wants to fight to retain the Big Ten's connection with the Rose Bowl
• Barta is for the seven win minimum for bowl eligibility
• Mika'il McCall wasn't suspended for his "strait bullshit" Facebook post

"We do not kick off or suspend student-athletes in any sport for a Facebook posting or a Twitter," Barta said. "We have conversations with them about it."

Iowa added that the Athletic Department has "social media guidelines" and that student athlete activity is monitored. Barta concluded with,

"Since I've been here, we have not removed someone from the athletic department or from a team for something they said in social media."

Sally Mason says that Iowa isn't "hiding behind anything." Marcus Coker, like McCall, was suspended and decided to transfer from Iowa. Mason and Iowa officials will not release information about the investigation regarding Coker and cites the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Mason adds,

"One of the things we pride ourselves on is that students have a right to privacy,"

Mason also mentions this,

releasing student information protected by FERPA could result in the school losing all of its federal funding - about $400million.

Long story short, Mason doesn't want to get sued.

After the jump, hoops and more links.

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[Video still credit: BTN.com]

The game in brief: Iowa got absolutely murdered, giving up 83 points in a relatively slow 60-possession game, allowing 13 three-pointers and an almost unheard of 70% effective field goal percentage while turning the ball over one out of every three possessions. And all this to a team that only played six players significant minutes. This was Iowa's worst defensive performance of the year in terms of points per possession; worse than Indiana, worse than Michigan State, worse than Creighton. The only bright spots were that Aaron White played another outstanding all-around game, scoring 17 points on just 10 shots and grabbing 12 rebounds, that Matt Gatens had a good shooting game, and that the team as a whole actually shot very well, finishing with a 58.9% eFG%. In a normal game, that kind of shooting would have been more than enough to win, but this was not a normal game.

Northwestern is basically Iowa's kryptonite, an excellent three-point shooting team that spreads the floor, passes intelligently, and moves constantly. They had Iowa both coming and going, generating excellent spacing on the perimeter and then cutting to the basket whenever Iowa overplayed. MVP of the game would probably go to the Wildcats' impressive freshman Dave Sobolewski, who took advantage of the clean looks he was getting and finished with 23 points on just eight shots and put up an astounding 106% eFG% thanks to 3-3 on threes and 4-5 on twos. But really you could give the award to any one of the Wildcat starters. They are a very good shooting team, and their offense worked like a machine to generate open looks. Four players finished with three three-pointers, and 22 of their 27 field goals were assisted. That's mighty impressive.

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Thank you for joining me here, Brandon

ya sure coach

Aren't you wondering why we're here?

naw man this is fun

You're having fun?

i like airboats

Well, we're here because I tho--

and turtles

I beg your pardon?

i like turtles

...

...

OK then. We're here because I'm your new coach, and I feel like your previous training was lacking a certain component.

The receivers on this team lack mental toughness.

you mean like science?

What?

science hurts my brain

I don't think I follow--

are we gonna cut up a turtle? because i don't want to cut up a turtle. i like...

like turtles. Yes, yes, I know. No, Brandon, we are not dissecting a turtle.

Look over there.

/points behind Brandon Marshall

GROWL

Wrestle that crocodile, Brandon.

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We previewed this game a few days ago (after a fashion), but now it's time to get down and dirty with the game itself. Iowa's trying for their first three-game winning streak of the Matt Gatens Era, as well as their first win in Evanston since 2008. They've also lost three in a row to our jNW oppressors. The loser of this game also probably has their (already very-thin) NCAA Tournament hopes permanently dashed (barring a miracle run in the Big Ten Tournament, at least). So yeah: there are some stakes here.

The game's on ESPNU at 8pm CT.

The usual rules of open threads apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no religion, no politics, no slurs, and no douchebaggery. Go Hawks.

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For those of you who were unable to make it to Saturday's game, it was a pretty special day. Some of you had said things about the commemorative program being sold out, so I scanned the cover. If you haven't read the articles on the history of the players from the 86-87 team, head on over to Hawkcentral http://hawkcentral.com/2012/01/28/iowas-run-to-no-1-where-are-players-on-the-1986-87-team-now/ and Dochterman's page http://thegazette.com/category/blogs/docs-office/ and check them out. It's really great stuff, and some of the Hawkcentral stuff was included in the program.

One of my earliest (and fondest) childhood memories was of a family vacation when I was about 5 years old. My parents, brother, and I went to Iowa City. Dad wanted to take us to Carver, but, being it was the summer, it was locked. A custodian let us in and allowed us to go all the way down onto the floor. Even at that age, I knew it was someplace special. ( I'm sure my brother's enthusiasm might have had something to do with it too). Similarly to what ICHawk had to say in his Fanpost, Iowa Basketball needs to be there for the 5-year old boys (and girls) out there too.

The 86-87 team was the first team I remember watching on TV with my Dad. I was five when they played. My Dad had never been to a game at Carver. It was a spur of the moment trip (we bought tickets on Stubhub on Friday morning), and we decided to make the six hour drive to Iowa City. Seeing my childhood heroes was going to be totally worth it.

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IOWA CITY (AP)

Due to what coaches are calling a "communications snafu", Iowa's football team hired a hot drink vending machine as their new quarterback coach yesterday. The machine, a National brand coffee/hot cocoa dispenser model number 633, will take over the position previously held by departing offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz described how the machine got the job:

"I'll be honest with you: I knew months ago that I wanted to keep a lot of the same guys on my staff, it was just a matter of who would do what. So I got out my sharpie, labeled some darts with "tight ends coach", "linebacker coach" and the like, then gathered the assistants in the lounge. I told them to close their eyes and then turned around and started chucking darts over my head. I guess one of the darts went a bit astray. Must not have heard it over all the caterwauling and 'Jesus Christ, was that a dart!?' and so on."

The matter would have been resolved quickly, but a miscommunication between Ferentz and his assistant resulted in the machine being hired at a salary of $225,000 per year.

"I had to take a call, so I told my feather-brained, near-sighted secretary, Miss [Yvette] Bumblepot, to track down all the darts and assign the proper jobs to the people that I had struck. She dutifully found all the darts, including the one in the machine, and made up the contracts."

When asked if he could rescind the offer and find a more suitable, human candidate for the job, Ferentz said it was impossible. "Those were legally binding darts."

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Ferentz speaks and we learn... what did we learn? Not much other than what was released by Iowa Tuesday night. Ferentz wouldn't announce any new coaching changes besides Phil Parker's promotion and Morgan and Wilson's switch. LeVar Wood's doesn't have an official position yet, but Ferentz says "we'll find a spot." David Raih doesn't either. The best summary can be found in Morehouse's Quick Slants.

Reading those slants we learn Marcus Coker's decision to leave Iowa was his own. Ferentz responded to questions about the departed running back with,

"I think ultimately there was a little frustration there," Ferentz said. "He made the decision that was best for him. I told him I was going to support him no matter what. I think Marcus is a tremendous young man. I wish him all the best moving forward. He'll do well."

Ferentz went on to add,

"There's athletic department policy and there's student code of conduct, which every student on our campus adheres to," Ferentz said. "Then, you have legal issues. Internal conduct is sometimes more stringent than what our athletic department is. I don't know if it's ever been more stringent than what the university would regulate. We're part of the process and we work within the system."

Ferentz isn't in a hurry to announce his new offensive coordinator. The deadline, if you want to call it that, is March 24th, the beginning of spring practice. As far as the other two openings, Ferentz says he has people in mind but don't expect those announcements to come anytime soon.

Kirk didn't rule his son Brian out as a possible candidate for the open offensive line coaching position. When asked if he would call on Brian to return to Iowa City Ferentz said, "you know we're open to anything right now." He added, "I'm really confident we're going to get a good guy or we wouldn't have moved Reese."

There may be more to Reese's move to the defensive line than Ferentz would address. Kirk said this about it,

"Fair to say he was a little surprised on that one," Ferentz said. "But I guess I've got some executive privilege. I exercised it."

Morgan will take over for former coach Rick Kaczenski and by some accounts is the polar opposite in regards to approach. Perhaps a change from an in-your-face "MF this, MF that" coach in Kaczenski is what is in order along the defensive front. If anything, maybe it's an attempt to fix the attrition problems Iowa has had in keeping defensive line recruits on the roster.

After the jump, Iowa hoops vs. Northwestern and more links.

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Reese Morgan (center) and the future of Iowa defense

IOWA CITY (AP) - In a move that surprised players and fans alike, veteran Iowa offensive line coach Reese Morgan has decided to switch his allegiance to the defensive line.

The move came Tuesday in the Iowa football team's weight room as Morgan helped the defensive line win a weightlifting challenge in a spectacle which has quickly earned the moniker "Bash at the Bench."

The seeds for both the event and Morgan's switch were planted the day after signing day when recent Hawkeye signee Jaleel Johnson showed up unannounced in the middle of a weight lifting session.

"You people... you know who I am, but you don't know why I'm here," Johnson said. "You wanna [sic] go to war? You want a war? You're gonna get one."

Johnson left immediately after his speech, but returned a day later. This time with fellow signee Faith Ekakitie, who proceeded to lambaste the Iowa offensive line.

Rightly frustrated with the mouthy newcomers, Iowa senior-to-be James Ferentz proposed a battle between the new signees for Tuesday - a bench press competition, most reps of 225 earns bragging rights.

That was fine with Johnson and Ekakitie, who told Ferentz to find two other people and have it be a three-on-three encounter.

Rumors ran rampant during the weekend about who the defensive line's third member would be. Lavar Woods was the prevailing choice, but Johnson raised an uproar with a Facebook post citing New York Giants linebacker coach Jim Hermann.

Ekakitie, for his part, remained mum, only promising that it would be a surprise.

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