Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz commented on the “departure” from the Hawkeyes’ typical practice with the Brian Ferentz announcement.
For the first time since interim Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz made public the decision to part ways with offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz following the conclusion of the 2023 season, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz met with the media to discuss the announcement.
As Iowa (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) gears up for a date against Northwestern (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) inside Wrigley Field at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday on Peacock, Kirk Ferentz was sharing his reaction to the news that his son will no longer serve as the Hawkeyes’ OC in 2024.
Due to the uniqueness of the situation and university nepotism regulations, Goetz was Brian Ferentz’s direct supervisor and had final say in his employment status with Iowa.
With the decision out of Kirk Ferentz’s hands, it also meant the decision and outcome diverted from the path the Iowa program has typically taken. As Kirk Ferentz met with the media, that appeared to be the sticking point for Iowa’s longtime head coach.
“I’ll basically say this, for 25 years, I’ve tried to operate with the singular focus of doing what I feel is best for the program and that’s mainly the players and everybody that works in this building. That’s my first obligation.
“Basically, my philosophy and my practice has been pretty consistent. Typically we go through the season and then run an evaluation of the program top to bottom afterwards. Yesterday’s announcement is certainly a departure from that practice, but that’s really what we’ve tried to do for the past 24 years,” Ferentz said.
Asked later if his frustration was with the timing of the announcement or with the decision itself, Ferentz said more of the same.
“I would just say my policy has typically been to evaluate everything—players, coaches, all that—postseason, because in season we have a lot on our plates. That’s kind of been the nature of it, and it’s been that way probably since I got started full-time in ’81. There’s not enough time in the day. That’s where our focus is.
“Everything you do is precious in terms of time relations. So to me, it’s a better time. It’s a less emotional time. I can give you a lot of reasons why I’ve done it that way, but it really doesn’t matter. It’s really not significant right now because we’re dealing with something that we have to deal with, and we will,” Ferentz said.
Before he opened it up for questions, Ferentz took a moment to recognize his players and coaching staff for their 6-2 start to the season and the program’s general sustained success.
“Final analysis, just let’s say this. I’m really proud of our players, proud of our coaches. I think they’ve done a good job over a long time. What we do now is move forward, and our focus is on getting ready for this game and then, bigger picture, all four games. Decisions made on Saturdays, player-wise, are based on us watching the guys during the out of season, in season, a lot of hours of evaluation time we spend with them just in classrooms, all those types of things.
“Just really proud of our players. I think they’ve done a great job. Our staff’s done a great job. You have challenges that sometimes you can’t foresee, and this season is one of those. But, you play through it, you work through it, and that’s our plan moving forward. Again, just very, very proud of the program, the success that we’ve had, and this is just one of those things we’ll have to work through as well,” Ferentz said.
Ferentz noted that unforeseen adversity is something he always prepares his team for before a season starts.
“That’s one of the points I always make for our team in camp, at the end of camp. There are a lot of factors it usually boils down to about three or four of them, but one that never changes is how do you handle the bumps that you don’t anticipate, the things that maybe you can’t see coming, certainly don’t see coming in August, early September? It’s part of any season, just like injuries. Those are parts of seasons, and how you respond to those things, that’s how you get defined,” Ferentz said.
“So, this is just one more of those things that you have to try to compartmentalize and put it in the right position. And then the most important question is what do we have to do to work forward and be successful to be successful?”
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