Kirk Ferentz

[RaidenDAWG2]

After winning a share of the Big Ten crown a few years back, Iowa has yet to find a spot in the final AP poll of the year in each year since.

Is Kirk Ferentz the most overrated coach in the Big Ten, or is he just a victim of recruiting for Iowa?

-RD

[jc09pats]

i think he probably got unlucky wiht recruiting-but also didnt he have like brad banks/a few good LBs on that team? i cant remeber.

[Hawkeye]

After winning a share of the Big Ten crown a few years back, Iowa has yet to find a spot in the final AP poll of the year in each year since.

Is Kirk Ferentz the most overrated coach in the Big Ten, or is he just a victim of recruiting for Iowa?

-RD

Are ya tryin to start a fight? We all know Joe Tiller is the most overrated coach in the Big 10.

It's not the recruiting lately, it's that the big guys we got a few years ago didn't play up to their lofty status.

Two years ago when we went 7-5, we were only a couple of plays away from being 9-3, so that wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. The last two years have sucked, but if anything it is Kirk's loyalty to the OC Ken O'Keefe that is killing us. Norm Parker needs to retire too. Who the hell sends a LB out against a WR just to keep his coverage a secret? Go to the damn nickel and make them earn it.

[RaidenDAWG2]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Are ya tryin to start a fight? We all know Joe Tiller is the most overrated coach in the Big 10.

Well, yeah, but I figured at least this way I get a quick reply from you

It's not the recruiting lately, it's that the big guys we got a few years ago didn't play up to their lofty status.

Two years ago when we went 7-5, we were only a couple of plays away from being 9-3, so that wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. The last two years have sucked, but if anything it is Kirk's loyalty to the OC Ken O'Keefe that is killing us. Norm Parker needs to retire too. Who the hell sends a LB out against a WR just to keep his coverage a secret? Go to the damn nickel and make them earn it.

For argument's sake (cause we haven't had one of those in a couple days), Miami was one play away from a national title in 2002, but it's still what it is...

OSU's one blown timeout from being perfect in the regular season last year, but they still lost to Illinois.

Doesn't change the fact that they've struggled the last few years, regardless of how many plays away they were in one season. At some point, the coaching has to be held accountable for the player's mistakes.

-RD

[Hawkeye]

I'm not making less of it than what it was, but that 7-5 season had potential. The losses to NW and Michigan belong on Norm Parker's shoulders. He wasn't aggressive enough in the NW game and they were able to score two TDs late in the game to win it when we had dominated all day. He wasn't aggressive enough with Michigan or we wouldn't have even been in OT.

Kirk went against his grain last year by playing a LOT of freshmen. Parker caused us the ISU game and the WMU game. Ken Iwebema hadn't gotten it done all season and should have been replaced by one of the guys that had shown flashes of ability at DE, but he stuck with the same lineup and continued to play 3 LBs against a spread offense. Now, we have some fast athletic LBs, but Mike Klinkenborg is not one of them and should have been taken out in certain situations.

Ultimately, like I said, it's Kirk's unwillingness to fire those guys that has cost us the past two seasons. In Parker's defense though, his playcalling is what won us games vs MSU and Illinois.

[RaidenDAWG2]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

I'm not making less of it than what it was, but that 7-5 season had potential. The losses to NW and Michigan belong on Norm Parker's shoulders. He wasn't aggressive enough in the NW game and they were able to score two TDs late in the game to win it when we had dominated all day. He wasn't aggressive enough with Michigan or we wouldn't have even been in OT.

Kirk went against his grain last year by playing a LOT of freshmen. Parker caused us the ISU game and the WMU game. Ken Iwebema hadn't gotten it done all season and should have been replaced by one of the guys that had shown flashes of ability at DE, but he stuck with the same lineup and continued to play 3 LBs against a spread offense. Now, we have some fast athletic LBs, but Mike Klinkenborg is not one of them and should have been taken out in certain situations.

Ultimately, like I said, it's Kirk's unwillingness to fire those guys that has cost us the past two seasons. In Parker's defense though, his playcalling is what won us games vs MSU and Illinois.

Well, you can't have it both ways there. If you want to get rid of them, great, but don't defend Parker with those two games you could have lost without him. If you want to keep them, great, then let those other games go.

Playing freshmen is all well and good, but does it do you any good going forward?

That's not rhetorical, I'm actually asking if it's doing you any good this year

A big part of the reason Butch Davis didn't work out in Cleveland was his loyalty to staff that didn't pan out, Crennel almost had the same thing happen to him. My big question to you here (beyond the non-rhetorical rhetorical) is should that be counted against him, or do the people above need to step up and make the call for him?

-RD

[Hawkeye]

Well, you can't have it both ways there. If you want to get rid of them, great, but don't defend Parker with those two games you could have lost without him. If you want to keep them, great, then let those other games go.

Playing freshmen is all well and good, but does it do you any good going forward?

That's not rhetorical, I'm actually asking if it's doing you any good this year

A big part of the reason Butch Davis didn't work out in Cleveland was his loyalty to staff that didn't pan out, Crennel almost had the same thing happen to him. My big question to you here (beyond the non-rhetorical rhetorical) is should that be counted against him, or do the people above need to step up and make the call for him?

I am not really defending Parker on a greater scale as much as saying that he has his moments. I don't know if there are enough of them to keep him around though.

I think playing the freshmen was a big step because it says the BEST players will play as opposed to the old....."wait your turn" philosophy. Bryan Bulaga(true) is most likely going to start at OG for us and DJK showed what kind of skills he has at WR (if he can quit being so arrogant). We saw Christian Ballard(true) and Adrian Clayborn (RS) play well in limited time at DE. Clayborn is the one I wish had played instead of underachieving Iwebema. Dezman Moses (true) showed some real skill and speed at LB in the Illinois game. Jordan Bernstine (true)will likely start at CB this year, so seeing reps in the nickle and dime packages was invaluable and Brett Greenwood (true) at Safety is considered the next Sean Considine. That says a lot about the kid.....and he played like it at times too.

I think in the end, if this year underachieves as well, the administration needs to put the pressure on Ferentz to drop the ax on either or both coordinators. If they do underachieve though, I don't think Ferentz will need to be pressured to do it.