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Iowa Football: Outburst In Press Box From Hawkeyes OC Brian Ferentz

By Tad Hall

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes questions an official during the first half of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium on October 15, 2016 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Iowa defeated Purdue 49-35. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes questions an official during the first half of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium on October 15, 2016 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Iowa defeated Purdue 49-35. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Late in the second quarter with Iowa driving, running back James Butler caught a 19 yard pass and was tackled at the Minnesota 21. As he was tackled, the ball popped out, and was recovered by Minnesota.

The play was called dead, and Butler appeared to be down. As the Hawkeyes prepared to run their next play the officials stopped the game and announced the previous play was under review.

Following the review the officials determined that it was indeed a fumble and Minnesota took over at their own 21. As I checked my twitter feed to see the collective reactions of Hawkeye Twitter one tweet stuck out to me:

I immediately went to Morehouse’s twitter page to see which Iowa coach it was, or see if he had any more details and was shocked to see this follow up tweet

I won’t lie to you guys, I was stunned. Never in my life had I heard of a coach doing this, least of all the offensive coordinator. Everyone knows the kind of program that Kirk Ferentz runs. It’s tight-lipped, there’s a lot of coach speak, and the walls of fort Kinnick are always sealed tightly. This was anti all of those things.

Brian Ferentz is in a way much like his father. He wants to run the ball, he wants Iowa to be the “bullies of the Big Ten,” and he’s an adept offensive line coach. However, unlike his father Brian is a little louder, he’s not nearly as reserved or tight lipped.

Given that the younger Ferentz has a propensity to wear his feelings and emotions on his sleeves I don’t think that what happened on Saturday night was all that shocking, and honestly, I loved it.

Most Iowa writers were critical of Brian’s outburst, but this blogger is all in. Was it unprofessional? To a degree certainly, but it was also refreshing to see one of our coaches bringing some fire and intensity to the sideline, err, press box.

Yes, Kirk has yelled at officials too, and I’ve seen him get riled up and use some colorful vocabulary, but this felt different. Brian’s outburst felt like a shift in philosophy that I think has been slowly building over the course of this season.

The younger coaching staff currently roaming the sidelines in Iowa City seems more invigorated than staffs of years past. There is a level of intensity and passion that Iowa fans haven’t seen in a long time.

While Brian’s play calling hasn’t been stellar, I’ve been a vocal critic of it myself, his passion and enthusiasm is something that I’m very excited about as an Iowa fan. To put it bluntly, Brian Ferentz wants to kick your ass and he wants you to know it.

Brian Ferentz is set to meet with Athletic Director Gary Barta, and repercussions may be handed out after. Regarding this Kirk Ferentz told HawkeyeSports.com:

"I think Gary will meet with him and Big Ten will file a report. Gary has had communication with them, and I think whatever everybody feels is appropriate, that’s what we’ll abide by, certainly."

Should this happen again? No, it shouldn’t. But in this case? Yeah, I’ll take it. Because this season has been frustrating, and a little discouraging. Seeing some fight from the coaching staff is awesome.

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