Iowa football: Bill Belichick has great deal of respect for Kirk Ferentz

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick isn’t much for words, but he sure seems to have a great deal of respect for Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz.

There have been plenty of connections between the Iowa football program and the New England Patriots over the years.

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz was Bill Belichick’s offensive line coach during Belichick’s tough first coaching gig with the Cleveland Browns. Current Iowa football offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz spent years working under Belichick’s guidance as a tight ends coach, and the Patriots even have one of Kirk’s younger sons, James, on the roster today.

Moreover, Bill Belichick’s infatuation with utilizing multiple tight end sets as a mismatch weapon is eerily similar to that of the Iowa football teams, and in the offseason, coaches often set about learning from other coaches around the college football landscape and the NFL landscape.

So it makes sense Kirk and crew were in attendance at a recent New England Patriots practice.

What isn’t as common is for a college coach to address a group of professionals, but that’s exactly what happened at Patriot’s practice.

According to Mike Reiss, Belichick introduced Ferentz to the group by saying this:

"Winningest coach in Iowa football, longest tenured FBS coach at 1 school..Resume speaks for itself."

Belichick’s praise is a pretty big deal considering mum is usually the word for the long-time Patriots coach who has won six Super Bowls and been named NFL Coach of the Year three times. He doesn’t hand out praise willy-nilly, and even in just a few short words, he showed an immense amount of respect for Kirk Ferentz.

It also helps to explain why the Patriots typically have at least one or two Iowa football players on their squad. They know they can trust these players to come in and work hard. Heck, the speedster Riley McCarron caught all of 50 balls in four years with the Iowa football team and stuck around on the Patriots roster for two years.

We all know Kirk Ferentz rocks, but it’s cool to see this level of respect.