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Iowa football: Why Brian Ferentz should be Kirk Ferentz’s successor

By Andrew Wade

IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 01: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes tears up as he is congratulated by his son, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after the match-up against the Northern Illinois Huskies on September 1, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. The win made Ferentz the winningest coach in Iowa football history with 144 wins. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 01: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes tears up as he is congratulated by his son, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after the match-up against the Northern Illinois Huskies on September 1, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. The win made Ferentz the winningest coach in Iowa football history with 144 wins. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
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EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 26: Tyrone Tracy Jr. #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes catches a pass in the game against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first quarter at Ryan Field on October 26, 2019 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 26: Tyrone Tracy Jr. #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes catches a pass in the game against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first quarter at Ryan Field on October 26, 2019 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Brian has an offensive background

Back to the offense. I know this is a weird “strength” to bring up after the recent struggles, but I firmly believe that Brian Ferentz has done some great things with the Iowa football team’s offensive attack.

Without two first-round tight ends and with a wealth of wide receiver depth, he has adapted the offense on the fly this season. As Sam LaPorta develops and the Hawks bring in two highly-regarded tight end prospects in the class of 2020, my guess is they will move back towards a two-tight end concept more often. I bring this up because this is just like what the New England Patriots do under Josh McDaniels, who Ferentz had the fantastic opportunity to learn under.

Brian knows how to play to his team’s strength, which seems like an easy concept but just look back at the Greg Davis era. It isn’t.

Furthermore, with his experience at the NFL level learning under arguably the smartest head coach in the history of the league and one of the brightest offensive coordinators ever, he understands what NFL teams are looking for from prospects, and he was a prospect at one time himself. This would be a huge draw for prospects knowing that the Hawkeyes will continue to develop players into pro-ready prospects.

And to wrap this piece up, I plead with you all to give the guy some time. Next year will be his fourth year as an offensive coordinator. He will be turning every single skill position player (besides starting tight end Nate Wieting and quarterback Nate Stanley). Behind Stanley, though is quite a bit of promise whether it’s former four-star recruit Spencer Petras, previous backup Peyton Mansell, redshirt freshman Alex Padilla (a coach’s kid) or the hype of the 2020 class, Deuce Hogan.

I think we are about to see a whole new offensive attack from the Iowa football program next season. You heard it here first.

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