Long-time Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz is no stranger to flying under the radar.
During his 27 years at the helm of the Hawkeyes, he has often been overlooked by the national media in favor of other head coaches at "blue-blood" programs or in the SEC.
Even after finishing with another winning season last year, Kirk Ferentz was completely disrespected by "College Football Report," which ranked him below multiple undeserving head coaches ahead of next season.
CFB Report ranked Ferentz as the No. 19 overall HC before the 2026 season
The Top 50 Head Coaches in College Football Following The 2025 Season 🏈 pic.twitter.com/B8pupweNo1
— College Football Report (@CFBReport) February 10, 2026
There is no telling how CFP Report ranks its coaches, and even though it is just one rankings list ahead of next season, they can do better.
Last season, they ranked Ferentz as the No. 17 overall head coach in college football, and even with a 9-4 overall record, including a win over Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, they moved him down two spots to No. 19.
Their rankings must be based more on the school the coaches are employed by, not the actual coaches themselves, because you can't convince us that 19 coaches are better than Kirk Ferentz.
If they are basing the criteria on who has traditionally had a better program or greater name recognition, this list makes perfect sense.
There is no way Kenny Dillingham, Matt Campbell, Kalani Sitake, Joey McGuire, James Franklin, and Kyle Wittingham are better coaches.
They may have had more resources and better programs overall, but this is a COACHING rankings list, not a program rankings list.
Plus, multiple of the previously listed coaches are with new teams, so there is no way to say they are better than Ferentz outside of what they have done in the past, but none of them have as many wins and Bowl victories.
Heading into his 28th season at the helm, Ferentz has amassed 213 career wins (most all-time in the Big Ten) and 11 Bowl victories (most in the Big Ten).
Ferentz deserves to be higher on this list, but the Hawkeyes and Ferentz do better when they are underestimated.