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Head Hawkeye Kirk Ferentz is named a top 20 head coach heading into next season

Ferentz was added to a top 50 coaches ranking list ahead of the 2025-2026 season
Jordan Underwood
Jordan Underwood

Dear Old Gold

Oct 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz walks back to the sidelines after a time out against Ohio State Buckeyes in the third quarter during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa football Head Coach Kirk Ferentz likes to stay off camera and do his work behind the scenes. He is not a person who seeks attention or a media spotlight, and would probably tell you he does not care at all about preseason or rankings in general.

As the 2025-2026 college football season has begun, more and more rankings have been released regarding player, team, and coaching projections. Ferentz is not worried about any of that and is solely focused on preparing his team for week one against UAlbany.

After fall camp wrapped up at the end of last week, Ferentz spoke to the media regarding the team's health and status before their first game.

Ferentz was adamant that the program entered camp well-prepared and conditioned, and they avoided any injuries. He believes they have done the best they can to prepare, and they have a solid group of guys.

Despite what Ferentz believes about preseason rankings for his players and himself, the media loves to release rankings lists on anything and everything, and the head Hawkeye finds himself on another preseason rankings list.

"College Football Report" released their top 50 head coaches heading into 2025 list with Ferentz checking in at No. 17, just below Miami's Mario Cristobal, and just ahead of Iowa State's Matt Campbell.

CFB Report has Ferentz as the No. 6 overall coach in the Big Ten behind Ryan Day (Ohio State), Dan Lanning (Oregon), James Franklin (Penn State), Lincoln Riley (USC), and Brett Bielema (Illinois).

The top three are solid locks as the top three head coaches in the conference, but there is an argument for Ferentz in the top four, ahead of Riley and Bielema. Bielema had a solid season last year, but it has been few and far between since he took over.

Riley was a solid coach at Oklahoma, but has not found the same success at USC to this point.

Ferentz's ranking is close to being accurate, and as long as he is above Matt Campbell, Iowa fans are happy.

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Jordan Underwood

Jordan Underwood

Jordan is the Site Expert for Dear Old Gold, which focuses on University of Iowa athletics. He has 10 years in the broadcast media industry covering a wide variety of topics including sports, news, local weather and politics. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and a die-hard Hawkeyes fan. That means he has witnessed very few titles, and knows how much pain Hawkeyes' fans endure on a daily basis. His hobbies include watching/covering sports, video games, comic book collecting and spending time with his wife Rosane and dog Wrigley. Go Hawks!