Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is entering his 27th season ahead of the 2025 season. The Hawkeyes finished last season with an 8-5 record and lost to the Missouri Tigers in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
After Mack Brown left North Carolina, Ferentz became the active leader in career wins at the FBS level (204).
The Hawkeyes have 12 consecutive winning seasons and have excelled on the defensive side of the ball. Under Ferentz and Defensive Coordinator Phil Parker, the Iowa defense has never ranked below No. 13 in scoring defense.
The Iowa offense has been comically bad the past few seasons, and Ferentz has rightly taken some of the heat for that.
Iowa revamped its quarterback room, adding South Dakota State quarterback and FCS Heisman winner Mark Gronowski from the transfer portal to fix the offensive woes.
Ahead of his 27th season, Ferentz was named a top-five Big Ten coach by USA Today. Earlier this week, Ferentz was added to another top coaching list.
The Sporting News released its list of the top 25 coaches ahead of the 2025 season, ranking Ferentz as the No. 19 overall coach.
While Ferentz does not have the sexiest coaching style, there is no reason the six coaches ranked ahead of him should be ranked higher. The criteria must be who the Sporting News thinks has the coolest coaching style, because it is not based on wins or producing NFL talent.
Fernetz needs to be ranked higher
Bill Belichick (North Carolina) is ranked ahead of him and has not coached a single game at the college football level. Curt Cignetti (Indiana) had one successful season and is ranked ahead of him.
Jeff Brohm (Louisville) and Sonny Dykes (TCU) are also ranked ahead of Fernetz, but only have coached a few seasons with their new programs.
Matt Campbell (Iowa State) and Kyle Whittingham (Utah) are the only coaches who have been at their programs long enough to boast sustained success, but neither of them have had more success than Ferentz and until recently, Campbell could never beat him in the head-to-head matchups.
Ferentz should be ranked No. 13 at minimum, and his resume supports that. An agument could also be made to slide Ferentz into the top ten.
Ferentz continues to be overlooked in the coaching ranks, but he will do what he always does: guide Iowa to a winning season, take underrated recruits, and turn them into All-Big Ten and NFL players.