Kirk Ferentz is a very well-known coach at Iowa as he has spent 24 seasons with the Hawkeyes and is heading into his 25th. After spending time in the NFL, Ferentz made his way to Iowa, found a home, and has had a lot of success.
Ferentz has been a 2-time Big Ten champion in 2002 and 2004 and a 3-time Big Ten West Division Champion in 2015, 2021, and 2023. However, the Big Ten is going through a big change with the addition of four teams from the ruins of the Pac-12.
However, let's look a little at the past instead of the future for a change and see what Ferentz's career was before coming to Iowa.
Playing career
Ferentz had a solid playing career as a linebacker starting back in high school. He attended the University of Connecticut and played three seasons. In his time at UConn, Ferentz was a captain and an Academic All-Yankee Conference linebacker.
Early coaching career
After playing three years at UConn from 1974 to 1976, Ferentz started his coaching career right away taking on a Graduate Assistant coaching job at his alma mater in 1977. After one season, Ferentz made the move to Worcester Academy where he spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator and offensive line coach. There he also taught high school English and coached the girl's basketball team.
Ferentz made his way back to college football when he took a position at Pittsburgh as a graduate assistant for the 1980 season. Then Ferentz made his first appearance as a coach at Iowa when he took the offensive line coaching position. Ferentz spent nine seasons with the Hawkeyes and coached alongside legendary college football coach Bill Snyder before he departed for Kansas State.
After nine seasons with the Hawkeyes, Ferentz was ready for his first head coaching position and took the one at the University of Maine. Ferentz spent three seasons with the Black Bears, and Ferentz struggled in his start, finishing tied for seventh in his first two seasons. In his final season, Maine finished 6-5 which was an improvement, but Ferentz knew he had made mistakes.
NFL coaching career
Ferentz made the move to the NFL in 1993 when he took the Cleveland Brown's offensive line coaching position. He spent three seasons with the Browns before making the move to Baltimore. The franchise was moved and Ferentz made the move with them. With the Raven, Ferentz was again the offensive line coach for just one season in 1996 and was promoted to the assistant head coach along with continuing his duties as the offensive line coach.
In December 1998, Ferentz returned to Iowa and took the head coaching position and has never looked back.