Another day, another coaches rankings list disrespects Kirk Ferentz.
The Iowa Football head man has never sought out the spotlight, but his body of work speaks for itself. After an eight-year stint as the Iowa offensive line coach under Hayden Fry (1981-1989), Ferentz returned to the program 10 years later and has been one of the best coaches in college football.
Since taking over the program in 1999, Ferentz has accumulated a 204-124 (128-88 Big Ten) record, two wins shy of passing former Ohio State Head Coach Woody Hayes for the most in Big Ten history.
Ferentz's 204 wins ranks No. 1 all-time in Iowa program history.
Included in his 204 wins are 10 bowl game victories, tied for first all-time among Big Ten coaches. Iowa's most recent bowl game victory came in the 2022 Music City Bowl.
Despite Ferentz's stellar record at Iowa during his 26 years as head coach, Sports Illustrated decided to omit him from its recent list of the 25 best college football coaches of the past 25 years.
This list could almost start and end with Nick Saban, whose dominance in this quarter century is unmatched https://t.co/hTOmR2HapT
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 6, 2025
The SEC glazing is real, and most of the coaches on this list deserve to be there, but you cannot convince me that Kirk Ferentz does not belong on this list.
Rich Rodriguez (Michigan) and Jerry Moore (Appalachian State) made the list over Ferentz? Seriously?
Ferentz is the longest-tenured head coach in college football, and apart from all the wins he has racked up over the years, his player development and the ability to send quality players to the NFL are unmatched.
Under Ferentz, the Iowa program has had 25 first and second-round NFL draft selections and over 90 total draft picks.
Iowa does not have any national championships under its belt, nor does it have a College Football Playoff appearance under Ferentz, but his resume speaks for itself.
It is a colossal mistake by SI to leave him off its 25 best college football coaches of the last 25 years list.