Ferentz ‘moving forward’ after decision on son

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said the decision that his son and Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz would not return in 2024 marked a departure from how the program handles personnel decisions.

Interim athletic director Beth Goetz, who supervises Brian Ferentz because of nepotism laws, made the decision that the assistant will not be back and announced it Monday. Brian Ferentz has served as Iowa’s offensive coordinator since 2017, and he has been on his father’s staff since 2012.

Kirk Ferentz is the nation’s longest-tenured coach, having led Iowa’s program since the 1999 season.

“My policy has typically been to evaluate everything — players, coaches, all that — postseason, because in-season, we’ve got a lot on our plates,” Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday. “That’s been the nature of it. It’s been that way since I got started full-time [at Iowa] in ’81. There’s just not enough time in the day. To me, it’s a better time, it’s a less emotional time, I can give you a lot of reasons why I’ve done it that way. But it really doesn’t matter. We are dealing with something we have to deal with, and we will.”

Ferentz noted that Iowa has a “chain of command in everything we do,” referring to Goetz’s authority to oversee Brian Ferentz.

Goetz in a statement said she announced the decision not to retain Brian Ferentz during the season to “provide clarity during this pivotal time in the schedule.” Iowa, which did not play last week, returns to action Saturday against Northwestern at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

“It is not my practice to be involved in assistant coaching decisions and certainly not to make public such a change during a season,” Goetz’s statement read. “Our priority is to put all our student-athletes in the best position to have both short-term and long-term success, on and off the field.”

After Iowa’s offense plummeted to historic lows in 2022, then-athletic director Gary Barta announced amendments to Brian Ferentz’s contract that included an unusual points-per-game provision — the team would need to average 25 points per game during the 2023 season and win at least seven games for his term to last beyond June 30, 2024. Goetz referenced the so-called “Drive to 325” in an interview with ESPN in August and again in Monday’s statement, noting that it was a “unique” element of Brian Ferentz’s employment situation at Iowa.

Iowa is well below the 25 points-per-game provision, ranking 118th nationally in scoring offense (19.5). The Hawkeyes are last nationally in yards per game at 232.4, well behind the next-worst offense (Eastern Michigan, 258.8). They have had several significant injury losses, including starting quarterback Cade McNamara and tight ends Luke Lachey and Erick All.

“When all that took place, Brian’s one who signed it, and I think he thought it was the best option available, and I would have co-signed that, not that it was my business,” Kirk Ferentz said. “There’s been a lot of really unusual things this year that have affected our play.”

Kirk Ferentz learned of Goetz’s decision about his son this past weekend. He said he was proud of Iowa’s players and coaches during his tenure and noted that the season has included several “challenges you can’t foresee.”

Brian Ferentz, Kirk’s oldest son, played offensive line for his father and the Hawkeyes from 2001 to 2005.

“Obviously you have a biological relationship, but I’m very fond of him,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I’ve had a lot of strong relationships with a lot of people who worked here. That’s one of the beauties of what we do. So if this were anybody on our staff that fell into this category, I’d feel bad about it, but I’m guessing they would encourage us to keep moving forward. That’s just what you have to do.”

Asked about how the Brian Ferentz decision affects his own future, Kirk Ferentz said he’s solely focused on the remaining games this season, just as he would have been in previous years. He said thinking about the team’s next offensive coordinator or the qualities he would seek would be “getting way ahead” and “an injustice to our football team.”

Kirk Ferentz, 68, is under contract through the 2029 season. He’s 192-117 all-time at Iowa and has won Big Ten coach of the year honors four times.

Goetz declined to discuss the timing or specifics of her decisions when meeting with local reporters Tuesday, saying she had “private conversations” with Brian Ferentz and others. She said she tried to “tune out” the attention around Brian Ferentz and his contract to make the best decision for the immediate and long-term interests of the program. Goetz added that she wants to keep Kirk Ferentz as coach “as long as you can.”

“I hope everyone joins me, all Hawks, in really showing their appreciation for Brian, his commitment and passion, what Brian’s done as a student-athlete, as an alum and as a coach of this program,” Goetz said. “We’ve got an incredibly successful head coach, a Hall of Fame head coach, with a steady hand, who’s going to be focused on leading this program, just like Brian is and the rest of the staff, toward a successful rest of the season.”