The Case Against Kirk Ferentz
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If you haven’t heard by now, rumors of Kirk Ferentz being offered the Michigan head coaching job dominated the Internet yesterday. There have been rumblings that Ferentz would be a candidate for the last few months since talk of Carr retiring began, but initially it appeared that any look would be a short one. Bill Martin himself said when describing his criteria for a coach that he wants someone that wins 75% of his games, and that is certainly something Kirk Ferentz hasn’t done in the last few years and overall as a head coach. With that statement alone many figured that Ferentz would be a candidate but nothing more. Fast forward to now and the complete opposite is being discussed.
I’m going to first address the rumors, which have originated from various sources in the last 24 hours. By sources I mostly mean message boards, but as we saw with the news that Lloyd Carr would retire after the Ohio State game, rumors do turn out to be true despite being from message boards. On a similar note, MGoBlog posted yesterday that Ferentz had been offered the job according to his sources. Some might say that it’s just a blog, but he did break the news that Carr would retire on the Monday after the OSU game, so take it for what it’s worth.
As far as my opinion on this subject goes, I’ll tell you straight up that I don’t want Ferentz to be the new coach. With Lloyd Carr retiring, I figured this would be the time for the Michigan football program to change for the better. A new coach could bring innovation, an exciting offense, and hopefully a return to being a national power every single year. Folks, Kirk Ferentz is not the man to bring those changes.
I will not deny that Ferentz is a good man and a good coach, but he is the complete opposite of what Michigan needs right now. The way I see it, Ferentz would come in and keep the program the way it is. He is a safe hire because change isn’t likely. The offense would still be conservative as usual, and most I’ve talked to feel like many of the assistants would be retained, specifically Mike DeBord, who would continue to be the offensive coordinator. That thought alone has me scared to death, because out of all the people I don’t want to see back in 2008, DeBord is at the top of my list. He would be fine to have on the staff, but not as the offensive coordinator, and I don’t even think I need to say why.
With so much negativity directed towards Ferentz, one really has to wonder why he is even a candidate led alone the current favorite to get the job. The first reason goes back to Mary Sue Coleman, the current president of the University of Michigan. Before coming to Michigan, Coleman served as president at the University of Iowa, and was there when Ferentz was hired. Since she helped hire him back then, it is assumed that she would like to hire him again, this time at Michigan. The general consensus is that assuming that would be correct as Coleman is pushing Ferentz for the job greatly. With that in mind, I hope to God that Bill Martin keeps her out of this whole process just as we saw with the basketball hire. If it were up to Coleman, Tommy Amaker never would have been fired, so I’m hoping Martin makes his own decision with the football hire as well.
The second reason why Ferentz is a candidate and possibly has already been offered the job is because of his ethics. Lloyd Carr ran a football program that showed no sign of doing anything against the rules, and for obvious reasons, the hope is that that continues with the new coach. In today’s college football world that is rare, but with Ferentz that same integrity would be preserved. Even though that is a great attribute to have, it should by no means overshadow the most important one of them all: winning.
As I have already said, I am strongly opposed to Kirk Ferentz being hired as the new head coach. I’m not completely sold on Les Miles at all, but multiply that doubt by a hundred and that’s how I feel about Kirk Ferentz. To provide reason as to why I feel this way, let’s first start with Iowa’s record before and after Ferentz became head coach of the Hawkeyes.
9 Years Before Kirk Ferentz:
1990: 8-4
1991: 10-1-1
1992: 5-7
1993: 6-6
1994: 5-5-1
1995: 8-4
1996: 9-3
1997: 7-5
1998: 3-8
COMBINED RECORD: 61-43-2 (winning % of .575)
9 Years Since Kirk Ferentz:
1999: 1-10
2000: 3-9
2001: 7-5
2002: 11-2
2003: 10-3
2004: 10-2
2005: 7-5
2006: 6-7
2007: 6-6
COMBINED RECORD: 61-49 (winning % of .554)
The main reason I included Iowa’s record for the 9 seasons prior to Ferentz becoming head coach is to point out that he didn’t take over a program that was dead last in the nation or something like that. In terms of overall winning percentage, Iowa has actually gone down in the last 9 years since Ferentz has been there, but I don’t put much stock in that considering how many losses he piled up in the first two seasons alone.
Looking at Ferentz season-by-season, you could see improvement of the program after 3 seasons. From 1-10 in his first season, Iowa was up to 7-5 in his third. After what I would categorize as the rebuilding years, Iowa was great for three seasons, winning at least 10 games in each. During that span from 2002-2004, the Hawkeyes compiled a combined record of 31-7, which was great, I won’t even deny that. If this coaching search would’ve taken place after the 2004 season, then I imagine most would be fine with hiring Ferentz given his recent success at the time. As great as that would’ve been back then, the search is now and we have seen the last 3 seasons at Iowa, which are simply average.
This is where my major concerns come in. In 2005, Iowa went 7-5, which was the same record that Michigan had that year. In 2006, Iowa dropped down to 6-7. Finally, this season Iowa went 6-6 and has a very small chance to go to a bowl game considering 9 other Big Ten teams are eligible. Had Iowa not lost its season finale to Western Michigan then they would be going bowling, but the upset put them in a tough position.
Getting back to Ferentz, you have to wonder how the Iowa program went from 3 straight 10+ win seasons to 3 straight mediocre seasons. I’ve read the excuses that he lost some great players and all that, but that is no excuse. A coach has to reload his talent, not rebuild. To go along with that, one of the bigger excuses I’ve read is that Ferentz is trying to recruit players to go to Iowa, which is a tough task by itself. Although I can’t disagree that recruiting at Iowa compared to Michigan is much tougher, I do have to point out that Ferentz has a dismal 3-6 record against Iowa State. ISU has had recruiting classes that rank far lower than Iowa’s since 2002, but the Hawkeyes still struggle with the in-state rival on a regular basis.
Even though neither program has out of this world recruiting, let’s compare the two programs since 2002 in terms of recruiting rankings (Rivals.com listed first, Scout.com listed second, average of the two listed third):
2002:
Iowa – 51, 40, 45.5
Iowa State – 30, 69, 49.5
2003:
Iowa – 43, 30, 36.5
Iowa State – 46, 60, 53
2004:
Iowa – 38, 41, 39.5
Iowa State – 42, 57, 49.5
2005:
Iowa – 11, 8, 9.5
Iowa State – 58, 50, 54
2006:
Iowa – 40, 40, 40
Iowa State – 63, 59, 61
2007:
Iowa – 28, 37, 32.5
Iowa State – 60, 69, 64.5
OVERALL AVERAGE:
Iowa – 35, 33, 34
Iowa State – 50, 61, 55.5
Although rankings are just rankings, you can easily see from the data above that Iowa has more talent than Iowa State. Despite that, the Hawkeyes have lost 2 out of its last 3 to Iowa State, and are 3-3 against the Cyclones since 2002. Think of it this way. You know how Michigan has had better recruiting classes compared to Michigan State since 2002, well that translates to a 6-0 record in that time frame. Have many of those games been very close finishes? Yes, but in the end Michigan won. For Iowa, a 3-3 record against a less talented in-state rival shouldn’t happen. If that same thing happened here at Michigan, you can bet it would piss off a lot of people.
I know I’ve thrown a lot of numbers at you in order to prove why Michigan should not hire Kirk Ferentz, but in the end it all boils down to a couple of simple things. First, winning should be valued over a coach’s integrity. It is great to have a combination of both, but maintaining a squeaky clean record in terms of playing by the rules means nothing if you don’t win football games. Second, the Michigan football program needs modernization. The days of the conservative offense and stubbornness to make changes has to go if this program wants to ever think about winning a national title. In today’s college football world, unimaginative playcalling and lack of a modernized strength and conditioning program are two things that can completely hamper a team from becoming successful. We have seen that every year recently at Michigan, and more 8-4 or 7-5 types of seasons are going to come if changes aren’t made.
In the end I hope that Bill Martin understands that hiring Kirk Ferentz would be the wrong decision. This program needs change if it wants to compete for national titles on a yearly basis. If Ferentz is hired and we see more of the same, then things will only get worse as time goes by. That is why 10 years removed from a national title Michigan slowly has started to struggle more and more. We have already watched the game pass by some members of the current coaching staff, and my fear is that the same thing could happen with the new one if Ferentz is the coach.
To share your thoughts with Bill Martin on why Ferentz isn’t right for the job, you can e-mail him at this address: wcmartin@umich.edu.
Obviously, everything posted above is only my opinion, so if you want to try and convince me why Ferentz would be a good hire then go ahead. I’ve tried to warm up to the idea, but I keep going back to everything above. Plus, hiring Ferentz sends the message that Michigan is happy being above average most of the time and great every so often. The message with this hiring should be that this football team will be great year in and year out, and hiring Ferentz does not accomplish that goal.
Ferentz completely outcoached Dantonio this fall with a TERRIBLE QB. At least the OL would see significant improvements with Ferentz.
Ferentz also can recruit Detroit well, which will be important to future success. Also, it is important to note that Iowa’s cupboard was extremely bare in his first two seasons. They had the talent of a MAC school those two years.
However, he can be very stubborn with playing the better qb. (Remember when Brad Banks was doing really well against UM’s defense, but for some reason, Ferentz put in the non-mobile QB. If it wasn’t for M. Walker’s spectacular catch, UM would have lost that game.)
Ferentz would be a good hire. Sure some other hires may be better, but those hires also have more risk. Also recall Gary Moellar’s record at Illinois and he was somewhat decent.
Is Carr angling for Ferentz so that people who were calling for Carr to be fired wish he was back as head coach? Great strategy to enhance Carr’s legacy.
Kirk Ferentz couldn’t even beat Western Michigan with a big ten team that he has coached for at least nine years. You think he can do a better job with a Michigan team? Carr against ASU was bad enough, “We don’t need no stinking Ferentz’s”
The thing with the winning percentage going down in a bit misleading. Hayden Fry was a hell of a coach and mostly did a great job (that’s why he’s in the Hall of Fame), but by the time he left, the program was a disaster and the cupboard was completely bare. Ferentz had to totally rebuild, and he did it quickly and in impressive fashion. Iowa hadn’t had a team as good as that 2002 team in decades.
There’s a reason he was a candidate for every open NFL job not long ago, he’s a hell of a coach. The last two years at Iowa have been bad, but they’ve been hit with a ton of injury problems and defections that were outside Ferentz’s control, and had to play a lot of young guys who weren’t quite ready. They didn’t go downhill just because Kirk forgot how to coach or something. He’s still good, and I think he’ll do a fantastic job at Michigan if he takes the job
No way… We do not want Ferentz at all because he is not worth a look. I don’t care if he is a buddy of the UM President. so what. We need a coach who can lift Michigan to next level.
Sorry, Ferentz is not one of those coaches who can lift michigan to next level. sorry, man… no way.
Gary Barta the Iowa AD, said he had not heard from UM about permission to speak to Ferentz. Then he said he expected Kirk Ferentz to stay but was concerned about this years play and possibly no bowl bid. I wouldn’t be suprised if Ferentz is on the hot seat at Iowa and is looking to get out. Now is Michigan looking to pick up Iowa’s garbage?
From what I’ve heard, Michigan wouldn’t directly talk to Ferentz initially but would have someone gauge his interest for them. And I agree, why would we want someone that Iowa would be glad to get rid of?
Put me down as a vote against Ferentz, too. Out of curiosity, why is Boise State’s Chris Petersen not mentioned for UM? He’s been thrown around for every other vacancy (A&M, etc.)
I wouldn’t be surprised if UCLA hires him if their job opens up. I would say the lack of experience as a head coach is why. Plus, look at the struggles Dan Hawkins is having at Colorado (although I did like to see him drop 65 on Nebraska).
Chris Peterson has only been a head coach since last year. Even Bill Martin would not hang his jewels on a coach who is still proving himself. However, I’m afraid that politics and not talent will be the thing that decides Michigan’s next coach.
P.S.,
Let’s not fool ourselves, at schools like Michigan, hiring a basketball coach is not like hiring a football coach…Football is king because it pays the bills.
Believe me when I say, that alumni of UM that writes the big checks is letting BMartin know what THEY think. They are letting them know that he can’t afford to mess this up.
Then when you take into consideration that Nebraska’s timing of letting their coach go, they are trying to get a jump on the candidate they want. Plus, when you think about the folks in South Bend, they are going crazy and you know they are trying to push their AD to let Weiss go and snatch up a hot young coach like Brian Kelly.
I would not be suprised if Michigan announces a hire before too long because of what’s going on out there, because we are in competition for the hot talent. However, I’m still concerned about the politics.
Are you kidding me, taking wins over integrity? What is wrong with you. Kirk Ferentz is a top shelf man, coach and leader. UM should be proud to have him as their coach. Your way of thinking is one of the reasons college athletics is a mess. If UM wants the right man, I suggest you look no further than Iowa City Iowa.
Ever heard the phrase “nice guys finish last”?
UM = nice guys
We don’t finish last, but in terms of beating tOSU, winning bowl games, etc. we do.
Why in the world would anyone want to hire a coach that is on the ?hot seat? at their current school of employment?
This is U-M?s opportunity to do something transcending, if they hire Ferentz the school is clearly sending the message that keeping things the same is ok, that the status quo of the past half dozen years is acceptable. From what I hear Carr is pushing hard for Ferentz; that thought alone should tell you something. U-M needs someone who is going to bring the program up to speed in the current world of college football.
Yes, they can be relatively competitive in the Big 10 with the current model, but are perennial second and third place finishes in the conference something to strive for? I don?t think so. The program needs a fresh start; it?s time for some new blood. That means hiring someone who will implement a new offensive and defensive strategy. I don?t want to see DeBord calling the plays next year; in fact I don?t want to see him at all.
Ferentz is nothing more than an extension of the current regime, that?s why so many on the current staff are pulling for him to get the job. Screw it, the A.D. needs to get a pair and do what was done in 1969. Blow it up and start fresh! There are a lot of good candidates so why settle for the safe pick? U-M must make up the ground they have lost to Ohio St. They need to hire a coach that will be willing to do what Mr. sweater vest did when he was hired some six plus years ago at O.S.U.; unfortunately I don?t see Mr. Ferentz as that guy.
TO ALL OF YOU WHO LIKE FERENTZ SO MUCH… then YOU keep him at IOWA!!!
Kirk Ferentz is the college version of Norv Turner. He has the charisma of a bowl of overcooked oatmeal. That might be easier to overlook if his coaching record wasn’t so mediocre. Surely UM’s football program deserves better.
I wouldn’t say Carr has a great personality either. Anyone in Iowa should hope Ferentz stays. What better coach is going to go to Iowa?
The argument against Ferentz seems to be winning is everything and Ferentz might let integrity get in the way. Wow! Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio.