Kirk Ferentz

Kirk Ferentz

Kirk Ferentz (born August 1, 1955, in Royal Oak, Michigan) is an American college football head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Background

After playing football at Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ferentz played linebacker for the University of Connecticut. He was a football captain and an academic all-Yankee Conference linebacker at Connecticut. He served as a student assistant at Connecticut in 1977 and graduated in 1978. Ferentz spent his next two seasons as defensive coordinator at Worcester Academy, where he taught English literature. He then spent one season in 1980 as an assistant offensive line coach at the University of Pittsburgh. That Pitt team (coached by Jackie Sherrill) finished with an 11-1 record and a number two national ranking.

He was the offensive line coach at the University of Iowa under Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry for nine seasons, from 1981 to 1989. Eleven Hawkeyes coached by Ferentz went on to play in the NFL. Three of them were first round picks in the NFL draft, and five of his players were first team All-Big Ten selections.

Ferentz left Iowa to coach at the University of Maine in 1990. After three seasons of coaching the Black Bears to a combined 12-21 record, he was named the offensive line coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns. Ferentz served under Bill Belichick in Cleveland and later followed the franchise to Baltimore when they became the Baltimore Ravens.

Iowa Head Coaching Career

On December 2, 1998, Ferentz was hired as Iowa's 25th head football coach to replace the retiring Hayden Fry. The team struggled during Ferentz's first two seasons with a combined 4-19 record, but the Hawkeyes earned their first bowl bid under Ferentz after a 7-5 season in 2001. They beat Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl, 19-16.

The 2002 season would prove to be memorable for Ferentz and the Hawkeyes. The team finished the regular season with an 11-1 record, with the only loss coming to in-state rival Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium. They shared the Big Ten Conference championship with Ohio State, as both teams finished 8-0 in conference play. Quarterback Brad Banks won the Davey O'Brien Award for best quarterback and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Carson Palmer of USC. Tight end Dallas Clark was that season's John Mackey Award winner, and placekicker Nate Kaeding was the Lou Groza Award winner. Ferentz was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press for his efforts. Iowa received its first-ever BCS invitation, losing to USC in the 2003 Orange Bowl 38-17.

Despite losing several seniors to graduation, the Hawkeyes compiled a 9-3 regular season record in 2003. They defeated Florida 37-17 in the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2004, for their first January win since 1959. This earned the Hawkeyes a #8 national ranking in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll at the end of the season. Offensive tackle Robert Gallery was that season's Outland Trophy winner; after the season, the Oakland Raiders chose him with the second overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

Ferentz had to deal with injuries to the Hawkeyes' running backs and the death of his father, John, during the 2004 season. Nevertheless, the Hawkeyes compiled a 9-2 regular season record, sharing the Big Ten Conference championship with Michigan after a 30-7 victory over Wisconsin on November 20. For the second time in three seasons, Ferentz was named the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year. On January 1, 2005, they defeated LSU 30-25 in the Capital One Bowl to give Ferentz his third straight ten-win season with the Hawkeyes and another #8 national ranking.

The Hawkeyes went 7-4 during the 2005 regular season. After early-season losses to Iowa State and Ohio State and close losses to Michigan and Northwestern, they finished the season with wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota to earn a second trip to the Outback Bowl to face Florida on January 2, 2006. This time, however, the Gators got a measure of revenge for their loss two years earlier, as the Hawkeyes lost to Florida, 31-24.

Iowa started the 2006 season strong, winning their first four games before losing to top-ranked Ohio State. After a 5-1 start, however, the Hawkeyes collapsed down the stretch, losing five of their last six games. Iowa suffered shocking losses to Northwestern and Indiana and lost rivalry games with Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Hawkeyes finished the regular season with a 6-6 record and accepted an invitation to the 2006 Alamo Bowl, Iowa's sixth straight bowl game. Playing as two-touchdown underdogs to defending national champions Texas, Iowa lost the Alamo Bowl by a score of 26-24.

Kirk and his wife, Mary, have five children. Their oldest son, Brian, was a starting offensive lineman on the 2005 Iowa squad and signed an NFL free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons. Ferentz is currently the highest paid state employee in Iowa, with an annual salary of 2.7 million dollars. According to the Des Moines Register state-salary database, Ferentz earned a total of $3,174,999.96 during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006.

Pro Football Opportunities?

Many major college and NFL teams have considered Ferentz as a candidate for their head coaching jobs. However, Ferentz has publicly declined any interest in other coaching positions, opting to stay at Iowa. On November 23, 2004, Ferentz and Iowa athletics director Bob Bowlsby agreed to a new contract extension that keeps Ferentz at Iowa until 2012. [1]

On January 2, 2006 the head coaches of Green Bay, St. Louis, Houston, New Orleans, and Minnesota were all fired. With the firing of multiple NFL coaches, there was renewed speculation that Ferentz would be offered a head coaching job with an NFL team. Such speculation was soon put to rest when Ferentz stated that he was still happy with his job at Iowa, and that he had no plans to leave. [2]

On June 2, 2006, Ferentz became the highest paid coach in the Big Ten and third highest in college football when he was given a restructured contract that boosted his salary to $2.7 million.[3]

Currently there are rumors of Ferentz may get consideration for the Pittsburgh Steeler's head coach job should Bill Cowher decide to step down at the end of the season.

Coaching Record

Year	School	Record
1990	Maine	3-8
1991	Maine	3-8
1992	Maine	6-5
1999	Iowa	1-10
2000	Iowa	3-9
2001	Iowa	7-5
2002	Iowa	11-2
2003	Iowa	10-3
2004	Iowa	10-2
2005	Iowa	7-5
2006	Iowa	6-6
10 Years		67-63

Bowl Game Records

Season	Bowl game	Result
2001	Alamo	Beat Texas Tech, 19-16
2002	Orange	Lost to USC, 38-17
2003	Outback	Beat Florida, 37-17
2004	Capital One	Beat LSU, 30-25
2005	Outback	Lost to Florida, 31-24

External links

• Kirk Ferentz 2004 Tribute Video
• Biography of Kirk Ferentz from HawkeyeSports.com