Iowa fans send Kirk Ferentz loud, clear and sobering message

IOWA CITY, Iowa – There is no such thing as a bad win as coaches often like to say, including Kirk Ferentz.

But for Iowa’s 68-year-old head football coach, Saturday’s 26-16 victory over Michigan State at Kinnick Stadium was bittersweet because he lost his starting quarterback to an apparent knee injury, and because he had to listen as fans chanted for his son, Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, to be fired.

The chants started late in the third quarter and were in response to an Iowa offense that continues to perform woefully, and to Brian Ferentz’s conservative play calling.

“Well, I mean, 3-and-out isn’t any fun for anybody,” Kirk Ferentz said when asked about the chant. “I get that. We’re working hard to improve that and that’s what we’re going to do. That’s what we do every year, every season.”

Since the start of last season, the Iowa offense has ranked among the worst in the country from a statistical standpoint, and Saturday’s game was more of the same as Iowa was held to just 222 yards and was just 2-for-13 on third-down plays.

From dropped passes to the inability to sustain a rushing attack or to throw downfield, Brian Ferentz’s offense has become a national story, but for all the wrong reasons.

The hope was that the addition of Michigan transfer Cade McNamara at quarterback would help to jumpstart the offense, but that just hasn’t happened.

And now it looks as if McNamara might be out for an extended period with a knee injury.

McNamara watched the second half of Saturday’s game on crutches after having been carted off the field in the first quarter.

Kirk Ferentz, meanwhile, watched his sputtering and predictable offense do more of the same, and he watched as his special teams and defense helped to save the day as they have so often since the start of last season.

Iowa fans saw an all-too-familiar script play out Saturday as Phil Parker’s defense and LeVar Woods’ special teams had to make up for the many deficiencies on offense.

Backup quarterback Deacon Hill was hurt by some dropped passes, and by some that he appeared to throw too hard, while the running game produced just 61 yards.

The joke afterwards was that Iowa met the 25-point performance incentive in Brian Ferentz’s revised contract, but as usual, his offense needed help from special teams and the defense to do it.

This formula has worked more times than not against average to mediocre opponents, considering Iowa’s record is 12-6 since the start of last season.

But it usually falls short against elite competition, and sometimes, way short as was the case last Saturday when Iowa was held to just 76 yards in a 31-0 loss at Penn State.

The shortcomings on offense have kept Iowa from performing at an elite level despite having a defense and special teams that are elite.

Offense rarely has been a strength in 25 seasons under Kirk Ferentz, but the gap that separates Iowa’s offense from its defense and special teams is as wide as it’s ever been right now.

A new statistical joke being mentioned now to show just how miserable Iowa has been on offense since the start of last is that defensive back Cooper DeJean has scored four touchdowns since the start of the 2022 season, including a 73-yard punt return that won the game against Michigan State on Saturday, and that only one other Iowa player, running back Kaleb Johnson, has scored more touchdowns during that time with seven.

That is a sobering statistic that truly shows the level of dysfunction on offense.

It will also keep being mentioned because Brian Ferentz’s critics are always ready to pounce on the newest click bait because that is the world in which we now live.

Kirk Ferentz had to being aching inside as he listened to fans chant for his son to be fired.

And while it takes a thick skin to be a head coach, Kirk Ferentz is also human.

Brian Ferentz has said before to the media that he doesn’t pay attention to the criticism and that it has no effect on him.

But that seems hard to believe.

Brian Ferentz might not pay attention to the criticism, but he knows it’s out there, and it’s justified, although, chants for him to be fired seems harsh.

Kirk Ferentz only has himself to blame because he hooked his saddle, and his legacy, to his son at a time when maybe Brian Ferentz wasn’t ready to be the offensive coordinator.

It was assumed that Kirk Ferentz was preparing Brian Ferentz to be his successor, but even if that were the case, the odds of that happening under the current circumstances are slim to none, and much closer to none.