Kirk Ferentz

College coach infobox


Name = Kirk J. Ferentz
| Caption =
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1955|8|1
Birthplace = Royal Oak, Michigan, USA
DateOfDeath =
Sport = Football
College = Iowa
Title = Head Coach
CurrentRecord = 61-49
OverallRecord = 73-70
Awards =
Championships =
CFbDWID = 752
Player = Y
Years = late 1970s
Team = Connecticut
Position = Linebacker
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 1990-92
1999-"present"
CoachTeams = Maine
Iowa
FootballHOF =

Kirk J. Ferentz (born August 1, 1955, in Royal Oak, Michigan, USA) is an American college football head coach of the University of 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 Panther team, coached by Jackie Sherrill, finished with an 11-1 record and a number two national ranking.

Ferentz 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 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 26th 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 multiple 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 after a thrilling 56 yard touchdown pass from Drew Tate to Warren Holloway as time expired in the Capital One Bowl. This gave 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 nine-point underdogs to defending national champions Texas, Iowa lost the Alamo Bowl by a score of 26-24.

In 2007, Ferentz' Hawkeyes started 2-4 and lost their first three conference games. An upset victory over Illinois ended a nine-game conference losing streak for Iowa, and the Hawkeyes closed out the Big Ten season by winning their last three conference games. However, a disappointing loss in the season finale to Western Michigan dropped the Hawkeyes' season record to 6-6. Though Iowa was bowl eligible, the Hawkeyes did not receive a bowl bid, snapping Iowa's streak of six consecutive bowl appearances.

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. [http://www.hawkcentral.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041123/HAWKS0104/41123009/1058/HAWKS0104]

On January 2, 2006 the head coaches of five NFL teams, Green Bay, St. Louis, Houston, New Orleans, and Minnesota, were fired. There was renewed speculation that Ferentz would be offered a head coaching job with one of those professional franchises. But 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. [ [http://www.hawkcentral.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060113/HAWKS0104/601130326&SearchID=73233771014825] ]

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 annual salary to $2.7 million. [http://www.sportsiowa.com]

Following the 2006 NFL season, rumors circulated that Ferentz may have been in consideration for the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coaching job after Bill Cowher stepped down. However, before Cowher's departure, Ferentz was asked about his possible interest in the position, and stated: "I know that staff pretty well and they’ve got some good guys in that building. My guess is that's where they would go. But I’m not interested, and I doubt they are, either. I’ve got a great job right here." Fact|date=July 2007 The Steelers job eventually went to Mike Tomlin.

Coaching record

CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = University of Maine Black Bears
conf = Yankee Conference
startyear = 1990
endyear = 1992CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1990
name = Maine
overall = 3-8
conference = 2-6
confstanding =
bowl =
bowlname =
bowlopp =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1991
name = Maine
overall = 3-8
conference = 2-6
confstanding =
bowl =
bowlname =
bowlopp =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1992
name = Maine
overall = 6-5
conference = 4-4
confstanding =
bowl =
bowlname =
bowlopp =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Maine
overall = 12-21
confrecord = 8-16CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = University of Iowa Hawkeyes
conf = Big Ten Conference
startyear = 1999
endyear = presentCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1999
name = Iowa
overall = 1-10
conference = 0-8
confstanding = 11th
bowl =
bowlname =
bowlopp =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2000
name = Iowa
overall = 3-9
conference = 3-5
confstanding = 8th
bowl =
bowlname =
bowlopp =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2001
name = Iowa
overall = 7-5
conference = 4-4
confstanding = T-4th
bowl = yes
bowlname = Alamo Bowl
bowlopp = Texas Tech
bowloutcome = W 19-16
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 2002
name = Iowa
overall = 11-2
conference = 8-0
confstanding = T-1st
bowl = yes
bowlname = Orange Bowl
bowlopp = USC
bowloutcome = L 17-38
bcsbowl = yes
ranking = 8CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2003
name = Iowa
overall = 10-3
conference = 5-3
confstanding = T-4th
bowl = yes
bowlname = Outback Bowl
bowlopp = Florida
bowloutcome = W 37-17
bcsbowl =
ranking = 8CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 2004
name = Iowa
overall = 10-2
conference = 7-1
confstanding = T-1st
bowl = yes
bowlname = Capital One Bowl
bowlopp = LSU
bowloutcome = W 30-25
bcsbowl =
ranking = 8CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2005
name = Iowa
overall = 7-5
conference = 5-3
confstanding = T-3rd
bowl = yes
bowlname = Outback Bowl
bowlopp = Florida
bowloutcome = L 24-31
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2006
name = Iowa
overall = 6-7
conference = 2-6
confstanding = T-8th
bowl = yes
bowlname = Alamo Bowl
bowlopp = Texas
bowloutcome = L 24-26
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2007
name = Iowa
overall = 6-6
conference = 4-4
confstanding = T-5th
bowl = no
bowlname =
bowlopp =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2008
name = Iowa
overall = 3-3
conference = 0-2
confstanding = T-5th
bowl =
bowlname =
bowlopp =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Iowa
overall = 63-50
confrecord = 38-34CFB Yearly Record End
overall = 75-71
bcs =
poll =
polltype =

References

External links

* [http://hawkeyesports.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/ferentz_kirk00.html Iowa Hawkeyes football profile]