Anthony Wilson
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The jokes have run out at this point. We could spend between now and fall camp doing a Tom Brady-level version of the Iowa offense. Few offensive units have fallen to the point of becoming the subject of memes and fake Cameos fodder.
Not many were that bad. Epically bad, in fact. It defies logic that Iowa continues to win at a high level. But to their lasting credit, the Hawkeyes do just that. Overall, Iowa’s offense has become one of the most intriguing stories of the offseason.
Iowa enters the 2024 season having finished last and second-to-last nationally in total offense the past two seasons, respectively. No FBS program has finished in the bottom two in consecutive years since Washington State (2008-09).
Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II had as many touchdowns (22) as Iowa had as a team. Michigan’s Blake Corum had six more (28). Thirty-five individual players accounted for more total yards than the Hawkeyes last season.
We could go on, but this seems cruel and unusual. Again, the approach “worked”. These Washington State teams finished with a combined record of 3-22. Over the past two seasons, Iowa has won 18 games (10 in 2023) and played for the Big Ten championship. Since 2019, Iowa has won 10 games three times.
Coach Kirk Ferentz, 68, may be nearing the end of what is sure to be a Hall of Fame career as the FBS’ longest-tenured coach enters his 26th season leading Iowa, but he didn’t get this far without knowing what he was doing. doing .
But with time undergoing offensive improvements, and with the Big Ten and College football With the playoffs expanding, the question must be asked: what now? Only serious answers.
In search of these answers, CBS Sports granted anonymity to a handful of college football sources to evaluate your thoughts.
“Go to every women’s clinic in America, and the No. 1 question you get from wives and mothers is why do you run this so much? Kirk is an old-fashioned guy at heart and wants to get everyone blocked. I understand all that, but you have to be willing to deal with a little gray area.
“When you go to Broadway, when you go to a show, you want to see some entertainment. Who wants to watch a basketball game where someone wins 42-40?” — a former Power Five coach
Enter Iowa’s first-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester — because someone had to replace Brian Ferentz, the son of the coach who had held the position since 2017. The former Patriots tight ends coach previously coached Rob Gronkowski en route to Super Bowl 46.
However, a head coach hiring a child is a potential problem at all institutions. Former Iowa athletic director Gary Barta got around this nepotism situation by having Brian Ferentz reports to him. The son began coaching at Iowa as an offensive line coach in 2012 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2017.
If the elder Ferentz’s offense always seemed a little sluggish, perhaps that was actually the point. This is offset by the fact that defensive coordinator Phil Parker and special teams coach LeVar Woods are two of the best at what they do in college football.
But the scales tipped so far one way that Iowa’s offensive struggles emerged as a national story. Parker’s unit did its part; in fact, the defense pulled the entire program. Since 2017, Iowa’s defense has intercepted 114 passes, averaging one pick every 25.5 opponent attempts. Since the same year, Iowa has been tied with Penn State for Big Ten turnover margin (+45).
There have been times over the past few seasons where the defense legitimately had to be counted on to score for Iowa to have a chance. American punter Tory Taylor was so strong with his leg that the Australian had a line of licensed t-shirts with the slogan “Punting Is Winning”.
EUATSI
In Iowa, it wasn’t always wrong.
“Imagine if you lived across the hall from a world-renowned hacker. How are you still being hacked? [Parker’s] has been hacking crimes in the Big Ten and across the country for years… Walk across the hall and get the information [for your offense.]” – a former Big Ten employee
The situation became so dire that new AD Beth Goetz, president Barbara Wilson and Ferentz met in late October to announce that Brian Ferentz would not return. Or, as Goetz said, “…this is his last season on the show.”
You don’t need a thesaurus to assume Brian Ferentz was fired. The situation has officially become a distraction. Brian Ferentz has since been hired as an analyst at Maryland.
Before last season, Barta amended Brian Ferentz’s contract to include what amounted to performance bonuses. Iowa had to average at least 25 points per game and win at least seven games. The Hawkeyes won 10, but “The Drive For 325” — 25 points per game x 13 games — became a tedious chase that exposed young Ferentz to more ridicule.
“In my humble opinion, 50,000 feet, [the offensive issues are] or arrogance or ignorance, because in Iowa that’s not because of the staff. There are a lot of Hawkeyes running up and down the field on Sundays. They’re not just dominating, they’re All-Pros. Their recruitment has been strong and consistent, their development has been strong and consistent… [but] It’s like an old-world pitcher who can’t get any support to run.” — that same former Big Ten employee
Lester was hired in large part because he is a talented former coach (Western Michigan 2017-2022) and, well, he was available. The former Purdue quarterbacks coach spent 2023 as an analyst for the Packers. Ferentz compared the year in NFL for a sabbatical period.
“It’s like a year of research… The bad news is it usually means you were fired the year before when you do that in our business,” Ferentz told CBS Sports.
In a strange parallel, Lester has been through something like this before. In 2022, Western Michigan’s offense was struggling and Lester demoted coordinator Jeff Thorne at the end of a 5–7 season. These Broncos were, well, like Iowa offensively, finishing 10th or worse in the 12-team MAC in rushing yards, total yards and points per game.
Overall, in those six seasons, Lester’s West Michigan teams outperformed Iowa offensively in six major categories: rushing yards per game, yards per game, total offense, completion percentage, passing yards per game and points per game.
(OK, almost everyone has surpassed Iowa in those categories, but consider the Hawkeyes just within the Big Ten from 2017-2022. They have finished offensively in the top half of those 36 categories combined six times.)
Renowned quarterbacks coach George Whitfield loves Lester at Iowa. The two met in 2016 when Lester was serving as Purdue’s quarterbacks coach and Whitfield was hired to help with the Boilermakers’ assignment. NFL Draft preparation. That season, Purdue QB David Blough posted career-highs in yards (3,352) and touchdowns (25).
“Football fans can expect to see the Iowa offense with updated software and new leadership,” Whitfield said. “The system will reflect an open, multi-level attack. It will also allow them to dictate terms.”
So far, the parties are aligned.
“I think there are pretty obvious reasons why we struggled offensively. It doesn’t take a detective to figure that out,” Ferentz said.
Ferentz wasn’t specific, but there were injuries to the offensive line last season. And of course, you’re nothing without a quarterback these days. Iowa’s three scholarship quarterbacks entering the spring suffered a) consecutive season-ending injuries (Cade McNamara), b) completed less than 50% of their career passes (Deacon Hill), and c) threw seven career passes (Marco Lainez ).
“I watched Iowa on film… I was joking at the time. They set offensive football back 50 years. It had no imagination. I think you have to be able to think outside the box and be creative. You have to have a quarterback that can make something happen. I’m not saying he needs to be a great scrambler, but on third down, [he] has to be able to hit 5 yards.” – same former Power Five coach
Hill entered the transfer portal after the spring. This week, former Northwestern QB Brandon Sullivan transferred to join the room. Iowa’s 2024 transfer class is ranked 123rd 247 Sports.
“Our system is nothing like what has been done here in the past,” Lester said.
“I love watching their defense. It means you can try some more fourth downs. You can spread it out, you can do crazy things… That’s the million dollar question right now, literally. You’re attracting guys now in the style of play or are you attracting them financially? Before, I would have said that winning and playing style are two important factors — one. former FBS coach
Lester, 47, is best described as respected and capable. If he is the face of the offense going forward, it will most likely be because of his efficiency rather than his surprising ineffectiveness. And with Parker’s defense, Iowa’s average offense could lead the Hawkeyes to the College Football Playoff.
The Hawkeyes would have been on the brink of contention last year, winning 10 despite averaging just over 15 points per game.
“I just don’t like it very much [other coaches’] self-promotion, I don’t really like guys looking at me,” Ferentz said earlier this year. “Sometimes these guys are really good and the coach deserves credit. But I think, again, we come back to what is the big picture? Are we trying to be a flashy offensive team or a high-speed team? All of that is great until you give up the big play or, on offense, give it to the other team and suddenly your defense is out there defending 20 yards.”
“Offensively, you saw Nick Saban change. Gary Patterson changed. There was a day when you could play great defense and win 14-10 and people were excited. But that’s gone. Everyone wants entertainment, Tik Tok and YouTube. Baseball ended. Through this – no one could hit, no one could get in. They made baseball more exciting – the same former Power Five coach.
At the end of the day, no offensive coordinator is going to call a play, or series of plays, that isn’t signed off by the head coach. In the spring, I asked Ferentz: Given the way Iowa plays and wins, will the offense be demonstrably different?
“I think it’s going to look different, but I think philosophically we’re aligned… We’ve played good defense here for over 20 years.
“But playing complementary football and not being reckless with the football is a big part of it, and being good on special teams. That’s been a big part of our project.”
Does this sound like an offensive solution?
Only serious answers.
