I’m just grateful they were coaching at Iowa for 2/3’s of my life and 100% of my son’s life.
Better coach— Fry or Ferentz?
- Thread starter UNIowaHawk
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IT is my opinion and I really could care less what you think about anything! You are quite the self-appointed auttority on everything and a legend in your own mind. Put me on ignore and I will do the same with you.
It's like arguing Johnny Unitas vs Tom Brady, both HOF quarterbacks but from different eras so you can't really directly compare one to the other.
Fry took Iowa from being legit the worst team in Div 1 over 20 years, to an eventual (and legit) #1 ranking during the 1985 season. He had ups and downs, and left a bare cupboard, but the hill KF had to climb was not nearly as steep as Hayden's was.
KF has had more consistent success, and seems poised to have a good team going forward the next few years, whereas Fry seemed to lose steam and motivation at the end, albeit partly because he got prostate cancer which, obviously, wasn't something he could control.
But truly, given what each did at Iowa, it's crazy to think one could be said to be clearly better than the other. Now, one might debate who had the best Iowa team during their eras (I'd vote Iowa 1985 followed by end-of-season Iowa 2008). But best Iowa coach?
Oh, that was Howard Jones, by the way. Better than Fry, Ferentz, OR Evashevski.
Fry took Iowa from being legit the worst team in Div 1 over 20 years, to an eventual (and legit) #1 ranking during the 1985 season. He had ups and downs, and left a bare cupboard, but the hill KF had to climb was not nearly as steep as Hayden's was.
KF has had more consistent success, and seems poised to have a good team going forward the next few years, whereas Fry seemed to lose steam and motivation at the end, albeit partly because he got prostate cancer which, obviously, wasn't something he could control.
But truly, given what each did at Iowa, it's crazy to think one could be said to be clearly better than the other. Now, one might debate who had the best Iowa team during their eras (I'd vote Iowa 1985 followed by end-of-season Iowa 2008). But best Iowa coach?
Oh, that was Howard Jones, by the way. Better than Fry, Ferentz, OR Evashevski.
Here is the million dollar question really...
Knowing what we now know, the new "message board age" is very critical of KF?!
How long would Hayden have lasted, knowing he scored ...
14 points or less vs BIG 10 competition an astounding 49 times..
Lost to as many Sub .500 BIG 10 teams and...
Despite being an offensives genius scored 40 points way less times...22?
How long before you critics would have wanted him fired?
Knowing what we now know, the new "message board age" is very critical of KF?!
How long would Hayden have lasted, knowing he scored ...
14 points or less vs BIG 10 competition an astounding 49 times..
Lost to as many Sub .500 BIG 10 teams and...
Despite being an offensives genius scored 40 points way less times...22?
How long before you critics would have wanted him fired?
Hayden played against weak Wisc, NW, as ISU teams, they had all improved when KF took over. HF had to play Mich and OSU every year while expansion has allowed Ferentz to miss osu more than he has played them. Fry was more ' exotic', bUT some of those exploded horribly against us.
All that said, I was six when Hayden came to Iowa so they are all I have ever known. I'm not going to choose, I'm just going to appreciate them both.
I hope the next Iowa head coach can be as good as Fry and Ferentz.
1990 and 1991 Fry was without KF as OL coach.
Fry from 1981 to 1991 was special. Ferentz rebooted Iowa, after entering Iowa in 1999 with depleted OL and DL, as Nick Saban was quick to suggest after B1G opener in 1999 in East Lansing.
Ferentz has been more methodical than Fry. He also was part of 1981 to 1989, so it has been a special 39 years.
On Iowa!
1990 and 1991 Fry was without KF as OL coach.
Fry from 1981 to 1991 was special. Ferentz rebooted Iowa, after entering Iowa in 1999 with depleted OL and DL, as Nick Saban was quick to suggest after B1G opener in 1999 in East Lansing.
Ferentz has been more methodical than Fry. He also was part of 1981 to 1989, so it has been a special 39 years.
On Iowa!
May have been weak Wisc, NW, and ISU teams but Hayden's preseason also included teams like UCLA, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Miami, Arizona, Penn St, Tennessee, and more. Iowa also played OSU and Michigan every year. Purdue was often a ranked team during Fry's tenure also. Take a look at Fry's schedule during his time at Iowa. Not many teams outside of power conferences.
His greatest gift was putting an unbelievable staff together.......His first staff was legendary,one of the best staffs ever.... He and his staff could recruit,but when he got sick and the word got out that he wasn't going to be around very long- it was hard to attract coaches and players.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Purdue_Boilermakers_football_seasons
Purdue was good the 1st two years and the last two years of Fry’s tenure, otherwise they were bad.
Hayden was a below average FOOTBALL coach and above average PEOPLE person. Went to NTSU in the early 80's after Fry left. There was not anyone in town that had much good to say about him as a football coach. Hayden was a master marketing guy with his catch phrases and "new" ideas. His most admirable and smartest thing he did while at Iowa was to jump on the farm crisis. Coming up with the ANF mantra was genius to gain fans that were not fans. It created national buzz that was well received by many.
But a "great" football coach was not what HF was....but if I was him I would rather be known as a "great" person.
Hayden had back-to-back nine win seasons his last two years at North Texas (77 and 78). Did those geniuses in Denton realize that 40 years later they would still be waiting for that to happen again? To be fair, they have had a total of three 9-win seasons there since then.
Of course, Hayden did it with an 11 game schedule. Those three 9-win seasons since, they played at least 13 games.
Hayden had already taken Iowa to a Rose Bowl, and three other bowls, before he "jumped" on the farm crisis in'85. Of course, he went to the Rose Bowl again that season, too.
Of course, Hayden did it with an 11 game schedule. Those three 9-win seasons since, they played at least 13 games.
Hayden had already taken Iowa to a Rose Bowl, and three other bowls, before he "jumped" on the farm crisis in'85. Of course, he went to the Rose Bowl again that season, too.
I don't know who is better but Indian we could have flipped them. I wish it would have been the steady eddy (7-5) coach that would have brought us from the depths and then the flashy 7-5 after. I know everyone says wiscy was horrible during that time but looking at coaching trees we would have been wiscy if it would have gone KF then HF.
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