Give Lester a chance

[BrotherHawkeye]

Forget about whether us fans wanted him. Did Kirk want him? If so, why did it take so long to get him from Troy? That seems like it would have been pretty easy, at almost any point.

I hope he succeeds. But it doesn’t feel much different. I want to be wrong.

The one thing he could do to get people excited is to run Lainez with the starting unit this spring. If Hill gets the majority of the snaps this spring that will not be a good. In fact, it will feel exactly the same.

 

[SI_NYC]

Lester's QBs seem to improve ... and the offenses seem to have balance. Bronco RBs actually regularly featured 1000 yard rushers.

That seems compatible with Kirk's philosophy. Furthermore, it complements Phils bend-but-not-break defense.

Doesn't seem like a bad hire to me.

Not a "flashy" hire ... but Iowa doesn't need a flashy O to win a ton of games.

This is assuming the defense continues to be one of the best in the country. If they don’t, expect .500 records.

 

[GunnerHawk]

Lester's QBs seem to improve ... and the offenses seem to have balance. Bronco RBs actually regularly featured 1000 yard rushers.

That seems compatible with Kirk's philosophy. Furthermore, it complements Phils bend-but-not-break defense.

Doesn't seem like a bad hire to me.

Not a "flashy" hire ... but Iowa doesn't need a flashy O to win a ton of games.

All true and he had 1,000 yard receivers to go along with 1,000 yard rushers. He also utilizes his TE's. He seems to stretch the field more than Brian and develops WR's also. It will be interesting who becomes the QB under his leadership. Does Iowa have WR's that can truly stretch the field? TE should be solid. I think the addition of Proctor could be big boost to the O-line.

 

[GunnerHawk]

This is assuming the defense continues to be one of the best in the country. If they don’t, expect .500 records.

You do know what we have coming back next year, right. I look for our defense to be even tougher.

 

[Bow.to.the.Narrative]

Forget about whether us fans wanted him. Did Kirk want him? If so, why did it take so long to get him from Troy? That seems like it would have been pretty easy, at almost any point.

Because he was the third option, apparently. Chryst passed and they didn't want to pay Johns.

 

[obfuscating]

All true and he had 1,000 yard receivers to go along with 1,000 yard rushers. He also utilizes his TE's. He seems to stretch the field more than Brian and develops WR's also. It will be interesting who becomes the QB under his leadership. Does Iowa have WR's that can truly stretch the field? TE should be solid. I think the addition of Proctor could be big boost to the O-line.

His QB at Purdue threw for 3k yards, also had 26TD's and 21INT's... not a great look.

 

[squeezebox]

All true and he had 1,000 yard receivers to go along with 1,000 yard rushers. He also utilizes his TE's. He seems to stretch the field more than Brian and develops WR's also. It will be interesting who becomes the QB under his leadership. Does Iowa have WR's that can truly stretch the field? TE should be solid. I think the addition of Proctor could be big boost to the O-line.

These stats were achieved against defenses ranked in the 100s.

 

[squeezebox]

Because he was the third option, apparently. Chryst passed and they didn't want to pay Johns.

Johns doesn't have a job, and Iowa just gave Parker 1.9, and Wallace a million. This narrative is laughable.

 

[squeezebox]

Vibes from this thread.

 

[Georgia_Hawk]

View embedded media

Reading this and I'm remembering BF throwing ineffective tantrums like a 5 yr old, at Cade McNamara, etc. At least this is step up from that, I hope.

Maybe the coach/friend that Patterson was referring to was KF

 

[Bow.to.the.Narrative]

Johns doesn't have a job, and Iowa just gave Parker 1.9, and Wallace a million. This narrative is laughable.

Reported on Brada's show. Wouldn't be surprising if he wanted a high amount to come to Kirk's Krapshow offense and risk future opportunities.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

These stats were achieved against defenses ranked in the 100s.

It's all a relative thing. WMU did that against comparable-level talent. Furthermore, the MAC is know for producing excellent coaches.

 

[pistachio1999]

Renewing those season tix baby! Let’s go Hawks!!

 

[squeezebox]

It's all a relative thing. WMU did that against comparable-level talent. Furthermore, the MAC is know for producing excellent coaches.

These are broad based statements with no statistical support. For every Urban Meyer, there is a Pj Fleck.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

This is assuming the defense continues to be one of the best in the country. If they don’t, expect .500 records.

With both Norm and Phil ... Iowa has regularly fielded one of the better Ds in the country. Why would the paradigm suddenly just shift now?

Our entire defensive staff is excellent ... and they follow Kirk's mantra about development. Why should we suppose that the defensive coaches would all of a sudden stop developing players? Should players continue to develop and continue to play together as a unit and team ... then why not suppose that the entire unit continues its level of excellence?

 

[squeezebox]

Reported on Brada's show. Wouldn't be surprising if he wanted a high amount to come to Kirk's Krapshow offense and risk future opportunities.

I still don't see a logical basis in this statement when Iowa had reached out to the likes of Grubb, Ludwig, and Chryst...Per Brada

 

[pistachio1999]

You boys know that Phil also talked at length with the final candidates right? No way he didn’t.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

These are broad based statements with no statistical support. For every Urban Meyer, there is a Pj Fleck.

Thanks for illustrating my point.

While we may have a shared dislike of PJ Fleck ... PJ has proven to be quite a decent coach.

Furthermore, the MAC has produced Jerry Kill, Matt Campbell, etc ... plenty of excellent coaches. Miami (OH) used to be considered a "cradle of coaches" given its prior track record.

Many fans here complained about Brian not having to "pay his dues" and coordinating at a lower-level first. Well ... the MAC is just that ... it's the proving ground for many a coach.

Of course, my contention is NOT that every coach that walks through the MAC ends up being excellent. However, if you know anything about the coaching profession, then you know that younger coaches are almost invariably career-minded ... and their stints in the MAC are most often considered as waypoints.

 

[squeezebox]

Thanks for illustrating my point.

While we may have a shared dislike of PJ Fleck ... PJ has proven to be quite a decent coach.

Furthermore, the MAC has produced Jerry Kill, Matt Campbell, etc ... plenty of excellent coaches. Miami (OH) used to be considered a "cradle of coaches" given its prior track record.

Many fans here complained about Brian not having to "pay his dues" and coordinating at a lower-level first. Well ... the MAC is just that ... it's the proving ground for many a coach.

Of course, my contention is NOT that every coach that walks through the MAC ends up being excellent. However, if you know anything about the coaching profession, then you know that younger coaches are almost invariably career-minded ... and their stints in the MAC are most often considered as waypoints.

Honestly, I have no idea where to go with this point. MAC schools are jumping off platforms, I can't remember the last coach that was a "great" from many of these programs. Remember Turner Gill? I am sure you can say the same about the American, the sun belt, the Missouri valley.

 

[GunnerHawk]

Reported on Brada's show. Wouldn't be surprising if he wanted a high amount to come to Kirk's Krapshow offense and risk future opportunities.

Brada is a bonehead, I would take what he says with a grain of salt.

 

[Bow.to.the.Narrative]

I still don't see a logical basis in this statement when Iowa had reached out to the likes of Grubb, Ludwig, and Chryst...Per Brada

It wasn't about pay with them. They just said NO THANK YOU.

 

[Bow.to.the.Narrative]

Brada is a bonehead, I would take what he says with a grain of salt.

He isn't a bootlicker, so I understand why you would say that.

 

[squeezebox]

It wasn't about pay with them. They just said NO THANK YOU.

I am well aware, the reply was you taking Brada's comments where Johns wanted more pay. I would not be surprised if he said no thank you as well. Money would not be the hold up, why in the world would it matter how much that OC makes if they were willing to reach out to those guys.

 

[jonesy5960]

Johns doesn't have a job, and Iowa just gave Parker 1.9, and Wallace a million. This narrative is laughable.

Yeah. On top of that the guy was probably only making around $600k at Duke last year. This might not have been so much about what Iowa was willing to pay however, but more about what Kirk wanted to pay. He controls the distribution of salaries on his staff. Given his old school propensity, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that he felt like anyone coming in needed to earn his stripes before getting a salary commensurate with the position, or more than Brian was getting or more than what Wallace or Woods is being paid today. I could easily see this happening.

 

[squeezebox]

Yeah. On top of that the guy was probably only making around $600k at Duke last year. This might not have been so much about what Iowa was willing to pay however, but more about what Kirk wanted to pay. He controls the distribution of salaries on his staff. Given his old school propensity, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that he felt like anyone coming in needed to earn his stripes before getting a salary commensurate with the position, or more than Brian was getting or more than what Wallace is being paid today. I could easily see this happening.

I have no inside information and I don't pretend to. I would almost be willing to bet, Kirk told Johns that Cade was the QB, Deacon was the backup. They will continue to run the zone blocking scheme, and the pro-style offense is what Iowa will run. If Johns demanded 2 million a year, it would be for those reasons, as he would only be here for a year or two with the 133rd ranked offense again.

 

[Bow.to.the.Narrative]

I think the Parker and Wallace raises came after they talked to those "name" guys. Maybe the money situation changed.

 

[jonesy5960]

I have no inside information and I don't pretend to. I would almost be willing to bet, Kirk told Johns that Cade was the QB, Deacon was the backup. They will continue to run the zone blocking scheme, and the pro-style offense is what Iowa will run. If Johns demanded 2 million a year, it would be for those reasons, as he would only be here for a year or two with the 133rd ranked offense again.

Johns was in no position to demand that kind of salary. That didn't happen. The rest is plausible however.

 

[squeezebox]

I think the Parker and Wallace raises came after they talked to those guys. Maybe the money situation changed.

wrong

 

[jonesy5960]

I think the Parker and Wallace raises came after they talked to those guys. Maybe the money situation changed.

I doubt they spoke with either of these guys until the last few weeks.

 

[squeezebox]

Johns was in no position to demand that kind of salary. That didn't happen. The rest is plausible however.

it was hyperbole, but if they offered him the position, I would certainly ask for over a million given the Wallace info. I'll be curious to see what he gets as a salary, I bet it is somewhere near what Brian was making.

 

[jonesy5960]

it was hyperbole, but if they offered him the position, I would certainly ask for over a million given the Wallace info. I'll be curious to see what he gets as a salary, I bet it is somewhere near what Brian was making.

It's public so it'll be known. Again, if salary was the issue, Lester's salary will be a good indication of what they were offering Johns. If it's under a million we'll know it probably was. If over then we'll know it wasn't.

 

[Bow.to.the.Narrative]

wrong

Wrong. The Ludwig and Grubb talk was clear back at the end of November.

 

[squeezebox]

Wrong. The Ludwig and Grubb talk was clear back at the end of November.

honestly, thought you were discussing Johns and Lester. So you are correct about Ludwig, Grubb, and Chryst.

 

[lonhawk]

He is without a doubt a better OC than anyone here or in the media badmouthing him. He will be better than Brian, and GDGD. If he can get our offense to 80 or better with the defense and special teams we have we will win 9 or 10 games a year. Anyone expecting better than that in the new B1G and in todays NCAA are delusional.

Phil Parker coached 11 years at toledo, just sayin, lets not throw him under the bus until iowa finishes last offensively 2 or 3 years in row.

 

[squeezebox]

Phil Parker coached 11 years at toledo, just sayin, lets not throw him under the bus until iowa finishes last offensively 2 or 3 years in row.

Being a Mac coach has nothing to do with people being upset, and Phil was at Iowa under norm for a decade before taking over the DC spot.

 

[lonhawk]

Being a Mac coach has nothing to do with people being upset, and Phil was at Iowa under norm for a decade before taking over the DC spot.

Ahh......

 

[TheGuy9]

I'm trying to look for positives today. Lester was an actual QB in college and threw for 11,000 yds and 87 TDs. There's a small chance that he might be able to develop a QB better than an Olineman that coached OLine and TE. He might even be able to develop a play where we throw forward more than 20 yds.

He was also a QB coach at Purdue which is often thought to be QB university in the BIG. When at Western Michigan his teams were never ranked less than 35th in the country in scoring and total offense. Yes, I know there are those who say he played against a lot of bad defensive teams, so I did a little digging. Against P5 teams they scored 14 against Michigan, 44 against Pitt, 17 against MSU when they were rated #19 and 13 when they were rated #15, 33 and 42 against Syracuse, and 31 against USC when they were rated #4. Not sure, but those point totals are probably more than Iowa would have scored against those very same team over the same time period, so I say give the guy a chance.

 

[WEH8ST8HAWK]

You’re right. We should give him a chance.

I’m just so disgusted right now. If this hire doesn’t move the needle, this needs to be the end of Ferentz.

I can’t argue with that. In 2 years if the offense isn’t substantially better than the last 3 years Kirk will get the boot.

 

[BonzoFury]

I can’t argue with that. In 2 years if the offense isn’t substantially better than the last 3 years Kirk will get the boot.

100% give Lester a chance. But If he doesn't deliver there should be no "fire Lester" thread. It'll be time to cut Kirk loose. This is his baby...100%. Always has been.

This is not gonna end well.

 

[Rambler Hawk]

Of course the fan base will give him a chance. Despite what goes on here, Iowa fans are a hopeful bunch, and we'll be hoping like crazy that somehow this Lester dude is able to run the offense under KF's restraints better than anyone else has been able to.

But, tonight, the fan base is pissed and rightfully so. We were teased with multiple candidates with solid credentials, including one that looked to be a done deal. A guy fired as the Syracuse OC, Purdue QB coach and MAC HC should not have his next job be OC at a school with a much bigger football tradition than any of those. Troy OC would have been a perfect spot to start over. He hit the frickin' jackpot. Only time will tell if it was worth it for Iowa.

I think the fact that he was recently fired from WMU is that part that I can't wrap my head around....it's not like he was some hot/sought after coach and we had to woo him to leave WMU.... 😥 He had his bags packed for Troy much like Deacon had been researching apartments for rent at Fordham....