If KF is truly coaching to win games

[BrewHawk]

1. Then why pass in obvious run situations when the run game is working?
2. Either go for it from the 40 or take a shot at a 57 yard FG with a kicker who has the leg?
3. Why not put pressure on a QB who is carving up our defense?
4. Why not have our most dynamic player on scholarship?
5. Challenge an obviously poor spot that gives us a critical first down?
6. Why put all the pressure on a QB who is obviously not ready to win games for us?

 

[eyesofhawk]

Yeah I don't think he's trying to win games.

Good stuff

 

[BrewHawk]

Yeah I don't think he's trying to win games.

Good stuff

He says he is, but actions speak louder than words.

That, or he is incompetent at making key game-management decisions.

Also, please answer questions 1-6.

 

[Zooropa_NCR]

He is absolutely trying to win games

His way

No adapting, never scheme to an opponents weakness. Iowa does what Kirk believes is the right way to win

Thing is he did prove many moons ago he was capable of some very subtle changes but the last few years winning the most ugly, improbable, inconceivable ways only made him dig in harder.

You hear it in his comments “You know we won 10 games…” when questioned that his offense is pathetic

So yes Kirk does want to win. He also cares about his players

But that’s the rub there too….he will not take a chance on any player who potentially could be a head case. Kirk will trot out a good old Iowan for 40 consecutive starts cause the kid is a hard worker at practice

Are there aspects of Kirk’s style that we’d like to keep, yeah. He has been pretty consistent in a horrible division and conference

But his refusal to change has also kept Iowa from achieving more.

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

He is absolutely trying to win games

His way

No adapting, never scheme to an opponents weakness. Iowa does what Kirk believes is the right way to win

Thing is he did prove many moons ago he was capable of some very subtle changes but the last few years winning the most ugly, improbable, inconceivable ways only made him dig in harder.

You hear it in his comments “You know we won 10 games…” when questioned that his offense is pathetic

So yes Kirk does want to win. He also cares about his players

But that’s the rub there too….he will not take a chance on any player who potentially could be a head case. Kirk will trot out a good old Iowan for 40 consecutive starts cause the kid is a hard worker at practice

Are there aspects of Kirk’s style that we’d like to keep, yeah. He has been pretty consistent in a horrible division and conference

But his refusal to change has also kept Iowa from achieving more.

No one could have said it better.

I co-sign this.

It’s unfortunate because there are a lot of admirable traits Kirk possesses that make you proud of the program he runs. The problem is he is stubborn to a fault and refuses to evolve. Kirk believes his way is the best way to win football games and no one is going to convince him otherwise. Regardless, yeah, to suggest he doesn’t care about winning is ridiculous.

With that said, Kirk has lost a lot of grace and goodwill among the fan base for his continuous gaslighting about his son’s competence. After the 2021 season, it was painstakingly clear Brian was in over his head. What did Kirk do in response? Added quarterback coach to his list of duties then spent two more seasons directly or tacitly justifying Brian’s performance while the offense continued to be in a tailspin and turned into a national punchline.

If it weren’t for Kirk placing his son’s career over the football program, I would have a lot more grace toward Kirk. As it is, Kirk’s blatant refusal to respond appropriately to the Brian debacle, thus forcing the hand of an interim AD, is why all my goodwill toward Kirk has been exhausted. Frankly, if the buyout wasn’t an issue, I would be 110% on board with firing Kirk. How he handled the Brian situation is unforgivable, and if Kirk is hanging around just to surpass Woody Hayes and goes out next season with a whimper (which is pretty much what’s expected), then his legacy is going to be severely tarnished as a result.

Unfortunate, but Kirk made his bed.

 

[BrewHawk]

He is absolutely trying to win games

His way

No adapting, never scheme to an opponents weakness. Iowa does what Kirk believes is the right way to win

Thing is he did prove many moons ago he was capable of some very subtle changes but the last few years winning the most ugly, improbable, inconceivable ways only made him dig in harder.

You hear it in his comments “You know we won 10 games…” when questioned that his offense is pathetic

So yes Kirk does want to win. He also cares about his players

But that’s the rub there too….he will not take a chance on any player who potentially could be a head case. Kirk will trot out a good old Iowan for 40 consecutive starts cause the kid is a hard worker at practice

Are there aspects of Kirk’s style that we’d like to keep, yeah. He has been pretty consistent in a horrible division and conference

But his refusal to change has also kept Iowa from achieving more.

He's wearing blinders, for sure.

 

[Rambler Hawk]

He's wearing blinders, for sure.

Like thinking his son was a bonafided Big Ten OC…..😉

 

[BrewHawk]

Like thinking his son was a bonafided Big Ten OC…..😉

Too soon!

 

[the24fan]

hang in there boys. The end of KF is on the horizon. We may struggle a couple seasons but I’d like to see another regime try and turn this around before I take up the rocking chair.

 

[Fan In Black]

He is absolutely trying to win games

His way

No adapting, never scheme to an opponents weakness. Iowa does what Kirk believes is the right way to win

Thing is he did prove many moons ago he was capable of some very subtle changes but the last few years winning the most ugly, improbable, inconceivable ways only made him dig in harder.

You hear it in his comments “You know we won 10 games…” when questioned that his offense is pathetic

So yes Kirk does want to win. He also cares about his players

But that’s the rub there too….he will not take a chance on any player who potentially could be a head case. Kirk will trot out a good old Iowan for 40 consecutive starts cause the kid is a hard worker at practice

Are there aspects of Kirk’s style that we’d like to keep, yeah. He has been pretty consistent in a horrible division and conference

But his refusal to change has also kept Iowa from achieving more.

this is a great post and 100 spot on.

They really struggle at WR recruiting and retention, and I think its a culture clash. Hopefully Lester can change that.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

1. Then why pass in obvious run situations when the run game is working?
2. Either go for it from the 40 or take a shot at a 57 yard FG with a kicker who has the leg?
3. Why not put pressure on a QB who is carving up our defense?
4. Why not have our most dynamic player on scholarship?
5. Challenge an obviously poor spot that gives us a critical first down?
6. Why put all the pressure on a QB who is obviously not ready to win games for us?

Because Kirk is still coaching with the philosophy of how football was played in 1984 not 2024. As others stated he’s too stubborn to change or when he does it’s done later than it should’ve been.

 

[LIV4GOD]

He is playing more to not lose.

The Ferentz Fear Factor was strong yesterday.

It will only get stronger the older he gets.

 

[Rambler Hawk]

Too soon!

I was led to believe that many NFL programs were salivating at the thought of having BF be one of their position coaches?!?!?🤡 Or did Maryland outbid them?🤔

 

[Gonzo Bloor]

Yeah I don't think he's trying to win games.

Good stuff

Correct. He's not. He's trying to not lose. There's a difference.

 

[paednoch23]

Yeah I don't think he's trying to win games.

Good stuff

I don't think he knows how to win games in the current era. Most older folks fail to recognize hiw far they have fallen. My mom was furious when we took her to the nursing home.

 

[Hawkins63]

When the announcers made a joking reference to Kirk not understanding alot of the terms the OC was using to implement/describe his offense, that kinda spoke volumes.

Its like tiptoeing around grandpa even though the entire family knows that grandpa shouldnt live alone anymore!

And sorry if this was mentioned already but I never saw Phil Parker during the bowl game. was he there?

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

1. Then why pass in obvious run situations when the run game is working?
2. Either go for it from the 40 or take a shot at a 57 yard FG with a kicker who has the leg?
3. Why not put pressure on a QB who is carving up our defense?
4. Why not have our most dynamic player on scholarship?
5. Challenge an obviously poor spot that gives us a critical first down?
6. Why put all the pressure on a QB who is obviously not ready to win games for us?

Never thought I'd see the bolded as a criticism of KF.

 

[DewHawk]

1. Then why pass in obvious run situations when the run game is working?
2. Either go for it from the 40 or take a shot at a 57 yard FG with a kicker who has the leg?
3. Why not put pressure on a QB who is carving up our defense?
4. Why not have our most dynamic player on scholarship?
5. Challenge an obviously poor spot that gives us a critical first down?
6. Why put all the pressure on a QB who is obviously not ready to win games for us?

In my opinion winning is way down his list of priorities, but JMO.

 

[DewHawk]

hang in there boys. The end of KF is on the horizon. We may struggle a couple seasons but I’d like to see another regime try and turn this around before I take up the rocking chair.

" I’d like to see another regime try and turn this around before I take up the rocking chair."

Me too, but I am already in the rocking chair and my time is limited.

 

[doughuddl2]

He's wearing blinders, for sure.

He's going by analytics that Don Patterson records for him every game.

 

[DewHawk]

He is playing more to not lose.

The Ferentz Fear Factor was strong yesterday.

It will only get stronger the older he gets.

This is spot on IMO.

 

[iahawks10]

5. Challenge an obviously poor spot that gives us a critical first down?

Iowa couldn’t challenge the play/call because they were out of timeouts. You need a timeout to challenge the play in CFB.

That said, I don’t believe Iowa would have challenged it if they did have a TO. I actually believe Kirk doesn’t quite understand the rules behind challenging a call or many other rules of CFB. Kirk admitted within the last five years that he just learned every play was reviewed and you can’t run a hurry-up play to snap the ball before the play is reviewed. These are rules set in place since replay was installed. He’s been coaching for 25 years and doesn’t know the rules. How is that possible?

 

[QChawks]

Kirk always has a play not to lose mentality

He hates risk
He loves to win his way ,the only way
He despises us going off script
He feels they just need to execute, no need to change
He believes in 60-40 run pass
He loves Bend, but not break defense
He hates changing flavors of gum

 

[globalhawk]

He is absolutely trying to win games

His way

No adapting, never scheme to an opponents weakness. Iowa does what Kirk believes is the right way to win

Thing is he did prove many moons ago he was capable of some very subtle changes but the last few years winning the most ugly, improbable, inconceivable ways only made him dig in harder.

You hear it in his comments “You know we won 10 games…” when questioned that his offense is pathetic

So yes Kirk does want to win. He also cares about his players

But that’s the rub there too….he will not take a chance on any player who potentially could be a head case. Kirk will trot out a good old Iowan for 40 consecutive starts cause the kid is a hard worker at practice

Are there aspects of Kirk’s style that we’d like to keep, yeah. He has been pretty consistent in a horrible division and conference

But his refusal to change has also kept Iowa from achieving more.

 

[jonesy5960]

hang in there boys. The end of KF is on the horizon. We may struggle a couple seasons but I’d like to see another regime try and turn this around before I take up the rocking chair.

You don't need to wait brother. Rocking chairs are awesome.

 

[Buggie]

No one could have said it better.

I co-sign this.

It’s unfortunate because there are a lot of admirable traits Kirk possesses that make you proud of the program he runs. The problem is he is stubborn to a fault and refuses to evolve. Kirk believes his way is the best way to win football games and no one is going to convince him otherwise. Regardless, yeah, to suggest he doesn’t care about winning is ridiculous.

With that said, Kirk has lost a lot of grace and goodwill among the fan base for his continuous gaslighting about his son’s competence. After the 2021 season, it was painstakingly clear Brian was in over his head. What did Kirk do in response? Added quarterback coach to his list of duties then spent two more seasons directly or tacitly justifying Brian’s performance while the offense continued to be in a tailspin and turned into a national punchline.

If it weren’t for Kirk placing his son’s career over the football program, I would have a lot more grace toward Kirk. As it is, Kirk’s blatant refusal to respond appropriately to the Brian debacle, thus forcing the hand of an interim AD, is why all my goodwill toward Kirk has been exhausted. Frankly, if the buyout wasn’t an issue, I would be 110% on board with firing Kirk. How he handled the Brian situation is unforgivable, and if Kirk is hanging around just to surpass Woody Hayes and goes out next season with a whimper (which is pretty much what’s expected), then his legacy is going to be severely tarnished as a result.

Unfortunate, but Kirk made his bed.

I agree with everything you said...and my feelings exactly

 

[WaterlooChazz]

If he is not trying to win, then that makes the 204 wins he has at Iowa, even more impressive.

 

[83Hawk]

Of course he’s trying to win games.

 

[Gonzo Bloor]

Kirk always has a play not to lose mentality

He hates risk
He loves to win his way ,the only way
He despises us going off script
He feels they just need to execute, no need to change
He believes in 60-40 run pass
He loves Bend, but not break defense
He hates changing flavors of gum

He thinks if if worked in 2004 there's no reason it shouldn't work in 2024.
He coaches based on fear of what could go wrong, instead of creating opportunities for things go to right.

 

[NoWokeBloke]

When you are afraid of change, this is what happens. I'm not even talking about Kirk. I'm talking to you "fans". Why should they change when you keep buying tickets and merchandise?

 

[10kHawk]

It’s been 26 years, there is no mystery to who(m) he is

 

[robbiepi72]

' Out played, out hustled, out coached
that's football. ' Says coach ferentz.
🤡🏈🏈🏈🏈

 

[MitchLL]

Regarding change of coaching philosophy..."What's the Upside"?

 

[BGHAWK]

1. Then why pass in obvious run situations when the run game is working?
2. Either go for it from the 40 or take a shot at a 57 yard FG with a kicker who has the leg?
3. Why not put pressure on a QB who is carving up our defense?
4. Why not have our most dynamic player on scholarship?
5. Challenge an obviously poor spot that gives us a critical first down?
6. Why put all the pressure on a QB who is obviously not ready to win games for us?

3. I haven't watched the replay, but did Iowa send a LB or CB or Safety blitz on any play? I don't recall any but if they did, it was minimal.

Did Sullivan ever hand off to the WR coming across the field in front of him?

Did Sullivan ever fake the hand off and keep it around end?

Not criticizing Sullivan, he did what the play called for.