The Hawks came in to the season as a darkhorse playoff contender. After beating up on some cupcakes and losing to all the teams they played with a pulse, they finished a disappointing 8-4, leaving fans wondering what could have been. The one point loss to ISU can be forgiven considering it was a fluke and ISU wound up in the Big 12 championship game, but getting humiliated at Ohio State and inexplicable close losses to inferior teams like Michigan State and UCLA will haunt the seniors for years to come. So how did the coaches do this year?
Coach of the Year: LeVar Woods. What a performance Woods put in after being passed up in the coaching promotion ranks first by Brian and then by Seth Wallace. Woods was named special teams coordinator in 2017. Why he's stuck around for 7 years at the same position is beyond me, but it's great for the Hawks. Woods was tasked with replacing last year's 1st team All-American punter Taylor with a true freshmen. All that freshmen did was average a whopping 44 yards per punt, including some fantastic directional punting. Woods was also tasked with replacing last year's Big 10 return man of the year / 1st team All-American DB in DeJean...so he turned to a walk-on who finished 3rd in the Big 10 in both punt returns and kick returns, often providing Iowa with a jolt of momentum in games. Finally, Woods was tasked with fixing a struggling kicker who was benched at the end of last season. All that kicker did was go 19-22 this year with more 50+ yard field goals than anyone in the Big 10. Elite special teams yet again for the Hawks and they did it without any highly touted super star recruits.
Disappointment of the Year: Phil Parker. The reigning Broyles Award winner for 2023 assistant coach of the year returned a stacked defense filled with returning all-Americans, 6th year seniors, a 5 star safety, and depth. To say that the defense underperformed this year would be an understatement. The defense was expected to be the best in the Big 10, yet somehow finished 8th in the Big 10 in pass defense and 8th in total defense. Perhaps even more painful, they finished 7th in first downs given up (way too many long drives where we couldn't stop an opponent) and 15th in time of possession (thanks in part to an inept offense). What a waste of so much talent on this side of the ball.
Coaches on the Chopping Block: Jon Budmyer & Abdul Hodge. Unfortunately, neither were qualified for their jobs when they came to Iowa, and neither has shown the ability to coach their positions now that they've arrived. Budmyer's ability to fail upward has been well documented by IowaLaw. This year, he was promoted to WRs coach, a position he had never coached. He was handed last year's top WR, a 4**** Ohio State transfer, who had 22 catches in the last half of last season. Under Budmyer's tutelage, we were mystified watching Brown ride the bench behind 0 star freshmen and total just 1 catch before smartly electing to leave the team halfway through the season to be coached by a real WRs coach. Bud also had the benefit of several other portal investments in Gill & Anderson, as well as some young talent. Welp...let's just say it didn't work out too well, as Jacob Gill, Iowa's top WR this year, finished 45th in the Big 10 in yards per game at just 31. Unacceptable by any standards. Then there's Hodge, who was handed the opportunity to coach TEs at TEU...including a pre-season all-Big 10 TE in Luke Lachey. That too did not end well. Lachey, who was injured for a few games, was not even among the Big 10's top 10 tight ends this year in either catches or yards. Worse yet, Iowa, a team that normally dominates with 2 TE sets, struggled to find a decent second option. Zach Ortworth finished the year as the #2 tight end...but he only managed 10 catches in 12 games for 133 yards.
Redemption Award: George Barnett. Many, including IowaLaw, thought Barnett should have been fired after his OL's 3rd straight abysmal season last year. However, Kirk kept him around because he's loyal to a fault, and the OL seemed to finally gel. The coaches named Conner Colby 1st team All Big 10. Logan Jones & Gennings Dunker were named to the 2nd team. If the Hawks had simply kept Proctor, this could have been the top OL in the conference and Johnson would probably be at this year's Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Overrated Coach of the Year: Tim Lester. Despite unanimous disappointment when the Hawks spurned overtures from better known or better recruiting young offensive coordinators in favor of someone Kirk could control in Lester, a mediocre fired MAC coach who was hanging on in football as an "analyst," Hawk fans seem to have unjustifiably rallied around Lester this year simply because he was better than Brian Ferentz, the worst OC in college football last year. Sadly, Brian Ferentz is not the benchmark for evaluating offensive play callers. And while Kirk has come out and said "the offense is entirely Lester's offense," that doesn't explain Iowa's refusal to get with modern college football. Still far too many runs up the middle on 3rd and 7 for no gain. Still far too many punts from the opponent's 48 yard line on 4th and inches. Most concerning, still far too little effort and creativity to get the best players the ball (all American RB Johnson finished with just 22 catches this year; pre-season all Big 10 TE Lachey had just 27 catches; and Big 10 special teams player of the year Wetjen had just 1 freaking catch). Sure, the Hawks ran a man in motion a little more than last year...but what does that prove? The team still finished 14th in the Big 10 in total offense and 18th (last) in passing offense...despite all that razzle dazzle of doing what every other team does. The last place pass offense was in spite of playing behind a million dollar portal QB from Michigan and an all-American RB who took tremendous pressure off the passing game. Like everyone, I want Lester to be a great hire...but to those who say "in Lester we trust," I ask why? What has he done to merit such trust? He wasn't great in his previous stints and he underutilized Iowa's best weapons (i.e. Wetjen, Brown, Lachey) this year. He seems every bit as conservative as Kirk & Brian and certainly hasn't proven any recruiting chops.
Underrated Coach of the Year: Ladell Betts. Although Ladell evaluated Kaleb Johnson as Iowa's 3rd string RB following spring practice, which is a monumental talent evaluation miss, the Hawkeye rushing offense improved greatly this year. Not only did Johnson lead the Big 10 in rushing with over 1500 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 6.4 yards per carry, but the team as a whole finished 2nd in rushing behind only Penn State. Was this a product of coaching or was it simply the luck of having a great OL and an elite RB? Hard to say, but Moulton still managed to average 5.4 yards per carry as a freshmen and Patterson averaged 4.4 yards per carry (all are better than usual at Iowa). The future is bright at the running back position (although Betts still hasn't proven to be much of a recruiter, landing mostly MAC level RB recruits so far). Betts certainly deserves at least some of the credit for this year's rushing resurgence. Let's see if we can sustain it next year.
Randy of the Year: Kirk Ferentz. Steady, conservative, stubborn, and incredibly loyal to coaches but not players are all words that accurately describe Kirk. He's a model of consistency, beating the teams he should beat and getting blown out by the blue bloods. There are many programs out there thrilled with 8 win seasons...but given Iowa's weak schedule, 8 wins doesn't make many people optimistic for next year. Was coaching the difference in a couple of this year's losses? Sure. The Iowa State game was squandered by ultra conservatism and bad clock management. Michigan State as well. So does Kirk have a Kirk 3.0 in him that will innovate and get with the times (i.e. mobile QBs, taking chances down the field, and going for it on 4th and inches)? If 25 years of history are any indication, NO. Kirk is who he is. An above average coach who will likely never step foot in the playoffs. Good enough to beat the Northwesterns of the world but probably not meant for the new NIL pay to play age of college sports.
Coach of the Year: LeVar Woods. What a performance Woods put in after being passed up in the coaching promotion ranks first by Brian and then by Seth Wallace. Woods was named special teams coordinator in 2017. Why he's stuck around for 7 years at the same position is beyond me, but it's great for the Hawks. Woods was tasked with replacing last year's 1st team All-American punter Taylor with a true freshmen. All that freshmen did was average a whopping 44 yards per punt, including some fantastic directional punting. Woods was also tasked with replacing last year's Big 10 return man of the year / 1st team All-American DB in DeJean...so he turned to a walk-on who finished 3rd in the Big 10 in both punt returns and kick returns, often providing Iowa with a jolt of momentum in games. Finally, Woods was tasked with fixing a struggling kicker who was benched at the end of last season. All that kicker did was go 19-22 this year with more 50+ yard field goals than anyone in the Big 10. Elite special teams yet again for the Hawks and they did it without any highly touted super star recruits.
Disappointment of the Year: Phil Parker. The reigning Broyles Award winner for 2023 assistant coach of the year returned a stacked defense filled with returning all-Americans, 6th year seniors, a 5 star safety, and depth. To say that the defense underperformed this year would be an understatement. The defense was expected to be the best in the Big 10, yet somehow finished 8th in the Big 10 in pass defense and 8th in total defense. Perhaps even more painful, they finished 7th in first downs given up (way too many long drives where we couldn't stop an opponent) and 15th in time of possession (thanks in part to an inept offense). What a waste of so much talent on this side of the ball.
Coaches on the Chopping Block: Jon Budmyer & Abdul Hodge. Unfortunately, neither were qualified for their jobs when they came to Iowa, and neither has shown the ability to coach their positions now that they've arrived. Budmyer's ability to fail upward has been well documented by IowaLaw. This year, he was promoted to WRs coach, a position he had never coached. He was handed last year's top WR, a 4**** Ohio State transfer, who had 22 catches in the last half of last season. Under Budmyer's tutelage, we were mystified watching Brown ride the bench behind 0 star freshmen and total just 1 catch before smartly electing to leave the team halfway through the season to be coached by a real WRs coach. Bud also had the benefit of several other portal investments in Gill & Anderson, as well as some young talent. Welp...let's just say it didn't work out too well, as Jacob Gill, Iowa's top WR this year, finished 45th in the Big 10 in yards per game at just 31. Unacceptable by any standards. Then there's Hodge, who was handed the opportunity to coach TEs at TEU...including a pre-season all-Big 10 TE in Luke Lachey. That too did not end well. Lachey, who was injured for a few games, was not even among the Big 10's top 10 tight ends this year in either catches or yards. Worse yet, Iowa, a team that normally dominates with 2 TE sets, struggled to find a decent second option. Zach Ortworth finished the year as the #2 tight end...but he only managed 10 catches in 12 games for 133 yards.
Redemption Award: George Barnett. Many, including IowaLaw, thought Barnett should have been fired after his OL's 3rd straight abysmal season last year. However, Kirk kept him around because he's loyal to a fault, and the OL seemed to finally gel. The coaches named Conner Colby 1st team All Big 10. Logan Jones & Gennings Dunker were named to the 2nd team. If the Hawks had simply kept Proctor, this could have been the top OL in the conference and Johnson would probably be at this year's Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Overrated Coach of the Year: Tim Lester. Despite unanimous disappointment when the Hawks spurned overtures from better known or better recruiting young offensive coordinators in favor of someone Kirk could control in Lester, a mediocre fired MAC coach who was hanging on in football as an "analyst," Hawk fans seem to have unjustifiably rallied around Lester this year simply because he was better than Brian Ferentz, the worst OC in college football last year. Sadly, Brian Ferentz is not the benchmark for evaluating offensive play callers. And while Kirk has come out and said "the offense is entirely Lester's offense," that doesn't explain Iowa's refusal to get with modern college football. Still far too many runs up the middle on 3rd and 7 for no gain. Still far too many punts from the opponent's 48 yard line on 4th and inches. Most concerning, still far too little effort and creativity to get the best players the ball (all American RB Johnson finished with just 22 catches this year; pre-season all Big 10 TE Lachey had just 27 catches; and Big 10 special teams player of the year Wetjen had just 1 freaking catch). Sure, the Hawks ran a man in motion a little more than last year...but what does that prove? The team still finished 14th in the Big 10 in total offense and 18th (last) in passing offense...despite all that razzle dazzle of doing what every other team does. The last place pass offense was in spite of playing behind a million dollar portal QB from Michigan and an all-American RB who took tremendous pressure off the passing game. Like everyone, I want Lester to be a great hire...but to those who say "in Lester we trust," I ask why? What has he done to merit such trust? He wasn't great in his previous stints and he underutilized Iowa's best weapons (i.e. Wetjen, Brown, Lachey) this year. He seems every bit as conservative as Kirk & Brian and certainly hasn't proven any recruiting chops.
Underrated Coach of the Year: Ladell Betts. Although Ladell evaluated Kaleb Johnson as Iowa's 3rd string RB following spring practice, which is a monumental talent evaluation miss, the Hawkeye rushing offense improved greatly this year. Not only did Johnson lead the Big 10 in rushing with over 1500 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 6.4 yards per carry, but the team as a whole finished 2nd in rushing behind only Penn State. Was this a product of coaching or was it simply the luck of having a great OL and an elite RB? Hard to say, but Moulton still managed to average 5.4 yards per carry as a freshmen and Patterson averaged 4.4 yards per carry (all are better than usual at Iowa). The future is bright at the running back position (although Betts still hasn't proven to be much of a recruiter, landing mostly MAC level RB recruits so far). Betts certainly deserves at least some of the credit for this year's rushing resurgence. Let's see if we can sustain it next year.
Randy of the Year: Kirk Ferentz. Steady, conservative, stubborn, and incredibly loyal to coaches but not players are all words that accurately describe Kirk. He's a model of consistency, beating the teams he should beat and getting blown out by the blue bloods. There are many programs out there thrilled with 8 win seasons...but given Iowa's weak schedule, 8 wins doesn't make many people optimistic for next year. Was coaching the difference in a couple of this year's losses? Sure. The Iowa State game was squandered by ultra conservatism and bad clock management. Michigan State as well. So does Kirk have a Kirk 3.0 in him that will innovate and get with the times (i.e. mobile QBs, taking chances down the field, and going for it on 4th and inches)? If 25 years of history are any indication, NO. Kirk is who he is. An above average coach who will likely never step foot in the playoffs. Good enough to beat the Northwesterns of the world but probably not meant for the new NIL pay to play age of college sports.
