Hayden built a program that was buried deep in the basement for almost 20 years and took it to the penthouse in only his third season. And but for contracting cancer late in his career, he would have coached for many more years. But opposing coaches used his age against him in recruiting, and so Hayden's last couple of years were lacking in talent. But KF was able to rebuild quickly because of the foundation that Hayden had established. Some other facts:
Fry broke the color barrier in the SW Conference.
Fry was an offensive innovator who wasn't afraid to win with offense. But make no mistake: he fully well understood the necessity for an outstanding defense as well as good punters and kickers.
Fry was a risk-taker who promoted that image beyond its reality to his team's benefit. Nobody knew for sure what Fry might do in any given situation.
Fry was a pragmatist, but he never apologized for being Iowa. He never made excuses despite facing about 20 Top 25 teams in nonconference play. But he also adjusted future schedules with the intent to have 1 cupcake, 1 equal opponent, and 1 outstanding opponent.
Fry had an outgoing, entertaining personality, and he wasn't afraid to let his emotions show. When Iowa lost, you could hear it in his voice and see it in his body language. When Iowa won, the joy was equally obvious.
Fry established the modern marketing of the Iowa brand. He originated the Tiger Hawk, Commander Caps, T-shirts, and the Hawkeye brand soon went national. Fry knew college football was entertainment.
Many, many of Fry's assistant coaches went on to great success elsewhere, including Bill Snyder at K-State and Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin.
Fry ran a clean program.
There's more, but we'll leave it there.
Kirk Ferentz:
KF took over a program that was firmly established and nationally respected despite a couple of down years at the end of Hayden's tenure.
KF always apologizes for being "little ole Iowa." Calls his a "developmental program." Avoids playing good teams in the nonconference. Whereas Fry played about 20 top-ranked teams, KF has played about 3.
KF has a bland, stoic personality. He keeps his emotions mostly to himself. From seeing and hearing him, you would have little clue whether Iowa had won or lost. One of his favorite bits of analysis has been, "That's football."
KF has never embraced the reality that college football is entertainment. He has downplayed Iowa at almost every opportunity. KF even actively campaigned against having the Tiger Hawk logo placed in the middle of Kinnick Stadium or painted on the water tower. He even went so far as to say having the Tiger Hawk on the field would be dumb because it would be upside down to half the stadium.
KF is a conservative's conservative. Despite coaching under Fry for years, KF has almost never done anything innovative, especially on offense. He has regularly punted in his own territory. He has run essentially the same offense for so long that opponent after opponent has admitted they don't have to prepare for Iowa because they already know what the Hawkeyes are going to run in any given situation. (Maybe that finally changes this season with Tim Lester.)
KF has had few assistant coaches go on to success elsewhere.
KF has run a clean program, although the allegations against the program by some Black players cannot be entirely overlooked.
Both Fry and KF won a lot of games for Iowa. Each must be judged in the context of his own time. For me, Hayden Fry is the greatest football coach in Hawkeye history with KF a clear second. Forest Evashevski could have been atop the list, but his tenure was too short. Yet Evy put Iowa on the map in the 1950s with an entertaining, innovative Wing-T offense that he coauthored. And Evy owns the only two Rose Bowl victories in Iowa history.
But as in any evaluation of this type, subjectivity plays a role, so everyone is entitled to an opinion. But it's also worth noting that opinions should only be respected to the degree the facts, the evidence supports them, a point lost on far too many people these days.
