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Lazy Offensive Staff Hiring: Is Improving the Offense Even a Priority?

IowasLaw

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2019
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This is not a rhetorical question.

There's no doubt all coaches care about winning. But what about caring about the offense? Scoring points. Exciting playmaking. Innovation. That sort of thing. Is Kirk genuinely content winning 6-4 or 10-3 week in and week out against lesser Big 10 west opponents but routinely getting blown out against teams who can put up points against us? He's getting paid handsomely to do it, so maybe that is enough for him.

In 2021, the Hawks ranked 99th in scoring offense. That is a failing. By all standards, the head coach of the 99th ranked scoring offense would be forced to rethink the offense and retool his staff and his playbook. Right? Whether he's at the high school level or the NFL. So what staff changes did Kirk after the embarrassment against Michigan and getting thumped (yet again) by Purdue and Wisconsin?

Rather than being proactive and upgrading at any coaching position (or hitting the transfer portal hard), Kirk downgraded at virtually every offensive coaching position. He lazily assembled one of the most haphazard mishmash of available guys who committed to being thankful for just having jobs and a willingness to be "yes men."

Offensive Coordinator. Rather than firing the architect of Iowa's 117th ranked offense, Kirk doubled down in interviews questioning Brian's competence, acknowledged no inadequacies in playbook or play calling, and gave his son a six figure raise for good measure. Most power 5 head coaches would have fired a staff member whose unit ranked 117th and was the direct reason for several losses & an overall boring product on the field, Kirk rewarded the failures and gave him even more authority. I think most know that Brian put out feelers to other programs after 2021 knowing that fans had enough, but he received no bites in the job market.

OL Coach. Iowa's OL coach left to become an offensive coordinator. Kudos to him on the promotion, as he knew he couldn't move up at Iowa. He was replaced by a guy who was at his previous job for less than 4 months and who quickly got the attention of every tv analyst who broadcast Iowa games last year, being the butt of numerous comments on the atrociously outdated OLine play. He underperformed at "OLine U" despite being gifted the nation's top linemen at center. That is no easy accomplishment. Worse yet, expect the same state "zone blocking scheme" this year, but with worse players.

TE Coach. Brian left his role as TE coach to coach the QBs. So rather than bringing in an offensive minded coach with a TE or OL background, Kirk brought in a guy who has never coached or played offense at any level. I loved Hodge as a linebacker at Iowa, but if you're going to hire a TE coach purely based on nostalgia, why not go for a Dallas Clark type or any number of stud ex Hawk TEs who actually know the position?

RBs Coach. Derrick Foster left Iowa to become RB coach for the Chargers last year. The NFL saw potential in him. Kirk replaced him with...a guy who was coaching high school ball at this time last year. In his first season coaching college football, Betts seemed out of his league. He inherited a returning 1st team all Big 10 RB in Goodson and a run first offensive scheme. He coached Goodson to his most underachieving, disappointing season at Iowa, marked by a national lead in runs for a loss of yards (you can't say good coaching couldn't have improved this). It appears Betts can recruit. But whether he can coach remains to be seen. It would have been nice to give an RB coach with some college experience a shot. The Big 10 ain't high school ball.

QBs Coach. Iowa's seasoned QBs coach retired after a pretty solid career. Rather than replacing O'Keefe with a QBs coach who offered new blood, new ideas, or an expertise in throwing mechanics...Kirk handed the job to the above mentioned failed offensive coordinator. The one who led the nation's 99th ranked scoring offense. The one who has never coached a QB or thrown a pass before. Staff downgrade. Why not give someone like all-time Hawkeye QB great Drew Tate (a current QBs coach who recruits Texas) or David Raih (former Iowa QB who spent 5 years with the Packers and was the OC at Vandy) a shot?

So again I ask, does Kirk care about offense or are they just out there to fill time until the defense can go out there and dominate? It sure doesn't seem like any effort has been made to bring in a staff that can improve upon last year's extremely disappointing offense. They surely aren't going to get better by bringing players in from the portal.
 
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This is not a rhetorical question.

There's no doubt all coaches care about winning. But what about caring about the offense? Scoring points. Exciting playmaking. Innovation. That sort of thing. Or would he be content winning 6 to 4 week in and week out? Think about it. The Hawks ranked 99th in scoring offense last year. By all standards, that is a failing offense that requires retooling, right. What staff changes did Kirk make to fix the problem, knowing he'll have one of the top defenses in college football?

Kirk downgraded at virtually every offensive coaching position by lazily assembling one of the most haphazard mishmash of guys willing to be "yes men."

Offensive Coordinator. Rather than firing the captain of Iowa's 117th ranked offense after giving him several failed years to prove himself, Kirk doubled down on Brian at OC, acknowledged no mistakes, and gave the guy a raise for good measure. The vast majority of head coaches would have fired their OC after finishing 117th, Kirk rewarded it and gave him even more authority.

RBs Coach. Derrick Foster left Iowa to become RB coach for the Chargers last year. Kirk replaced him with...a guy who was coaching high school ball at this time last year. In his first season coaching college football, Betts seemed out of his league. He inherited a returning 1st team all Big 10 RB in Goodson and led him to his most underachieving, disappointing season at Iowa. It appears Betts can recruit. But whether he can coach remains to be seen.

OL Coach. Iowa's OL coach left to become a head coach. Kudos to him. He was replaced by a guy who was at his previous job for less than 4 months and who quickly got the attention of every tv analyst who broadcast Iowa games last year, being the butt of numerous comments on the atrociously outdated OLine play. He underperformed at "OLine U" despite being gifted the nation's top linemen at center. That is no easy accomplishment. Worse yet, expect the same state "zone blocking scheme" this year, but with worse players.

QBs Coach. Iowa's seasoned QBs coach retired after a pretty solid career. Rather than replacing O'Keefe with a QBs coach who offered new blood, new ideas, or an expertise in throwing mechanics...Kirk handed the job to the above mentioned failed offensive coordinator. The one who led the nation's 99th ranked scoring offense. The one who has never coached a QB or thrown a pass before. Staff downgrade.

TE Coach. Brian left his role as TE coach to coach the QBs. So rather than bringing in an offensive minded coach with a TE or OL background, Kirk brought in a guy who has never coached or played offense at any level. I loved Hodge as a linebacker at Iowa, but if you're going to hire a TE coach purely based on nostalgia, why not go for a Dallas Clark type or any number of stud ex Hawk TEs who actually know the position?

So again I ask, does Kirk care about offense or are they just out there to fill time until the defense can go out there and dominate? It sure doesn't seem like any effort has been made to bring in a staff that can improve upon last year's extremely disappointing offense. They surely aren't going to get better by bringing players in from the portal.
Kirk once said he likes to have his assistants coaching positions they were not familiar with, in order to get them out of their “comfort zone.”
 
This is not a rhetorical question.

There's no doubt all coaches care about winning. But what about caring about the offense? Scoring points. Exciting playmaking. Innovation. That sort of thing. Or would he be content winning 6 to 4 week in and week out? Think about it. The Hawks ranked 99th in scoring offense last year. By all standards, that is a failing offense that requires retooling, right. What staff changes did Kirk make to fix the problem, knowing he'll have one of the top defenses in college football?

Kirk downgraded at virtually every offensive coaching position by lazily assembling one of the most haphazard mishmash of guys willing to be "yes men."

Offensive Coordinator. Rather than firing the captain of Iowa's 117th ranked offense after giving him several failed years to prove himself, Kirk doubled down on Brian at OC, acknowledged no mistakes, and gave the guy a raise for good measure. The vast majority of head coaches would have fired their OC after finishing 117th, Kirk rewarded it and gave him even more authority.

RBs Coach. Derrick Foster left Iowa to become RB coach for the Chargers last year. Kirk replaced him with...a guy who was coaching high school ball at this time last year. In his first season coaching college football, Betts seemed out of his league. He inherited a returning 1st team all Big 10 RB in Goodson and led him to his most underachieving, disappointing season at Iowa. It appears Betts can recruit. But whether he can coach remains to be seen.

OL Coach. Iowa's OL coach left to become a head coach. Kudos to him. He was replaced by a guy who was at his previous job for less than 4 months and who quickly got the attention of every tv analyst who broadcast Iowa games last year, being the butt of numerous comments on the atrociously outdated OLine play. He underperformed at "OLine U" despite being gifted the nation's top linemen at center. That is no easy accomplishment. Worse yet, expect the same state "zone blocking scheme" this year, but with worse players.

QBs Coach. Iowa's seasoned QBs coach retired after a pretty solid career. Rather than replacing O'Keefe with a QBs coach who offered new blood, new ideas, or an expertise in throwing mechanics...Kirk handed the job to the above mentioned failed offensive coordinator. The one who led the nation's 99th ranked scoring offense. The one who has never coached a QB or thrown a pass before. Staff downgrade.

TE Coach. Brian left his role as TE coach to coach the QBs. So rather than bringing in an offensive minded coach with a TE or OL background, Kirk brought in a guy who has never coached or played offense at any level. I loved Hodge as a linebacker at Iowa, but if you're going to hire a TE coach purely based on nostalgia, why not go for a Dallas Clark type or any number of stud ex Hawk TEs who actually know the position?

So again I ask, does Kirk care about offense or are they just out there to fill time until the defense can go out there and dominate? It sure doesn't seem like any effort has been made to bring in a staff that can improve upon last year's extremely disappointing offense. They surely aren't going to get better by bringing players in from the portal.
My god you are stupid. But congrats to Tim Polasek on being a head coach. Where’s he a HC at?
 
This is not a rhetorical question.

There's no doubt all coaches care about winning. But what about caring about the offense? Scoring points. Exciting playmaking. Innovation. That sort of thing. Or would he be content winning 6 to 4 week in and week out? Think about it. The Hawks ranked 99th in scoring offense last year. By all standards, that is a failing offense that requires retooling, right. What staff changes did Kirk make to fix the problem, knowing he'll have one of the top defenses in college football?

Kirk downgraded at virtually every offensive coaching position by lazily assembling one of the most haphazard mishmash of guys willing to be "yes men."

Offensive Coordinator. Rather than firing the captain of Iowa's 117th ranked offense after giving him several failed years to prove himself, Kirk doubled down on Brian at OC, acknowledged no mistakes, and gave the guy a raise for good measure. The vast majority of head coaches would have fired their OC after finishing 117th, Kirk rewarded it and gave him even more authority.

RBs Coach. Derrick Foster left Iowa to become RB coach for the Chargers last year. Kirk replaced him with...a guy who was coaching high school ball at this time last year. In his first season coaching college football, Betts seemed out of his league. He inherited a returning 1st team all Big 10 RB in Goodson and led him to his most underachieving, disappointing season at Iowa. It appears Betts can recruit. But whether he can coach remains to be seen.

OL Coach. Iowa's OL coach left to become a head coach. Kudos to him. He was replaced by a guy who was at his previous job for less than 4 months and who quickly got the attention of every tv analyst who broadcast Iowa games last year, being the butt of numerous comments on the atrociously outdated OLine play. He underperformed at "OLine U" despite being gifted the nation's top linemen at center. That is no easy accomplishment. Worse yet, expect the same state "zone blocking scheme" this year, but with worse players.

QBs Coach. Iowa's seasoned QBs coach retired after a pretty solid career. Rather than replacing O'Keefe with a QBs coach who offered new blood, new ideas, or an expertise in throwing mechanics...Kirk handed the job to the above mentioned failed offensive coordinator. The one who led the nation's 99th ranked scoring offense. The one who has never coached a QB or thrown a pass before. Staff downgrade.

TE Coach. Brian left his role as TE coach to coach the QBs. So rather than bringing in an offensive minded coach with a TE or OL background, Kirk brought in a guy who has never coached or played offense at any level. I loved Hodge as a linebacker at Iowa, but if you're going to hire a TE coach purely based on nostalgia, why not go for a Dallas Clark type or any number of stud ex Hawk TEs who actually know the position?

So again I ask, does Kirk care about offense or are they just out there to fill time until the defense can go out there and dominate? It sure doesn't seem like any effort has been made to bring in a staff that can improve upon last year's extremely disappointing offense. They surely aren't going to get better by bringing players in from the portal.
You’re gonna complain about Betts after he recruited and signed arguably the best RB recruiting class we’ve had this decade?

Barnett inherited a terrible situation, why are you gonna judge him on just a single year? That’s asinine.

Hodge spent his entire career as an LB. Who do LB’s typically take on in coverage? TE’s. He understands the routes and movements of TE’s, and he also provides the element of understanding the approach defenses will take to covering TE’s. He also adds KC and South Florida recruiting ties, both fertile recruiting grounds

Brian to QB coach isn’t a terrible move. It’s boring, but it actually makes sense if you take the time to understand it. Why wouldn’t you want to play caller to work with QB’s? These guys have private coaches nowadays that primarily focus on fundamentals. With Brian, they’ll focus more on in game management and the approach to take in different situations.


Once again, IowasLaw proves he doesn’t understand football. It’s a great thing you have zero control of this staff. You consistently pull stupid takes out of your ass. Why would you judge Barnett and Betts off of a single year of coaching? Especially considering they inherited bad situations. Think before you hit “post thread/reply”. You’ll embarrass yourself way less.
 
OP is not off with his comments, minus the RB coach. Not sure why they didn’t bring in Albert Young. BF is not the answer and is in way over his head. He gave me hope vs. USC when I thought the offense looked pretty stout. That’s the game I hold onto every time they take the field. Brian isn’t going anywhere, therefore, offensive remains the same. At a minimum, BF should watch the Purdue game and implement some of their play calling.
 
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You’re gonna complain about Betts after he recruited and signed arguably the best RB recruiting class we’ve had this decade?

Barnett inherited a terrible situation, why are you gonna judge him on just a single year? That’s asinine.

Hodge spent his entire career as an LB. Who do LB’s typically take on in coverage? TE’s. He understands the routes and movements of TE’s, and he also provides the element of understanding the approach defenses will take to covering TE’s. He also adds KC and South Florida recruiting ties, both fertile recruiting grounds

Brian to QB coach isn’t a terrible move. It’s boring, but it actually makes sense if you take the time to understand it. Why wouldn’t you want to play caller to work with QB’s? These guys have private coaches nowadays that primarily focus on fundamentals. With Brian, they’ll focus more on in game management and the approach to take in different situations.


Once again, IowasLaw proves he doesn’t understand football. It’s a great thing you have zero control of this staff. You consistently pull stupid takes out of your ass. Why would you judge Barnett and Betts off of a single year of coaching? Especially considering they inherited bad situations. Think before you hit “post thread/reply”. You’ll embarrass yourself way less.
Agree on most except BF. He has proven nothing to be appointed QB coach. Having one of the worst offenses for nearly 4 years should never result in a pay raise, nor an additional responsibility. Now we know dad isn't going to fire son, but for f's sake get a proven QB coach in.
 
You’re gonna complain about Betts after he recruited and signed arguably the best RB recruiting class we’ve had this decade?

Barnett inherited a terrible situation, why are you gonna judge him on just a single year? That’s asinine.

Hodge spent his entire career as an LB. Who do LB’s typically take on in coverage? TE’s. He understands the routes and movements of TE’s, and he also provides the element of understanding the approach defenses will take to covering TE’s. He also adds KC and South Florida recruiting ties, both fertile recruiting grounds

Brian to QB coach isn’t a terrible move. It’s boring, but it actually makes sense if you take the time to understand it. Why wouldn’t you want to play caller to work with QB’s? These guys have private coaches nowadays that primarily focus on fundamentals. With Brian, they’ll focus more on in game management and the approach to take in different situations.


Once again, IowasLaw proves he doesn’t understand football. It’s a great thing you have zero control of this staff. You consistently pull stupid takes out of your ass. Why would you judge Barnett and Betts off of a single year of coaching? Especially considering they inherited bad situations. Think before you hit “post thread/reply”. You’ll embarrass yourself way less.
Spin it however you want but the offense is below average to terrible most years. I'm not backing OP here as it's too early to judge and time will tell how these hires work out but you're no expert yourself and come off sounding like a complete homer.

With KF calling the shots I'm always a little skeptical on his ability to deliver a good offense and there's almost a quarter century of evidence to back that up
 
You will never see an explosive offense under Ferentz, he believes in not turning the ball over, field position and running the ball first. He wants the running game to set up play action. He seldom goes deep, that's why TE's are so valuable in the offense. Move the chains and control the clock.

Why is field position so important because he trusts our defense and special teams to win football games. IowaLaw doesn't like the staff. I trust Kirk when it comes to OL coaching hires, Betts seems to be doing well on the recruiting trail, I remember a high school coach Hayden hired named Barry Alverez, he turned into a pretty good coach.. The Hodge hire as TE coach is a bit interesting but LBers should know the TE position as well as a TE.
Brian probably knows more about offensive play calling than all the naysayers on this site combined.

With better line play this year and two inside the tackle runners our ground game should be more consistent. I like our receiving Corp, especially TE's. I think our offense will be better this year.
 
This is not a rhetorical question.

There's no doubt all coaches care about winning. But what about caring about the offense? Scoring points. Exciting playmaking. Innovation. That sort of thing. Or would he be content winning 6 to 4 week in and week out? Think about it. The Hawks ranked 99th in scoring offense last year. By all standards, that is a failing offense that requires retooling, right. What staff changes did Kirk make to fix the problem, knowing he'll have one of the top defenses in college football?

Kirk downgraded at virtually every offensive coaching position by lazily assembling one of the most haphazard mishmash of guys willing to be "yes men."

Offensive Coordinator. Rather than firing the captain of Iowa's 117th ranked offense after giving him several failed years to prove himself, Kirk doubled down on Brian at OC, acknowledged no mistakes, and gave the guy a raise for good measure. The vast majority of head coaches would have fired their OC after finishing 117th, Kirk rewarded it and gave him even more authority.

RBs Coach. Derrick Foster left Iowa to become RB coach for the Chargers last year. Kirk replaced him with...a guy who was coaching high school ball at this time last year. In his first season coaching college football, Betts seemed out of his league. He inherited a returning 1st team all Big 10 RB in Goodson and led him to his most underachieving, disappointing season at Iowa. It appears Betts can recruit. But whether he can coach remains to be seen.

OL Coach. Iowa's OL coach left to become a head coach. Kudos to him. He was replaced by a guy who was at his previous job for less than 4 months and who quickly got the attention of every tv analyst who broadcast Iowa games last year, being the butt of numerous comments on the atrociously outdated OLine play. He underperformed at "OLine U" despite being gifted the nation's top linemen at center. That is no easy accomplishment. Worse yet, expect the same state "zone blocking scheme" this year, but with worse players.

QBs Coach. Iowa's seasoned QBs coach retired after a pretty solid career. Rather than replacing O'Keefe with a QBs coach who offered new blood, new ideas, or an expertise in throwing mechanics...Kirk handed the job to the above mentioned failed offensive coordinator. The one who led the nation's 99th ranked scoring offense. The one who has never coached a QB or thrown a pass before. Staff downgrade.

TE Coach. Brian left his role as TE coach to coach the QBs. So rather than bringing in an offensive minded coach with a TE or OL background, Kirk brought in a guy who has never coached or played offense at any level. I loved Hodge as a linebacker at Iowa, but if you're going to hire a TE coach purely based on nostalgia, why not go for a Dallas Clark type or any number of stud ex Hawk TEs who actually know the position?

So again I ask, does Kirk care about offense or are they just out there to fill time until the defense can go out there and dominate? It sure doesn't seem like any effort has been made to bring in a staff that can improve upon last year's extremely disappointing offense. They surely aren't going to get better by bringing players in from the portal.
LOL, your post is exceptionally moronic trash, even for a cyclown troll !
 
You’re gonna complain about Betts after he recruited and signed arguably the best RB recruiting class we’ve had this decade?

Barnett inherited a terrible situation, why are you gonna judge him on just a single year? That’s asinine.

Hodge spent his entire career as an LB. Who do LB’s typically take on in coverage? TE’s. He understands the routes and movements of TE’s, and he also provides the element of understanding the approach defenses will take to covering TE’s. He also adds KC and South Florida recruiting ties, both fertile recruiting grounds

Brian to QB coach isn’t a terrible move. It’s boring, but it actually makes sense if you take the time to understand it. Why wouldn’t you want to play caller to work with QB’s? These guys have private coaches nowadays that primarily focus on fundamentals. With Brian, they’ll focus more on in game management and the approach to take in different situations.


Once again, IowasLaw proves he doesn’t understand football. It’s a great thing you have zero control of this staff. You consistently pull stupid takes out of your ass. Why would you judge Barnett and Betts off of a single year of coaching? Especially considering they inherited bad situations. Think before you hit “post thread/reply”. You’ll embarrass yourself way less.

You are right, terrible isn't a strong enough word. What's beyond terrible?
 
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I believe BF, at some point, was kidnapped and brainwashed to


You are right, terrible isn't a strong enough word. What's beyond terrible?
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OP is not off with his comments, minus the RB coach. Not sure why they didn’t bring in Albert Young. BF is not the answer and is in way over his head. He gave me hope vs. USC when I thought the offense looked pretty stout. That’s the game I hold onto every time they take the field. Brian isn’t going anywhere, therefore, offensive remains the same. At a minimum, BF should watch the Purdue game and implement some of their play calling.
Because Albert Young sent unwanted dick pics to women as a Viking. Not someone u want leading a room full of young men.
 
Agree with the Brian move but having watched and listened to these guys coach,,,,they are good coaches and good people who tend to be able to recruit- ….. The Hodge hire was interesting but he is a good teacher and will be just fine—- definitely will help on the recruiting end of things.
I do agree that we don’t really want to add somebody to this staff that can help us with our offensive flaws….
If we get better QB play we will contend, if we don’t we will be a pretender.
 
Spin it however you want but the offense is below average to terrible most years. I'm not backing OP here as it's too early to judge and time will tell how these hires work out but you're no expert yourself and come off sounding like a complete homer.

With KF calling the shots I'm always a little skeptical on his ability to deliver a good offense and there's almost a quarter century of evidence to back that up
Below average is a great year for Iowa’s offense. That is how bad we have been.
 
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You’re gonna complain about Betts after he recruited and signed arguably the best RB recruiting class we’ve had this decade?

Barnett inherited a terrible situation, why are you gonna judge him on just a single year? That’s asinine.

Hodge spent his entire career as an LB. Who do LB’s typically take on in coverage? TE’s. He understands the routes and movements of TE’s, and he also provides the element of understanding the approach defenses will take to covering TE’s. He also adds KC and South Florida recruiting ties, both fertile recruiting grounds

Brian to QB coach isn’t a terrible move. It’s boring, but it actually makes sense if you take the time to understand it. Why wouldn’t you want to play caller to work with QB’s? These guys have private coaches nowadays that primarily focus on fundamentals. With Brian, they’ll focus more on in game management and the approach to take in different situations.


Once again, IowasLaw proves he doesn’t understand football. It’s a great thing you have zero control of this staff. You consistently pull stupid takes out of your ass. Why would you judge Barnett and Betts off of a single year of coaching? Especially considering they inherited bad situations. Think before you hit “post thread/reply”. You’ll embarrass yourself way less.
exactly right. I sure hope this dude has nothing to do with law. Maybe that has something to do with all the stupidity.
 
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