QB Whisperer Ken O'Keefe, Brings Positional and Recruiting Expertise Back to Iowa.

[Harbinger273]

Can't say enough about the developments in the QB position at Iowa since KOK's return. It has not been long since he returned, however his body of work prior to leaving the Hawks and his experience with the Dolphins are proving to be invaluable in his return. Stanley has alot of ability in his own right, but last years coaching job by O'Keefe and staff at large was Commendable! Then at seasons end O'Keefe pulled of a QB recruiting coup in California to gain a commitment from prolific passer Spencer Petras. Less than a year later He appears to on the verge of securing a commitment from another outstanding QB prospect from the Lone Star State. I'd love to see Ken find the fountain of youth in his 2nd stint as an assistant coach at Iowa! The QB position looks to be improving in several ways and O'Keefe can be credited with bringing alot of it.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Can't say enough about the developments in the QB position at Iowa since KOK's return. It has not been long since he returned, however his body of work prior to leaving the Hawks and his experience with the Dolphins are proving to be invaluable in his return. Stanley has alot of ability in his own right, but last years coaching job by O'Keefe and staff at large was Commendable! Then at seasons end O'Keefe pulled of a QB recruiting coup in California to gain a commitment from prolific passer Spencer Petras. Less than a year later He appears to on the verge of securing a commitment from another outstanding QB prospect from the Lone Star State. I'd love to see Ken find the fountain of youth in his 2nd stint as an assistant coach at Iowa! The QB position looks to be improving in several ways and O'Keefe can be credited with bringing alot of it.

Ken's been doing a great job. Furthermore, I really like how selective he's been at trying to find QBs for us to. Now that he's been back with us for over a year now ... he's able to do more than just "play catch-up" for us too (relating to recruiting). Also, the '18 class called for a QB ... but perhaps more of a developmental guy who would have to know that the soonest he might see the field would be in 2020. Thus, given Alex Padilla's production ... I'm really impressed with who Ken found for us.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Can't say enough about the developments in the QB position at Iowa since KOK's return. It has not been long since he returned, however his body of work prior to leaving the Hawks and his experience with the Dolphins are proving to be invaluable in his return. Stanley has alot of ability in his own right, but last years coaching job by O'Keefe and staff at large was Commendable! Then at seasons end O'Keefe pulled of a QB recruiting coup in California to gain a commitment from prolific passer Spencer Petras. Less than a year later He appears to on the verge of securing a commitment from another outstanding QB prospect from the Lone Star State. I'd love to see Ken find the fountain of youth in his 2nd stint as an assistant coach at Iowa! The QB position looks to be improving in several ways and O'Keefe can be credited with bringing alot of it.

Another feature that deserves note is that O'Keefe coached Brad Banks up to being a Heisman runner-up. The development of Ricky Stanzi was nothing short of superb. And, on top of all that, Ken was also responsible for landing CJ Beathard for us too (the guy who led us to our only undefeated regular season).

When Ken was stuck being the OC ... he was only able to give his QBs part of his attention. Now, as the QB coach, he obviously has been helping to mentor Brian ... but he's also able to focus more of his attention on developing the QBs (which is understandable ... since it's now his primary job!). Anyhow, I'm willing to bet that all of the extra attention being paid to the QBs is already paying dividends for us. Part of Stanley's 26 passing TDs were attributable to smart scheming by Brian ... however, another part of it was O'Keefe coaching Stanley up so that he could successfully execute the game-plan!

 

[Harbinger273]

Great job he has been doing indeed. Obviously Ken has had his eye on Hogan for some time and in 18 we got Petras. Both are solid QB's of course and the stagger in classes between the 2 is great. One could argue that finding the right guy for Swarm19 was a bit of a challenge in light of having 2 high end guys in the classes surrounding him. This is obviously a hypothetical although I believe Hogans commitment is more of an immediate future reality. I'm pleased with Padilla as the in between guy here looking at him as on the outside looking in in terms of becoming a starter at some point. He's capable and has done quite well in his high school play. If needed he will be ok.
I've got to think Hogan is only going to improve and do so in leaps and bounds. Kid is a student of the game and is focused on success already.

 

[GoldandBold]

Ken was a WR coach with the Dolphins and was rumored he would be replaced. Job he's done invaluable at Iowa? Really? Yes Stanley can hand off the ball and throw to 2 NFL quality TE's BUT, the connection to the recievers is terrible and many of his decisions are just as bad.. NONE of K.O. recruits have proven anything, do they have potential, yes, proven anything NO.

 

[redbull55]

GD coached CJ and Rudock and both in the NFL. HMMM never saw KOK work with either of then also is was GD that had apart in recruiting Stanley and Mansel. Petras is the only QB on the roster that can be attributed to KOK

also I remember full well all the heat KOK took after his QB's didn't have the same type of success after their 1st season,
Tate 1st season 10-2
2nd season and 3rd season not even close.
#2 rated Dual Threat QB Christian and US Army AA in that 2005 class poster couldn't wait to run him out of town.

KOK has done a good job but lets not annoint him the next great thing.

 

[DEREKoh2]

GD coached CJ and Rudock and both in the NFL. HMMM never saw KOK work with either of then also is was GD that had apart in recruiting Stanley and Mansel. Petras is the only QB on the roster that can be attributed to KOK

also I remember full well all the heat KOK took after his QB's didn't have the same type of success after their 1st season,
Tate 1st season 10-2
2nd season and 3rd season not even close.
#2 rated Dual Threat QB Christian and US Army AA in that 2005 class poster couldn't wait to run him out of town.

KOK has done a good job but lets not annoint him the next great thing.

Would Greg Davis have been a better choice as QB coach?

 

[redbull55]

Would Greg Davis have been a better choice as QB coach?

as the QB coach IMO yes. remember he was working with Iowa level recruits vs Texas level recruits, at Texas his offenses were consistently in the top 10 on a yearly basis. going back to 2004 this was where Iowa's offenses avg finishes with KOK as the OC/QB coach
2004 91st
2005 24th
2006 30th
2007 110th
2008 48th
2009 the year they went 11-2 and won the BCS Orange Bowl 83rd
2010 52nd
2011 62nd

that is as far back as ESPN goes. under Davis the Offense has produced the best total, the 3rd best and 6th best in Iowa's history. remember this is using the talent that is being brought in at Iowa vs Texas talent.

 

[desihawk]

Total O is not the most appropriate stat to measure KOK's past offenses noting that Norm was the DC. Number of possessions per game was significantly lowered. Efficiency oriented stats (to the extent they exist) imo are more applicable.
In any case, kok is the qb coach now, and he has been reasonably good at recruiting and very good at coaching this position consistently. With one big miss for which it's hard to blame kok, his qbs have never been the problem. Btw, I agree GD was pretty good also as a qb coach (jvbs regression in 2012 had more to do with GD's new offensive schemes than qb coaching).
Perhaps as BF meshes with PP's slightly more aggressive (than norm's) defensive schemes, offensive stats in conventional categories will make for useful comparisons.

as the QB coach IMO yes. remember he was working with Iowa level recruits vs Texas level recruits, at Texas his offenses were consistently in the top 10 on a yearly basis. going back to 2004 this was where Iowa's offenses avg finishes with KOK as the OC/QB coach
2004 91st
2005 24th
2006 30th
2007 110th
2008 48th
2009 the year they went 11-2 and won the BCS Orange Bowl 83rd
2010 52nd
2011 62nd

that is as far back as ESPN goes. under Davis the Offense has produced the best total, the 3rd best and 6th best in Iowa's history. remember this is using the talent that is being brought in at Iowa vs Texas talent.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I just have to smile when I see these posts.

I'm happy that KOK is back in the fold and I think he has made a positive difference. But during his previous tenure at Iowa, he was excoriated every week. It's nice to see him back in the good graces of HR.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

I just have to smile when I see these posts.

I'm happy that KOK is back in the fold and I think he has made a positive difference. But during his previous tenure at Iowa, he was excoriated every week. It's nice to see him back in the good graces of HR.

At the games I attended ... KOK was the obligatory whipping boy. Of course, those dudes who were yelling from the stands were also mouth-breathers ....

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Ken was a WR coach with the Dolphins and was rumored he would be replaced. Job he's done invaluable at Iowa? Really? Yes Stanley can hand off the ball and throw to 2 NFL quality TE's BUT, the connection to the recievers is terrible and many of his decisions are just as bad.. NONE of K.O. recruits have proven anything, do they have potential, yes, proven anything NO.

Ken was retained by the staff following Philbin's firing - he remained in the capacity as a football analyst.

As for timing with the WRs ... Ken was working with a first year starter at QB ... and everyone at WR was new sans VandeBerg (who himself was coming off of 2 consecutive foot-injuries). If that weren't all enough ... Ken was working with players who were learning an all-new O (for them).

All things considered ... it strikes me that Iowa's first year QB was awfully productive.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

At the games I attended ... KOK was the obligatory whipping boy. Of course, those dudes who were yelling from the stands were also mouth-breathers ....

Yes, of course he was the whipping boy, but his critics were not limited to mouth-breathers. There were many champagne corks popped on this board when it was announced he was leaving.

Kind of like how we fondly remember Doctor Tom. He was run off by the fans too.

 

[goodbyebobby]

Ken was retained by the staff following Philbin's firing - he remained in the capacity as a football analyst.

As for timing with the WRs ... Ken was working with a first year starter at QB ... and everyone at WR was new sans VandeBerg (who himself was coming off of 2 consecutive foot-injuries). If that weren't all enough ... Ken was working with players who were learning an all-new O (for them).

All things considered ... it strikes me that Iowa's first year QB was awfully productive.

Thank you. If anyone doesn't see how lucky we are to have him back they're fooling themselves. He and BF are a great combo and this season us going to be a lot of fun.

 

[Harbinger273]

KOK is invaluable. I hope he can muster 5 more years but the man is getting older. We will be fortunate to find his equal in a replacement once he retires. I know there have been names mentioned, but are they veritable guru's?

 

[Harbinger273]

 

[millhawk]

I just have to smile when I see these posts.

I'm happy that KOK is back in the fold and I think he has made a positive difference. But during his previous tenure at Iowa, he was excoriated every week. It's nice to see him back in the good graces of HR.

Yes he was as most oc's around the country are...but not by me. You have to remember he was operating with the parameters set by KF. KOK is a good recruiter and a very good offensive mind.

 

[scotthawk1964]

Ken was a WR coach with the Dolphins and was rumored he would be replaced. Job he's done invaluable at Iowa? Really? Yes Stanley can hand off the ball and throw to 2 NFL quality TE's BUT, the connection to the recievers is terrible and many of his decisions are just as bad.. NONE of K.O. recruits have proven anything, do they have potential, yes, proven anything NO.

Thank you for your expert analysis on KOK's coaching abilities. It's been duly noted, rejected and tossed in the appropriate reciprocal.

 

[Rifler]

Thank you for your expert analysis on KOK's coaching abilities. It's been duly noted, rejected and tossed in the appropriate reciprocal.

Damn that spell check!.....

 

[FranklinHawk]

GD coached CJ and Rudock and both in the NFL. HMMM never saw KOK work with either of then also is was GD that had apart in recruiting Stanley and Mansel. Petras is the only QB on the roster that can be attributed to KOK

also I remember full well all the heat KOK took after his QB's didn't have the same type of success after their 1st season,
Tate 1st season 10-2
2nd season and 3rd season not even close.
#2 rated Dual Threat QB Christian and US Army AA in that 2005 class poster couldn't wait to run him out of town.

KOK has done a good job but lets not annoint him the next great thing.

Ah, so now I see what got Herby banned this time. Defending Greg Davis, that'll do it.

 

[scotthawk1964]

Damn that spell check!.....

You should see me try and write something without spell check. Not pretty. LOL

 

[Hawkdome]

Glad to have kok back. Kirks best OC ever.

 

[goodbyebobby]

Glad to have kok back. Kirks best OC ever.

I see that changing in the next couple of years.

 

[cidhawkeye]

as the QB coach IMO yes. remember he was working with Iowa level recruits vs Texas level recruits, at Texas his offenses were consistently in the top 10 on a yearly basis. going back to 2004 this was where Iowa's offenses avg finishes with KOK as the OC/QB coach
2004 91st
2005 24th
2006 30th
2007 110th
2008 48th
2009 the year they went 11-2 and won the BCS Orange Bowl 83rd
2010 52nd
2011 62nd

that is as far back as ESPN goes. under Davis the Offense has produced the best total, the 3rd best and 6th best in Iowa's history. remember this is using the talent that is being brought in at Iowa vs Texas talent.

These would be stats that you have thrown out previously in your other incarnations. They are great examples of statistics don't lie but statistions do. Using your logic Kinnick wasn't nearly the back that Weismann was because he got less yardage.

 

[Hawkdome]

Thanks for the info redbull. Carry on

 

[Hawkdome]

I see that changing in the next couple of years.

......
Yes brian should be good after a training period. I think he is driven to catch up to wisc in the west.

 

[Hawkdome]

Iowa needs a jackhammer RB like marcus coker was. Maybe toren young or henry giel will be that back.

 

[Hawkdome]

Hopefully brians trianing period will be over by the start of the big ten season. This is hawkdome two talking. Hawkdome one is my ten year old grandson lol.

 

[Harbinger273]

KOK is a cornerstone of the program during the KF era and He landed Deuce Hogan who will be a prolific Texas gunslinger by the time he graduates high school. He truly is a gem of a coach and person. I think he brought some good all around knowledge back with him from the NFL too. I hope his successor is as capable.

 

[TouchdownMyPants]

I used to talk a lot with Dave Raih during the formative Ferentz years about KOK and he really thought the guy was brilliant. Of course Raih Bread was just a college kid at the time, but look where he is now and how Dave has progressed given his exposure to the program, Kirk, Joe Philbin, and KOK.

I also knew a guy who married into the Hawkeye coaching tree and he said that KOK was one of the best listeners he ever met. Ken was apparently fascinated with all people and interactions and constantly tried to learn what people did, how they performed, success criteria’s, etc. He gave the example of a post bowl game celebration party that the coaches had (I think it was the Outback or Citrus, memory is fading) in a Florida hotel suite. My friend was there with his wife and happened upon KOK at a table. Rather than talking about the season, bowl game, or next year’s team, Ken wanted to talk about this persons job with corporate America and the ins-and-outs of the manufacturing industry.

Based on everything I have heard I think the world of KOK and I’m even more excited when you pair him with Brian who appears to have a more aggressive (progressive perhaps) mindset.

 

[Franisdaman]

I just have to smile when I see these posts.

I'm happy that KOK is back in the fold and I think he has made a positive difference. But during his previous tenure at Iowa, he was excoriated every week. It's nice to see him back in the good graces of HR.

www.FireKOK.com
www.FireKenOKeefe.com

 

[Harbinger273]

Will we see what KOK has been able to do with Mansell thus far against NIU on Saturday?

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

Ken was a WR coach with the Dolphins and was rumored he would be replaced. Job he's done invaluable at Iowa? Really? Yes Stanley can hand off the ball and throw to 2 NFL quality TE's BUT, the connection to the recievers is terrible and many of his decisions are just as bad.. NONE of K.O. recruits have proven anything, do they have potential, yes, proven anything NO.

We need a "do not like" button.

 

[Freyvet]

Ken was a WR coach with the Dolphins and was rumored he would be replaced. Job he's done invaluable at Iowa? Really? Yes Stanley can hand off the ball and throw to 2 NFL quality TE's BUT, the connection to the recievers is terrible and many of his decisions are just as bad.. NONE of K.O. recruits have proven anything, do they have potential, yes, proven anything NO.

Poor you!

 

[anon_8rcdnbko1jbe0]

We need a "do not like" button.

 

[luvthehawks]

GD coached CJ and Rudock and both in the NFL. HMMM never saw KOK work with either of then also is was GD that had apart in recruiting Stanley and Mansel. Petras is the only QB on the roster that can be attributed to KOK

also I remember full well all the heat KOK took after his QB's didn't have the same type of success after their 1st season,
Tate 1st season 10-2
2nd season and 3rd season not even close.
#2 rated Dual Threat QB Christian and US Army AA in that 2005 class poster couldn't wait to run him out of town.

KOK has done a good job but lets not annoint him the next great thing.

The idea that qb’s regressed under kok is dubious for Drew Tate that was a very bad receiving crew who dropped a ton of passes, and lacked effort a lot of the time. Stanzi’s last year it was way more the defense giving up leads than Ricky not getting fit done.

 

[NorthDSMHawk]

Total O is not the most appropriate stat to measure KOK's past offenses noting that Norm was the DC. Number of possessions per game was significantly lowered. Efficiency oriented stats (to the extent they exist) imo are more applicable.
In any case, kok is the qb coach now, and he has been reasonably good at recruiting and very good at coaching this position consistently. With one big miss for which it's hard to blame kok, his qbs have never been the problem. Btw, I agree GD was pretty good also as a qb coach (jvbs regression in 2012 had more to do with GD's new offensive schemes than qb coaching).
Perhaps as BF meshes with PP's slightly more aggressive (than norm's) defensive schemes, offensive stats in conventional categories will make for useful comparisons.

I decided to look at the effiency numbers between GDGD and Ken. ESPN listed seasons through 2005.

GDGD:
2016 - 61
2015 - 32
2014 - 57
2013 - 75
2012 - 94

AVG = 63.8

KOK:
2011 - 34
2010 - 27
2009 - 86
2008 - 32
2007 - 95
2006 - 35
2005 -18

AVG = 46.7

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not sure how applicable ESPN efficiency numbers are; there might be better metrics as far as I know. Also, there is a considerable chunk of data missing for Ken from 1999-2004. I'd say between a few of the good offensive seasons in there and a few bad, they would probably average out close to what he currently is, but can't tell for sure.

Having said that, a few things I've noticed:

- Offensive efficiency has rarely been great, and is usually on the lower side of average for P5 teams.

- Higher numbers don't exactly mean better teams, look to 2009, 2006, and 2005 as decent examples of outliers.

- Having said that, getting close to the 30's is a decent indicator of a pretty good season.

- GDGD sucked and his horizontal passing system was a disgrace for our team.

 

[HoustonHawkeye]

When KOK was being blasted in his first round at Iowa, my memory (somewhat suspect) remembers that predictable play calling as the biggest complaint. Everyone knows that KF was very conservative in his coaching style back then. I assume that KF limited the play calls of KOK. I think Brian Ferentz has probably opened dad up a little. I always felt that KOK was always criticized unfairly. The near future looks bright at the QB position at Iowa. KOK for president!

 

[David1979]

last year is BF not KOK.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

The idea that qb’s regressed under kok is dubious for Drew Tate that was a very bad receiving crew who dropped a ton of passes, and lacked effort a lot of the time. Stanzi’s last year it was way more the defense giving up leads than Ricky not getting fit done.

Drew Tate's production was better in '05 than it was in '04. Furthermore, I'd say that Iowa's record and numbers would have been even better in '05 had Lee Gray remained healthy (he could have then returned as our starting LT) and had Hinkel not broken his arm. The former factor contributed to Iowa's loss to ISU ... whereas the latter factor contributed to the Michigan and NW losses.

Furthermore, Iowa's ultimate record in '05 was also impacted about the enormous transition we had on the DL ... coupled with injuries (Wilcox) and attrition on the DL (Eshareturi and Kittrell). You're going to lose games when you're forced to start 2 SOs and 2 RS FR on the DL ... the unit just didn't have the experience or the depth at the time.

Anyhow, the aforementioned issues were not things that Tate and O'Keefe could control. Thus, I wouldn't place much blame on them for that.

While I would never question Drew Tate's heart or his will to win ... I would question his leadership skills in those 2 seasons ('05 and '06). He was a bit of a hot-head ... and that isn't always the best way to bring guys together when trying to rally the troops.

As for the '06 season ... in addition to other considerations ... nobody had mentioned how Tate was actually injured for most of the season. That certainly impacted his play. I remember Dick Olin being pissed at O'Keefe for not recognizing how the injury impacted Drew's mechanics ... but, at that point, O'Keefe was focused more on getting Tate to understand more of the intricacies of executing within a pro-style O. At that juncture, Tate also didn't like O'Keefe ... so that added strain to the whole dynamic.

Fingers were pointed in many directions for what we saw in '06 ... but really I don't think that O'Keefe was a major factor contributing to the drop in our offensive production.