The Ferentz succession plan/dream shouldn't have been this hard.
In 2016, the Iowa Oline won the Joe Moore award. The Oline coach of that squad was our very own Brian Ferentz, who won that award in his 5th year as a college assistant. Kirk could have/should have puffed up Brian, given him all the credit, and pulled some media strings to hype Brian's potential.
Brian probably could have parlayed his 5 years of experience and the award into:
-an NFL Oline coach position
-a G5/lower P5 O-Coordinator position
-an FCS head coach position
All of those would have been considered a step-up, and the Brian hype machine would start. Most importantly Brian would have had an opportunity (not a guaranty) to show success outside of the Iowa program.
That was about 7 years ago. If Brian had followed that path, and been successful elsewhere, he'd probably be a G5 head coach or a P5 coordinator today. Assuming he'd shown success outside of Iowa, some would STILL have resisted Brian taking over at Iowa after Kirk (Ferentz fatigue), but at least it would be FEWER than if they just handed him the job while still on the staff.
This is what Kirk did for himself. He built his resume outside of Iowa, and 1) improved himself as a coach, 2) got out of Hayden's shadow, and 3) added new experience. That's the old-fashioned way of doings things, that's the hard way.
Unfortunately, the Neil Cornrich, Gary Barta, Kirk, and Mary braintrust got too greedy and had other plans for Brian. They wanted Brian to get it the "easy way", right after Kirk retired. Well, this way sure hasn't been easy...for ANYONE.
P.S.- It's also possible that Brian wanted to leave Iowa at that time, but Kirk wouldn't let him. A lot of wealthy family patriarch types tend to be really needy and thrive on having family around to make them comfortable, as they build their whole power structure on the principle of loyalty, and no one is more loyal than family.
In 2016, the Iowa Oline won the Joe Moore award. The Oline coach of that squad was our very own Brian Ferentz, who won that award in his 5th year as a college assistant. Kirk could have/should have puffed up Brian, given him all the credit, and pulled some media strings to hype Brian's potential.
Brian probably could have parlayed his 5 years of experience and the award into:
-an NFL Oline coach position
-a G5/lower P5 O-Coordinator position
-an FCS head coach position
All of those would have been considered a step-up, and the Brian hype machine would start. Most importantly Brian would have had an opportunity (not a guaranty) to show success outside of the Iowa program.
That was about 7 years ago. If Brian had followed that path, and been successful elsewhere, he'd probably be a G5 head coach or a P5 coordinator today. Assuming he'd shown success outside of Iowa, some would STILL have resisted Brian taking over at Iowa after Kirk (Ferentz fatigue), but at least it would be FEWER than if they just handed him the job while still on the staff.
This is what Kirk did for himself. He built his resume outside of Iowa, and 1) improved himself as a coach, 2) got out of Hayden's shadow, and 3) added new experience. That's the old-fashioned way of doings things, that's the hard way.
Unfortunately, the Neil Cornrich, Gary Barta, Kirk, and Mary braintrust got too greedy and had other plans for Brian. They wanted Brian to get it the "easy way", right after Kirk retired. Well, this way sure hasn't been easy...for ANYONE.
P.S.- It's also possible that Brian wanted to leave Iowa at that time, but Kirk wouldn't let him. A lot of wealthy family patriarch types tend to be really needy and thrive on having family around to make them comfortable, as they build their whole power structure on the principle of loyalty, and no one is more loyal than family.