who do we owe the thanks to for the changes?
- Thread starter Quintana
- Start date
for the record i never claimed, that the changes were due solely to the bandwagon fans. i was asking if people thought they deserved some of the credit in helping kirk realize something had to change. the fact is, ultimately, kirk made the changes. did the the fans help him make the decision? did barta help him make the decision after hearing from some big donors? did some coaches help him with the decision fearing for their own jobs? i think it might be some of each.
someone else said that perhaps the hardest thing for kirk to do was to teach himself new tricks. i think that is right on the money and kirk deserves a lot of credit for that alone. but looking back at the way last year ended, something obviously happened to wake kirk out of his sleep walk. the released depth chart in january, the interviews in which he stated he was re-dedicating himself to the job.
those aren't the same things we had been hearing from him for the last 4 or 5 years. something happened. was it the fans' bellyaching and dropping season tickets? did barta have a talk with the coach? did kirk just decide he'd had enough of the old kirk? we probably will never know for sure and i guess we don't really need to know, i just hope it continues and we have a nice 3 or 4 year run. or more.
btw, thanks for all the responses. i enjoy reading others opinions.
This. I mentioned this in another thread or 2, and found the article I was referencing. Basically Kirk didn't understand the seriousness of his situation relative to the fanbase, until he got out on the "circuit" and most likely heard the rumblings of the number of season ticket holders that weren't coming back. Here are some snippets from the article on Hawk Central:
For the first time since he took over for Fry, there's a feeling that the Hawkeyes are playing for Ferentz's future in 2015. Ticket sales are down and grumbling from the fan base is up.
KIRK FERENTZ ON ...
The climate around the program: "We don't hear even a fraction of what's out there, apparently. But when I go to events, or even bump into people I haven't seen in awhile, and they come up and say, 'Hey, we're still with you,' it's like, 'Boy, is it that bad out there?' Which I guess it is."
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So in my opinion, 2 things changed Kirk Ferentz in 2015 - The fed up season ticket holders and general pissed off and shrinking die-hard Fanbase finally got him thinking maybe change WAS in order, and CJ Beathard.
http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...used-iowa-turnaround-not-retirement/30627881/
Iowa has the second longest tenured coach in the nation, second only to frank Beamer. Hardly a flash in the pan or a few people rushing to judgement.
But we get it you are a true hawk fan, you get to define that for everyone.
Bye the way I did not want kirk fired. I wanted him to simply change a few things. His biggest advantage in being vanilla is that you should be able to surprise some people he stopped doing that. I love that he represents our university. He is pure class. However, that doesn't mean he can't reflect on the things he could do better. I think that is what most fans wanted. Some just don't think that he is capable of change and you can't blame people for thinking that, there is 17 years of data.
We'll see 4 non conference games does not a season make.
Bandwagon......You haven't a clue.
Pressure on kf and finally going with the qb that should have been playing all along.
I guess the general consensus is Kirk played to win instead of "not to lose" against ISU and Pitt. I think we just have a more talented offense and a QB that can push the ball down the field. The results have been perfect, but those 2 games were still in the air in the 4th quarter. If we have 1 bad fumble or interception I think we're still hearing the same old tired crap about KF.
Winning changes everything.
The QB announcement was pretty quickly made after a disastrous bowl game where, yep, you guessed it, Iowa was a 2nd class citizen in an area where Iowa has been notoriously strong. Fan support, it has allowed a borderline team to make a bowl, to get a more prestigious bowl than their record earned AND had been something the athletic department had always counted upon. It may have been the 'holy sh*t' moment when Barta realized that maybe the rumblings were a little more serious than perceived.
You realize that if Ole Miss hadn't changed coaches he wouldn't have even looked at those connections correct? Or that O'Keefe leaving almost derailed the whole thing?
I was being mostly facetious......but in all honesty I do think BF will end up being a very successful coach at Iowa or else where
I don't know anyone who is more of a fan of Ferentz than a fan of Iowa. I do know, however, that some "fans" were actively rooting for Iowa to lose games to get the coach fired. I'll never understand someone rooting against a team they say they love. Makes no sense.
This is my biggest issue I have with many of the posters and I completely agree. I understand that not everybody is going to agree or like our HC, but to go as far as hoping a team does bad to serve your agenda is just baffling to say the least......I am very open in my support of KF and think we are very lucky to have him. I also have no problem when people criticize some of his weakness' bc they do exist, they exist for every coach. I mean the man has been here for 17 loyal years and had many many opportunities to leave for more $ at the next level, he stayed because he loves the city, university, football program, etc....and for that I want to see him do well (also because if he does well so does the team I love) and I want to see him go out differently than Hayden went out...
been reading all the threads about the new kirk and how he has re-immersed, re-dedicated himself and the team to success. which i couldn't be happier about. but it got me to thinking... to whom do we owe the pleasure?
kirk said that he hadn't been investing the necessary time and energy due to all the fund raising for the new facilities he was involved with and his preparation struggled because of it. so maybe it was just a matter of time, like after the completion of the new fb complex, before the re-emergence of the teams under the old kirk we all loved.
but what would have happened if we didn't get blown out last year in the bowl game, or lost the way we did against neb and the goofs? i think most would agree, the pitchfork and torch wielders that came out in droves after those games, and their clamor, was the impetus, the wake up call, for the head man and his staff. would it have been the same old kirk, the same old GDGD this year without them?
is this the classic market driven change that they all claimed needed to be undertaken? do we owe that group of boisterous fans a small token of appreciation? are we 4-0 right now to some extent because of what some called the bandwagon fans?
should the university give them a bigger reward than a $70 concession voucher as a sign of gratitude?
I think it was the guy who tried to Kick GDGD's ass in the pressbox last year.
Agreed... the solution to any problem in regards to the performance of Iowa Hawkeye football includes the name Ferentz
By this argument shouldn't you just shut the f@$k up?
That's what I would do if I was a message board fan making an argument about how message board fans shouldn't be taken seriously... I would just shut the f@#k up!
So if this is in fact the case you should head your own advice.....besides this quote was in response to post claiming that fans on the message boards are responsible for the changes on the field.....being that it is very apparent that you are not very intelligent I would refrain from giving out advice
Anyone who think message board posts are responsible for the changes are complete morons.
I really believe it's a combination of many things. CJB certainly brings an added dimension to get out of trouble, and one thing I noticed last week and the week before is his maturity under duress. Instead of throwing a bad ball or taking a huge sack, he simply knows to get rid of the ball. Smart QB play.
Our receivers seem to be running better routes this season for one reason or another and I am not seeing many dropped balls which I have seen too many over the last few seasons. Another big help.
Our OL has been quietly developing faster than I thought would happen which has allowed running lanes to develop and time for CJB to find receivers open, even if we lack burning speed to do so. The time he has is helping.
I do think BF may be responsible for putting a bug in seniors ear about being more aggressive but I dont think it may be as much as many here believe.
And quite simply the posters saying the cupboard was bare talent wise so far are looking like they may have a big sh!t burger to eat. Seems we do have some talent and the team chemistry is about as good as I have seen in recent years.
Haven't even mentioned the D yet but they are doing the job so far and the secondary is better than I thought as well. We start getting consistent pressure up front and look out! This could be a very good defense. Bottom line is we look like a well coached, balanced , football team and its beautiful to see.....
I really believe it's a combination of many things. CJB certainly brings an added dimension to get out of trouble, and one thing I noticed last week and the week before is his maturity under duress. Instead of throwing a bad ball or taking a huge sack, he simply knows to get rid of the ball. Smart QB play.
Our receivers seem to be running better routes this season for one reason or another and I am not seeing many dropped balls which I have seen too many over the last few seasons. Another big help.
Our OL has been quietly developing faster than I thought would happen which has allowed running lanes to develop and time for CJB to find receivers open, even if we lack burning speed to do so. The time he has is helping.
I do think BF may be responsible for putting a bug in seniors ear about being more aggressive but I dont think it may be as much as many here believe.
And quite simply the posters saying the cupboard was bare talent wise so far are looking like they may have a big sh!t burger to eat. Seems we do have some talent and the team chemistry is about as good as I have seen in recent years.
Haven't even mentioned the D yet but they are doing the job so far and the secondary is better than I thought as well. We start getting consistent pressure up front and look out! This could be a very good defense. Bottom line is we look like a well coached, balanced , football team and its beautiful to see.....
Solid post, add in special team(s) upgrade and I think you hit most if not all the reasons
Really other than special teams the "changes" have been very subtle, same offensive scheme, same defensive scheme....the biggest changes have been seen on special teams. If you watched the last kickoff against pitt, you can see Lomax and Snyder do a release and give ground tech. as the Pitt returner started inside and broke outside, watch Snyder and Lomax on that play...it is a very effective technique to prevent long returns
LMAO. The vast majority of the changes were in the works before season tickets went on sale. Hell...we were seeing signs last year. Anyone who thinks Kirk and the staff weren't just as pissed with how last season ended as we were don't understand this staff at all. The switch to CJ wasn't due to the clamour of the fans, it was because CJ grew up during the season, was ready to take the reigns and had a higher ceiling than Jake. Throw in linebackers who grew off season and the story is complete.
Hilarious what some people here believe.
That being said, I think the department made some changes to the game day experience to appease unhappy fans.
Hilarious what some people here believe.
That being said, I think the department made some changes to the game day experience to appease unhappy fans.
LOL! To all of this. It's hilarious alright, but not in the way you're thinking.
