Let's compare coaches, just for fun !

Jacket in Dairyland

Jacket in Dairyland

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,053
I have always admired Coach Kirk Ferentz at Iowa . He took the HC job back in 1998, inheriting a very poor program ( not like CPJ ). His first 3 seasons were terrible. Then things started to turn around. Since those first 3 seasons , he has had only 1 losing season . He has taken Iowa to bowls in 15 of those 20 years, including a 24-14 victory over us in 2010 in a BCS bowl. Remember , they stuffed our TO , manhandled our OL ( too much time to prepare, blah, blah, blah).
He runs a clean program, puts his share into the pros. Plays in the shadow of OSU, UM , even UW. But their fans are loyal , rabid , and they do travel well. He is a no nonsense guy also, but rarely snarkey. Seldom, if ever, finds himself on the hot seat. In my mind , part of that is a feeling that the Iowa program is continually moving forward , getting better, recruiting to needs - not 12-15 DB/AB/QB/WR each year( ok , slight exaggeration ). Assistants have been remarkably loyal. He seems to have a perfect personality for a HC - even tempered, yet a fire within. Intense, yet ever approachable.
Last year , they came to Camp Randall with a poor offense. They gave the Badgers all they wanted and more. 3 interceptions for the Hawkeyes in the first half - 2 for pick 6. The Badgers pulled away late, but Iowa gave them a heck of a game !!
Maybe guys like Ferentz are rare. Obviously Coach Dodd was one.
Anybody else come to mind for you ??
 
Jmonty71

Jmonty71

Banned
Messages
2,156
Brian Kelly, to me, is a reincarnation of Lou Holtz. Younger version of Lou Holtz, while at Notre Dame. They have the same mannerisms. Both look like they spend a lot of time in the confession box, on Sunday. Both look like red hot tempered Irishmen. The list goes on and on....
 

Skeptic

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,372
Jacket in Dairyland said:
I have always admired Coach Kirk Ferentz at Iowa . He took the HC job back in 1998, inheriting a very poor program ( not like CPJ ). His first 3 seasons were terrible. Then things started to turn around. Since those first 3 seasons , he has had only 1 losing season . He has taken Iowa to bowls in 15 of those 20 years, including a 24-14 victory over us in 2010 in a BCS bowl. Remember , they stuffed our TO , manhandled our OL ( too much time to prepare, blah, blah, blah).
He runs a clean program, puts his share into the pros. Plays in the shadow of OSU, UM , even UW. But their fans are loyal , rabid , and they do travel well. He is a no nonsense guy also, but rarely snarkey. Seldom, if ever, finds himself on the hot seat. In my mind , part of that is a feeling that the Iowa program is continually moving forward , getting better, recruiting to needs - not 12-15 DB/AB/QB/WR each year( ok , slight exaggeration ). Assistants have been remarkably loyal. He seems to have a perfect personality for a HC - even tempered, yet a fire within. Intense, yet ever approachable.
Last year , they came to Camp Randall with a poor offense. They gave the Badgers all they wanted and more. 3 interceptions for the Hawkeyes in the first half - 2 for pick 6. The Badgers pulled away late, but Iowa gave them a heck of a game !!
Maybe guys like Ferentz are rare. Obviously Coach Dodd was one.
Anybody else come to mind for you ??
Click to expand...
Don't know much about Ferentz except they outsized us and outran us in a bowl game, but I'll take your word for it. You could add Swinney of Clemson to the list for some of the same reasons. An AD backed him in an early down period and he hasn't looked back with that program since. The fans love him and can get very defensive about him, is a "relationships" coach, both with coaches and recruiting players, plays and recruits within the rules, and is one of the most gracious -- with the public face -- coaches I have ever seen after what came be bitterly disappointing losses. Twice he crossed the field to congratulate specific GT players after we ended their hunt for unbeaten seasons, and last year went in to address the Syracuse team after a particularly bitter loss that not only ended the unbeaten quest but at the time could have cost Clemson a NC playoff spot. Yet those who know him say he is a seriously competitive guy who wants to win at everything every time.
 
Jacket in Dairyland

Jacket in Dairyland

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,053
JorgeJonas said:
Please tell me this thread is a joke. Like, I generally get sarcasm, but this is a bridge too far, even for me.
Click to expand...
Sorry, not really intended as a joke. What " bridge " did it cross in your view ? I was just musing about different coaches , since many of us seem to want to analyze CPJ , and his style , personality, interviews , ad nauseum, etc. If you wanted a joke , sorry to disappoint. If it's a little off what you consider interesting, so be it. Some of us get so balled up over every detail , i thought I would provide a change of pace. Talking about firing CPJ a few days ago was what , amusing , sarcastic, disappointing , boring ?
 
Last edited:
slugboy

slugboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,491
Hayden Fry had been at Iowa before Ferentz, and done a good job. They had only tailed off because Fry was losing energy by that point. Iowa has a lot of advantages compared to, say, Nebraska. It’s closer to Chicago and midwestern cities, but also has the advantage of being a big land grant school and the only game in town. I also think they’re well funded.

I think Ferentz is a good coach, but I don’t think his program was in worse shape than ours before CPJ. In fact, I’d say it was in better shape.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

TheSilasSonRising

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,729
I like Ferentz, but Hayden Fry took over a Horrible program before him.

Kyle Whittingham seems to be pretty good at Utah, but meyer had the program headed in a good direction.

Thought Mullen did a nice job at MSU.

And Dantonio at Mich St has had some really good years considering how he is battling um, osu and n.d.

Dabo is great.
 

MWBATL

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,530
TheSilasSonRising said:
I like Ferentz, but Hayden Fry took over a Horrible program before him.

Kyle Whittingham seems to be pretty good at Utah, but meyer had the program headed in a good direction.

Thought Mullen did a nice job at MSU.

And Dantonio at Mich St has had some really good years considering how he is battling um, osu and n.d.

Dabo is great.
Click to expand...
LOTS & LOTS of money at virtually all those places......
 

BigDaddyBuzz

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,189
I think you can bank on a change happening if we don’t make a bowl game. Right now that looks very possible. So what do you all think we need if we are searching for a new coach. For me it’s easy, a young, energetic guy who can recruit and has a scheme players love. My top 3 are Lane Kiffin, Neal Brown and Seth Littrell
 
sgreer

sgreer

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
402
BigDaddyBuzz said:
I think you can bank on a change happening if we don’t make a bowl game. Right now that looks very possible. So what do you all think we need if we are searching for a new coach. For me it’s easy, a young, energetic guy who can recruit and has a scheme players love. My top 3 are Lane Kiffin, Neal Brown and Seth Littrell
Click to expand...

Lane Kiffin would never come here. He is used to acquiring players that can barely make it through JUCO.
 

684Bee

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,643
BigDaddyBuzz said:
I think you can bank on a change happening if we don’t make a bowl game. Right now that looks very possible. So what do you all think we need if we are searching for a new coach. For me it’s easy, a young, energetic guy who can recruit and has a scheme players love. My top 3 are Lane Kiffin, Neal Brown and Seth Littrell
Click to expand...


I’ve been a big defender of CPJ, and I’m always slow to join the “fire _____” chorus. I don’t think he has suddenly forgotten how to coach.

That said, I agree with you that it seems the end is drawing near. The reason I think that is because I think Stansbury wants to make his mark. He hasn’t hired a coach yet (I don’t think).

You can’t go out and raise money, like he is trying to do right now, without being able to paint a vision of a positive direction.

If Todd came and met with any of you right now and asked for your contribution, how comfortable would you feel stroking a check?

I bet there’s more people that would stroke a check based on a promise of a new direction, versus investing in the current one.
 

bke1984

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,444
Some of you guys may need to take a deep breath and come to the realization that we probably are not going to fire CPJ regardless of the outcome. I've posted this in the other thread already, but we flat out don't have the money for the buyout. TStan is trying very hard to dig us out of the hole that our previous three AD's put us in with the Hewitt and Gregory scenarios, and shelling out 2-3 million to drop CPJ and then pay another coach (probably more than we're paying CPJ today) is not going to move us any closer to that goal...in fact it would probably dig the program into an even deeper hole.

Like it or not (and right now I'm in the don't like it camp), we are going to have to gut it out with him for another few years until we are more financially stable. The only hope is if the big money guys decide to pool some money and just pay him off in a lump sum...but that would be a surprise IMO
 
stech81

stech81

Helluva Engineer
Messages
8,899
Location
Woodstock Georgia
BigDaddyBuzz said:
I think you can bank on a change happening if we don’t make a bowl game. Right now that looks very possible. So what do you all think we need if we are searching for a new coach. For me it’s easy, a young, energetic guy who can recruit and has a scheme players love. My top 3 are Lane Kiffin, Neal Brown and Seth Littrell
Click to expand...
Sorry you lost me on the first one.
 
Top