Ferentz is the second best best coach in Iowa history. Before Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz, Iowa was a Kansas level program. Iowa is lucky most years if there's one 4* recruit in the whole state. He's taken them to 2 Orange Bowls and a Rose Bowl, five 10+ win seasons. Yes there's been lots of average and mediocre seasons, but in the last 15 years there's only been one truly bad season. He's one of the best developers of talent in the country, he takes almost all under the radar recruits with very little offers and churns out a very high rate of NFL players for what'd you'd expect out of a school like Iowa, many of them very high quality NFL players too. Iowa players are some of the most sure things in the NFL too, Robert Gallery is really the only bust I can think of and he still had a good career once he switched positions. Iowa players almost always maximize their potential in the NFL. Ferentz is regarded as one of the best OL coaches at any level of football over the last 25-30 years.

Yes, Hayden Fry had Iowa competing at a much higher level in the 80's, but the thing is the biggest booster at Iowa are old and remember before Fry when Iowa was the Kansas of Big Ten football. They know at a place like Iowa all it takes is one bad hire and they could be right back there again. With Ferentz, he's consistent and you know what you're getting. He's consistently average, but also consistently will give you a couple really fun 10 win teams every decade. Iowa boosters don't want to risk getting rid of a known commodity looking for the next Hayden Fry and screwing up the hire and going back to the dark ages.

Guys, this is Iowa we're talking about. How much do you really expect out of Iowa that you think Ferentz hasnt gotten done?

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That's his eternal pattern- he'll go 6-6 or 7-5 for 5 straight years, get on the hot seat, and then saves his job by pulling a 2015 type season out of his hat

Except when he won 10+ games in 3 straight years from 02-04. After 2009 he went into a slump and it looked like he was over the hill and done with. He was finally on the verge of getting fired before last season but seemed to do something most coaches with his tenure can't and listened to the fans and adapted himself and seems to have really turned another corner in his career. He returns most of his talent from last year, including the reigning Thorpe winner and a QB that's a prototypical Ferentz QB reminiscent of his Drew Tate, Brad Banks, Ricky Stanzi types - a guy that's not overly talented but is confident, has IT, and knows how to win. They're pre-season top 15 and are set up nicely to win 10 games again and be back in Indy

This post was edited on 8/12/16 at 10:58 pm