Iowa’s Ferentz still winning the race against time
IOWA CITY, Iowa – More than half a decade ago, Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz and his wife, Mary, got into a limousine.
The couple was in Monaco for the Laureus World Sports Awards in 2018. Iowa’s “Touchdowns for Kids” campaign, which included the iconic Kinnick Wave, was nominated for an honor.
Mary remembers being accompanied in a limo by Steve Redgrave and Emerson Fittipaldi. Redgrave, a British rower, won gold in five consecutive summer Olympics. Fittipaldi, a Brazilian race car driver, twice won the Indianapolis 500, both coming after he turned 40. That day, Mary listened to them. “They were talking about age vs. youth and just how you lose a little of your physical edge as you age but you more than compensate for it in the mental edge and the wisdom that you have,” Mary recalls. “How they were able to compete and remain champions even though physically older and losing their edge. Their mental edge compensated for it.”
That conversation was especially relevant on Saturday. In vintage Iowa fashion, the Hawkeyes used great defense and superior special teams to grind their way to a 20-13 victory over in-state rival Iowa State. The win also marked a milestone: Kirk Ferentz’s 200th career win.
The day after Iowa’s win over Iowa State, that memory from Monaco years ago came up in the Ferentz household. It can serve as a reminder of what Ferentz has accomplished and, perhaps equally so, the unique intersection where Iowa’s head coach exists.
Ferentz turned 68 last month. In a profession where moving from one job to another is the norm, Ferentz is now in his 25th season as Iowa’s coach. The Hawkeyes’ current starting quarterback, Cade Mcnamara, was not yet born when Ferentz was named Iowa’s head coach in the fall of 1998.
This fact is not meant to demean Ferentz but rather to paint a picture of his longevity. For better or for worse, the dynamics of college sports are vastly different than even a few years ago. The transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness have changed the landscape.
Conferences are shifting.
And yet, Ferentz has not only survived but thrived. Only once since 2008 has Iowa not been bowl-eligible. Iowa has recorded 10 wins in two of the past four seasons. Since the beginning of the 2018 season, Iowa is 45-18.
Ferentz is winning the race against the clock.
“Why do I coach? It’s easy,” Ferentz said. “It’s because that’s what I really like doing and nobody has told me to sit down yet. So at some point, they will. And if they do, that’ll be the time. That’s the good thing about this job — other people will let you know when it’s time to take a seat. It’s invigorating. It’s what I like. It’s what I do.”
Ferentz was influenced to be a coach by those around him. Ferentz admired his first high school coach, but after his junior year, that coach was fired.
“The guy that came in and replaced him, who I was convinced I was going to hate and not want to be part of it, probably ended up being the most influential person in my life, my professional life,” Ferentz said. “Outside of my family, the most influential person in my life. So that’s one of the lessons you learn in life in general, you just never know who’s going to walk in and impact you.”
Ferentz decided to pursue coaching. After spending time as an offensive line coach at Iowa under Hayden Fry, Ferentz took a head coaching job at Maine. His teams were 12-21 over three seasons.
“The good news is in Maine, nobody noticed the mistakes I made,” Ferentz said in 2018. “They were more interested in hunting season at that point. Or the hockey season, probably.”