60 Facts About Kirk Ferentz

1.

Kirk James Ferentz was born on August 1,1955 and is an American football coach.

2.

Kirk Ferentz is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season.

3.

From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the University of Maine.

4.

Kirk Ferentz has served as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.

5.

Kirk Ferentz played college football as a linebacker at the University of Connecticut from 1974 to 1976.

6.

Kirk Ferentz played high school football at Upper St Clair High School near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

7.

Kirk Ferentz was a standout linebacker and fullback, playing under Joe Moore, eventual offensive line coach at Pitt and Notre Dame.

8.

In 1973, Kirk Ferentz committed to play football at the University of Connecticut.

9.

Kirk Ferentz was a football captain and an academic all-Yankee Conference linebacker at Connecticut.

10.

Kirk Ferentz was a team football captain and was named the ECAC Division II Defensive Player of the Week after 12 tackles and two fumble recoveries in a win against UMass.

11.

Kirk Ferentz was named academic all-conference and earned defensive MVP honors.

12.

Kirk Ferentz served as a student assistant at Connecticut in 1977 under head coach Walt Nadzak.

13.

Kirk Ferentz spent the 1978 and 1979 seasons as defensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Worcester Academy.

14.

Kirk Ferentz coached under Worcester head coach Ken O'Keefe and alongside offensive coordinator Mike Sherman, while coaching Joe Philbin, among others.

15.

At Worcester, Kirk Ferentz taught English literature and coached the girls' basketball team.

16.

The next season, Kirk Ferentz joined Hayden Fry's staff at the University of Iowa, coaching the Hawkeyes' offensive line from 1981 to 1989.

17.

Kirk Ferentz worked under Fry and offensive coordinator Bill Snyder, and alongside assistant coaches Barry Alvarez, Dan McCarney, and Don Patterson.

18.

Iowa appeared in eight bowl games during the time Kirk Ferentz was an Iowa assistant, including two Rose Bowl appearances and two Holiday Bowl appearances.

19.

Eleven Hawkeyes coached by Kirk Ferentz went on to play in the National Football League.

20.

Kirk Ferentz took a $3,000 pay cut to become the head coach of the Black Bears, who initially offered Tom O'Brien the job.

21.

Kirk Ferentz lost his first five games as head coach in 1990, but responded by winning three of his final six against Rhode Island, Delaware, and Northeastern.

22.

Nick Saban was the defensive coordinator on the staff; he, Belichick, and Kirk Ferentz would become friends.

23.

The Browns' players and some remaining staff, including Kirk Ferentz, moved to Baltimore before the 1996 season.

24.

Kirk Ferentz was named assistant head coach in addition to his offensive line responsibilities.

25.

New general manager Ozzie Newsome and Kirk Ferentz convinced Modell and head coach Ted Marchibroda to select UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden with its first round pick, fourth overall in the 1996 NFL Draft, instead of Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips.

26.

On December 2,1998, Kirk Ferentz was hired as Iowa's 25th head football coach to replace the retiring Hayden Fry.

27.

From Fry's staff, Kirk Ferentz retained linebackers coach Bret Bielema, a strong recruiter, and quarterbacks coach Long, who would leave after the season to join Stoops at Oklahoma.

28.

Kirk Ferentz hired Fordham head coach Ken O'Keefe, who he had worked under at Worcester Academy, as his offensive coordinator and former Michigan State and Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Norm Parker in the same role.

29.

In 2000, Kirk Ferentz's Hawkeyes lost their first five games, including at No 1 Nebraska, home against in-state rival Iowa State, and against No 8 Kansas State, coached by Kirk Ferentz's former boss Bill Snyder.

30.

Betts rushed for 1,060 yards and 10 touchdowns behind the offensive line whose young players had struggled the prior seasons but now were experienced in Kirk Ferentz's zone blocking scheme.

31.

Kirk Ferentz was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press for his efforts.

32.

Kirk Ferentz had to deal with multiple injuries to the Hawkeyes' running backs and the death of his father, John, during the 2004 season.

33.

Kirk Ferentz toggled between Christensen and sophomore Ricky Stanzi at quarterback, before deciding in favor of Stanzi mid-season.

34.

Kirk Ferentz gave Doyle the "Assistant Coach of the Year" award, an award that had never been given before or in the 10 years after.

35.

Kirk Ferentz hired former Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis to run the offense and promoted longtime defensive backs coach Phil Parker to coordinate the defense.

36.

Tackle Brandon Scherff won the Outland Trophy, the second Iowa winner under Kirk Ferentz, and was selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

37.

Kirk Ferentz was named Big Ten coach of the year for the fourth time while at Iowa.

38.

On June 6,2020, Kirk Ferentz placed strength coach Chris Doyle on paid administrative leave after a number of former players identified Doyle and Brian Kirk Ferentz as contributing to a program culture that was hostile toward black student-athletes.

39.

Kirk Ferentz notched his 100th career win at Iowa with a double-overtime victory over the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing on October 13,2012.

40.

Kirk Ferentz became the all-time wins leader in school history, with a victory over Northern Illinois on September 1,2018, and has led Iowa to 17 bowl games, more bowls than any other Iowa coach.

41.

Later that season Kirk Ferentz recorded his 150th Iowa career win with a blowout triumph over Big Ten foe Illinois on November 17,2018.

42.

When Joe Paterno was fired from Penn State in 2011 Kirk Ferentz became the dean of Big Ten football coaches, as the longest tenured coach in the respective sport.

43.

In June 2017, Kirk Ferentz became the longest tenured coach with the sudden retirement of Bob Stoops.

44.

However, Kirk Ferentz has publicly declined any interest in other coaching positions, opting to stay at Iowa.

45.

On June 2,2006, Kirk Ferentz became the highest paid coach in the Big Ten and third highest in college football when he was given a restructured contract that boosted his annual salary to $2.7 million.

46.

In 2008, Kirk Ferentz was again rumored to be a candidate for an NFL head coaching job, particularly as successor to Romeo Crennel for the Cleveland Browns.

47.

However, the Chiefs eventually hired Todd Haley, and Kirk Ferentz received a contract extension to remain at Iowa through 2020.

48.

Kirk Ferentz has said that there was no reason to leave Iowa as Iowa has everything he needed.

49.

Kirk Ferentz is currently the 18th highest-paid coach in college football.

50.

When Kirk Ferentz took over at Iowa, the zone scheme was rare in the Big Ten, whose defensive lines and linebackers typically were bulkier in order to withstand the power running schemes, giving the Hawkeyes an advantage.

51.

Kirk Ferentz dissolved the committee in January 2022 with plans to restructure, stating he was considering what a new committee might look like.

52.

Kirk Ferentz released a statement saying he was "greatly disappointed" that the lawyers representing Iowa settled the case.

53.

Kirk Ferentz issued a curfew for his players after long snapper Clint Huntrods was arrested for public urination; the curfew was extended after safety Lance Tillison was arrested for drunk driving after the Iowa State game.

54.

Kirk Ferentz stated said those incidents forced him to re-examine the his and the coaching staff's approach to keeping players out of legal trouble.

55.

Kirk Ferentz mentioned monitoring players, educating players, and relying on player leadership as areas that needed improvement.

56.

Kirk Ferentz said her family was told that it would be faster than the "arduous" process of involving police.

57.

Kirk Ferentz has employed both children and children-in-law during his tenure at Iowa.

58.

Barnes left Iowa in 2013 shortly after it was revealed that Kirk Ferentz had pushed to extend Barnes' contract for another year, without informing athletic director Gary Barta that Barnes was engaged to his daughter.

59.

Kirk Ferentz was making approximately $2 million at the time and was the state's highest-paid public employee.

60.

Kirk Ferentz and his wife, Mary, have five children; eldest son Brian from 2008 to 2011 was a coach for the New England Patriots.