Iowa football to oust Brian Ferentz as offensive coordinator after 2023 season

The University of Iowa has placed Brian Ferentz’s future employment under a cloud for nearly nine months, with “performance objectives” instituted in February by former athletics director Gary Barta for the Hawkeye football team’s offensive coordinator to earn a new contract.

Now, Ferentz’s Iowa future has become clear: He will not be returning to the Hawkeyes in 2024.

In a bombshell announcement Monday afternoon, interim athletics director Beth Goetz said she had informed Ferentz that he will not be with the program after the 2023 season.

Here is Goetz's full statement, in which she consulted with university president Barbara Wilson:

"Anyone who loves Iowa football recognizes both the success and challenges that have brought attention to our program this season. Our struggles on offense coupled with the offensive coordinator’s contract make this a unique situation.

"After conversations with head coach Kirk Ferentz, coach Brian Ferentz and President Wilson, I informed Brian that our intention is for him to be with us through the bowl game, but this is his last season with the program. Making this known today is in the best interest of the program and its loyal fans; it provides clarity during this pivotal time in the schedule.

"It is not my practice to be involved in assistant coaching decisions and certainly not to make public such a change during a season. Our priority is to put all our student-athletes in the best position to have both short-term and long-term success, on and off the field. Our football team has a group of outstanding young men and talented athletes, who at 6-2, have a lot to play for. As a former athlete, I know every opportunity to put on the jersey is a cherished one.

"As Hawkeyes, let’s continue to support all our coaches, staff and student-athletes in their pursuit of a Big Ten Championship and bowl game victory."

That will bring a somewhat unceremonious end to Ferentz's 12-year stint on Iowa's coaching staff; he was hired by his father as the Hawkeyes' offensive line coach in 2012 (after four years with the New England Patriots), then ascended to offensive coordinator in 2017 after the retirement of Greg Davis.

The Hawkeyes’ offensive futility has been a national punch line for at least a year and has been magnified in recent months. The 6-2 record they’ve compiled has been despite an offense that ranks 133rd out of 133 FBS teams, at 232.4 yards per game. That number is so bad, Iowa would need to gain 471 yards this week vs. Northwestern to surpass the 258.8 yards a game being generated by the nation’s 132nd-ranked offense of Eastern Michigan.

Iowa also ranks 132nd in yards per play (4.12), 131st in passing yards per game (116.5, ahead of only two service academies), 133rd in completion percentage (44.1%), 132nd in third-down conversions (26.4%) and 120th in scoring offense (19.5 points a game, an average helped by 18 points from the defense and special teams).

The off-field optics have been as bad as the offense. “Fire Brian!” has become a recurring chant at Kinnick Stadium and even made into T-shirts. The Hawkeyes are coming off a 12-10 home loss to Minnesota, in which the offense gained only 127 yards, including 12 in the second half. And on Sunday, it was announced that oddsmakers put the over/under points total for Saturday’s game vs. Northwestern at 29.5, the lowest known opener in college football history. (That total has since increased to 31.)

This is all on the heels of last season's 251.6 yards per game on offense, which rated as the worst in Iowa football since 1978 and the lowest by any Power Five team since Wake Forest in 2014.

Take those numbers and add that Brian Ferentz is the oldest son of the Hawkeyes’ 25th-year head coach, Kirk Ferentz, and the talking point of nepotism added fuel to the firestorm.

"Clearly, we want more points and more yards,” Kirk Ferentz said after the Oct. 21 defeat to Minnesota despite the defense not allowing a touchdown. “I'm not sitting here saying whatever we had was enough. It's not enough. We need to do better.”

The Iowa offense has taken a nosedive since starting 6-0 in the 2021 season. After beating fourth-ranked Penn State, 23-20, the Hawkeyes have scored one or fewer touchdowns on offense in 18 of 29 games. They haven’t gained 400 yards in any of their last 30 games. They have been held to 166 yards or fewer in total offense seven times in that span.

Poor quarterback play, an inconsistent offensive line and massive attrition at wide receiver have been a big part of that decline. But even with a big offseason acquisition at quarterback in Michigan transfer Cade McNamara, the offense struggled. And now with McNamara out for the year with a torn ACL, the offensive issues have gotten even worse with Deacon Hill at quarterback.

In the immediate future, the Hawkeyes' depth chart Monday listed Hill as the starter for this Saturday's game at Wrigley Field. Kirk Ferentz is scheduled to address the media at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday.