Unless someone hires him away, Brian Ferentz will return for a 12th season on his father staff and seventh as offensive coordinator. Head coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed as much at Iowa's signing day press conference on Wednesday.
"As I stand here today, I anticipate no changes in our staff moving forward. That's my plan, certainly," Ferentz said. "I think we do have a terrific staff. I thought they did a great job last year in tough circumstances and navigated us through some big challenges. I thought our guys really coached at a high level."
Ferentz cited Iowa's status as one of five FBS programs to win at least eight games each season since 2015 (2020 excluded) in keeping the group together.
Kirk Ferentz says he anticipates no changes to the coaching staff. pic.twitter.com/Vgy3zNQP2k
— Tom Kakert (@HawkeyeReport) February 1, 2023
Iowa went 8-5 and won the Music City Bowl in 2022 despite an offense that ranked...
... 129th in yards per play
... 130th in total offense
... 121st in passing efficiency
... 124th in rushing offense
... 129th in third down conversions
... 124th in red zone touchdown percentage
... 123rd in scoring
The 2022 season was not a one-time downturn, either. In 2021, Iowa was 99th in scoring, 116th in passing efficiency, 102nd in rushing, 120th in yards per play and 121st in total offense while winning the Big Ten West. The Hawkeyes continue winning thanks to a defense that rated seventh in yards per play in 2021 and, in 2022, became the first unit in five seasons to limit opponents to less than four yards per play.
The longest-serving active head coach in FBS, Ferentz has survived multiple scandals to remain entrenched as Iowa's head coach.
To get around the state's nepotism laws, Iowa has structured its staff to where AD Gary Barta technically serves as Brian Ferentz's supervisor, not the head football coach.
“Clearly our offense isn’t clicking right now,” Iowa AD Gary Barta said in October. “We know we have to get better. Kirk knows, Brian knows, student-athletes know and I’m really absolutely confident that they’re going to continue to make progress.”
The day after providing that quote to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Iowa suffered a 9-6 loss to Illinois. The Hawkeyes would go on to score 10 against Ohio State, 13 against Minnesota, and 17 against Nebraska. The latter saw the Hawkeyes' first loss to the Cornhuskers since 2014.
A former Iowa offensive lineman, Brian Ferentz joined Iowa's staff as offensive line coach in 2012 and has been the Hawkeyes' offensive coordinator since 2017. He added quarterback coaching to his portfolio in 2022, a year that saw senior Spencer Petras post a career-low 109.75 rating, hitting 55.9 percent of his 281 passes for 6.1 yards per attempt with five touchdowns against five interceptions.
Former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara has since transferred to Iowa City.
Iowa has not finished above 86th in yards per play in any of Brian Ferentz's six seasons running the offense, though since 2009 (the furthest date back in the CFBStats.com database), the Hawkeyes have finished higher than 55th nationally one time.
It would take a remarkable improvement to change that number in 2023.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.