Brian Ferentz: Iowa Offensive Issues Broad

Coordinator Can't Come Up with Root Cause for Hawkeye Troubles

Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz watches the team warm up before a game against Illinois on Nov. 20, 2021 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The woes of Iowa’s offense don’t have one root cause, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz said on Wednesday.

It’s a collection of issues and failures of execution, and Ferentz included himself in that list.

“I think we have to look at everything,” Ferentz said. “The reality is, as I just said, we all have ownership in it.”

Iowa ranks 131st (last) nationally in total offense at 238.7 yards per game. The Hawkeyes are 127th in scoring offense at 14.7 points per game, 127th in rushing offense, 120th in passing offense and 126th in red zone offense. The Hawkeyes have five rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns in six games.

“The reality is right now the production certainly hasn't been what we expected, and it's not meeting our level of expectation, most importantly,” Ferentz said.

It’s a collective failure, Ferentz said.

“The reality of offensive football is it takes 11 guys. It takes 11 guys, and then it's more than that if you include the play caller, right?” Ferentz said. “We all have a hand in it. The clear explanation or clear issue, clear root, I wish I could give you one. The reality is we've got a lot of issues that we're working to address right now, and it starts up front, continues outside.

There's plenty of examples where we can block better, we can run routes better, we can catch the ball better. OK, we can run the football better at the running back position or we can throw the ball better at the quarterback position. It's a culmination of all 11 things that lead to some of those issues. That's what we're working hard to address.”

The Hawkeyes (3-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) are on their bye week, which this season coincides with the halfway point in the season.

“The positive is we've got an opportunity to come back to work this week,” Ferentz said. “Guys have come in with an eye on the future, the eyes on the horizon, and really a renewed focus on improving. I think for us right now it's very important that we're worried about improving and executing at all 11 spots. We all have ownership in this right now.

“Making the makeables, doing our job. Just the simple basics. Then, I think we all understand and need to understand that we need to take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of us. We have six football games remaining in the season, and the reality is we all need to do better, and the good news is we're committed to doing that moving forward here.”

Asked to evaluate his performance as Iowa’s play-caller, Ferentz said, “It's pretty simple. Are we doing the three things that I mentioned at the beginning — are we possessing, advancing, and scoring the football?

“I don't think we're doing any of those things very consistently right now, so how I would evaluate myself is I need to improve. I need to work on ways to get better. How do I help the guys do those things? How do I put us in positions to be successful and to advance the football without taking unnecessary risks? And then certainly if we get down in the low red (zone) area, we need to score. We need to score touchdowns. We're looking to score touchdowns. Certainly field goals are preferable to the alternative, but touchdowns are the goal. My evaluation, I need to do better. How do I find ways to make us more successful and improve as we move into the next six games?”

Ferentz has been the target of criticism because of the offense’s lack of performance, but said he has not thought about giving up his job.

“There's two options in life in any situation,” he said. “You can surrender, and if you surrender, then I think the results are pretty much guaranteed. Or you can dig in, you can continue to fight, and you can try to improve and do things better.

“I will always choose option (B). Done it in my personal life. Done it in my professional life. I wouldn't be able to go home and look my children in the eye if I wasn't an option B person. … That's not me. Let me be crystal clear about that. That's number one.”

As far as his job security goes, Ferentz said, “Look, in this business we all signed up for this. This is a results-driven business. It has been since the minute I entered it. None of this is a new phenomenon. Things that go on outside of this program never surprise nor shock me. Ever. Because this is the world we live in. This is the life we chose. You have to get results. Otherwise, they will move on to people who will. That's the way it is.”

Ferentz knows that since his father, Kirk, is the head coach, there is an extra layer to the criticism.

“I've been answering questions about nepotism my entire adult life,” he said. “None of that is new to me either. I would flip it and say if you think that I don't feel an added responsibility or added pressure to perform well for my father, you are crazy. Of course, I feel that. I'm a human being. But at the end of the day, what you can't let happen is worrying about anything that's not going to help you do your job.”

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta is in charge of evaluating Brian Ferentz’s performance. Asked if his job evaluation is affected by his father being the head coach, Ferentz said, “You would have to ask the head coach. I don't think anything. That would be a question for him. I don't want to speak for anyone else.”