Howe: What are We Doing Here?

Who Does the Brian Ferentz "Salary-Reduction" Move Satisfy?

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 - College Football coaches see their contracts altered for a number of reasons. The list includes raises for good results and reductions for poor performance. 

We received a press release Monday mid-afternoon (does that qualify as a news' dump?) that Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz's paycheck would be smaller. He also was given an opportunity to earn that money back plus a little extra on top if he's improves job performance. 

We can debate the difficulty level in attaining the contract bonuses. I would not call them difficult, however. 

For me, seven wins, including postseason, is a low bar and may not have much to do with him when you consider Iowa has won 18 combined games the last two seasons with an awful offense. The 25.0-points-a-game minimum isn't all on him, either. Insert the "this-is-Kirk's-offense" disclaimer here. 

But, whatever. The question for me about the news is - Why? As in, why are we doing it? Who are we trying to appease? 

Brian's approval rating in Hawkeye Nation is, shall we say, not good . A six percent base salary cut when someone makes almost $1M annually with the opportunity of earning it back plus another $62,500 is not going to change that. 

I'm just not sure who this news appeases. It's unlikely to help with tickets sales. It's not protecting anyone from nepotism laws. So, again, what are we doing here? 

It is an action, I will give you that. You can't say they're not doing anything about the poor performance of head coach Kirk Ferentz's eldest son. I know, double negative. It's my column. 

You could consider Monday's press release news because it seemed to confirm that Brian is back. His dad left the door cracked for his exit by saying he didn't "anticipate" any changes on his staff last week. We saw the writing on the wall. 

Father wants son back. Who wouldn't? Maybe it's what Brian told us during the season - he doesn't want to run from the challenge when asked if he'd consider resigning. That's a picture Iowa can paint no matter what. 

Perhaps Brian wanted to go but couldn't find a taker. Some folks among the Hawkeye faithful were hoping he'd end up back in the NFL with his previous employer, New England, or land somewhere else as a position coach. 

Another college gig likely was off the table. Again, his performance the last two seasons isn't attractive. A racial-bias lawsuit probably stands out even more in terms of finding employment at another university. 

None of that matters anymore. Barring a seismic shift in the Hawkeye landscape, we know who's involved in running the '23 offense - Kirk, Brian and maybe Jon Budmayr. 

The staff, including Kirk Ferentz, believes the personnel on that side of the ball has been significantly upgraded through recruiting the portal and beyond. That's what he and people in the program will be reminding us for the next seven or so months. 

They could have it figured out. Time will tell how this ages and helps keep people engaged. Hawkeye fans love their teams. We're all waiting for the story when someone says they met a person from Iowa when they were vacationing on Mars. 

Let's all hope for the best in '23. It wouldn't be the first time Kirk Ferentz proved people wrong. 

I'm going to be selfish here for a second in closing. I have to believe others are tired of this Ferentz story in early February. Please, someone, anyone, inform the PR firm. 

There are really entertaining winters sports happening right now. I'd prefer focusing on that. But, I know, it's football.