Iowa Football Banking on Offensive Improvement

Coach Kirk Ferentz Believing in Staff, Development for '23

Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson looks on from the sideline before a game against Nebraska on Nov. 25, 2022 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - It is a new team that is starting a new season, Kirk Ferentz said, but that doesn’t mean the Iowa football coach and his staff are forgetting about the past.

But if anyone is expecting any changes to that staff, it’s not happening, Ferentz said on Wednesday.

“As I stand here today, I anticipate no changes in our staff moving forward,” Ferentz said. “That's my plan certainly.”

It’s a decision that athletic director Gary Barta said he backed, but Barta also said there needs to be improvement in Iowa’s offense.

“Obviously, offensively, our performance isn’t going to cut it,” Barta said.

Iowa went 8-5 last season with one of the nation’s worst offenses. The Hawkeyes finished 130th out of 131 FBS teams in total offense, 123rd in scoring offense at 17.7 points per game, 123rd in passing offense and 124th in rushing offense.

“The bottom line is the offense is about moving the ball consistently, scoring enough points to win, and the numbers bear out that it wasn't good enough,” Ferentz said. “And the other part about that is we're well aware of that and we own it. Nobody is running from that by any stretch of the imagination.

“The whole idea right now is to move forward and fix it. That's where our thoughts are.”

But the Hawkeyes apparently are going to do it with the coaching staff from last season, and that includes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, Kirk’s son.

Barta said he “had conversations with (Brian Ferentz) about my expectations going forward,” but wouldn’t go into details on those expectations, saying only he would be continuing to meet with Brian Ferentz to talk about the upcoming season and moving forward.

“If you look back 24 years we've had down periods, years that have been disappointing,” Kirk Ferentz said. “We normally rally back. We normally rally back and fix it, and that's always kind of been my attitude. We're all products of our upbringing, I guess, or influences, and I worked for a guy for nine years ... there was never a coordinator fired here during my nine years with Coach (Hayden) Fry. I'm not planning on doing it. I haven't done it.

I grew up in Pittsburgh where they had pretty good success. The thing you learn from the Steelers is they fix things. They don't panic, they fix things. As long as you’ve got the right people.”

Ferentz said there won’t be a radical change to the offensive scheme.

“I don't predict anything wild or absurd there,” he said. “I think we've been pretty consistent in our approach really for 24 years. We own it. We own the stats.

“When I look back, we've had years like this, and it's not much fun, certainly. To win eight games, that's no easy trick when you score 17.8 a game. That's not easy. But I'm optimistic. I think I know the causes, as I covered, for our challenges this year, and we've taken steps already in terms of addressing it.”

Why Ferentz expects improvement comes from what he expects to be an upgrade in offensive talent, with the addition of quarterback Cade McNamara and more experience on the offensive line and at wide receiver.

“It's going to help us to be a more veteran line, start right there,” Ferentz said. “ It'll help us to be a little bit more veteran outside, and having two tight ends (returner Luke Lachey and Michigan transfer Erick All) that we think are pretty good football players will take some pressure off the guys outside, and I think we've got a pretty good quarterback right now to help us.

“I think we have the right coaches in place, history would prove that. I think we've seen success with this coaching staff, and plan on moving forward. I think we're primed to have a good year.”

“If you look at the prospects moving forward, I think 2023 has great opportunity,” Barta echoed.

Ferentz said he knows the criticism is out there among Iowa’s fan base.

“We're just going to keep trying to get better at what we do,” he said. “I think we've had a fair amount of success. I just want to make sure everybody understands, we're taking ownership. Nobody is running from this, that would be ridiculous. Seventeen (points per game) is not the standard, eight (wins) is not the standard.

“We started work two weeks ago. The idea is to be a championship-level team, and that's easier to talk about than to do, but it takes a lot of things falling right, especially here. It's not easy. But it's doable because we've done it.”