Idea of Iowa Firing Kirk Ferentz was Always Absurd

The idea of the Iowa Hawkeyes firing head coach Kirk Ferentz was never rooted in reality.

Oct 26, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz walks off the field after a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes are playing in yet another bowl game this season, as they will take on the Missouri Tigers in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.

That will unquestionably lead some Iowa fans to label this as a "must-win" game for head coach Kirk Ferentz, who has been much-maligned this season in particular.

The frustration is understandable, given the fact that the Hawkeyes entered 2024 with College Football Playoff dreams but instead went 8-4 and finished the regular season unranked.

But the idea of firing Ferentz—which is something a faction of Iowa fans have been calling for throughout different points of the season—has always been absurd.

No chance.

The only way Ferentz is not going to be patrolling the sidelines in Iowa City for the foreseeable future is if he chooses not to, and he has already stated that he is at least returning for 2025.

Not only that, but Ferentz has been at the helm for the Hawkeyes since 1999. He is the longest-tenured coach in the country, and you know what? He has done a heck of a job building this program.

Iowa went 1-10 in Ferentz's first season and then 3-9 in Year 2. Since then, the Hawkeyes have posted just two losing campaigns, and they are about to play in their 21st bowl game (and it would be No. 22 had it not been for the pandemic in 2020).

Does Ferentz have his faults? Sure. He has been unable to recruit elite offensive players throughout the vast majority of his tenure, but is that really on Ferentz? Or is it because other Big Ten powers like Ohio State and Michigan—not to mention powerhouses from other conferences—are gobbling up all of the top prospects?

Iowa is a significant school, but it does not carry the cachet of an Alabama or a Clemson. It isn't on that level, and sadly, it likely never will be regardless of who becomes the next head coach.

Ferentz can only do so much with what is at his disposal, and the fact that he always has the Hawkeyes in contention in the rugged Big Ten is actually a testament to how superb of a job he has done overall.

It would certainly be nice for the Hawkeyes to defeat Missouri, although it will be especially tough without running back Kaleb Johnson. But the idea that this is potentially a legacy-defining game for Ferentz (and trust me, we will hear about that over the next couple of weeks) is hogwash.

Ferentz is in Iowa City to stay, and he has earned every right to remain a Hawkeye.