Iowa was off last weekend, and Kirk Ferentz spent part of his free time learning what the rest of us learned on Monday: that Brian Ferentz will not be Iowa's offensive coordinator in 2024.
Interim AD Beth Goetz made the decision to fire Brian Ferentz, and explained that she made it known now because it's "in the best interest of the program and its loyal fans."
Speaking publicly for the first time since the pre-firing, Kirk Ferentz made it clear he disagreed with the timing of the decision.
"My policy has typically been to evaluate everything -- players and coaches -- post-season," Ferentz said. "In-season, we've got a lot on our plates. It's been that way since I got started full-time in '81. To me, it's a better time, it's a less emotional time. I can give you a lot of reasons why I've done it that way. But it's really not significant right now. We're dealing with something we have to deal with, and we will."
The decision was not Kirk's to make; Ferentz and former AD Gary Barta concocted a plan to skirt the state of Iowa's anti-nepotism laws that Brian Ferentz would report to the AD, not the head football coach. And so Goetz stepped in and made the call that should have been made years ago.
"There's a chain of command to everything," Ferentz said Tuesday. "I respect that and we move forward."
This is me reading between the lines of Kirk Ferentz's answers:
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) October 31, 2023
If it were up to him, Brian would be back next year and the injuries have hurt Iowa more than the current scheme in place.
Just my two cents.
The uncomfortable truth of all the focus on Brian Ferentz was that he simply executed the offense Kirk wanted to run. Asked Tuesday whether he had any regrets about Brian's time as offensive coordinator, Kirk said: "Kept everybody healthy."
That in itself is a damning statement: injuries are a part of football, and that it took perfect health to execute Iowa's scheme invited questions that apparently have never been asked in Iowa City.
With Brian on his way out, the question now turns to whether Kirk Ferentz will return in 2024. He declined to state in the affirmative.
"My plans are like they always are -- to worry about this game, and bigger picture these four games. That's where my focus has been this entire season," he said. "That's what I think about, each and every year it's been pretty consistent."
Ferentz said multiple times Tuesday that it's always been his policy to make all personnel decisions after the season, which is technically true (Iowa is in the hunt for the final Big Ten West championship) while also obfuscating the point.
The fact is Ferentz, 68, is the longest-tenured head coach in FBS by six whole years, and this could be a natural exit point for the winningest head coach in Hawkeye history.
Would Kirk want to continue working without his son, and with the AD who fired him? Stay tuned.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.