Iowa working on final contract extension for Kirk Ferentz

Iowa announced on Wednesday they are working on a contract extension for head coach Kirk Ferentz that would keep him in Iowa City for the rest of his career.

If you are the longest-tenured coach in the Big Ten, you must be doing something right, and for Iowa head man Kirk Ferentz that is certainly the case. Last season, the Hawkeyes finished with a 12-2 record and a trip to the Rose Bowl. On Wednesday, Iowa athletic director Gary Barta announced that he is working on a contract extension with Ferentz that he hopes will bring the coach to retirement, finishing off a remarkable career.

“In a perfect world, my desire — and I think Kirk would also concur — is to have him finish his career at Iowa. That’s the goal,” Barta said. “He’s proven that he loves Iowa. He’s proven that he can win at Iowa.”

Per Barta, the deal has not been completed nor does he have a timeframe for when it will be. Ferentz’s current deal runs through January 2020 and pays a base salary of $4,075,000. When his current deal runs out, he will be 64.

Barta did not offer much on the specifics of the deal, only saying that both sides are looking for more than just a one-year rollover of the current deal.

In addition to this Rose Bowl appearance, Ferentz won the Dodd Trophy as the national coach of the year as well as Big Ten Coach of the Year accolades.

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Iowa fans should be very excited about this. Stability in the coaching profession is very rare, and so too is consistency. Any time a coach has those two things going for him, he is certainly someone you would want to keep around the program.

Ferentz certainly fits the mold, and it seems he is here to stay.