Iowa Football is being held hostage by Kirk Ferentz

There is a hostage situation taking place in the cornfields of Iowa. It’s not your typical hostage situation where a criminal or multiple criminals are holding innocent people as bargaining chips while negotiating with law enforcement. No, this situation is definitely not like those you see on the big screen produced in Hollywood. This hostage situation is one in which a beloved coach who has been worshiped by an entire fanbase refuses to relinquish authority or control, and in doing so, he holds back an entire football program from reaching its full potential. You’ve never heard of this kind of hostage situation before? Well, let me introduce you to Iowa football.

Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in college football, having led the Iowa football program since 1999. Since Ferentz started roaming the sideline in Iowa City, every Big Ten team has changed coaches at least once, while most have changed multiple times during that same time period.

It isn’t like Iowa football has been dominating the old conference during this quarter century either. The Hawkeyes claimed a share of the conference championship in 2002 and 2004 when they had to split the title between Ohio State and Michigan during those seasons.

That was back before the Big Ten even had divisions and a championship game! Since then, Ferentz has only come close to winning the conference crown on two occasions. Iowa won the West Division in 2015 and 2021 but then fell to the eventual conference champion on both occasions.

It’s not like Ferentz hasn’t been good. The ol’ ball coach from Iowa has a record of 186-115, which is good enough for a 0.618 winning percentage, which is well above the average for a Division I college football coach. He also has a 10-9 record in bowl games, which is also better than most of his counterparts. But that’s what makes this hostage situation unique. If a criminal was bad, the hostage situation wouldn’t last long and no one would get hurt. What makes hostage situations difficult is when the criminals are intelligent and experienced. Such is the case in Iowa City.

What makes Iowa football situation so difficult

Ferentz is both. What makes this hostage situation even more difficult is the fact that the hostages (the fans) actually love the man who is holding them hostage. However, those same fans have started to realize what all of us who are witnessing this hostage situation from the outside have seen for decades – Ferentz doesn’t respect them as much as they respect him.

If he did, he would have fired his offensive coordinator already. This brings us to the even stranger part of this crime scene, Kirk’s partner in crime is his own son. Since Brian Ferentz has been in charge of the Iowa football offense, the Hawkeyes have been completely inept. So much so, that it has been the Iowa defense that has outscored the offense on several occasions. This is completely unacceptable at a successful Division I college football program like Iowa.

After last season, Kirk had the perfect opportunity to remove Brian from his play-calling duties and regain the confidence of the Hawkeye fans. Instead, he doubled down and continues to hold them, hostage, promising that things will be different since they have brought in a successful Big Ten quarterback via the transfer portal.

Cade McNamara will now lead the Iowa football offense after doing so at Michigan before being replaced by J.J. McCarthy last season. McNamara didn’t come alone, however. He brought tight end Erick All with him, giving the Iowa fans hope that the offense might actually have a pulse in 2023.

As a hostage negotiator, I feel I have a responsibility to let the Hawkeye fans know that they shouldn’t expect much of a change this season. Brian is still in charge of the offense, and although getting some new players feels like it might make things better in Iowa City, it’s just false hope. In the end, you’re still being held hostage and the same guys holding you and your program captive are in charge.