Can Iowa be more than it’s been? That’s the question. Beth Goetz pulled the plug on the Brian Ferentz fiasco before November even got here and thankfully, it’s time to move on. Those that are questioning the timing need to look no further than Kirk Ferentz’s Halloween press conference. He talked about waiting until the end of the season and evaluating then. He talked about evaluating like he has before. Let me decode that for you, “if we win 9 or 10 games or the Big Ten West, I was planning on bringing Brian back no matter how short we were of 25 points per game”. Goetz put that idea to rest before it could even begin.
The problem with Kirk’s plan to wait until the end of the season is that Iowa will make a bowl game meaning he wasn’t going to “evaluate” until January and by then, any offensive coordinator candidates worth a damn would have other jobs. Then he could keep Brian or if Goetz forced him out then, he could just install Jon Budmayr and keep doing things his way. That’s not going to fly now, he has all kinds of time between the last game of the regular season and the bowl game to find a replacement. There are the usual names that everyone seems to be mentioning because they have some tie to Kirk or he might feel comfortable with them. Budmayr of course, Tim Polasek (his former offensive line coach), maybe Paul Chryst (former Wisconsin head coach), even David Raih (former Hawkeye player) has been mentioned. All I can say is, if Kirk is comfortable with the guy, that’s probably a bad sign.
Now, when Kirk was asked about his process for finding a replacement, he said he was too focused on the season to worry about that now. Well, not to worry, I decided (with a little encouragement) to share my offensive coordinator candidates for Kirk (or Beth) to peruse at their leisure. This is not a list of people I think Kirk will look at, this is my list of guys Kirk should look at. The likely hood is Kirk goes for one of the aforementioned guys or some retread coach nobody else wants (like the Greg Davis hiring).
I would encourage Kirk to look at someone up and coming, someone with something new to offer. I hope Beth Goetz strongly encourages Kirk to do just that. Kirk has been acting far too much like his former boss Bill Belichick and hiring guys he knows and guys who won’t challenge him. He needs to take a page from his former colleague Nick Saban and hire someone to fix his offense like Saban once did with Lane Kiffin. Or he could pull a Bob Stoops and hire a young, innovative mind and eventually turn the job over to that guy. Anyway, here’s my futile attempt to put something into the world and hope it comes true. Here are some coaches from both the NFL and college that may be worth a look because they don’t come from the Ferentz school of offense.
Five College Coordinators
These guys are all innovative minds who know how to call plays and have shown success in various stops. Some have worked in multiple offensive systems so they have extensive knowledge of how best to use the talent on their team.
Ryan Grubb Offensive Coordinator University of Washington
Grubb is probably not taking the Iowa offensive coordinator job but Iowa has to make the pitch. Grubb was born and raised in Iowa and while he wasn’t a Hawkeye (he played at Buena Vista University) he’s a native Iowan and this state is still home. He’s the offensive coordinator for one of the most explosive offenses in college football at Washington and he’s the QB coach (Lord knows Iowa needs better QB coaching). He’s spent the majority of his career working under Kalen DeBoer, the architect of that Huskies offense and that offense has been good everywhere DeBoer and Grubb have used it. It will be a tough sell but Iowa is a full-share member of the Big Ten and the TV and college football playoff money makes Iowa one of the big boys. When you have a seat at the big boy table, you should act like it. Iowa needs to stop acting like they don’t belong and show that they do. Making a play for a guy like Grubb would be that kind of move. Like I said, Iowa probably doesn’t get him but you have to make him say no.
Slade Nagle Offensive Coordinator Tulane University
Nagle has been on Willie Fritz’s staff at Tulane for eight years and just took over as offensive coordinator this last season, officially anyway. Last year Fritz hired Jim Svoboda as his offensive coordinator but it ended up being Nagle who called the plays. He was so well versed in the offense that he saw things Svoboda wasn’t seeing and Fritz made him the play caller. He understood the personnel Tulane had (including the TEs he was coaching) and just had a feel for calling plays. This season Tulane’s offense isn’t quite as good but that’s probably because they lost their starting QB Michael Pratt for several games (he’s a sleeper in draft circles) and they lost their backup QB in his first start. The third-string QB led them to a comeback over Houston and even with all that QB turnover the Green Wave are still in the top 50 of most offensive categories, so about 80 spots ahead of Iowa this year. Oh, and they are 7-1 and ranked in the top 25. Nagle doesn’t seem like he would be married to one particular system, he would find the best way to use the talent he has to work with.
Andy Ludwig Offensive Coordinator University of Utah
Ludwig is a coaching nomad so he’s basically the opposite of Kirk Ferentz and his staff. Ludwig has coached under numerous head coaches and clearly has picked up a thing or two from many of them. He’s having success over the last few seasons at Utah under Kyle Whittingham and that has led to his name being mentioned for some bigger jobs. Ludwig is 59 years old so he has far more coaching experience than many of the other guys I will mention. While he seems content at Utah, he’s used to moving around every few years so perhaps he could be convinced to give up his cushy job at Utah and take on the challenge at Iowa. That may be a hard sell but give it a shot.
Brennan Marion Offensive Coordinator UNLV
Marion is a younger guy at 36 years old but he’s coached under a number of different coaches and he’s also been a play caller at several stops. He’s known for developing his GoGo offense when he was a high school coach early in his career and it has elements of the triple option along with some modern passing concepts. He’s coached under offensive guys like Mark Whipple at Pitt when Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison were lighting up college football (Marion was Addison’s WR coach). He also just spent a year under Steve Sarkisian at Texas before becoming UNLV’s OC this year. I like guys with varied backgrounds who aren’t married to one system and will figure out what works with the guys he has.
Tim Cramsey Offensive Coordinator Memphis
Cramsey is a veteran offensive coordinator. He’s been the OC/QB coach at every stop he’s been at since 2009. That includes New Hampshire, Florida International, Montana State, Nevada, Sam Houston State, Marshall, and Memphis. The thing I like is that he’s been moving up the ladder and he’s had some very successful offenses, like the one he had at Marshall a couple of years ago was in the top 20 in the country. When you’ve been as many places as he’s been you have to make adjustments to what your offense looks like and that’s something Iowa desperately needs.
***A couple of other names of younger, inexperienced guys Kirk should consider but would be way out of the box for him; Ben Arbuckle (Washington St. OC), Alex Mortensen (UAB OC).
Five NFL Coaches
These guys are either QB coaches or passing game coaches who have worked with smart, innovative NFL coaches. These guys would be similar to Mark Stoops hiring Liam Cohen from the Rams to fix his offense.
Joe Brady QB Coach Buffalo Bills
Brady is most famous for being the passing game coordinator for the LSU team that won the National Championship and had Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase. Having those guys would make anyone look good. Brady then took over as the Panthers OC when Matt Rhule went to Carolina and it was a pretty ugly there. He has moved on to the Bills where he’s been an assistant and is currently the QB coach for Josh Allen. He started there when Brian Daboll was the offensive coordinator before he moved on to coach the Giants. Now Brady is working under Ken Dorsey. Brady is still only 34 years old but he’s been around a few impressive offenses and could be ready for the challenge of fixing Iowa’s offense.
Ronald Curry Passing Game Coordinator New Orleans Saints
Curry started his professional coaching career under Jim Harbaugh when Harbaugh was coaching the 49ers. After Harbaugh was let go, Curry moved on to the Saints and have been there ever since. He’s been the WR coach, the QB coach, and currently he’s the passing game coordinator. Curry learned for a number of years under Sean Payton and that’s a pretty good offensive mind to learn from. He’s been progressing up the ladder and taking on more responsibility and he might be an intriguing option to look at if he wants a chance to be a play caller.
Jake Peetz Passing Game Specialist LA Rams
If Ferentz wanted to go a near identical route to Mark Stoops at Kentucky, he could pluck Peetz from Sean McVay’s staff in LA just as Stoops did with Cohen. Peetz has been a college offensive coordinator before at LSU so he has play calling experience. He’s spent the last several years under McVay who is about as smart of an offensive mind as you can find in college or the NFL. He turned down a job on the Nebraska staff of Matt Rhule last year to stay in LA so he clearly has good judgement.
Klint Kubiak Passing Game Coordinator San Francisco 49ers
Kubiak is the son of former NFL Super Bowl winning coach Gary Kubiak. Gary was a long-time assistant under Mike Shanahan and now Klint is the passing game coordinator for Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, sometimes nepotism works. Klint has coached in both college and the NFL and coached both WRs and QBs. He was also the play caller for one season for the Minnesota Vikings. Spending time under one of the smartest coaches in football, Kyle Shanahan, makes Kubiak a very interesting up and coming coach. I’m not sure if he wants to return to the college game but he’s an intriguing choice.
Tom Manning Tight Ends Coach Indianapolis Colts
If this name sounds familiar it’s because before Manning became the TE coach for the Colts he served as Matt Campbell’s offensive coordinator at Iowa St. I know, it seems weird to hire a guy who got fired from your in-state rival that you beat basically every time you played his offense but Manning was a solid coach. He lost his job at ISU because Campbell needed a scapegoat when things weren’t going well and Manning took the fall. I’m sure Kirk Ferentz is very familiar with Manning and while that scares me a bit, this is the one guy who Ferentz might be fine with and I’d be fine with, he had some good offenses at Iowa St.
***Young or inexperienced NFL assistants Kirk should talk to and maybe look into hiring if he makes other changes on his offensive staff; Parks Frazier (Carolina Passing Game Coordinator), Dan Pitcher (Cincinnati QB coach), Brian Griese (San Francisco QB coach), Ben McDaniels (Houston Passing Game Coordinator), Chad O’Shea (Cleveland WR coach). A couple of older assistants who would be solid but wouldn’t rock the boat too much would be Doug Nussmeier (Chargers QB coach) and Keenan McCardell (Minnesota WR coach).
I have my fingers crossed that Kirk will make a smart choice but I’m not holding my breath.
The Hott Read 