Normally, when a soccer program has a reliable coach who’s gone stale, the college will power out whichever coordinator is most answerable for the dearth of success. If solely life was that simple for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The crew is caught in an offensive malaise (to place it kindly), however can’t oust Brian Ferentz as a result of his dad is Kirk Ferentz, the top coach. So as a substitute, the college resorted to amending the son’s contract with very low hurdles that even a Big Ten crew ought to be capable of clear.
Under the revised deal, Brian’s base wage might be $850,000. In order to maximise his earnings, the crew has to common greater than 25 factors per recreation, and win at the least seven of them. The latter is mainly a assure if he hits the previous. Outside of the COVID season after they went 6-2, Kirk’s groups have received a minimal of seven video games yearly that they’ve averaged 25 factors per contest.
The difficulty is Iowa has by no means been super-interested in scoring, and I doubt a number of clauses will change that.
It’s extra existential than X’s and O’s
Kirk Ferentz’s groups aren’t explosive, artistic, or actually that involved with offense. The crew’s model of soccer is so risk-averse it’s a marvel why they trouble to throw in any respect.
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If I may offer up a soccer analogy. Iowa approaches the game like Italy. Score only as much as needed and then lodge a bus in the middle of the field and grind out a result. While some fans in Iowa City may have come to appreciate that particular brand, the Hawkeyes will never be talented enough to consistently execute that approach. (To take the analogy a step further, there are many college fanbases who, like Brazilians, actively recoil when their team has no interest in the beautiful aspects of the game.)
Kirk’s philosophy will win you games, but it’s usually ugly and often unwatchable. Iowa has had a litany of double-digit win seasons over the past 20 years. They also have a few .500 or worse clunkers. I don’t care who is calling the plays, It could be Kyle fucking Shanahan and the Hawkeyes would still top out at about 30 points per game.
Brian Feren-heimer
The nepotism in football is excruciating for so many reasons, but I think my main qualm — outside of qualified candidates being passed over because their dad doesn’t have connections — is the apple never strays that far from the tree. It’s not surprising that Kyle has added to what his dad, Mike Shanahan, taught him. The father was an offensive guru in his own right.
However, Brian Shotenheimer is an example of a son perpetuating his father’s, umm, legacy. The new Cowboys offensive coordinator runs the 2023 model of his dad’s imagination-free offense, and that’ll proceed in Dallas till he or Mike McCarthy will get fired.
And the identical factor goes to occur at Iowa as a result of Kirk is simply too good of a coach to fireside, and he’s not going to jettison his offspring. The crew may hit these incentives as a result of school soccer packages can fall off the bed and rating 25 factors per recreation, however they aren’t, nor will they ever be, good at offense.