Kirk Ferentz addresses health of Iowa offensive line

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz expects the Hawkeyes to be at full strength on the offensive line when they face Tennessee in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Jan 1.

Ferentz was recently asked about some starters being left off of a depth chart that was released after bowl selections were done. He said that the depth chart is not indicative of where things stand.

“I think I did that depth chart, it feels like eight weeks ago – it was probably two or three,” Kirk Ferentz said. “You know, we’re back practicing right now, and right now, knock on wood, everybody’s healthy. Everybody’s good to go.”

Ferentz was asked in particular about starting center Logan Jones and starting right tackle Gennings Dunker. Jones and Dunker both started 12 games this season, while missing one game due to injury. They are expected to be available against the Vols.

“Logan’s doing well. Dunk’s doing good,” Ferentz said. “So yea, right now, so far so good.”

Logan Jones was named third-team All-Big Ten this season during his second year as a starter. The Iowa native started all 13 games at center for the Hawkeyes in 2022.

Gennings Dunker was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection in his first year as a starter.

Kirk Ferentz clarifies comments regarding offensive coordinator search

In other news with the Iowa offense, Kirk Ferentz recently clarified comments he made about the Hawkeyes offensive coordinator search.

On Monday, Ferentz grabbed fans’ attention when he claimed he had made three phone calls about the program’s offensive coordinator position, which will be vacant after the Hawkeyes’ bowl game. Iowa is parting ways with Brian Ferentz, Kirk’s son, who has been the program’s OC since 2017.

While Kirk Ferentz is on the hunt, the decision likely won’t come as soon as fans hope. On Thursday, the 68-year-old head coach provided further details on the situation.

“I said I’ve made three phone calls. I never said I talked to three candidates,” Ferentz said.

Former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was one of the coaches fans speculated was in conversation with Ferentz. Chryst spent seven full seasons at Wisconsin as the headman, going 5-2 against Iowa. He was fired in the midst of the 2022 season and did not make it far enough to play the Hawkeyes.

Before Chryst was a head coach, he served as Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator for an extended period of time. After being fired at Wisconsin, Chryst headed to the Lone Star State to take an analyst role under Steve Sarkisian at Texas.

Ferentz addressed the rumors surrounding Chryst.

“I was not referencing anybody that’s been a head coach in the Big Ten. I was actually referencing a coordinator that’s come into our conference sometime in the last decade,” Ferentz said. “There was a quote in Einstein’s office — that said, ‘Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.’ That was my point.

“The person I’m thinking about, specifically, had a lot of passing yards on his resumé, pretty well-known nationally. You dig a little deeper, you look at what the win total was where he’s been, and I think that is an important statistic.”