Kirk Ferentz reacts to Big Ten coaches having conference call with Tony Petitti

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz was recently asked about the call between Big Ten coaches and the conference’s commissioner, Tony Petitti. However, Ferentz admitted to not actually being on that call.

Ferentz, instead of going to the call, decided to focus on the Iowa team, which recently announced his son and offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz won’t be returning and is in the middle of a race to win the Big Ten West.

“I wasn’t on the call,” Kirk Ferentz said. “We practice in the morning, watch film at noon. Taking a little break right now. I couldn’t make the call. I figured the game might be more important than a call since we’re fighting for our lives. Got to have priorities. I did not partake in it.”

The call with Petitti was about the sign-stealing scandal at Michigan and reports about the call were that coaches were calling on the conference to punish Michigan and head coach Jim Harbaugh. Ultimately, however, Kirk Ferentz didn’t have much to comment on that situation.

“I don’t have a lot of comment. I read one article. I look at the headlines occasionally. I read one last night where they were fixated on who might have turned whom in, which I think is just like a such a statement on where we’re at right now just in general. Like, it doesn’t matter who turned whom in. If something’s wrong, the issue is the issue, not all this other stuff. I found that kind of interesting,” Ferentz said.

“Outside of that, I don’t have any thought right now. There’s a lot of stuff going on, just like in baseball. It’s going on football, too. As I understand it, they got it cleaned up in baseball, at least Major League Baseball. There’s got to be a way for us, too.”

Kirk Ferentz didn’t explain his reference to MLB beyond that. However, he is likely referencing the use of technology by the Houston Astros to steal signs, where stealing signs is legal but not the way Houston was doing it.

Kirk Ferentz addresses if Brian Ferentz news will impact their relationship

In the wake of the announcement that Brian Ferentz won’t be returning for the 2024 season, Kirk Ferentz addressed how the news is going to impact their relationship.

“I’ve had a lot of strong relationships with a lot of people that have worked here, and that’s one of the beauties of what we do. So if this were anybody on our staff that fell into this category, I’d feel bad about it. But I’m guessing they would encourage us to keep moving forward, too. And that’s just what you have to do,” Ferentz said.

“We all have a lot of mutual respect for each other. We all share common goals; that’s one of the beauties of this sport. And one of the beauties of the sport is the far reach in numbers. We have 120-plus guys on our football team. So to get guys to become close, to develop a chemistry, all of those things, that’s the beauty of the game and in my 34 years here we’ve had tremendous stability. … So that’s one of the real perks of it all, and any time anybody goes through a setback, you always feel bad. Just like losing a game, you feel bad about that, too. But you move on.”