Kirk Ferentz says he doesn't 'anticipate' staff changes this offseason

Iowa fans were openly critical of the Hawkeyes offense this past season and called for the firing of offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz as a result. Based on his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday, it sounds like head coach Kirk Ferentz is planning to keep things status quo for now.

Ferentz definitively said he doesn’t expect any staff turnover this offseason. He’s previously risen to the defense of Brian, whose offense ranked last in the Big Ten in total yards per game in 2022.

“As I stand here today, I anticipate no changes in our staff moving forward,” Ferentz said. “That’s my plan, certainly. I think we do have a terrific staff. I thought they did a terrific job last year in tough circumstances and navigated us through, I think, some big challenges. But our guys continued to really coach at a high level.

“These two days have been for getting reacquainted with our players, sitting down individually with all of them by positions, having one-on-one talks with our players. We’ll give the coaches a couple days off, and then, we’ll start the next phase of our program, which is program review, program research and start planning through the season ahead.”

After Ferentz’s press conference, Iowa athletic director Gary Barta also met with reporters and reiterated his point, saying the current plan is to keep the staff in tact right now.

“Because of their relationship, we’ve had many conversations,” Barta said, via Go Iowa Awesome’s Eliot Clough. “… Those conversations are ongoing. Starting Monday, the plan right now is for the staff to be intact.”

Despite their struggles last season, the Hawkeyes are going to have a new look on offense in 2023. Iowa notably landed a commitment from former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara out of the transfer portal — the No. 13 quarterback to hit the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. Additionally, the Hawkeyes brought in ex-Wolverines tight end Erick All, who was one of McNamara’s top targets in Ann Arbor.

Kirk Ferentz got into an exchange with a reporter over Brian Ferentz’s job security in October

In October, calls grew louder and louder about Brian Ferentz’s future as Iowa offensive coordinator, and that led Kirk Ferentz to get into quite an exchange with a reporter and defend his son’s performance in the role.

“I think you’re talking about two separate job descriptions and two separate areas of responsibility,” Ferentz said following Iowa’s 54-10 loss to Ohio State. “I know people do it, I know it’s been done this year. Again, it’s just not my preference. My preference has been [to] play it out, and there’s evidence to show that it’s worked pretty well in the past.

“We’ll play it out and then we’ll do our assessments and our evaluations when everything’s over. The season’s not over. When the season’s over, we’ll make an evaluation on what’s best for our program.”