rice4114

May 1st, 2024 at 8:06 PM ^

Pair him with the genius that brought you the offensive juggernaut that was Miami (YTM) of 2022 and what can go wrong? Did I mention their 7th year QB got denied an 8th season?

Say what you will but Iowa did outscore MSU by 25 last season. Ill probably never stop mentioning that. 

Blinkin

April 30th, 2024 at 9:04 PM ^

Maybe this is 5D chess. Hire Brian Ferentz, ask him for ideas to improve your offense, and then so the exact opposite of everything he says. 

befuggled

April 30th, 2024 at 10:32 PM ^

Prior to taking on OC duties, Brian Ferentz was supposed to be a decent offensive line coach. Iowa did win the Joe Moore award in 2016 when he was the OL coach and running game coordinator. 

I realize there are any number of ways this might have been a mirage (and that OC was way too much for him), but it could also indicate that he'd be a good position coach.

Grampy

April 30th, 2024 at 9:17 PM ^

This is like the rehabilitation work Saban used to do at Bama, except on a minor scale.  I hope Brian can find redemption, particularly in the sense that you never knew the degree to which "Daddy" constrained or influenced Brian's poor decision making at Iowa.  A fresh start out from under the shadow of Kirk Ferentz should, at least, answer that question.

NittanyFan

April 30th, 2024 at 9:56 PM ^

Well, on October 1, 2021, Iowa visited Maryland for a football game.  Brian Ferentz was the Iowa Offensive Coordinator for that game.

Iowa scored FIFTY-ONE (51) points in that game, admittedly helped by 7 (!) Terrapin turnovers, while racking up 428 yards of total offense and never turning the ball over themselves.

In 2015, Iowa also played Maryland - Brian Ferentz was on the Iowa staff though not yet Offensive Coordinator.  Iowa won 31-15, they didn't quite gain 300 yards but it wasn't a putrid offensive performance - Iowa had 1 turnover total in the game (Maryland had 4).

The reason I point out those 2 games --- that's the only 2 times in his career Locksley has coached against Brian Ferentz on the opposing sideline.  If one is solely going by those 2 data points, he appears like someone associated with a fairly effective and efficient offense.  So, shoot, hire him!

Maizinator

April 30th, 2024 at 9:56 PM ^

He obviously was not a good coordinator.  Hopefully he's taking a step back to something where he can contribute and find a good path forward for himself and learn along the way.

PopeLando

April 30th, 2024 at 11:07 PM ^

Solid hire.

I literally spent all season making fun of the guy, but he’s an A+ OL and TE coach, who put a solid string of people into the NFL from Iowa. 

He also coached the Patriots TEs during their “we have Gronk and Aaron Hernandez, auto-win” era.

I’m also pretty sure he never lost to Rutgers as OC. Last season he put up over 400 yards on Rutgers. So if you’re looking to keep your football program out of last place in the B1G, he’s got some secret sauce.

Just keep him far away from the QBs and the play calling.

Sam1863

May 1st, 2024 at 5:35 AM ^

The idea of Ferentz contributing to any team's offense reminds me of a line from Bob Uecker's great Hall of Fame speech. He recounted how his manager in Philadelphia once told him "Grab a bat and stop this rally."

UMgradMSUdad

May 1st, 2024 at 7:35 AM ^

I picked up a couple points after perusing an Iowa fan forum:

A. His salary is $60,000 per year 

B. Not only does Brian Ferentz have to combat charges of nepotism and incompetence, but also racism on his father's staff. Going to work for the staff at Maryland might just help in that regard.

1VaBlue1

May 1st, 2024 at 6:36 AM ^

So Locksley hired Brian Ferentz to help out OC Josh Gattis?  This seems sus, as the kids say...

I mean, Gattis needs help, but Ferentz the Younger?  LMAO!!!!

JMo

May 1st, 2024 at 9:38 AM ^

Clicked into this thread expecting this to be the lede. It took until about 30 comments down to see someone mention a super duo of Gattis and Ferentz has been united. 

Are we witnessing the first two lions in a college football offensive juggernaut Voltron???

via GIPHY

 

DelGriffith

May 1st, 2024 at 7:52 AM ^

He's going to be very confused...

At Iowa, the "offense" was the side with the linebackers and safeties...

"Who's this guy you guys call a 'quarterback'?"

s1105615

May 1st, 2024 at 10:17 AM ^

This was reported out by Iowa boards much earlier this week, and my immediate reaction was this is a tough break for Maryland.  As an analyst, Ferentz will be tasked with finding and exploiting tendencies of the opposition (and deciphering in game sideline signals if they still exist).  These are things he has shown 0 aptitude in the last however many years as an OC.  He’s a much better position coach, and this is the exact wrong type of position for him.  He’ll likely be gone from the Maryland program before this time next year when someone is willing to offer him an on field coaching position or he gets fired for incompetence, whichever comes first.

tybert

May 1st, 2024 at 1:37 PM ^

He may be an "analyst" in name but he might actually be expected to boost the performance of Maryland's OL and TEs. Kirk has other OCs that also got "promoted" out of their jobs (Ken O'Keefe, etc.). The last time they had truly impressive offenses were the days of Brad Banks and Drew Tate (20 years ago). Since then, other than perhaps a fluke year, they've lived on great special teams play and a D that forces a lot of turnovers and doesn't give up many big plays.