Kirk Ferentz breaks down contrast with Nick Saban regarding retirement timeline

Going into his 27th season at Iowa, head coach Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured FBS coach. That has, unsurprisingly, also put him in a position where plenty of his peers have moved on and retired in the time he’s been a head coach, including the legendary Nick Saban.

At one point, Ferentz and Saban worked together as assistants under Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns. Now, Ferentz is still coaching while Saban has retired into the sunset. Despite that retirement, Ferentz shared with Sports Illustrated that the retirement caught his attention, but there’s still plenty that makes their situations different.

“Absolutely,” Kirk Ferentz said. “Two things. Nick lives in a different world than I do, and we coached together in Cleveland. I know him, and nothing but total admiration and respect for what he’s done in his entire career. He’s had a tremendous career as a coach, and it sounds like a great new career in TV as well. So, happy for him.”

Nick Saban first became a head coach in 1990 with Toledo. That was before he and Kirk Ferentz worked together. In 1995, he took the head job at Michigan State and spent time at LSU and in the NFL before going to Alabama, where he cemented his legend with six of his seven national championships. He’d retire following the 2023 season.

“I think probably just the mode of operation is a little different there than it is here. So, it probably fits him well,” Ferentz said. “And this fits me well. It’s funny how that works out sometimes.”

That retirement came at a time when college athletics have been going through massive changes with things like NIL and the Transfer Portal playing their roles. Saban wouldn’t be alone in retiring, and Ferentz acknowledged that he’s noticed legends across sports who chose to step away from coaching in recent seasons.

“Jay Wright, I have tremendous respect for him. I don’t know the basketball world but, boy, I just loved watching his teams compete. He always seemed to be a guy spot on with all of his messaging as a long-distance fan of his. The same thing with Tony Bennett. I’m old enough to remember when his dad coached up at Wisconsin,” Ferentz said. “And had a lot of respect for him too. They were a program that wasn’t doing real well, and then he really did a great job building that, and I really admire the work that Tony did down at Virginia.”

For the time being, Kirk Ferentz has still been able to find success at Iowa. The Hawkeyes have been bowl eligible in each of the last 12 seasons and 22 of the last 24 seasons. That includes eight double-digit win seasons during his tenure. So, for now, he’s still comfortable and happy to continue coaching.

“When that happens, and I’m guessing he and I probably live in a more parallel world than me and Nick. So, it does,” Ferentz said. “But it kind of gets down to everybody makes decisions for themselves, and the way he perceives the world or I perceive the world may be entirely different. So, you just kind of make decisions based on what’s best for you. I think that’s probably the path of life, but yeah, to say I didn’t notice it, that would be lying. I certainly noticed and was curious about what kind of comments he made in regards to his decision.”

Iowa will open its 2025 season on August 30th against Albany. For Ferentz, with 204 career wins with the Hawkeyes, it will be his 27th season leading the program in a career in coaching that began in 1977.