Kirk Ferentz calls ESPN analysts 'coach killers, player killers' in modern era

As college sports have changed over time, one thing you hear somewhat consistently from coaches is that it’s gotten harder to coach players up.

Whether it’s because you have to be a little more careful with old-school disciplinarian methods or whether players are a little more entitled in the NIL age, some college coaches just feel things are more difficult now.

“It’s a little tougher today,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “And with all the ESPN coverage and all that, in fact I was making a comment to a couple guys on the staff this morning, I was looking through there and saw three faces on that little thing on the left of your ESPN site, where they’ve got the videos. Three guys that are basically coach killers or player killers, you know, that are just like, all they’re trying to do is just stir up controversy. So that’s kind of what’s out there now for people to take in. You wonder why there’s so much negativity.”

Ferentz has long been a coach that believes in developing players over time. He’s seen first-hand that some players have the light bulb go on a little bit later, so he’s patient in allowing for that development.

He had an experience as a coach in the 1980s that convinced him that was the right approach.

“Yeah I learned a lot during the ’80s and one takeaway I took was I coached three guys, I being the line coach, three guys that started for us in the ’80s that all ended up being NFL players that didn’t start till their fifth year,” Kirk Ferentz said. “And Chris Campbell came into camp second team. And I remember Bruce Kittle was like advocating, and I said, ‘If you love him so much, you coach him.’ Should have kept my mouth shut because he ended up starting. He won a job in camp and got drafted third round by the Colts. But three guys that had NFL careers. Brett Miller didn’t start till his senior year in ’82, and Ron Hallstrom never played a lick and then first-round draft pick, 13-year NFL career.”

The moral of the story is that players often should be a little more patient than they are in today’s day and age. That can be difficult to convince them of with as much outside noise from ESPN and the like that exists.

Ferentz further drilled down on one of the things that’s become difficult and what he has to recruit for, whether from the high school ranks or from the transfer portal.

“Then you flip it around too, and then like you go to the NIL and the portal,” Kirk Ferentz said. “Rusty Feth didn’t make any headlines when we got him to commit here, but boy he’s been an extremely valuable player not only on the field but also again the maturity and just kind of giving that room a little confidence because they needed that.

“I think there’s opportunity if we’re looking for the right guys. Nick Jackson, you talk about a home run there. Really good player, productive player in college, but also a really good guy who’s, again, just one of those guys you get him in the room with guys who are younger, pay attention to him, because he knows how to operate. That’s what you’re looking for, guys that are going to be teaching other guys, ‘This is how you do things the right way,’ whether they’re just here for a year or for four years.”