Kirk Ferentz opens up on the emotions of earning 200th win at Iowa
On Saturday, the Iowa Hawkeyes beat rival their rival the Iowa State Cyclones to move to 2-0 on the season. However, for head coach Kirk Ferentz, it meant even more, as the win represented his 200th win as a head coach.
After the game, Ferentz opened up about his emotions over earning that 200th win at Iowa.
“It’s always good,” Kirk Ferentz said. “First win or whatever, 200th, it’s always good and I think part of that as a coach, not just myself, everybody on our staff, you realize just how hard these guys work, and it’s year-round almost. There aren’t a lot of days off for these guys. I mean they really work hard and they do so much and they’re held to a high standard character-wise, citizenship-wise, academically. So, to see them happy and to see them celebrate, that’s a pretty good thing.”
Kirk Ferentz became the Iowa head coach in 1999. He had previously served as the head coach of the Maine Black Bears and worked as an assistant for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. He was also an offensive line coach at Iowa under Hayden Fry, who he ultimately replaced as head coach.
Ferentz has more wins than anyone else in Iowa history. He has also won the Big Ten twice while finishing in the AP Top 10 five different times. Despite all that success, Ferentz still remembers the first win.
“Yeah, I remember…Northern Illinois. It was not a landslide victory. Since we’re in a caucus year, a primary year, but yeah. We were just happy to win anyway, backed right into the endzone for that one. But, yeah, I remember. I remember it was a long time until the next one.”
Of course, Kirk Ferentz still admitted that he remembers his losses better than he does any of the wins.
Milestones like this one can be bittersweet for everyone involved. It’s an incredible accomplishment that most won’t be able to reach in their careers. However, it does mean that a coach may not be around forever and that retirement might be around the corner.
In the case of Kirk Ferentz, On3’s Andy Staples named a possible successor to him.
“I don’t see Kirk coaching forever,” Staples wrote. “My guess is he does this a little longer and then turns it over. I think Iowa’s ideal situation is they hand off to LeVar Woods and then pay Phil Parker whatever it takes to keep him at DC.”
Kirk Ferentz on the impact of gambling investigations on the Cy-Hawk game
Both Iowa and Iowa State have been impacted by investigations into gambling by players, which has in turn led to suspensions for several players. Ahead of the game, Ferentz admitted that it had hurt.
“I don’t know. The guys that aren’t there aren’t there,” Ferentz said. “I can’t speak to their side. I can speak to ours. We’d be a better team with our guys out there. I’m sure they feel the same way. The reality is they aren’t.”