Kirk Ferentz shares why he is ‘proactive’ addressing retirement rumors

Kirk Ferentz will turn 70 on Friday, Aug. 1 ahead of what will be his 27th season as Iowa‘s head football coach. Suffice it to say, college football’s longest tenured head coach is a lot closer to retirement now than when he started in Iowa City in 1999 — before the most recent turn of the century.

But 18 months after the then-72-year-old Nick Saban formally retired following 17 seasons at Alabama, a move many attributed to college athletic’s ever-changing landscape, Ferentz has become more “proactive” about getting ahead of any retirement speculation. That includes being open and transparent about his future whenever the topic gets brought up.

“This one’s an easy one because I turn 70 here in August,” Ferentz told Sports Illustrated‘s Bryan Fischer. “We’re almost proactive on the topic because you figure, certainly in recruiting, people are going to use that against us. And maybe in other areas too. But my answer on the recruiting front is this: if you try to stake the probability of me being in coaching five years from now in both in 2000 or now, I’d suggest your odds are a lot better now than in 2000.

“We were 2-18 our first 20 games. So that’s another ironic twist to this whole thing. And in today’s world I probably would’ve been fired midseason in Year 2. Fortunately that didn’t happen and we’re still sitting here 25 years later, 26 years later,” Ferentz continued. “It’s interesting. But it’s just part of it, and I really can’t answer the question other than I feel great and it’s what I like doing, and I don’t have a real good reason to stop right now.”

Despite the rough start to his Iowa tenure, when the Hawkeyes went just 4-19 overall and 3-13 in Big Ten play across his first two seasons in Iowa City, Ferentz sits just one win away from tying Ohio State legend Woody Hayes for the Big Ten’s all-time record of 205 career victories. Which means, outside of a winless campaign, Ferentz’s longevity at Iowa will pay off with a major Big Ten record.

Kirk Ferentz breaks down contrast with Nick Saban regarding retirement timeline

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 Saban’s surprise 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.

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.