Kirk Ferentz gives in-depth answer on how much freedom Tim Lester will have as OC
After a lengthy search, Iowa officially has a new offensive coordinator, hiring former Western Michigan coach Tim Lester earlier this week. He takes over a unit that struggled mightily under Brian Ferentz, finishing last in the FBS in total offense a season ago.
Lester’s introductory press conference will be Tuesday, Iowa announced. However, Kirk Ferentz weighed in on the hire Friday night during the Hawkeyes’ basketball game against Ohio State.
When asked by Gary Dolphin about how much freedom and flexibility Lester will have within the “parameters” of what Ferentz wants to do, he said the expectations will be the same as they’ve been his entire time at Iowa.
“We’ve been here 25 years now, and the parameters have been pretty much the same,” Ferentz said. “There are certain things that just aren’t negotiable. When you talk about offensive football, ball security is a really important thing, and we didn’t do a great job of that this past year. Our turnover-takeaway margin was not good. Historically, when we do a good job there, we win and win a lot of games. And we did win a lot of games this year, but we could’ve improved in that area. And ’09’s the other exception to the rule. We were a top-10 team and didn’t really do a good job there. That’s one thing right there.
“Just having respect for our three segments involved in the game. We want to be, I think, mindful of what helps the defense, what hurts the defense. Mindful of field position, all those kinds of things. The bottom line is there’s a lot of ways to move the ball and move the ball effectively. Have regard to time of possession, some of those things.”
Last year, Iowa’s defense was among the nation’s best, holding opponents to 282.5 yards and 14.8 points per game – ranking in the top 10 in both categories. It was a different story on offense, though. The Hawkeyes averaged just 234.6 yards, which ranked last in the nation, and their 15.4 points per game was second-worst only to Kent State.
While Ferentz said he’s proud of how the defense performed in 2023, he also wants to see a balanced offense. He predicted Iowa will see just that from Lester.
“Ultimately, the game’s still about scoring more points than your opponent,” Kirk Ferentz said. “We’ve historically played pretty well on defense, we plan to continue that. Just really excited. I think Tim’s a guy who appreciates having balance.
“I really think in football, modern football – I say modern football, but really the last probably 40 years – unless you’re an option team, you can’t just run the ball. Unless you’re a spread team that’s willing to throw the ball every snap, which has some downside to it. I think having the ability to do both is always going to be critical.”