What to make of Brian Ferentz’s contract clause requiring 25-point scoring average
The son of head coach Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz has led the team to several disappointing offensive seasons. This offseason, he had his contract adjusted to add a clause that requires Iowa to average 25 points per game.
During an episode of Andy Staples On3, Sean Callahan of HuskerOnline shared his thoughts with Andy Staples on what this situation means for Iowa.
“I’m just intrigued and you know Brian Ferentz is motivated to keep his job,” Callahan said.
“He’s got average 25 points per game or he’s not gonna keep his job,” Staples said. “Yeah, he’s very motivated, so we’ll have the drive for 325 [season points] tote board on there. We’re gonna all meet at Big Ten Media Days and agree if it needs to be 300 or 325, because I’ve had multiple people say it’s not 325. The deal with Brian Ferentz is they have to average 25 points per game and they have to win seven games.”
Shortly after news of the clause in his contract came out, it also came out that defensive points and special teams points are going to count towards Brian Ferentz’s points total.
“So, my thing is, if you have to win seven games, it means you’re playing 13,” Staples said. “But, I think, probably the people who have said it’s just 300 are right because let’s say they’re 7-5 in the regular season or 8-4 in the regular season or if they’re winning the West, like you said, maybe they’re 9-3, they’ll have scored 300 points in 12 games and he’ll be fine.”
Under Ferentz in 2022, Iowa scored just 230 points or 17.7 points per game in 13 games. That was the 123rd-ranked scoring offense in the country and 12th-ranked scoring offense in the Big Ten, ahead of Rutgers and Northwestern who both only played 12 games. Arkansas State averaged 25 points per game in 2022 and finished 85th in scoring offense.
So, 25 points per game is not a massive number. At the same time, averaging that amount would have been huge for the Hawkeyes in 2022. Iowa went 8-5 last season with a 5-4 Big Ten record. Had Iowa scored at least 25 points in every game, though, the Hawkeyes would have finished 11-2 with a 7-2 conference record.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before where a hard number is put down in writing,” Callahan added. “They tried to do something with Scott Frost in that sense, and then finally it was released that all Scott Frost had to do was win six games.”
Part of what makes this story sensational is that Brian Ferentz is legendary coach Kirk Ferentz’s son. He, technically, answers to athletic director Gary Barta because of the state’s nepotism laws.
“It is amazing,” Staples replied. “It’s like a loser leaves town match contract — it’s definitely the first one I’ve ever seen for a coordinator with points. You’ve seen head coaches and wins, but coordinator with points — it’s amazing.”
Greg McElroy thinks Cade McNamara can help Iowa on offense
Transfer quarterback Cade McNamara is going to have a lot on his shoulders this season. However, college football analyst Greg McElroy thinks he’s a great fit to handle the challenge of leading the Iowa offense.
“This is a bird in the hand type of pick for me. Some people don’t necessarily love the upside. I personally love that he’s going to be pushed into an offense that is about ball control, but he has at times put the team on his back but he needs a good solid run game. He needs a good supporting cast,” McElroy said.
“Both those things are a little bit up in the air with Iowa based on what they did last year. However, I do think he’s probably the best Iowa quarterback that’s suited up in quite a while, it’s been a minute since they’ve had a guy that has played this much football and high level football.”