Ferentz Q&A

What you have here is raw copy. You're going to find some irregularities. Just try to blow right through those.

I talked with Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz last Thursday. I want to thank him for the opportunity.

One question I want to explain. You're going to see that I asked about strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle and rhabdo.

I agree that is ancient history. Here's why I brought it: The Hansen Performance Center has a weightroom that is the centerpiece of Iowa's football orbit. Doyle, who I respect and totally get that he's a master in his field, is the commander in that part of the building.

I wanted Ferentz to articulate the regard in which he holds Doyle. They've wrestled this bear from day 1 and through what had to have been a frightening chapter in rhabdo (frightening for all involved).

Any questions, I'm around.

That's football -- Did you feel challenged in the moment?

I don't regret saying, ‘That's football.' What I should've done, if I could go back and I know you can't, was explain exactly what I meant by that. An example of that would be how do you explain Dallas Clark being a walk-on third-team linebacker to one of the best tight ends to ever play at the University of Iowa or college football?

There are certain things that are hard to explain or give concrete answers for, but they happen. The things we came up short in in that game - particularly after we played a heckuva a lot cleaner the week before, we were a lot more representative of what we'd like to be even though we lost that game - to me, I don't regret that answer as much as I regret not elaborating what I meant by that. That's something I need to do a better job of, quite frankly.

Could you understand the reaction?

Yes and no, but I blame myself. I left the door open for people to be upset by that. Again, I think what I should've done was explain exactly why that is football, what I mean. When I said ‘That's football,' well, what does that mean? I left the door open. I don't want to say I got what I deserved, but I got what I got. In retrospect, what I should've done is elaborate. Here's what I mean by ‘That's football,' things like Dallas Clark, things that are hard to explain.

How guarded do you have to be? Do you catch yourself reeling in your thoughts?

In this day and age, you have to be very guarded. I know people in the media tend to generalize or, typically . . . how to I say this? You hear a lot, that's a generic answer. In this day and age, you're forced to be that way because there are so many opporunities for those ‘gotcha moments.' It's almost like being a political candidate, although Donald Trump is putting that one aside, that strategy.

Again, that's the world we live in, but circling back to ‘That's football,' to me it's do a better job explaining what I mean if I throw something out like that. Here's what I mean by that. Here are some illustrations and examples of what I'm talking about. How do you explain giving up two punt returns and giving up the ball like we did, all in critical situations? We played well the week before and then we turned around and, boom, had five plays like that. That's a bad starting point when you go back to that game.

That loss, it's one game and it made such a difference. Eight wins at Iowa, in my mind, is a thing at Iowa. That one game . . .

Certainly, eight is better than seven, but the thing that stung about that game was the way we played and the way we lost it. It was so representative of what we don't want to do. Conversely, the week before we lost a great ball game. Both teams competed well. Sure, there are plays you want back, but it wasn't like you laid awake that night and ‘what if this or that,' ‘how did that happen?' I think everyone left the stadium after the Nebraska game - fans, players, coaches - we all knew it was a bad performance. Broader picture, that's just hard to live with. They're going to happen once in a while. 2004 Arizona State, that was a really bad game, too, but over the course of that season, it was an abberation. That's the challenge right here, what do we do to straighten that out? We're not going to win at the rate we want to win or compete at the rate we want to compete - to better state that - turning the ball over and costing us points. Returns of any sort, that's just a bad deal.

Talking to a lot of media, why? Also, you came out at the very beginning of media day and strongly and clearly stated that Big Ten championships are the goal, the goal isn't 7-5. I think there's a sentinment out there that you guys are OK with 7-5, which we both know is not true, but you felt the need to say that. What's changed?

7-5 was OK in 2001. It was beyond OK, it was really great. We were climbing at that point. Every year is a different adventure, but to answer the broader-based question, coming out of Jacksonville, if there's one good thing about getting beat like that and one good thing, maybe, it was just not a good six weeks, if you combine that with the last game in Kinnick. So, we spent a lot of time talking about things here and spent a lot of time thinking, probably no different than December 2012, probably not a lot different than some other periods since I've been here. I think that really is what motivated all of us. We came out and had a press conference in January, which was unprecedented, we made the decision on the quarterback, but also, I think I hit on that point in January, too, our goal is to be a championship-caliber program. It has been since we started here. We're not backing off that at all. All that being said, it's a little tougher here than some other places, but it's been proven that it can be done. To me, it's about how you run the race. You may get there, you may not get there, but it's how you run the race and the quality you run the race with. Those last two losses are really illustrative of what we really don't want to be. That was clear and obvious. Then, once we got back here and started meeting - or really you start thinking about it when you walk off the field - it's more about what do we have to do to address the things? What do we have to do to get to the place we want to be? What do we have to do to give ourselves a realistic chance to put ourselves in championship contention instead of just talking about it or hoping for it? That's been the quest since then. I don't want to say I've turned over a new leaf, but I've really tried to re-visit everything I try to do with the program and what my role is. And then just try to do a more quality job with it, whether it's my relation with the media, which, quite frankly . . . I looked at the tapes of the last two press conferences I did, those are not things I'm proud of. So, that's part of my job and I need to do a better job with that, just like I need to do a better job in some areas of coaching. That's what's motivating me right now.

The job as overseer. When you leave things to be decided among staff, for example offensive coordinator and running game coordinator, did that create a vacuum? Was there consensus? Who's the trump card? Are you more engaged in that?

Sixteen and a half years ago, when we were putting the staff together, I wasn't hung up on whether we were going to be a four-man front or three-man front defensively or a blitz outfit, though that's not my preference, being realistic to this program and this geographic location, I don't think that would be the smartest way for us to operate. I think we'd be riding a roller coaster. We're more of a zone concept team, I think historically. My point is, whether it's an over front or an under front, the two main fronts in four-man football, that wasn't paramount for me. When I looked at our staff, I wanted to find people who were excellent teachers, people who were going to be good mentors, communicators, team players. The one thing on that, while I don't care if we cover the strong guard or the weak guard, wherever the shade is, that's not that big of a deal to me, but it's more when the ball is snapped, what are we going to look like offensively or defensively, how are we going to play once that ball is snapped? From day 1, that's been my vision. There are certain ways I want our team to look like, I've got a vision that way, certainly, and if you're a head coach, you have to have a vision. It hasn't necessarily been a scheme thing, zone vs. man or whatever, but there's a certain quality to the way you want it to be done. That's been true with every coach we've hired. As it pertains to my role on the offense or defense or special teams, if it fits in the way I envisioned it being, I don't think you want to micromanage. As an assistant coach, I always enjoyed being allowed to do my job. Coach Fry let me do that, coach Belichick, coach Marchibroda, all three of those guys were great that way. You felt ownership and I think it's important for coaches to feel that. I know I appreciated it. You don't want to be that meddler, but I also think it's reasonable to believe that the head coach needs to set some parameters in that, ‘hey, this is the way we're going to approach this, this is the way we're going to look and do things.'” There's also a learning process involved. Our staff didn't just jell in 1999. That took a couple of years and we had some changes then. I think once we settled in, we had a good working relationship and a good feel for each other. Fast forwarding to now, I think we're at that spot, too. We went the 13 years, and I say 13, but Norm (Parker, defensive coordinator) was in and out there the last couple. He couldn't function at full speed for obvious reasons, but I made the decision, and I would never change it, what he was able to add and contribute was worth what we might've given up for him to be able to do some things. I think we have the right people, right now. Maybe I was a year slow with getting LeVar or someone over to the offense, just so I could balance that back up. I feel like we're really working well right now. I think everyone has a better understanding of the inherent challenges to this program, and every program has them. How do we make it work? I feel like we're on the right road now.

In January, when you looked at your role, did you make any changes?

There were a lot of things I thought I had to do a better job with. Quite frankly, my demeanor in those last two press conferences that's not what I want to be, how I want to be or how I want to appear. They're both coming after bad losses, but that's part of the job. It's like if you're coaching. If we're having a bad experience or bad day, we have to work through that and I better set the tempo.

There's a new president coming probably before your first game. How does that resonate with you? Will it change anything? What are your thoughts?

It's interesting. When I got hired, the only person I didn't talk to was the president. I didn't talk to her until after I got hired, so there was a little leap of faith there. I really didn't know Bob (Bowlsby). I met him once in my life. I came in and played golf here in the summer outing. I lived in Cleveland. We ended up getting cab on the way out of town to pick up one of our eight cats or whatever from a buddy who has a farm. There was a leap of faith when I came here. When I was an assistant coach in the ‘80s, you never met the president. I might've met one or two in passing. You deal in the institution. You have faith in the fact that Iowa is never going to hire a bad person as president. I've had great relationships with the presidents I've worked with so far and I anticipate the same thing coming forward.

Beyond that, Bruce Rastetter (president of the Board of Regents and an Iowa football donor to the tune of $5 million) has a say in this. He's donated $5 million to your football program. What is the relationship there?

As you might imagine, I feel very favorably toward Bruce, and not only because of the donation he made, but he was extremely helpful in getting other people on board, he really advocated for this (the new facility). He was very, very helpful from that regard. I'm extremely appreciative of that. He's been a great supporter, and we've had so many people here, you go right down the list of the people involved, with the Hansen's name front and center, so many people have been supportive of the program. As a coach, I'm obviously very, very appreciative of them taking an interest and the bottom line is, in Iowa, we couldn't get this done without private support. We don't have that corporate money or the populations that maybe some other places do. Our stadium isn't 110,000 seats. If we don't have the private support, from the people front and center on the board out there and the many other gifts, they all were meaningful, each and every one of those people, we're all appreciative of what they did and what they made possible for us.

Part of being Iowa coach, I think there's an element of losing that's going to come with this. You talked about handling it well in press conferences, but I also think if you're doing it right, you're going to lose some games, but there's also a foundation. I think think this place is part of that. I think that can get lost in the big picture and emotions override sometimes in losses, mainly the Nebraska game.

That was a bad game and I understand that, totally. We had some other games, too, where we left the door open. That again, I'm not as big on the wins and losses. I never have been, from day 1. That wasn't our focus as much as playing well. That's really what it gets down to and then you can live with the results. My experience in sports, whether it's the NFL, college or high school, if you play well, you give yourself a better than 50 percent chance. It's amazing. It's probably true in every sport, but I know it is in football. I think big picture here, again, is there are only two coaches here who have lasted more than a decade. Was Evy eight or nine? I can't remember, but I think if you look historically anywhere just about there are going to be peaks and valleys. During my time here, we've seen them in our league at other schools that maybe have a more advantageous set up for recruiting. It's a reality of sports. I think if you're planning on staying somewhere long enough, you better be prepared to deal with that. It's kind of like coaching in any season, there are going to be things that happen this year that are disappointing and hopefully, we'll get out unscathed. When things happen that you didn't hope for or you get unwanted results, you have to deal with those, find a way to rebound, find a way to recover and make it a positive in some way.

You can't worry about how it's processed outside of this building.

I don't have any control over it. You're better served in finding time and using your energy to correct the problem. Growing up in Pittsburgh, I always go back to the Steelers. They've had three head coaches since 1969. You could argue they've had as much success as anyone, but they've also had disappointment and failure. The one thing I think the Rooney's have understood traditionally instead of rifling people out of there is they ask where we came up short? Sometimes, it's just the other teams are better. That happens sometimes. But if there are things that need to be adjusted or fixed, that's what you focus on. It all gets down to having the right people. That's what you have to have.

Do you feel like the foundation is here? Do you have a timeline for when this place might pay off in recruiting, talent pool-wise?

I'm not sure I realized how much not having it was hurting us. When you don't have something, you don't worry about it. I've never been one to look over the fence. I've not been one to do that. I don't think, jeez, I wish I had that car. I really don't care about cars or ‘that' house. When you're a coach, you really can't get attached to houses because you may be moving in a year's time, so that's a rule I always had. I never got attached to things as much as people. The first time it got driven home was the (Tom) Lemming function we had the Sunday before school started. Every prospect, every parent I spoke to was effusive about this building. How beautiful it is. That was my awakening moment where, ‘This has been hurting us, not having a facility.' It was no different in 1981, that's why they built all those things they built for coach Fry. They needed to upgrade a little bit. I'd rather have the right people than the right building and right now I think we have both. That's what I'm excited about. We don't have the population necessarily in Iowa, and I mention that frequently, but the flip side of that is , too, is we have something a lot of people don't have and that's a passionate fan base that really does care and is invested in this program. That really struck me in ‘81 and I think that's why we've been able to do some things that, quote, unquote, we shouldn't be able to do just on paper. I think that's where we have the edge, the people and the community. I'm sure it happens at other places to some degree, but when talk to people who wear a Tiger Hawk anywhere in the country and the ‘Go Hawks' stuff, it's unique. It's really special. That, to me, is part of our secret weapon, if you will.

Complete departure, but why can't you get 6-7, four-star offensive tackles to run in here and say, ‘Please, show me the way.'

That's a very fair question. It just seems so logical. Statistics and research would show you that it's the right things to do if you're a good prospect, but recruiting is hardly that . . . logical.

Is it just a mystery? The 2005 class had a million stars. Some of them didn't work out, but they also came through with an Orange Bowl win. Is it tug o' war?

I don't know how many stars Tony Moeaki had, but he was worthy of every start he had. And Dace Richardson, if he wouldn't have had the injuries he went through, he went through an awful lot, he was a really good player, but if he had stayed healthy . . . That's just one position where guys just kind of develop through their hard work. Marshal was hardly . . . We thought we made a mistake on Marshal when we got him on campus, just watching him in the out-of-season program. It was like, huh, I'm not sure on this guy. The single most redeeming quality he has is blocking people, so when he put the shoulder pads on, the third day of practice, it was like ‘We have a good player here.' My sister could've told you he was pretty good after that, but up until then, we were like, hmmmm, not sure. It's interesting and the NFL is the same way and those guys do a lot more research and have a lot more data. It's such a crapshoot. How is a prospect going to fit into this program? Are they going to make the adjustment? Are they going to do the things you have to do to be successful here?

When you walk out of pretty much every door that players would walk out, there's glass in the hallway and right there for players to see is the weightroom or weight universe or weight nation. Was that intentional? About strength and condition coach Chris Doyle? Rhabo happened, but the program remains you guys at the hip. That's how it's going to be and how it's been.

When it hit, it was just so unprecedented. It was surreal. Without getting really specific, one thing I knew immediately was there's a really good Division 3 program in our state that runs the same exercise annually. I don't know if they still do or not, but they had been for years without having an issue. Things weren't adding up in that regard. And then the research was so limited. Basically, it was military and a few Olympic sports that had some stuff printed up. When got all done and everything cooled down a little bit, I brought up we were using a certain CK numbers, CK levels. That was the number we were gauging everything on. I have no medical background, but my question once the dust was settled was had we ever tested a population of athletes. Where did we get this number and what are we basing it on? We had a bunch of guys volunteer the next August to be tested before camp, during camp and then down the road. What we discovered was their CK numbers were all raised. In retrospect, really, if we had had that data when the incident took place, it would've been a lot different scale. That was my suspicion at that point, but there was no science and what are you going to do on that one? I'm not minimizing this thing, but in retrospect . . . We had a young guy Dustyn Baethke who was in department. He left here to take a head coach. He was kind of like the Dan Gable of our department. The guy is in phenomenal shape. It was nuts. He had to get an insurance policy because he had been upgraded to full-time here and the doctors looked at his numbers and said you should be hospitalized right now. He was our most fit guy. It's an illustration. We didn't have any science on that then, but we do now. It's one of those perfect storms. I've known Chris for quite a while and I think if you get to know Chris, you can't help but be impressed. First, he really cares about people deeply. He is so unbelievably professional and so unbelievably inquisitive, which is a trademark of any good coach in any realm. I think he's a master coach, that's just how I look at him. He's been with us since day 1. That whole thing rocked all of us, don't get me wrong. But as we were saying earlier about tough times and things that you certainly hope never happen, what's your answer, what's your response? Are we going to make someone walk the plank or are we going to gather information and see exactly what took place and procede accordingly. I feel fine about how things have worked themselves out, but that was a bad chapter.

How would you characterize your relationship with athletics director Gary Barta? It seems like you guys are simpatico, but there's also other things going on with the UI particularly with him right now?

I don't meet with the presidents all that often, but I have sat down with all three I've worked under. I've enjoyed all three of them and have great respect for all three. Whereas with Gary, we do meet frequently and we do things together, business-wise and what have you. Our communication has been really good. Gary has been tremendous. It's hard to believe we're coming up on a decade here. That part is mind-blowing. He's been nothing but supportive. Since he's been here, we've had the highs, going to the Orange Bowl was great and winning that, but then two years ago going 4-8 and the way we finished this year wasn't that much fun. The role of an AD has changed a great deal now as you know. They're out there being scrutinized a little bit more. People want answers from them as well. He's been nothing but supportive and I'm very appreciative of that.

Your new O-line, it's very Iowan. Angerer signed in 2005 and was at the heart of it. O-line has a chance to be that similar story. Quiet development. It's a hard sell, I know. People want trophies and wins over Iowa State . . .

That's fair. So do we. So do they.

Offensive line and recruiting, is that kind of the story of Iowa football right now? You had to go find these guys and they are in a stage of development , , , I don't know. You know better than I if they're ready or not.

We have nothing against 4- and 5-star guys. We've tried. I think back on Bulaga. He really bought what we sold. I don't know how many guys in the country in the last 25 years who've come in and played three straight years and have gone to the NFL and started as a rookie that year. He would've been a fourth-year senior that year. That's a pretty amazing thing.

Stuff on Pat -- 32:40

We've had a history of having guys and I think our line guys now have a chance to be those kinds of players. Austin is the centerpiece. He's experienced and he's confident. I think he really will help stabilize. Jordan is having his best camp and he's played a lot. I'm really confident he'll play well. Sean Welsh, too, he's doing well. Eric Simmons has had his best camp since we've been here. That's what we're seeing, improvement with all of the guys. It's a core group. All three tackles, I think it's reasonable to say we'll play all three of them. I think they're all pretty close to being even right now. Fair to say we'll probably have some ups and downs with those guys. Just like the guys I just mentioned, they went through that, too, when they first got out there on the field. When I look at it, I look at guys on a year-round basis, how they're doing and how they've improved, everyone I mentioned has really made strides. We're going to have to weather some ups and downs with them. There are going to be some tough moments and they're going to get educated and they're getting educated in practice, too. They don't have to go to the game field to get it. I really think in time, it seems to me quality people rise and I think we'll see that with all three of the guys, not just the two listed as starters. I feel like Cole is the same kind of guy.

Are they what this place is in a lot of ways?

That's probably why, just mentioning styles early. For us to have really good football teams. You look at Bradley Fletcher. He wasn't from Iowa, but he was a raw football player, a raw athlete. First thing I think about with Fletch was his attitude and second was his skillset. I'm thinking about him as a young player here. The third thing was he had a lot of work to do to learn how to really play, but when he did learn that, boy, he became pretty good. He played super in ‘08. Whether it be Fletch, who's from Ohio but wasn't recruited very hard, or those line guys you're talking about, it's all about the improvement they make. You look at our wrestling program traditionally. I watched those guys in the ‘80s and closely since I've been back. I'm on the I-Club tour and hearing Sherm talke about Aaron White's recruitment. He was going to Duquesne. Duquesne was good back in the ‘70s with the Nelson twins. They had those two Nelson twins. Then, they had Stew Jackson from Beaver Falls who could hit from the corner. Since then, it's not been so pretty. But I think when you have a couple of guys emerge, you've got a shot.

Hot seat and moving into this place. Are those two items hard to reconcile? Now matter what happens, this place has your imprint on it. Absolutely it does.

Whoever gets my office is probably going to be upset. Whoever ends up in there next . . . What was he doing? They'll knock the wall out and make it just one big palace.

It seems really contradictory. This place has been built and a lot of it has been on what you've done in the last 16 years and the term hot seat. It's a weird dichotomy to live in.

That's sports. Outside of your contract, nothing is guaranteed. When I went to Maine, I actually had a buyout, that was about half of my contract ($60,000). I took a pay cut to go there, first of all. And then Kevin asked me to take a buyout. I didn't know what a buyout was. I didn't care. It was no big deal. There's nothing guaranteed in sports and nobody owes you anything, other than what's agreed upon. That's the way I've always looked at it and that's why having a contract, I did learn in the National Football League, it's probably good to have one. It's probably good to make sure you know what's in it. Outside of that, you know ups and downs are going to come. There are going to be highs and lows. It could be a change of leadership. That's one thing I did learn at Maine. I was there less than a year Kevin [White, former Maine AD who hired Ferentz there] took a job at Tulane and rightfully so. Dale [LOOK UP] our president because president at Florida State with a year and a half. The two people I really identified with when I went there were both gone shortly into my tenure. It was a good life lesson, because those are things you don't know as an assistant. At least I didn't. I lived right over here and came to work every day like this and went home, it was a great life. I took the kids to get a doughnut at the corner and then to the athletic club to go swimming. It was simple. You just learn a little bit about the topography out there and try to protect your backside a little bit. There's no guarantees, and nobody owes me anything, certainly.

I don't think you would want to coach anywhere else. I think you like this fight. I might be wrong . . .

I was short, small and slow. My whole thing, if it was a 40-yard dash, if we run 20 of them, I would fare OK. It that was the only damn chance I had. That's the way I've looked at life, I guess. The first 19 weren't going to be pretty if the guy had any ability at all. That's the curse you're born with.

Does Iowa coach need to be that? I think Hayden had an element of that.

He never coached at a sexy place, if that's what you're saying. When you hire people in general, if you get someone who hasn't been at a place like that, then you've got to make sure you're doing the right thing. It's a challenge, but where isn't it a challenge. I guess that's the other thing. There are standards. Every place has challenges, it's just a different set. You have to embrace it. I think that's the biggest lesson I learned at Maine. You've got to hire people who are going to embrace the place you're at. That was a good life lesson for me, too. I made that mistake initially. That's why I took so much time in ‘99 when I put the staff together. You had to have the right people who are going to be really good teachers and who are really going to embrace and feel good about being here. I think that's really important in any job, probably

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com