Kirk Ferentz’s tenure as oldest FBS head coach ended before it began thanks to Bill Belichick

This is the 25th year that has begun with a “2,” so we should probably start making lists of the Best This and Greatest That of the last quarter-century.

Except there’s no way I’m doing that. So let’s move on to other things.

* Two weeks ago, I noted here that Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz had become the oldest FBS head coach with the firings of two coaches older than him. Ferentz was bailed out last week by Bill Belichick, his former boss when Belichick coached the Cleveland Browns.

Belichick will be 73 during his first season as North Carolina’s coach. Ferentz will be 70 next season.

Belichick’s girlfriend is Jordon Hudson. At 24, she is the youngest girlfriend of an FBS head coach. Two weeks from now, maybe it will be someone else.

* The Chicago Bears had one first down and four total yards in the first half of their 38-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday.

Tory Taylor, the rookie punter from Iowa, is tied for second in the NFL in punts, with 63. Only three of those kicks have gone into the end zone for touchbacks, while 23 landed inside the 20-yard line.

So nothing has changed for him football-wise.

* If things didn’t get harder enough for Iowa in Big Ten women’s basketball with the additions of UCLA and USC (currently No. 1 and No. 5 in the nation), even Michigan State, the Hawkeyes’ opponent today in East Lansing, is ranked 17th.

The Spartans had gone seven straight years without more than nine wins in a Big Ten season until they went 12-6 last season, and 22-9 overall.

This year, they’re 9-0, average 91.4 points, and have outscored opponents by a national-best 38.3 points per game.

Remember when women’s college hoops was Connecticut, Tennessee, Stanford, and not much else marquee-wise? It wasn’t that long ago. It’s never coming back.

* If you feel you must go to a tourist area in downtown Nashville while there for the Transperfect Music City Bowl, skip Broadway Street and go to Printers Alley. It’s less nuts and more enjoyable.

I recommend Fleet Street Pub for fish and chips, or bangers and mash, or crisps and curry. Always choose English rock over Kid Rock.

* The Drake men’s basketball team is 9-0.

The Bulldogs play Kansas State on Tuesday in Kansas City, so that could be their first scratch. Or, the Bulldogs will scratch back.

When Darian DeVries left Drake after its 2024 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles and NCAA tournament appearance to become West Virginia’s coach, almost all the would-be returning players transferred out.

The Bulldogs appeared headed to oblivion. DeVries had done a sensational job at Drake, with six straight 20-win seasons.

Drake hired Ben McCollum from Northwest Missouri State. It caused ripples at best. It should have produced waves.

McCollum’s career record is, yes, sensational. Four NCAA Division II titles. Five D-II National Coach of the Year awards. Never more than five losses in his last eight seasons there.

McCollum was born in Iowa City and grew up in Storm Lake. He can coach, and he can recruit.

If you haven’t seen Drake guard Bennett Stirtz (one of four starters McCollum brought from NMSU), do. He’s had 29 points in one game, 11 assists in another.

* Last week, BYU got a verbal commitment from 2025 men’s basketball recruit A.J. Dbyantsa, already projected by some as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.

Reports had Dybantsa getting up to $7 million in an NIL package. Which led me to ask Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery where this is all heading.

“It’s going to be a pro model,” McCaffery said. “The athletes are going to collectively bargain, they’re all going to get paid. If we go to rev-share, it means they’re all getting a salary. That’s where it headed.

“The NCAA will not have the role that they’ve had in the past. (It will be) a different organization, one that will be figured out moving forward.”

* I wrote this before Saturday night’s Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., matching 6-6 South Alabama against 6-6 Western Michigan.

If the streets are quieter than normal today, and there’s less activity from birds and squirrels than usual, it’s understandable. That game plum wore us out.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com