Brian Ferentz hiring changes Iowa football organizational chart

IOWA CITY -- Of the four applicants for Iowa's offensive line position, Brian Ferentz was the only one who happened to be the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz.

So, Iowa athletics director Gary Barta proposed that the offensive line coach report to him, thus changing the organizational chart for Iowa football.

Barta submitted a management plan "in recognition of UI Conflict of Interest Employment" that has Brian Ferentz reporting to him. Barta also will conduct Ferentz's annual performance review and compensation.

"I worked through UI policies and procedures and we were subsequently able to convince Brian to apply," Barta said in a letter to Sue Buckley, UI vice president for human resources. "His application was approved to be included in the interview pool. I interviewed all four approved applicants. Kirk purposely did not participate in Brian's interview process. At the conclusion of the interviews it was apparent to me that Brian's credentials and candidacy were worthy of recommending for hire."

Kirk Ferentz wasn't involved in Brian's interview.

In preparation for Brian Ferentz's performance reviews, Barta will see feedback from Kirk Ferentz and offensive coordinator Greg Davis. Feedback from other members of Iowa's staff also will be sought.

Barta will provide human resources with a review of the plan within a year.

Davis was hired on an "emergency" contingent. His hiring process was, essentially, hurried and didn't go through the UI's complete hiring process, Barta said.

Brian Ferentz and LeVar Woods weren't emergency hires because those openings occurred sooner than the offensive coordinator position, which opened officially on Feb. 6 when Ken O'Keefe accepted the wide receivers position with the Miami Dolphins.

"The coordinator has to put in an entirely new offense, so, with spring practice, there was a time concern there," Barta said.

Barta was asked if there was a minority candidate for the offensive coordinator position. That is part of the reason for the "emergency" tag for the Davis hire.

"[Kirk Ferentz] thought about a lot of candidates. I'm not going to comment on who they were and exactly what the makeup of the group was," Barta said. "Because of the timing, we didn't go through the process the way we normally would. We will at later date, but it doesn't really reflect who we thought about as candidates."

Here's the memo Barta sent to HR:

COI Employment Mgmt Memo

Here's the old org chart for Iowa football:

Org Chart-Football Jan 2012

Here's the new org chart for Iowa football

Org-Football Org Chart Jan 2012-COI