Kirk Ferentz intends to continue coaching at Iowa probably 'until they tell me to sit down’

IOWA CITY — Longtime Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz intends to continue coaching beyond the 2023 season, he clarified Wednesday evening on his weekly radio show.

“I hope to keep doing this for quite a while,” Ferentz said. “I’ve always loved being here. … Until they tell me to sit down, I’ll probably keep going.”

When radio host Gary Dolphin said he took that as Ferentz will be back in 2024, Ferentz said “hopefully a couple years.”

“In a sick way, I like the highs, and I like the lows,” Ferentz said. “Everybody likes the highs, but the lows are tough on you. But that’s what makes the highs good, too. And that’s I think what you’re chasing your whole life.”

He also commented on how he enjoys his players and the mentoring role of a coach.

“Hopefully you’re helping some younger people along the way too,” Ferentz said. “If you get a chance to do all that stuff, it’s a pretty good deal.”

Ferentz released a statement via the team’s social media accounts as well saying he plans to “coach until I am no longer passionate about the game, players or coaches.”

“While my immediate focus is on finishing the season strong, I love coaching, and my intent is to continue coaching here at the University of Iowa,” Ferentz said in the statement.

Kirk Ferentz’s future came into question after interim athletics director Beth Goetz announced on Monday her intention to not retain offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after the 2023 season.

Kirk Ferentz, when asked multiple times in Tuesday’s news conference, did not indicate whether he was planning to coach at Iowa following the 2023 season.

“My plans are like they always are — to worry about this game,” Ferentz said a day earlier. “Bigger scale, bigger picture, these four games. That’s where my focus has been this entire season.”

Ferentz said on his radio show Wednesday he was “not trying to intentionally cause celebration for some people that would love to see me go start a stamp collection or go birdwatching.”

“That was not the intent,” Ferentz said Wednesday. “The intent was to try to steer this thing back to what is important right now.”

Ferentz, in his 25th year leading the Hawkeyes, has the most overall wins in program history and the fourth-most wins in Big Ten Conference history.

Along with providing clarity for fans, Ferentz's course correction also likely serves as assurance to recruits who have already committed to Iowa. The 2024 recruiting class has its early signing period next month.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com