It’s easy to be a critic of Hawkeye program, coaches

Let's play devil’s advocate. Iowa’s coaching staff has been criticized for lackluster offense, mediocre status, blah blah blah. To quote Gene Hackman in “Hoosiers,” a movie about a small-town Indiana basketball team, "This Is your team!“

This is our team, coaches included, that shows up every day, studies film, develops strategies and implements them. These guys not only wear black and gold, represent our great state, and live and breathe Hawkeye football. Do You? What does the average Hawkeye critic do? Criticize! It's Brian's fault! Brian Sucks! Fire Brian! Classy.

Did Brian fumble the ball? Did Brian drop the ball, miss a pass, a crossblock or a field goal? Is it Brian's fault that he just lost five stud starters to injury?

Mediocre coaching? I beg to differ. The NFL is full of Kirk and Brian’s Hawkeyes making meaningful impacts on their teams. Have we struggled? Yes. That's Big Ten football. How many times have Kirk's teams finished in the Top 25, which is in the top 10 percent of all D1 football? Sure, that's Kirk's fault.

Everybody wants to win a national championship. Maybe we should buy every player through NIL. That seems to be the new trend.

Sorry, win or lose, I'm wearing gold and black and lining up with the Hawkeyes. That's my team. Kirk Ferentz knows a lot more about winning football than I, or any critic. If you run Ferentz out of town, who could you possibly get to replace him?

Justin Blackburn

Des Moines