Kirk Ferentz, the nation's longest-tenured head coach, said Tuesday at Big Ten media days that he's concerned about the path college football is on.
Ferentz, entering his 24th season as Iowa's head coach, believes that the team is in a precarious position. A lot of uncertainty and a lot of vagueness. A firm structure isn't something we have. There is no set of operating rules. I don't believe anyone is able to explain the NIL in detail. It seems like maybe that's going on, but you can't entice recruits. A lack of clarity is what it is.
College football needs a stabilizing voice to oversee it, according to Ferentz.
I'm worried about who's going to do it since we need some intervention. Where is it coming from? "Where's that leadership going to come from, because we're all busy?" asked Ferentz, who joked that his old counterpart at Wisconsin was also available.
Pat Fitzgerald echoed Ferentz's sentiment regarding everything from the transfer portal, NIL questions and even the recruiting calendar, which has become never-ending.
Fitzgerald said the game has never been better. It has never been more chaotic after you leave the field.
Ferentz will make $7 million a year after signing a contract extension. The best part of coaching for him is the players.
Ferentz said that his concerns about the direction of the sport had soured him on his future as a coach.
The Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher verbal dustup in May is an example of frustration among his coaching brethren.
"You've got two head coaches, prominent head coaches and both good coaches, who are squabbling in the public forum, that's not a good look for our sport." It's not a good look for the conference, and that makes you wonder what we're doing here. How come we can't figure out what's going on?
The Hawkeyes have won at least 10 games in two of the last three years. As long as the good outweighs the bad, he will continue to coach.
Ferentz said that the sport wasn't there yet, but that they were approaching it.
Ferentz is in favor of players earning money on their name, image and likeness once they get to campus, but said the idea of schools bidding for players coming out of high school combined with proposed legislation to ensure that players can transfer as many times as they want isn't good for anyone
Ferentz said that if you go into the portal, you come back in his office and say, "I got a deal for $250,000." I don't know how to know that. There is no way to know. His adviser is telling him something. I don't know where that ends.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
