In a week that features a Big Ten matchup between top-five teams and an undefeated No. 19 Army versus No. 6 Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium, a 6-4 Iowa team taking on a 4-6 Maryland squad understandably isn’t eliciting a lot of national attention.
But the game is extra intriguing for a simple reason: It pits Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz against his son Brian for the first time.
The elder Ferentz was forced to let go Brian, his embattled offensive coordinator, at the end of last season because the offense didn’t show enough growth under administrative-enforced goals of 25 points per game and at least seven wins. It became a weekly circus last season about whether Brian Ferentz would meet the points per game metric before Iowa interim AD Beth Goetz announced he wouldn’t return in 2024 with four games left in the season when it became clear he wouldn’t. The Hawkeyes finished with an average of 15.4 points per game. Brian reported to the athletic director, not Kirk, because of state nepotism laws. The interim tag was removed from Goetz’ title Jan. 1.
After Iowa let Brian go, he resurfaced in April as a senior offensive assistant on Mike Locksley’s Maryland coaching staff. The opportunity to hire the younger Ferentz, regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in the country, was straight out of the playbook Locksley learned in Tuscaloosa.
“That’s Page 2 of grandma’s chocolate chip cookie recipe that I stole from Coach (Nick) Saban,” Locksley told CBS Sports before the season started. “Go get guys with an expertise; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Think back to Lane being fired on the tarmac and being hired as an analyst (at Alabama) to where he’s at now. Failure isn’t final.
“To hire a guy like Brian Ferentz, who has won 10 games a year for the last few years and one of the top rushing attacks in our league, and to be able to get him and his expertise.”
Locksley was one of a slew of coaches who came to Alabama in off-field roles under Nick Saban. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, Florida coach Billy Napier, South Alabama coach Major Applewhite and Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones all worked in analyst roles under Saban and rehabilitated their careers on the path to landing head coaching positions. The trick under Saban was recognizing just because someone might have failed as a head coach didn’t mean they didn’t have something to offer in a very specific role within the Alabama organization.
In this instance, Locksley wanted to understand more of the “why” behind Iowa’s running game success under Ferentz, particularly the angles used on outside zone blocking. With a rule change allowing analysts to take a more hands-on approach to coaching, Locksley said Ferentz’s presence allowed for younger offensive linemen to get more direct coaching from a veteran coach. Locksley has dedicated three coaches — Ferentz, offensive line coach Brian Braswell and assistant offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski — to working with different aspects of the offensive line.
For the elder Ferentz, it’s an awkward reunion standing on the opposing sideline of his 41-year old son.
“It’s a weird dynamic, but the bottom line is this: the reality is when you get to game day, that’s what’s silly about coaches exchanges greetings and all that,” Ferentz told reporters this week. “I fully know what the other coach wants to do, just like he knows what I want to do, and how we hope the day goes. It’s probably not a great time for a family reunion or just even seeing old friends. Everybody is cordial, but the bottom line is we’ve all got business to take care of on Saturday. We’ll see where it all goes.
“But I think his experience has been good, what I know about it, and as a parent I’m glad he’s with good people, and Mike is a guy I’ve got a lot of respect for.”
Iowa kicks off against Maryland at noon EST Saturday at SECU Stadium. The Hawkeyes, with walk-on Jackson Stratton expected to start at quarterback, are a 6.5-point favorite over the Terrapins. Under first-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester, Iowa is averaging 29.4 points per game. Maryland ranks No. 78 nationally in offensive yards per play and No. 103 in yards per rush.
MORE: Iowa QB buzz as Hawkeyes plan to start former walk-on vs. Maryland