When Iowa fans complain about offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, they're going after coach's son

On Oct. 12, Brian Ferentz held a news conference with the Iowa media, four days after the Hawkeyes lost 9-6 at Illinois and fell to 3-3 on the season. The offensive coordinator — and head coach Kirk Ferentz's son — tried to explain why, six games into the season, the Hawkeyes had only five offensive touchdowns.

Toward the end of the session, a reporter addressed the elephant in the room, basically asking the younger Ferentz why Iowa's offense stinks and if he's considered stepping down.

Defiantly, Ferentz responded: "There's two options in life in any situation. You can surrender, and if you surrender, then I think the results are pretty much guaranteed. Or you can dig in, you can continue to fight, and you can try to improve and do things better. I will always choose [the second option].''

Iowa's losing streak reached three games in a 54-10 loss at Ohio State in which the Hawkeyes' only touchdown was scored by the defense. But then a strange thing happened: The Iowa offense came to life in a 33-13 win over Northwestern and a 24-3 upset of Purdue on the road. Defense keyed last week's 24-10 win over Wisconsin, and suddenly the Hawkeyes have a somewhat-clear path to the Big Ten West Division title, even with an embattled offensive coordinator.

At 4-3 in the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes are tied with the Gophers, Illinois and Purdue for first place in the West. If Iowa beats Minnesota on Saturday and Nebraska on Black Friday, while Illinois — which plays at No. 3 Michigan on Saturday — loses once, the Hawkeyes, offensive warts and all, would claim the West and make a return trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.

For many if not most Hawkeyes fans, the developments of the past three weeks have created a conundrum. They, of course, want their team to keep winning, all the way to Indianapolis, but they're also not at all sold on Ferentz as offensive coordinator going forward.

The skepticism is warranted when you look at the stats. The Hawkeyes rank 130th out of 131 FBS teams in total offense at 251.1 yards per game, and their average of 17.9 points per game ranks 124th. Since Ferentz became offensive coordinator in 2017, Iowa's season-ending total offense has been no higher than 87th nationally and has been 99th or lower in three of five seasons. The Hawkeyes' scoring was 40th at 31.8 points per game in 2020 but fell to 99th last year at 23.4.

Kirk Ferentz in October shot down questions about his son's future, suggesting that reporters look at the win total since his son became offensive coordinator.

"Making the change? No, no, no, no,'' the elder Ferentz told reporters. "I mean, we won 10 games last year. I don't know if you're aware of that. … So, I look at that, and we've won a lot of games since 2015 [when Brian Ferentz became run game coordinator].''

Iowa has reached bowl eligibility in 19 of Kirk Ferentz's 24 seasons as coach, including trips to one Rose Bowl and three Orange Bowls, accomplishments most programs in the West Division would envy.

Since the younger Ferentz took over the offense, the Hawkeyes are 49-22 with one West title. They'll play in their fifth bowl game in that span this season, and the first four were to the Pinstripe, Outback, Holiday and Citrus, not to a New Year's Six contest that Hawkeyes fans covet.

How the Brian Ferentz situation plays out could hinge on how the Hawkeyes finish the season. Or maybe not, since his father runs the program. One can wonder if Iowa already would have made a coordinator change if Brian's last name was Smith instead of Ferentz.