Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the University of Maine. He was also an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Ferentz played college football as a linebacker at the University of Connecticut from 1974 to 1976. Since 2017, he has been the longest tenured FBS coach with one program. Ferentz is the all-time wins and losses leader in the Big Ten Conference.
Playing career Ferentz played high school football at Upper St. Clair High School near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a standout linebacker and fullback, playing under Joe Moore, eventual offensive line coach at Pitt and Notre Dame. Ferentz also played baseball as a standout left-handed pitcher. In 1973, Ferentz committed to play football at the University of Connecticut. He was a football captain and an academic all-Yankee Conference linebacker at Connecticut. Ferentz was a team football captain and was named the ECAC Division II Defensive Player of the Week after 12 tackles and two fumble recoveries in a win against UMass. Ferentz's pregame speech against Boston University helped inspire the Huskies to their only home win of his senior season. Ferentz was named academic all-conference and earned defensive MVP honors. He served as a student assistant at Connecticut in 1977 under head coach Walt Nadzak.
Early coaching career Worcester Academy Ferentz spent the 1978 and 1979 seasons as defensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Worcester Academy. Ferentz coached under Worcester head coach Ken O'Keefe and alongside offensive coordinator Mike Sherman, while coaching Joe Philbin, among others. At Worcester, Ferentz also taught English literature and coached the girls' basketball team.
Pittsburgh After Worcester, Ferentz spent the 1980 season as a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh, assisting his high school coach Joe Moore with the offensive line. The 1980 Pittsburgh Panthers football team, coached by Jackie Sherrill, finished with an 11–1 record and a number two national ranking. That Panthers team included several future NFL Hall of Famers and All-Americans, including quarterback Dan Marino and offensive linemen Jim Covert, Mark May, and Russ Grimm.
Iowa The next season, Ferentz joined Hayden Fry's staff at the University of Iowa, coaching the Hawkeyes' offensive line from 1981 to 1989. Ferentz worked under Fry and offensive coordinator Bill Snyder, and alongside assistant coaches Barry Alvarez, Dan McCarney, and Don Patterson. In 1981, Ferentz's first season, the Hawkeyes achieved their first winning season since 1961 and their first Rose Bowl since 1958. In Ferentz's time as an assistant at Iowa, the Hawkeyes would win the Big Ten again in 1985, holding the No. 1 national ranking for five weeks. Iowa appeared in eight bowl games during the time Ferentz was an Iowa assistant, including two Rose Bowl appearances and two Holiday Bowl appearances.
Eleven Hawkeyes coached by Ferentz went on to play in the National Football League (NFL). Three of them were first round picks in the NFL draft, and five of his players were first team All-Big Ten Conference selections. Six of those players played over 100 games in the NFL: Offensive guards Ron Hallstrom, Mark Bortz, and Bob Kratch, tackles Brett Miller and John Alt, and center Joel Hilgenberg. Guard Mike Haight played in 63 games as well. Tackle Dave Croston won 1986 Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, as would center Mike Devlin in 1992.
Maine After nine seasons at Iowa, Ferentz returned to New England to become the head coach at the University of Maine in 1990, replacing Tom Lichtenberg. Ferentz took a $3,000 pay cut to become the head coach of the Black Bears, who had initially offered Tom O'Brien the job. In his first two seasons, Maine finished tied for seventh in the Yankee Conference (D1-AA), finishing 3–8 overall and 2–6 in conference play both years. Ferentz lost his first five games as head coach in 1990, but responded by winning three of his final six against Rhode Island, Delaware, and Northeastern. In 1991, Maine defeated Ferentz's alma mater Connecticut 41–20.
In 1992, the Black Bears improved to 6–5 overall, 4–4 in conference play. The team won its first two games against New Hampshire and Kutztown; on November 14, the Bears upset No. 16 UMass at McGuirk Stadium in what would be Ferentz's final win at Maine. Maine finished tied for fifth in the Yankee Conference.2019 Maine Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Maine. 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2022. Offensive tackle Dan Jones went unselected in the 1993 NFL draft, but would go on to play 34 games for the Cincinnati Bengals.
After three seasons in charge, Ferentz led the Black Bears to a combined 12–21 record. "The good news is in Maine, nobody noticed the mistakes I made," Ferentz stated in 2018. "They were more interested in hunting season at that point. Or the hockey season, probably." Ferentz was succeeded by offensive coordinator and Maine alumnus Jack Cosgrove, who would coach the Black Bears for 23 seasons, winning three conference championships and compiling a 137–153 record.
Cleveland Browns / Baltimore Ravens While on a recruiting trip in January 1993, Ferentz received a message from NFL's Cleveland Browns inviting him to interview for their open offensive line position. Though Ferentz had never worked with Bill Belichick, Belichick wanted Ferentz for the job and hired him before the 1993 season. Ferentz and Belichick worked together for three seasons in Cleveland, reaching the playoffs in 1994. Undrafted free agent Orlando Brown signed with the team in 1993 and quickly became a regular starter at tackle under Ferentz's direction. Nick Saban was the defensive coordinator on the staff; he, Belichick, and Ferentz would become friends. Pat Hill was the assistant offensive line coach in Cleveland.
Belichick was fired after the 1995 season and a week after Browns owner Art Modell's decision to move the franchise to Baltimore was finalized. The Browns' players and some remaining staff, including Ferentz, moved to Baltimore before the 1996 season. Ferentz was named assistant head coach in addition to his offensive line responsibilities. New general manager Ozzie Newsome and Ferentz convinced Modell and head coach Ted Marchibroda to select UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden with its first round pick, fourth overall in the 1996 NFL draft, instead of Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips. Ogden started his first season at guard, nearly making the Pro Bowl. "When he got to camp as a rookie, he might have made a handful of mistakes," Ferentz later said in 2013, "but he pretty quickly got to the point where if you asked him anything, he had the answer and more." Ogden was first-team 1997 NFL All-Pro and second-team 1998 NFL All-Pro under Ferentz, on his way to an 11-time Pro Bowl, Hall of Fame career.
Iowa head coaching career On December 2, 1998, Ferentz was hired as Iowa's 25th head football coach to replace the retiring Hayden Fry. Fry, a legendary coach at Iowa, had been privately battling cancer while his 1998 team had finished the season 3–8, with losses in each of their three rivalry games Florida defensive coordinator and Iowa alumnus Bob Stoops was the candidate favored by the search committee, though Stoops would opt for the Oklahoma job. Other candidates considered were assistant coaches Chuck Long and Don Patterson, and Kansas head coach Terry Allen.
From Fry's staff, Ferentz retained linebackers coach Bret Bielema, a strong recruiter, and quarterbacks coach Long, who would leave after the season to join Stoops at Oklahoma. He hired Fordham head coach Ken O'Keefe, who he had worked under at Worcester Academy, as his offensive coordinator and former Michigan State and Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Norm Parker in the same role. Both would serve as coordinators at Iowa until the 2011 season. Future NFL coaches Joe Philbin and Ron Aiken were added as offensive and defensive line coaches, respectively, on the recommendations of O'Keefe and Parker. Utah strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle was hired in the same role.
First rebuild and early success (1999–2006) Working with a depleted roster, the team struggled during Ferentz's first two seasons with a combined 4–19 record. In 1999, the team won one game, a home game against Northern Illinois, behind 174 rushing yards from sophomore running back Ladell Betts and an 87-yard return by LeVar Woods on a blocked NIU field goal attempt. Betts, running behind a young offensive line, would finish the season as team co-MVP and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. Defensive back Matt Bowen also won second-team all conference honors, was team co-MVP, and would be selected in the 2000 NFL draft with tight end Austin Wheatley.
In 2000, Ferentz's Hawkeyes lost their first five games, including at No. 1 Nebraska, home against in-state rival Iowa State, and against No. 8 Kansas State, coached by Ferentz's former boss Bill Snyder. The Hawkeyes snapped a 13-game losing streak in Ferentz's first Big Ten conference victory against Michigan State, finishing 21–16 behind a rushing touchdown by Betts, a receiving touchdown by Kevin Kasper, and a 90-yard kick return by Kahlil Hill. After three more losses, Iowa would win a double overtime game at Penn State, with a Betts rushing touchdown and Nate Kaeding field goal sealing the win. In the final home game, Iowa upset No. 12 Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium, never trailing in the 27–17 victory. Ferentz's Hawkeyes finished 3–9 (3–5 in conference play), with Kasper and Woods winning team MVP awards.
After two seasons of rebuilding, the Hawkeyes earned their first bowl bid of the Ferentz era in the 2001 season, finishing the season 7–5 (4–4 in Big Ten play). Betts rushed for 1,060 yards and 10 touchdowns behind the offensive line whose young players had struggled the prior seasons but now were experienced in Ferentz's zone blocking scheme. The team defeated Minnesota for Ferentz's first Floyd of Rosedale Trophy, 42–24. The Hawkeyes beat Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl, 19–16, in Ferentz's first bowl game appearance. Several players earned first or second-team Big Ten honors, including Betts, offensive linemen Eric Steinbach and David Porter, defensive end Aaron Kampman, and sophomore Bob Sanders, a lightly recruited but hard-hitting safety recommended to Ferentz out of high school by his mentor Joe Moore. Betts and Sanders won team MVP honors.