By Jordan Hansen
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz is going to remain at the school for quite some time.
On Tuesday, the university announced the longtime Hawkeye coach signed a six-year extension on his deal. Not only does the contract give Iowa stability at the position, he got a raise as well. Here’s a link to the contract.
Ferentz will make $4.5 million a year, up from the $4.075 million he makes now.
“I’m just really pleased and very, very proud to continue on as the Iowa head football coach well into the future,” Ferentz said. “I’ve always considered this to be a tremendous privilege, as well as a responsibility to lead the program.”
Before the deal, Ferentz only had four years left on his deal, so some sort of agreement this season was almost ensured.
Head coaches like to have a four-year deal in place so they can sell constancy to prospective student-athletes. In the world of recruiting, it is a critical element to gain to recruits and one of the main pillars Iowa has built its program on.
“It’s awesome; he’s a great coach, and it’s well-deserved,” linebacker and team captain Josey Jewell said. “You got a coach who’s going to be around for a long time, and that means he’s good. It’s just going to help recruiting.”
Ferentz was named Coach of the Year by three national lists and took home Big Ten Coach of the Year honors as well. Iowa won 12 games, the most in school history.
Ferentz will be 70 at the end of the contract, and if he is around all the way through, only two coaches (Ferentz and Hayden Fry) will have roamed the sidelines in the last 47 years.
“I’m pleased to announce the contract extension, and I’m excited about the next several years,” Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said. “Thinking back to our mantra, ‘win, graduate, do it right,’ I’ve never been around a coach who’s as skilled or passionate about those three areas.”
There is a buyout in the contract, and Barta said it’s similar to the last one. Judging from that, Ferentz’s buyout would be somewhere in the $30 million range. Right now, it’s 75 percent of his annual salary, per year, which would come to around $3.375 million.
Oh yeah, it’s State week
At 6:42 p.m. Sept. 3, Iowa and Iowa State will kick off under the lights in Kinnick for just the second time ever.
The annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game is a big deal to a good chunk of the state, and the game has been sold out for weeks. Iowa won, 31-17, in Ames last season, and the visiting team has won the last four games in the series.
It’s a trophy game, which means both teams will be amped up. Iowa players say publicly they treat it like any other game, but it’s hard to imagine that’s the same conversation they have privately.
It’s a game native Iowans grow up watching, and nearly every player asked had some sort of immediate recollection.
“I have Iowa-Iowa State memories ever since I was a fan when I was little,” said fullback Brady Ross, a Humboldt native. “I remember watching Seneca Wallace run around, Greenway, and all them. To pick out one would just not be possible.”
Injury updates
Both Jay Scheel, scratched ahead of the Miami Ohio game, and Parker Hesse seem to be OK as far as injuries go.
Ferentz said Scheel has a decent chance to be available this week, while Hesse is “day-to-day.” Neither of the injuries should significantly dampen Iowa’s chances against Iowa State this weekend; both of their backups played fairly well.
Jerminic Smith will probably get the start regardless of whether Scheel can go or not, and Matt Nelson played well enough against the RedHawks that Hesse’s being out — while not ideal — is survivable.
