Maryland Expected to Hire Much-Maligned Former Iowa OC Brian Ferentz, per Report

Patrick Andres | Apr 26, 2024

Nov 11, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes assistant coach Brian Ferentz. / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

After a disastrous final season with Iowa, former Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz appears set for another shot in the Big Ten.

Maryland is hiring Ferentz as an analyst, according to a Friday afternoon report from Scott Dochterman and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. Ferentz, 41, served as Iowa's offensive coordinator from 2017 to '23.

Once a promising tight ends coach for the New England Patriots in 2011, Ferentz gradually wore out his welcome with his father Kirk's program (attracting charges of nepotism in the process). In 2023, Iowa's offensive performance dipped to historic levels as the Hawkeyes averaged a staggeringly low 15.4 points per game.

Before the season, Iowa gave the younger Ferentz a contract that strongly incentivized the Hawkeyes to score 25 points per game—putting the coordinator's job on the line if that didn't happen. The "Drive to 325" became a perverse fascination among college football fans across the country, and Iowa ultimately fell short by 109 points.

Now, Ferentz will look to get his career back on track with Maryland, a team that averaged 29.7 points per game in an 8-5 season.

Maryland and Iowa are set to clash Nov. 23 at SECU Stadium.