Iowa Hawkeyes' Kirk Ferentz Put on Blast for Critical Reason

Iowa Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is being criticized yet again.

Nov 11, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz reacts during the fourth quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

There is a very large faction of Iowa Hawkeyes fans that have had enough with head coach Kirk Ferentz, as they feel the football program has stagnated under his direction.

Iowa went a rather pedestrian 8-5 this past season, suffering yet another disappointing bowl loss. This time, it was at the hands of the Missouri Tigers.

It's abundantly clear that the Hawkeyes have plenty of needs on the offensive side of the ball, and to Ferentz's credit, he did land a couple of big targets in the transfer portal, bagging quarterback Mark Gronowski and wide receiver Sam Phillips.

But is Ferentz really utilizing the transfer portal enough?

Ericka Brockish of Dear Old Gold doesn't think so and has put Ferentz on blast for not putting enough effort into the process.

"Ferentz also has never been very active in the portal, bringing in only a handful of guys every year and just relying on recruits and guys who have been in the building for multiple years," Brockish wrote. "However, that is going to start to become a lot tougher for Ferentz, especially with the amount of guys he is losing to the NFL and the portal."

Brockish went on to explain that Ferentz, the longest-tenured coach in the country, needs to keep up with the times.

"Ferentz keeps losing more players than he is bringing in, though, and at some point, if the Hawkeyes continue to have a season like they have in 2024, they won't be bringing in a ton of recruits either, at least not highly ranked ones," Brockish wrote. "If Ferentz wants to keep his job at Iowa and choose to hang it up on his own terms, he needs to keep up with the changes in college football, or it might be time for him to hang up the headset."

In defense of Ferentz, it's difficult for a program like Iowa to keep up with the Ohio States and Alabamas of the world, as the Hawkeyes simply don't have the types of resources that the bigger schools possess for big NIL deals.

However, Brockish is valid in saying that Ferentz definitely needs to start landing better talent overall.

We'll see if Iowa's recent portal haul pays off in 2025.