Iowa Hawkeyes' Kirk Ferentz Receives Strong 2025 Take

Kirk Ferentz has been the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes since 1999, and that has earned him a ton of respect within Big Ten circles.

Oct 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz walks off the field after losing to Ohio State Buckeyes 35-7 after the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium. | Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kirk Ferentz has been doing the college football thing at a high level for a long time. Specifically, he's been the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes since 1999.

He's seen some highs and lows, but Iowa has been a consistent program under Ferentz. At the very least, that can be said about his tenure. That's not to mention the stifling defenses, elite special teams and NFL pipelines that he's built over the years, though.

Ferentz's longevity and experience is perhaps why Paul Myerberg of USA Today is so high on him and the Hawkeyes heading into 2025. In a ranking of the Big Ten college football coaches heading into next season, Myerberg ranked Ferentz third in the conference behind only Ohio State's Ryan Day and Penn State's James Franklin.

"Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in the Bowl Subdivision. Iowa has won at least eight games in every non-COVID season since 2015 and has posted a losing record just once since 2006. While his preferred style of play has its detractors, you can’t argue with the Hawkeyes’ consistent success punching above [their] weight and annual push for a major bowl," Myerberg wrote.

There are some big-time coaches in the Big Ten right now, so the fact that Ferentz is still getting major respect is a big deal. That, of course, comes with time and consistency, but it's notable that he's being ranked higher than Dan Lanning at Oregon or Curt Cignetti at Indiana, for instance.

Lanning had Oregon ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation last season and they were a College Football Playoff team before losing to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Indiana was ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation last season and the Hoosiers were a CFP team in Cignetti's first campaign with the program.

The fact that Ferentz is considered better than those two Big Ten coaches at the moment? That's a big deal.