'There's Nobody Better Than Kirk Ferentz': Pat Fitzgerald's Praise Says It All

The Big Ten is a gold mine for talented coaches, but it's more than that. It's deeper.

The Big Ten has a collection of coaches who, rather than hold vitriol and rivalry against each other, offer immense amounts of respect to one another for what they've done.

And, in some cases, like Pat Fitzgerald, what they have done and mean to them.

Pat Fitzgerald offers high praise for Kirk Ferentz

Pat Fitzgerald has a close relationship with Kirk Ferentz, the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Not only have the two competed against each other when Fitzgerald was the head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats, but it runs deeper.

Fitzgerald has entrusted Kirk Ferentz to coach his son, Ryan Fitzgerald, a quarterback for the Hawkeyes.

Beyond that, Fitzgerald spent time with Iowa and Ferentz while he was not in the coaching world. That time at Iowa left an impression on Fitzgerald that he shared at Big Ten Media Days.

"Let me say this: there's nobody better than Kirk Ferentz. It's not even close.

"Kirk has always been very gracious. To me, the humility that he demonstrates speaks for itself with the success that he has had.

"I don't think he gets enough credit for the way the college game is and the success of the Big Ten. He is a cornerstone of that.

"The consistency, the conviction, the way he goes about running it with people. He's the best of the best," Fitzgerald said of Kirk Ferentz.

Pat Fitzgerald with high praise for being able to spend time with Kirk Ferentz pic.twitter.com/LchvScaGLu
— HawkeyeReport.com (@HawkeyeReport) July 29, 2026

Ties between Fitzgerald and Iowa have grown deeper

Not only has Pat Fitzgerald spoken with Kirk Ferentz and spent time learning from him, but he liked what he saw enough to lure one of Iowa's top assistant coaches and one of the best special teams coordinators in the country to East Lansing.

This offseason, LeVar Woods, who had been at Iowa from 2008 to 2025 in different capacities, joined the Michigan State Spartans as their special teams coach and assistant head coach.

The Iowa Hawkeyes and Michigan State Spartans avoid each other in Big Ten play this year after playing the prior three years, with Iowa taking two of those matchups.

This all could come full circle

My gut tells me there is more to this story than LeVar Woods learning from Kirk Ferentz just to go to Sparty and that be the end of this story.

I think the move was to allow LeVar Woods more exposure, more responsibility, and a chance to grow into someone who could become a head coach in the future.

Could that be with Iowa? The timing makes sense. Pat Fitzgerald isn't going anywhere soon, unless things go catastrophically bad at Michigan State, but Kirk Ferentz won't be at Iowa forever.

It makes a lot of sense for Woods to come back home after a few years of growth. He knows Iowa. Iowa knows him. The fit makes sense.

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