Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in Division I college football, as he took over as Iowa Hawkeyes head coach back in 1999 and has been going strong ever since.
While Ferentz has done a tremendous job with Iowa’s program as a whole, he has certainly faced his fair share of criticism along the way, especially in recent years with Hawkeyes fans growing more and more frustrated with the team’s inability to get over the hump.
However, given the relatively limited resources Iowa has had in comparison to other Big Ten schools such as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, you have to admit that Ferentz has been an overall success, regardless of how you feel about him heading into 2025.
Not only that, but it also appears that Ferentz has recently had a change of heart when it comes to one very important aspect of roster construction: utilizing the transfer portal.
The 69-year-old has frequently been lambasted for refusing to dip into the transfer portal, and earlier this offseason, Ferentz even said that he prefers not to make the portal a significant part of his repertoire. Not surprisingly, those comments rubbed Hawkeyes fans the wrong way.
After all, in today’s NIL era, you essentially must navigate the transfer portal if you want to have any real chance of playing with the big boys. It’s almost like NFL free agency on steroids.
But for as much as Ferentz has maintained that he wants to keep it old school, he has certainly taken advantage of the portal quite a bit this offseason, landing names such as quarterback Mark Gronowski and wide receiver Sam Phillips to fill gaping holes. Plus, Ferentz has snatched numerous offensive linemen, and we know how effective he has been at developing players in the trenches.
Perhaps Ferentz saw some of the other top schools acquiring critical pieces via the portal and has decided that he basically doesn’t have any chance but to use it himself. No matter how he came to that conclusion, it’s nice to see the grizzled veteran reverse course and get with the times.
To be clear, Iowa still has a long way to go before it can seriously challenge the Ohio States, Oregons and Alabamas of the world. But this is unquestionably a step in the right direction for Ferentz, who was hearing calls for his dismissal from agitated Iowa fanatics this past season.
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