Brian Ferentz is being met right where he needs it the most: in his contract language. The embattled Iowa offensive coordinator, and son of legendary Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz, recently had his contract amended to state that the team needs to average 25 points per game in 2023 and win at least seven games — or else. If Ferentz fails to do his part in helping the team reach those benchmarks, his contract will be terminated ahead of the 2024 season.
This is important for a few reasons. Iowa’s offense was epically bad last season. In an age of offensive revolution, the Hawkeyes were the football Flintstones. They turned out a stone-age performance, finishing 123rd in scoring (17.70 points per game) offense on the season. Only five Power Five programs were worse.
Four players in college football scored more offensive touchdowns than Iowa did as a team (19). At least 95 quarterbacks had more touchdown passes than Iowa (seven), which was fourth-worst nationally.
Still, those benchmarks are ridiculously low given the standards this Iowa program has set over the last decade. Aside from the COVID-19 year in 2020, Iowa has won at least seven games each season since 2012.
In Ferentz’s six seasons as offensive coordinator, Iowa has never finished above 86th nationally in total offense. On any other campus, that would likely be enough for a coordinator to be shown the door because this age has proven that offense sells tickets, wins championships and gets under-performing coordinators whose dad isn’t the head coach fired.
CBS Sports contacted two prominent agents who said they’d never heard of such language in a coach’s contract. Such is Iowa’s desperation – and Ferentz’s lack of leverage – in this college football landscape that values the performance of offenses.
“If he doesn’t score 25 a game, he should be fired,” one FBS assistant told CBS Sports.
Iowa being Iowa, though, it scraped out eight wins last season behind a stout defense led by defensive coordinator Phil Parker, whose unit could help bail Ferentz out if the offense alone doesn’t average 25 points per game.
There is hope for Ferentz, and maybe defensive coordinators everywhere, however. All of it wasn’t that bad. Last season was the lowest scoring season in FBS in 11 years, per NCAA statistics — a trend that continued in 2022.
The average of 28.38 points per team was not only down for the second…
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