By Brian HamiltonThere was the slightest sliver of equivocation that people will leap upon. But otherwise, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz sure didn't sound like a guy in the midst of packing boxes for a move to Notre Dame.
It was the first question the Hawkeyes coach entertained at a news conference today in Iowa City. He said it would be "inappropriate to comment" whether he had or hadn't been contacted by Notre Dame, but then didn't betray any ambition to be anywhere else.
"I'll give you the same answer I've been giving people and we give
recruits all the time," Ferentz said. "I know coach (Joe) Paterno and
coach (Bobby) Bowden have been in their jobs longer than I have, and I
know coach (Mack) Brown has down at Texas. Outside of that, I'm not
sure who else is on the list. Bob Stoops, Randy Edsall, two guys that
I have great respect for and are friends -- we all came in the same
year. I think we're the only three survivors from our class.
"I can just tell you what I've been telling people for a long time: I like it at Iowa. I've had paychecks from three different places now since 1981. My first full-time job was here. I'm not a vagabond coach, and I like it where I'm at. I've enjoyed every day -- not every day, but most days, and you know, I don't see things changing here."
"I can just tell you what I've been telling people for a long time: I like it at Iowa. I've had paychecks from three different places now since 1981. My first full-time job was here. I'm not a vagabond coach, and I like it where I'm at. I've enjoyed every day -- not every day, but most days, and you know, I don't see things changing here."
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. (AP / Charlie Neibergall)
"You can not fly under the radar at Notre Dame like you can at Iowa. Iowa may have 3 games top that is televised Nationally, plus they are never picked to win the Big Ten over a Penn State or Ohio State team."
I'm not sure that coaching at Iowa is necessarily "flying under the radar". Last I checked, Ferentz had been under a good deal of pressure during the couple years that the Iowa program fell out of the top-20 or so, and this year alone I seem to recall that Iowa's games against Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, and Ohio State were all nationally televised. For a program that's likely to finish in the top 10 (with a bowl win) for the fourth time in eight years, it's amazing how people talk about Iowa as though it's the equivalent of a surprising Indiana team.
I could have told you it wouldn't be Ferentz. Wait, though, didn't I say it would be Stoops? Didn't I say Brey would be getting mail in Raleigh now? I can't recall. I'm overcaffeinated from being under the bright lights for so long. I got a million hits. I love the Internet. I can call whomever I want a douche bag.
Being the football coach at Notre Dame is not the bomb, but it does take a special person. You can not fly under the radar at Notre Dame like you can at Iowa. Iowa may have 3 games top that is televised Nationally, plus they are never picked to win the Big Ten over a Penn State or Ohio State team. This allows Ferentz every year to be successful as long as they compete like they have the past few years. Ferentz is a great coach at Iowa with little pressure, just how he like's it. I wouldn't leave either. Lou Holtz made 150,000 his first year at Notre Dame and admittidly would have done it for less, and should have won 3-4 national titles with his talent. Notre Dame needs a coach that wants to be there, that is ready for the Media, the High expectations, and the sacrifices. Notre Dame has a operating budget of 5.5 Billion dollars, like it or not they can pay any big name coach however much they want. They are the only team that has a nationally televised game on TV every week no matter how bad they are. Hire the coach that wants it and deserves it or end up with another 15 years of disappointment.
I am with Dave in terms of not understanding why Notre Dame would be considered a desirable job. The expectations are way to high. Long time Notre Dame fans have this picture of ND as the "University of Football in America" and while that may have at one time been true, it is simply no longer the case, and members of the millennial generation (the generation of recruits in question) do not have this association with ND unless they were deeply indoctrinated from a very young age. It is time for Notre Dame (the school and the fans alike) to realize that legacies are not in-tact, they must be maintained, and the fact of the matter is that Notre Dame has not been that special over the past 20 years. It is time for them to realize that the past is gone, join the big east, and get USC and Michigan off their schedule.
Why would he leave? His son is going to be a starter next year, and has another one in high school. Why would he pick up his family and leave Iowa City along with a $3.5mm salary? In addition, he pretty much has sole control over the football program there. I don't that would be the case at Notre Dame.
Someone please explain to me why everyone acts like being the football coach at Notre Dame is "the bomb" and the one and only job a NCAA Division 1 coach should ultimately aspire to? I don't get it. The press and Notre Dame need to get over themselves.