When the longest-tenured coach in the FBS speaks, the college football world should listen. That's what happened on Tuesday when Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz, who is entering his 24th season at the helm, took the podium at Big Ten Media Days.
The landscape of the sport has changed about as much in the last few years as it did during Ferentz' entire tenure at Iowa, what with NIL deals, conference realignment and transfer portal changes all shifting the normal way of doing things. Ferentz was asked about the current direction college football is heading in. The longtime head coach offered this grim response, per ESPN.
“I think we're in a really precarious place,” said Ferentz, entering his 24th season as Iowa's head coach. “There's just a lot of vagueness, a lot of uncertainty. We really don't have a firm structure. We don't have a basic set of operating rules. I don't think anybody right now can really explain the NIL in detail, what you can and what you can't do. I know you can't entice recruits, but it sure seems like maybe that's going on a little bit. There's just a lack of overall clarity.”
Kirk Ferentz didn't hold back. The Iowa football coach said that college football is “in a really precarious place.” The Iowa football coach noted the “lack of structure”, specifically with NIL deals.
Article Continues BelowFinally, Ferentz called upon someone to be a leader, saying the sport needs “intervention.” It's clear that the Hawkeyes coach isn't feeling good about where college football is headed.
He's not the only one either. Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald also voiced his concerns at Big Ten Media days, speaking of the off-field chaos in the sport.
These are two of the longest-tenured head coaches flat-out saying they're concerned. Someone should heed their words.