Usually, when a soccer program has a reliable coach who’s gone stale, the college will drive out whichever coordinator is most accountable for the shortage of success. If solely life was that straightforward for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The workforce is caught in an offensive malaise (to place it kindly), however can’t oust Brian Ferentz as a result of his dad is Kirk Ferentz, the top coach. So as a substitute, the college resorted to amending the son’s contract with very low hurdles that even a Huge Ten workforce ought to have the ability to clear.

Beneath the revised deal, Brian’s base wage will probably be $850,000. With a purpose to maximize his earnings, the workforce has to common greater than 25 factors per recreation, and win at the least seven of them. The latter is mainly a assure if he hits the previous. Exterior of the COVID season after they went 6-2, Kirk’s groups have gained a minimal of seven video games yearly that they’ve averaged 25 factors per contest.

The difficulty is Iowa has by no means been super-occupied with scoring, and I doubt a couple of clauses will change that.

It’s extra existential than X’s and O’s

Kirk Ferentz groups aren’t explosive, artistic, or actually that involved with offense. The workforce’s model of soccer is so threat averse it’s a surprise why they trouble to throw in any respect.

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If I may offer up a soccer analogy. Iowa approaches the game like Italy. Score only as much as needed and then lodge a bus in the middle of the field and grind out a result. While some fans in Iowa City may have come to appreciate that particular brand, the Hawkeyes will never be talented enough to consistently execute that approach. (To take the analogy a step further, there are many college fanbases who, like Brazilians, actively recoil when their team has no interest in the beautiful aspects of the game.)

Kirk’s philosophy will win you games, but it’s usually ugly and often unwatchable. Iowa has a litany of double-digit win seasons over the past 20 years. They also have a few .500 or worse clunkers. I don’t care who is calling the plays, It could be Kyle fucking Shanahan and the Hawkeyes would still top out at about 30 points per game.

Brian Feren-heimer

The nepotism in football is excruciating for so many reasons, but I think my main qualm — outside of qualified candidates being passed over because their dad doesn’t have connections — is the apple never strays that far from the tree. It’s not surprising that Kyle has added on to what his dad, Mike Shanahan, taught him. The father was an offensive guru in his own right.

However, Brian Shotenheimer is an example of a son perpetuating his father’s, umm, legacy. The new Cowboys offensive coordinator runs the 2023 model of his dad’s imagination-free offense, and that’ll proceed in Dallas till he or Mike McCarthy will get fired.

And the identical factor goes to occur at Iowa as a result of Kirk is simply too good of a coach to fireplace, and he’s not going to jettison his offspring. The workforce would possibly hit these incentives as a result of school soccer applications can fall off the bed and rating 25 factors per recreation, however they don’t seem to be, nor will they ever be, good at offense.