Brian Ferentz is feeling the heat.
He’s Iowa’s offensive coordinator and the Hawkeyes have the worst offense in major college football. He’s the son of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. And he’s being paid $900,000 a year.
That’s a toxic trifecta of reasons for fans to pile on him.
It might be lonely being Brian Ferentz these days. But he’s not alone.
Big-time college football coaches hiring their sons or other relatives is more common than you might think.
According to an Associated Press story in August, 25 of the 65 football coaches in Power Five conferences have sons or other family members on their staffs.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano’s son Joe is a graduate assistant for his dad. Indiana coach Tom Allen’s son Thomas is a graduate assistant for the Hoosiers.
Purdue coach Jeff Brohm’s brother Brian is his offensive coordinator and his brother Greg is his chief of staff.
Jim Harbaugh’s son, Jay, is Michigan’s safeties coach and special teams coordinator. Brian Kelly hired his son Patrick for a support staff position at LSU. Kirk Ferentz’s son-in-law Tyler Barnes is Iowa’s recruiting coordinator.
There is a firebrianferentz.com website and more than 6,000 people reportedly have signed a petition calling for his removal.
Ferentz, who played for his dad at Iowa and worked for the New England Patriots for four years before returning to Iowa City, shrugs off the criticism as something that is nothing new for him.
“I’ve been answering questions about nepotism my entire adult life,” he said last week.
Iowa’s offense ranks No. 131 (last) nationally in total offense, No. 127 in rushing offense and No. 120 in passing offense.
Can Brian Ferentz bring order to that disarray? That’s unclear. But with his dad making the decision he will be given every chance to get it right.
