Ferentz's Drive to Survive, Saban's Guys & More

Happy Super Bowl Week! In case you were wondering, my favorite Super Bowl prop is that one team will score three unanswered times. It never looks like a good bet, but I feel it hits 80% of the time. I'm also betting on a Travis Kelce touchdown because that hits around 100% of the time, and we're all about free money in these parts. Send your weirdest prop bets to @solidverbal on Twitter. We're not an NFL operation, but we do appreciate a good prop bet on a sports holiday. Onward...

THE DUMBEST SPORT

BRIAN FERENTZ'S DRIVE TO SURVIVE

We've been doing The Solid Verbal podcast since 2008. A lot of bizarre coaching scenarios have occurred over the years, from Bobby Petrino giving a press conference with red face and neck brace to Hugh Freeze coaching from a hospital bed against Syracuse. Something about college football brings out the crazy. I've learned not to speak in absolutes about the sport, because it constantly one-ups itself.

So, I say the following in a hushed, revered tone: The decision by Iowa to publicly release the details of Brian Ferentz's amended contract may be the single most absurd occurrence in college football in the past 15 years. I'm not even sure there's a close second. Whatever your threshold for college football amusement, this clears the bar by four feet.

After a dismal season on offense, Iowa wanted to show its fan base that it's serious about scoring more points in 2023. Instead of making coaching changes, Iowa implemented a series of performance objectives for Brian Ferentz, the embattled offensive coordinator and son of Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz. The bottom line: Should Iowa fail to average 25 points per game this season, his contract will be done-zo.

There are a million amazing layers to this, but let's start here: SWEET MOTHER OF CONTENT! The internet responded quickly and decisively to this news. The Iowa fan base and esoteric corners of College Football Twitter will be watching this like a hawk for the next year. We'll have no choice to build a segment and sound for the podcast. It's not out of the question that we'll have on-screen graphics during Iowa games to track to progress of the offense. I can only imagine the amount how creative folks will get during the summer months. I'm grateful for this opportunity.

Why was this made public in the first place? The short answer is probably that Iowa panicked after announcing that there would be no coaching changes and the fan base freaked out. They had to say something, so they said... this? Needless to say, it didn't really work. In reality, it boomeranged back and set up a more embarrassing situation for Ferentz. It turns out, there is no good substitute for actual accountability for last season's 17.7 points per game, and waiting around for another train wreck is not a bold idea for improvement.

And, the target — 25 points per game — would've tied Iowa for 85th nationally in 2022. Shouldn't they be aiming a little higher? The Hawkeyes aren't trying to be 2019 LSU, but rather the 2019 version of themselves, which averaged 25.8 points in the halcyon days of Nate Stanley. In fact, Ferentz would survive with a repeat effort of 2022 if the Iowa defense and special teams could simply score more touchdowns. His clause does not stipulate 25 offensive points per game, which makes me wonder if it was drawn up by his father. One thing's for sure, the Hawkeye defense has held up its end of the bargain. Ferentz doesn't need a pyrotechnic offense for a successful season, though the present version of college football does not reward those aspiring for the past. 

I stand by what I said a few weeks ago: The problem at Iowa is Kirk Ferentz, not Brian. The offense hasn't changed since 1999, and it won't until someone else is in charge. Also, the graphic above is very much a parody and not a real Netflix series. But you know you'd watch if it were.

COACHING CAROUSEL

OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL

Last Thursday, we learned that Tommy Rees was Nick Saban's top target to be the new offensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa. Just a day later, Rees accepted the position. Per Football Scoop, his contract will average around $2 million per season. As I said in last week's newsletter, it was a no-brainer for Rees, a young guy with head coaching aspirations, to take the job. It's a bold move for Saban to swoop in and poach one of college football's up-and-comers.

Saban also filled his defensive vacancy with Kevin Steele, a well-known name in the coaching world. In many ways, Steele is the exact opposite of Rees. A longtime, oft-underappreciated coach, Steele has coached in the South for the last 40 years. His return to the state of Alabama is a homecoming of sorts, as he was Auburn's DC from 2016-2020. It's a safe hire for Saban, albeit somewhat uncreative.

As with all things in the coaching world, there are ripple effects. The Notre Dame offensive coordinator vacancy has captured the imagination. A long list of candidates has been floated for the job, including Joe Moorhead, Andy Ludwig, Ryan Grubb, Sean Lewis, Byron Leftwich, Brian Johnson and others. Likewise, it's hard to know which rumors are true. Johnson, for what it's worth, was somewhat clueless about the speculation. As a Notre Dame fan, I'm still gung-ho on Joe Moorhead and believe he needs to be the first call. But even if he's not the guy, I appreciate that Marcus Freeman is casting a wide net. More to come on this front.

Miami moved quickly to fill its defensive post with Lance Guidry, who was Marshall's coordinator in 2022. Guidry was hired by Tulane just a few weeks ago, but jumped at the chance to join Mario Cristobal's staff. The Canes still have an opening at offensive coordinator to fill.

CONFERENCE MUMBO JUMBO

NOT SO FAST, MY FRIENDS

In a previous newsletter, I talked about Texas and Oklahoma's plan to bolt from the Big 12 earlier than expected, but it looks like that's not happening anytime soon. Despite their attempts to make an early exit, it appears the Longhorns and Sooners won't be able to weasel out of their Big 12 contracts before 2025. As a quick reminder, an early departure would result in the schools owing a hefty $160 million in termination fees, although that number is probably up for negotiation.

The biggest obstacle to an early exit? The TV partners of the Big 12, ESPN and Fox, are worried that the value of their contracts will decrease significantly once Texas and Oklahoma leave. It's a fair concern, but it just goes to show that media companies are really calling the shots in college football.

Meanwhile, Dennis Dodd reports that the Pac-12 may be in line to expand before finalizing its next media rights deal. Conference commissioner George Kliavkoff seems to be eyeing San Diego State and SMU.

Got all that? Honestly, this all makes my head spin. More to come.

THE VERBALLERHOOD

WHAT'S GOOD IN THE VERBALLERHOOD?

This week, we put together two teams of new coaches as part of a New Coach Draft (spoiler: I took Luke Fickell first overall). We also popped the hood on Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and USC and took a closer look at their recruiting classes. Listen to the podcast by clicking here or check out our individual episodes below. You can also view full episode videos and smaller clips on our YouTube channel.

THIS WEEK'S PODCAST EPISODES:

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Thanks for reading. Until next week, stay solid!-Ty Hildenbrandt