Iowa Football: Hawkeyes Name Brian Ferentz Offensive Coordinator

The Iowa Hawkeyes named Brian Ferentz their new offensive coordinator

Last week, former offensive coordinator Greg Davis retired after five seasons with Iowa football and a 43-year college football coaching career. This week, the Iowa Hawkeyes named offensive line coach Brian Ferentz the new offensive coordinator.

Ferentz, the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz, played as an offensive lineman at Iowa from 2002-05. He then joined the New England Patriots’ coaching staff in 2009 after a short NFL career. He stayed with Patriots for three seasons before joining Iowa’s staff in 2012.

Iowa is coming off a season where they ranked 95th in points per game and only managed three points against Florida in the Outback Bowl. While Iowa has never been known as an offensive juggernaut, there is a sense of urgency surrounding the poor offense in recent years under Davis.

Ferentz was seen as the favorite for the position once Davis retired last week. Iowa’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award in 2016, which is given to the nation’s top offensive line, which instantly made him a top option.

Iowa fans hope he brings more creativity to the play-calling. Despite having a senior quarterback and stellar offensive line in 2016, Iowa only attempted 23.8 passes per game.

Ferentz will have to work with a sophomore quarterback in Nathan Stanley next year, who only attempted nine passes as a freshman. Although, he does return key players in Matt VandeBerg, Akrum Wadley and most of last year’s offensive line.

We’ll see their new-look offense on September 2, at home against the Wyoming Cowboys.