[Herky] Coaching changes

[Jayant Rajgopal]

The Athletic had an interesting piece
https://theathletic.com/3671087/2022/10/09/iowa-offense-illinois/
For those who might not be able to access the page (it's behind a paywall)
here is an extract:

There are legitimate reasons for Iowa’s offensive woes. The Hawkeyes start
four sophomores and a freshman along the offensive line. Any improvement by
the unit is mitigated by the growth made by Iowa’s opponent. Only one
receiver with any experience is older than a true sophomore. The
quarterback play is inconsistent.

But this also is a problem of Ferentz’s own making. The Hawkeyes ranked in
the 120s in most offensive categories last year save for points scored, in
which they were 99th. There’s a nifty new mechanism in college sports
called the transfer portal, in which programs can sign players with all
types of experience without costing them a year of eligibility. Longtime
quarterback coach Ken O’Keefe stepped down, which presented the opportunity
to alter an offensive scheme that needed revisions.

Instead, Ferentz figuratively doubled down on a pair of sevens and ended up
with a two and a three. The program scoured the portal for players. The
staff looked at a few quarterbacks, tried to recruit a lineman and bring in
a receiver during the spring. Instead, Iowa signed only a backup tight end.
It lost four receivers to the portal, including the prolific Charlie Jones
<https://theathletic.com/college-football/player/charlie-jones-CpS7kFjfd8SKR9Gm/>,
and responded with the status quo.

So, when an obscene rash of injuries wiped out five of the six scholarship
receivers during preseason camp, Iowa had to rely on walk-ons. When none of
Iowa’s seven scholarship offensive linemen panned out in the 2018 and 2019
classes, the program stuck to building for the future with a unit that
struggles to protect quarterback Spencer Petras
<https://theathletic.com/college-football/player/spencer-petras-1vtJA5ndkg3dBq2w/>
or
run block consistently. Halfway through the season, the Hawkeyes average
2.6 yards per carry and 82 rushing yards per game. They’ve given up 18
sacks, including five by the Illini.
I think it's a complete dearth of talent within the offense - at least
compared to what we have been used to seeing in the past.  That certainly
doesn't excuse the coaches - it is their job to be recruiting the talent in
addition to coaching the players, but it does appear that they don't have
much to work with. Especially, when you compare it to an extraordinarily
talented defense!

And being in Pittsburgh I get to watch an equally horrendous offense every
Sunday - the Steelers had 3 points last weekend against Buffalo :-(

I'm about ready to give up on football for the year...



> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Gwen McNatt Enokian <gmcnhawkeye at gmail.com>
> To: Herky <herky at lists.herky.net>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2022 15:57:50 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Herky] Coaching changes
> Budmayr was never at tOSU.  He was at Wisconsin, Pitt, Wisconsin and
> Colorado State. He left CSU when the head coach was fired.
>
> I would fire Barnett and move BF to OL where he did a good job and make
> Budmayr interim OC. I am not convinced that Brian is really OC anyway.  I
> believe Dad calls the shots
>
> And for the love of ..... give Padilla a shot at Qb.  This is ridiculous.
> Petras is obviously a wonderful person but he just doesn't have it.
>
> Still heading off to Columbus
> Gwen
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 10, 2022, 2:40 PM Brad Grupe <bradgrupe at mchsi.com> wrote:
>
>> Getting to six wins is going to be very tough, the way things look right
>> now.
>>
>> Much of the current problem is related to the offensive line. Yes, they
>> are young but I think Iowa missed on some recruits and what they have now
>> aren't up to the caliber of what they usually develop.
>>
>> Bad line means it's tough to rush and pass both.
>>
>> I agree, Brian isn't the answer but if you demote him now, who do you
>> promote? Most of the staff doesn't have much experience. Budmayr, the
>> analyst is the only one that's been a coordinator and he was terrible in
>> that role at Ohio State.
>>
>> Kirk isn't going anywhere unless he has two or three bad seasons in a row
>> OR Barta forces him to fire/ demote Brian and he quits in protest.
>>
>> The portal could indeed be ugly after this season.
>>
>> BG
>>
>
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