Kirk Ferentz is one of the most successful and most respected head coaches in college football. Having spent 20 years at Iowa and accumulating more the 150 wins, he’s one of the B1G’s top coaches.

It’s not just Ferentz’s college football colleagues that believe he’s one of the best at his craft. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is also a huge fan of the Hawkeyes leader.

Ferentz was on Belichick’s staff with the Cleveland Browns from 1993-95, just a few years prior to taking over the Iowa program. Recently, he took his staff to a retreat hosted by his former employer ahead of the 2019 season.

Belichick raved about Ferentz and his success on the field.

“He’s the winningest coach in the history of Iowa football,” Belichick said, according to The Daily Iowan. “He’s the longest-tenured FBS coach at one school in football. He’s coached at every level very successfully, so I think his resumé speaks for itself. He’s a tremendous person; I learned a lot from him in the three years that he coached for me at the Browns.”

In the mid-90s, Ferentz served as the offensive line coach for the Browns on Belichick’s staff. After his run in Cleveland, Ferentz made one more stop in the NFL, serving as the offensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens (1996-98) before being named the head coach at Iowa.

While his first two years with the Hawkeyes were forgettable (4-19), Ferentz has turned the program into a perennial contender in the B1G West. His teams have produced 16 winning seasons in the last 18 years and have finished ranked in the top 25 seven times.

The Hawkeyes have double-digit win totals in five seasons under Ferentz. His career record in Iowa City is 152-101.