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Brian Ferentz has no message for frustrated Iowa fans, says offense will do ‘same things’ in 2023

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

Brian Ferentz is running it back next season.

The embattled Iowa offensive coordinator met with reporters on Thursday and rattled a few cages with his bluntness. He said he’d be at peace if this was his final year with the program. He said he couldn’t care less about scoring benchmarks once the games start. And, as he faces a make-or-break season in 2023, he said there are no plans to make sweeping changes to the Hawkeye offense.

“We’re going to do the same things we do, and we’re going to do them better,” Ferentz said. “I don’t know that there’s any notable changes.”

His contract was amended this offseason to include a slight pay cut and a clause that could cost him his job if the Hawkeyes don’t average 25 points a game. Iowa averaged 17.7 points a game last year — among the worst offensive outputs in the FBS and one of the worst of the Kirk Ferentz era.

Fans have grown impatient with the plodding style. Asked if he had any message for them, Ferentz shrugged.

 

Iowa went 8-5 last season thanks in large part to a defense that ranked second nationally in scoring. If the offense can raise its level of play to respectability in 2023, the Hawkeyes will make noise in the Big Ten West.

“I’m going to approach my job the same way I’ve approached it the last 11 seasons. My job is to help us win football games,” he said. “We have a tried and true method, we know how we win, we know who we are, my job is to make sure we play to those strengths and on Saturday, we’re winning games, not losing them.”

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.