By embracing changes, Iowa's Ferentz has Hawkeyes riding high

It?s never too late to change. Ask Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz. He?s not a 60-year-old get-off-my-lawn kind of a guy. Nope. He is open-minded. He doesn?t fear change; he embraced it. And, it has saved the Iowa program. Meet ?New Kirk.?

Make no mistake about it: Ferentz needed to change. After 16 years under his guidance, the Iowa program had grown stale. There was sameness, a predictability that often settles into long-term relationships. Like a lengthy marriage, the Iowa-Ferentz union needed some fresh excitement. Ferentz could see the mob assembling from his office window after last year?s 7-6 clunker, which came on the heels of an 8-5 yawner and a 4-8 stinker preceded by mostly listless 7-6 and 8-5 efforts. What direction was the Iowa program going?

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Enter New Kirk, a revised and updated version of a golden oldie who is now as good as gold once again because of his willingness to try something different. Now, the formally bland Hawkeyes are a hip, cool unbeaten darling of the Big Ten.

?This 'new me? stuff has really taken legs,? Ferentz said earlier this week on the Big Ten conference call.

And yes, the 'new me' stuff has legs. The New Kirk has injected many changes to what seemingly was a program with no upward mobility. Check it out.

• New Kirk has switched from afternoon to morning practices.
• New Kirk has made Thursday the off day. It used to be Monday.
• New Kirk is more media friendly and less guarded.

Subtle stuff? Yes. But, still significant. More to the point: New Kirk has taken his change theme to game day, showing more daring and creativity. Settling for field goals no longer is the norm; he?s actually opting to-GASP!–go for it on fourth down at times. Last week at Wisconsin, Ferentz chose to go for it on a fourth-and-two from the Badger eight-yard line. In years past, he would have played it safe and kicked the field goal.

Not New Kirk.

?I don?t know that the changes have been radical or all that extreme,? Ferentz said. ?Really, the new thing is the old thing.?

Indeed, the changes haven?t been radical. It?s not like Ferentz switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense or installed a spread offense. Why would he? Ferentz has a formula for success that is time-proven and successful. Look at his won-loss record (120-85 overall with 12 bowls). You don?t survive 17 years as a head coach at a power conference school without a proven formula for success. Yes, that formula may need to be tweaked from time to time. But, it never will be overhauled. Ferentz isn?t doing anything markedly different this season than he has dating back to when he took over for Hayden Fry in 1999. But, the nuance has been impactful in 2015. And what?s why we all are agog over Iowa.

Hills and valleys are to be expected in Iowa City. This isn?t Ohio State or any another fill-in-the-blank elite program (although they, too, have rough patches. Ask Texas ? or USC ? or Miami ? or Tennessee). Iowa is going to struggle to be consistently great. Big runs will come in cycles. ?Developmental? programs like the Hawkeyes are going to have down turns. Talent procurement for Iowa always is and will be a challenge for whoever is sitting in the corner office.

That is why it?s important to alter and massage your approach from time to time when you are at a place like Iowa. The 2015 alterations-no matter how minor-have made an impact and produced the desired effect: more wins. And more wins equals happy fans, who now fill Kinnick Stadium after early tickets sales lagged.

It?s funny how everyone?s perspective changes after a 5-0 start and No. 22 ranking in the AP poll. Brats are juicier. Pork is tenderer. Tailgates are more fun. The guy sitting behind you in the stadium with his knee in your back isn?t so bad.

?It wasn?t like it was a train wreck last year,? said Ferentz, whose team is ranked in both polls for the first time since 2010. "There are just things you can?t leave out there. That kind of pushed things forward.?

Ferentz and Iowa no doubt had had some good days. Who could forget the Big Ten title and run to the Orange Bowl after the 2002 season? The 2004 campaign featured more glory in the form of another Big Ten banner. And how about the 11-2 mark in 2009 that was capped by an Orange Bowl triumph and No. 7 poll ranking? Yes, good times!

But since that memorable 2009 season, Ferentz has gone 34-30 overall and 19-21 in the Big Ten entering this season. Iowa had become a big bowl of vanilla ice cream. The 7-6 finish in 2014 caused some reflection-and induced a sense of urgency along Melrose Avenue.

?Football-wise we?ve got to look at everything,? Ferentz said back in a January press conference aimed at addressing a restless fandom that wanted to take a sledgehammer to the status quo. ?Maybe not what we?re doing, but how we?re teaching it, making sure we?re getting it taught and executed the way we need to if we?re expecting to be successful against good competition.

?The big thing is before we change anything, we want to make sure we?re making the right changes. There?s no sense to change things just to change things. There are some things that are going to look different. I don?t how dramatic they?ll be, but they?ll look different here.?

Iowa didn?t look good at the end of last season in getting dismantled in the TaxSlayer Bowl by a young Tennessee squad that had no business dominating the game. Did Iowa care? The effort and interest level came under scrutiny and began new questions about the direction of a program that crashed hard on New Year?s Day in Jacksonville, Fla. Even worse, the prospect for a better tomorrow seemed dim for fans. Were things going to change? Where was there hope?

Ferentz wasn?t going to stand pat while his program burned. He was going to be a man of action and make swift changes. And he did just that days after the disastrous 45-28 TaxSlayer Bowl loss. Soon thereafter, Ferentz - or New Kirk - made his boldest move of all.

Right then and there, Ferentz made a change at quarterback. Jake Rudock was out. C.J. Beathard was in.

?I think it?s very, very close between the two of them,? Ferentz explained at the time. ?At this scheduled point, I think we?re all in agreement that the thing that gives us, at this point, what we believe gives us the best chance is to move forward right now is to give C.J. a chance to be the starting quarterback.?

This has proven to be a prescient move by Ferentz. Rudock subsequently shuffled off to Michigan, where he has enjoyed a rebirth leading a resurgent Wolverine program. As for Beathard, he has injected some much-needed swagger into the offense.

But, more vital: He has brought a more consistent downfield passing attack. Too often, Rudock settled for the check-down throws, lacking the arm and verve to launch the ball up the seams. Not so with Beathard. Yes, he has cut those long blonde locks that used to jut from the back of his helmet and made the coeds squeal. But, Beathard has retained the cocksure confidence it took to grow that lush mane to begin with. And a once pedestrian and plodding Iowa offense has been reborn into one of the Big Ten?s most balanced attacks this fall as Iowa looks to push to 6-0 as it plays host to 4-1 Illinois this Saturday.

Another key to this year?s success: Iowa has benefited from staff stability. The coaching staff had undergone change in recent years. But, there were no big alterations after 2014. Rather, Ferentz made a few tweaks-there?s that word again–that have worked.

?I feel like things are meshing, jelling,? Ferentz said. ?There?s really no way to microwave that or speed it up.?

The most key change: Son Brian Ferentz added running game coordinator to his offensive line duties. Now, the run game goes beyond stretch plays to the left or right. And the play-calling is more varied and there has been much more imaginative in the red zone, which has resulted in more touchdowns.

?To me, the story is more about the growth of our program, our staff, and the cohesion of our staff,? Ferentz said.

Ferentz also has gotten better with his clock management. A lot of times in the past, he wouldn't use timeouts at the end of the half and just settle for going into halftime. Now, even with a lead, he's calling timeouts on defense and trying to make something happen and get a score before the half. Overall clock management, which had been a shortcoming for Ferentz in the past, has been much better this year.

?We haven?t split atoms or anything like that,? Ferentz said. ?We?re just trying to do everything a little bit better. I know it sounds simplistic. But that?s really what it gets down to.?

Welcome to the New Kirk.

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