The landscape of college football is shifting fast. Iowa Hawkeyes’ head coach Kirk Ferentz isn’t shy about sharing his worries over where the sport’s headed.
Ferentz has been the backbone of the Iowa program for almost thirty years. Lately, he’s been comparing college football’s messy state to the NFL’s much more organized world.
The Iowa Hawkeyes finished their 2024 season with a solid 9–4 record. They went 6–3 in the Big Ten and wrapped up the year by edging out Vanderbilt 34–27 in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
That win helped them snag the No. 23 spot in the final AP Top 25. Considering they went 8–5 the year before, this season felt like a real step up.
The Hawkeyes’ defense was a brick wall, giving up only 16.1 points per game. That put them eighth in the nation, and they allowed just 280.4 total yards per game—ninth best overall.
Kirk Ferentz’s Legacy at Iowa
Ferentz has been the heart of Iowa football since he took the reins. Over nearly three decades, he’s stacked up 213 wins and a couple of Big Ten titles in 2002 and 2004.
He’s also picked up multiple division crowns and four Big Ten Coach of the Year awards. His teams are always in the mix and rarely miss out on bowl games.
In 2022, Iowa doubled down on Ferentz, extending his contract through 2029. That deal clocks in at about $7.1 million per year—not too shabby.
Ferentz’s NFL Experience and Its Influence
Before Iowa, Ferentz spent six seasons coaching in the NFL. He worked with the Cleveland Browns and then the Baltimore Ravens, eventually becoming an assistant head coach there.
Those years in the pros gave him a different lens to view the chaos in college football.
Critique of College Football’s Current State
Ferentz has been pretty candid lately, leaning on his NFL background to point out college football’s confusion. He’s frustrated by the lack of clear rules and the murky direction of the sport.
“Six years of experience in the NFL, and a lot of things I don’t miss about the NFL, but one of the things I miss is the clarity in terms of expectations and what the rules are,” Ferentz said. “Basically, all 32 teams operate by the same set of rules. As we’ve evolved into the revenue sharing, which I thought was a worthy and needed step, we’re sitting in a quagmire. Just garbage. It’s so cloudy, it frustrates me not knowing what’s real. In the NFL, it’s very clear, there’s a ceiling, and there’s a basement — you have to be somewhere in between. There’s no [expletive] to it, and there’s transparency, too.”
The NFL’s Structured Environment
The NFL runs under one Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). That sets a league-wide salary cap and clear contract rules, and it all gets enforced from the top down.
Teams know exactly where they stand, with set ceilings and floors. Ferentz wishes college football had that kind of predictability and fairness.
Changes in College Football
Things got even messier in college football after the House v. NCAA settlement in 2025. That deal brought direct revenue sharing, more rules around Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), and let schools handle things their own way.
Sure, it’s supposed to give student-athletes more opportunities, but it’s also made things murky for coaches. Roster building, budgeting, and keeping things fair have all gotten trickier.
Implications for College Football Programs
Ferentz sees the new revenue sharing and NIL rules as game-changers for program planning and recruiting. Without a standard framework like the NFL’s, schools are left to figure things out on their own.
That means some programs might get ahead while others fall behind, just based on how they handle these changes. For coaches and administrators, it’s a headache trying to keep up with it all.
Looking Ahead
College football’s changing fast, isn’t it? Stakeholders really need to listen to voices like Kirk Ferentz.
Maybe it’s time for a more standardized and open system. That could clear up some of the uncertainty and help level the playing field.
The NFL’s structure has its flaws, sure, but there’s a lot college football could borrow from it. Sometimes, you wonder why it takes so long to learn from what’s already working elsewhere.
For more on Ferentz’s perspective and what’s happening in college football right now, check out the full article on Sports Illustrated.
- Schools Covered
- College Football Articles
- Men's College Basketball Articles
- Men's College Soccer Articles
- Women's College Basketball Articles
- Olympic Athlete Articles
- Men's College Baseball Articles
- College Sports Media Professionals Articles
- Hall of Fame Member Articles
- Former College Player Articles
- Game Previews
