Coaching Shortlist: Iowa Offensive Coordinator
Who replaces much-maligned Brian Ferentz in Iowa City?
Hawkeye fans, it’s time to celebrate. Your program is finally free of Brian Ferentz and you can have an offense. No longer do you have to track the failed Race to 325 and worry about nepotistic practices ruining the incredibly talented Iowa defenses.
Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz announced on Monday that Ferentz will not return for the 2024 season, but will finish out the current season in his current role. After the bowl game, the narrative shifts to who will be the next leader of the Iowa offense?
Now, this exercise hinges on the fact that Head Coach Kirk Ferentz returns next season. Obviously, that can change after his son was ousted, but right now it appears that Kirk will return next season.
So, who will Kirk Ferentz trust to lead the Hawkeye offense?
Jon Budmayr - Iowa Assistant Head Coach
One of the hallmarks of a Kirk Ferentz staff is that he doesn’t stray outside too often. Since Brian Ferentz is finishing the season with the program, there isn’t going to be an interim offensive coordinator. If there was, Budmayr would be the likely candidate.
Currently, Budmayr is listed as “Senior Special Assistant to the Head Coach,” which sounds suspiciously Dwight Schrute-like, but is definitely a real position. This is his second season in Iowa City after serving as an offensive analyst last year.
Prior to joining the Hawkeyes’ staff, Budmayr spent one season as Colorado State’s offensive coordinator under Steve Addazio. In that 2021 season, the Rams ranked 58th nationally in total offense with 412 yards per game and 91st in scoring offense at 23.7 ppg.
Before Colorado State, he spent time in Wisconsin as the quarterbacks coach, where he recruited current Iowa quarterbacks Cade McNamara and Deacon Young while coaching the likes of Jack Coan. Under Budmayr’s direction, Coan had some of the most impressive Badger passing seasons, including setting the record for completions in a season in 2019 with 236 and finishing third in passing yards and completion percentage.
Budmayr isn’t a flashy hire, but then again, Iowa isn’t a flashy school. But he does have better results than Brian Ferentz has. He runs a similar smashmouth scheme to what Kirk Ferentz and Iowa have always been preaching as a Paul Chryst disciple. He’s a run-first coach, which plays well in Iowa City.
George Barnett - Iowa Offensive Line Coach
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Iowa could take a serious look a promoting their offensive line coach to offensive coordinator. Even though that’s the same career path that landed the Hawkeyes Brian Ferentz, it won’t stop Kirk from considering Barnett.
Barnett joined the Hawkeyes in 2021 after a few months in Tulane in the same role. Prior to that, he was co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Miami (Ohio) from 2014-20.
With the RedHawks, Barnett took a major hand in overseeing an offense that annually averaged around 22-29 points per game. That all ended in a 2019 MAC Championship and a COVID-shortened 2020 season where the RedHawks averaged almost 400 yards a game.
A hallmark of Barnett’s offenses at Miami was, predictably, great offensive line play. For example, in Miami’s conference championship 2019 season, Barnett had two true freshmen starting along the line. That didn’t slow the unit down at all, as the RedHawks averaged 130.9 rushing yards a game while only allowing 31 sacks on the season. He also coached seven All-MAC players along the offensive line, including two-time honorees Jordan Rigg and Danny Godleveske.
The only issue for Barnett is the fact that he has little to no playcalling experience. He’d have to learn that skill to take over, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone stepped up into a new role and had to learn a new skill.
Tim Polasek - Wyoming Offensive Coordinator
Now that we’ve got what I think are the two strongest internal candidates out of the way, let’s look outside Iowa City. Polasek is in his third season in Laramie as offensive coordinator, where he has established one of the Mountain West’s best offenses.
The Cowboys ranked third in the Mountain West and 44th nationally in rushing offense last season behind tailback Titus Swen and All-Conference quarterback Andrew Peasley. As the third-youngest team in the FBS, not much was expected of Wyoming, but they still put together a 7-6 season and Barstool Arizona Bowl bid.
We’ve talked a lot about connections to Iowa City and Kirk Ferentz in this newsletter, and wouldn’t you know that Polasek’s role before joining Wyoming was as Iowa’s offensive line coach for four seasons.
While with Iowa, the Hawkeyes saw tremendous success up front with an offense that actually had some life. His tenure in Iowa City concluded in six straight Big 10 wins with the Hawkeyes scoring at least 26 points in each game. For those at home, that’s above the 25 points per game that Brian Ferentz failed to reach.
One of the main feathers in the cap of Polasek is the great offensive linemen he coached while at Iowa City. College and NFL standouts like Tyler Linderbaum, Alaric Jackson and Tristan Wirfs grew into form under Polasek’s direction.
As I’m sure you could imagine, Polasek calls a run-first offense, but one with more balance. The Pokes aren’t having the greatest offensive season by any stretch, but are averaging 150 passing yards per game to 149 rushing yards. I would expect more with a talented back like Harrison Waylee in Laramie, but Wyoming is sitting at a respectable 5-3 right now.
Joe Moorhead, Akron Head Coach
Let’s go outside the box, shall we?
Yes, Moorhead is currently an FBS head coach, but there’s precedent for a MAC head coach to leave his role for a Power Five offensive coordinator job. Just take a look at Sean Lewis, who left his post as Kent State’s head coach to join Deion Sanders’s Colorado staff as offensive coordinator.
Plus, Moorhead’s seat is certainly growing warm. The Zips are currently 1-7 and 0-4 in conference play with their only win coming over FCS Morgan State. I don’t know if Akron will move on from their head coach, but if he can’t turn this season around, it’s certainly possible.
If Moorhead and Akron part ways, he’ll likely be a hot commodity as an offensive coordinator. While his head coaching forays haven’t worked out, he’s incredibly well-regarded as an offensive coordinator. Before taking over the Akron program in 2022, Moorhead was offensive coordinator at Oregon under Mario Cristobal. In both of Moorhead’s seasons in Eugene, the Ducks made the PAC-12 Championship Game. His final season, Oregon ranked in the top 40 nationally in rushing touchdowns (34 - fifth), rushing yards per game, (214 - 18th), points per game (33.2 - 33rd), and total offensive yards per game (434.4 - 39th).
He also spent two years as Mississippi State’s head coach, becoming the first head coach to lead the program to consecutive bowl bids in his first two seasons.
Moorhead was hired by the Bulldogs after two seasons in Penn State, where he won National Offensive Coordinator of the Year in both seasons. His Nittany Lion offenses, led by Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley, averaged 39.3 points per game across his tenure.
Moorhead represents a philosophical change if hired. He brings a modern spread offense that we just haven’t seen in Iowa City. While it could go the route of Wisconsin’s air raid transformation under Luke Fickell and Phil Longo and not succeed at first, Moorhead has been able to adapt to his players. His scheme will still feature a ton of the runs that we see now, but will put the quarterback in easier situations with a more spread out field.
Ryan Grubb, Washington Offensive Coordinator
If you thought Moorhead was crazy, buckle up for this one.
Grubb should be the golden goose for the program. A shoot for the stars scenario. But Iowa City might appeal to the sought-after offensive mind.
Way back in 199, Grubb graduated with a business administration degree after playing football for the Buena Vista Beavers, a Division II program. Instead of pursuing football further, he returned home to Kingsley Iowa to help run his family farm.
If that doesn’t sound like the origin story for a new-age Iowa coach, I don’t know what does.
On the football side, Grubb is best known for the past two seasons under Kalen DeBoer as the Huskies offensive coordinator. While both are offensive-minded coaches, Grubb has brought his own signature plays to Seattle: play action.
Where most Iowa coaches focus on a punishing run game, Grubb instead focuses on deep play action shots. He and DeBoer have focused on verticality in their offense, forcing safeties to bite down on run fakes and allowing Michael Penix Jr. to toss it deep over their heads to one of three safety-busting routes.
He’s heralded as a playcalling wizard and was courted for Alabama’s offensive coordinator position a year ago. So why would he consider leaving his $2 million job in Seattle with one of the nation’s top offensive minds to head to Iowa?
We all know Kirk Ferentz is going to retire soon. Maybe a Head Coach in Waiting title, similar to what we saw when Florida State hired Jimbo Fisher to lead their offense under an aging Bobby Bowden, could lure Grubb to his home state. Or maybe just a job in Iowa could do that?
Like I said earlier, I don’t think Grubb is going to entertain this job, but Iowa should certainly call. If you want to join the 21st century, he’s the man to lead that revolution on offense.