Iowa's Kirk Ferentz indicates his son Brian will remain OC despite Iowa's offensive struggles in 2022

The ineptness of Iowa’s offense in 2022 doesn’t appear to be leading to any coaching changes.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said Wednesday at his signing day news conference that he didn’t anticipate any changes to his team’s coaching staff. Ferentz’s son Brian was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2022 as Iowa’s offense scored a paltry 19 touchdowns across 13 games.

As Iowa fans can attest, the Hawkeye offense was painful to watch. Iowa quarterbacks combined to throw seven touchdowns and seven interceptions while Kaleb Johnson was the only player to score more than three TDs rushing and receiving. Johnson had six rushing TDs.

The Iowa defense nearly outscored the Iowa passing offense too. Thanks to two pick-sixes in a 21-0 win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, the Iowa defense finished the season with six touchdowns of its own. Only a TD pass by third-string QB Joe Labas in that game kept the offense ahead of the defense.

That Music City Bowl win encapsulated Iowa’s 2022 season perfectly. Iowa was 0-of-11 on third down, 0-of-2 on fourth down, punted eight times, averaged just over 4 yards per play and still won by three touchdowns because of how awesome its defense was.

The Iowa defense was the catalyst for the Hawkeyes’ 8-5 season. Iowa scored fewer than 18 points per game even when accounting for its defensive touchdowns. Just eight teams in the nation scored fewer points per game. But the Iowa defense allowed 13.3 points per game, a figure that includes giving up 54 to Ohio State. The Hawkeyes gave up more than 13 points just three times in 2022. The season could have been much better with a competent offensive attack.

Ferentz is seemingly hoping that his offense will be competent in 2023 without making any coaching changes. He should also be well aware that even more questions will arise if the offense is bad again to start the season. Ferentz reacted extremely defensively after the Ohio State loss in October to questions about the offense’s struggles and dissed the reporter who asked him those questions later in the week. Ferentz apologized via an emailed statement for his comments about the reporter, though he later said he still took umbrage with the reporter’s tone.

And while Brian Ferentz appears to be staying in the same position he’s had since 2016, he will be coaching a new quarterback next season. QB Cade McNamara, after spending the last four years with Michigan, said he's transferring to Iowa City. McNamara was Michigan’s starter in 2021 before losing the starting job to J.J. McCarthy ahead of the 2022 season.