The One Stat Keeping Kirk Ferentz From Retiring at Iowa

Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in college football. He will turn 70 years old prior to the start of the 2025 football campaign. Many wonder when the head Hawk will hang up the headset and call it a career. We may have found the one statistic that determines how long Kirk Ferentz coaches Iowa football.

Hawkeyes Wire cites a recent ESPN article that ranked college football coaches on the hot seat. While many were disappointed with Iowa's record this past season, it certainly wasn't enough to put Ferentz on the hot seat. Instead, ESPN has him in what they call the 'retirement watch' tier. For a coach that age, I think that is fair. And as Hawkeyes Wire points out, you better believe that other programs will use his age against him when recruiting.

Say what you will about the Iowa football program, but Kirk Ferentz has earned the right to decide when he wants to retire. Hawkeyes Wire points out that Ferentz has spent 27 years at Iowa, with a record of 204-124. He has just one losing regular season since 2001. He has led Iowa to 22 bowl games. But there is another statistic that fans should focus on when pondering how long Ferentz has left in Iowa City.

Ferentz has a career coaching record of 216-145 according to Hawkeyes Wire. That gives him a career-winning percentage of 59.83%. Why is that important? You have to have a career-winning percentage of 60% or above for consideration for the College Football Hall of Fame. Hawkeyes Wire reports to get there, Ferentz needs to win at least 8 games next year in a 12-game season, or 9 games in a 13-game season, to reach that threshold.

If Ferentz pulled it off, would it be enough for him to retire? Does he even care about the HOF? Something for Iowa fans to ponder this off-season.

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