Brian Ferentz
Brian Ferentz (born March 28, 1983) is an American football coach and former player. He is the offensive coordinator at the University of Iowa.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Offensive coordinator |
| Team | Iowa |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | March 28, 1983 Iowa City, Iowa |
| Playing career | |
| 2002–2005 | Iowa |
| 2006 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2007 | New Orleans Saints |
| Position(s) | Offensive lineman |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2009 | New England Patriots (OCA) |
| 2010 | New England Patriots (ATE) |
| 2011 | New England Patriots (TE) |
| 2012–2014 | Iowa (OL) |
| 2015–2016 | Iowa (RGC/OL) |
| 2017 | Iowa (OC/RB) |
| 2018–present | Iowa (OC/TE) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2008 | New England Patriots (scouting asst.) |
Playing career
Ferentz played football as an offensive lineman for his father, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, from 2001 through 2005. After going undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft, Ferentz signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons in May 2006. He was released by the Falcons on September 2, 2006, and spent the season on the Falcons' practice squad. He was waived by the Falcons on May 14, 2007 and signed by the New Orleans Saints on August 13, 2007, only to be released by the Saints on September 1, 2007.
Coaching career
New England Patriots (2008–2011)
Ferentz joined the New England Patriots in 2008 as a scouting assistant; his father Kirk was the offensive line coach from 1993-95 under Bill Belichick when Belichick coached the Cleveland Browns. In 2009, Ferentz became an offensive coaching assistant. Before the 2010 season, Ferentz's title was changed to offensive assistant coach, working primarily with the Patriots' tight ends.[1] He was officially promoted to tight ends coach in 2011; that season, the Patriots' tight end duo of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski set NFL records for receptions, yards, and touchdowns by tight ends, and Gronkowski became the first tight end in NFL history to lead the league in touchdown receptions.
Iowa Hawkeyes (2012–)
In February 2012 Ferentz took the position of offensive line coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes, coached by his father Kirk Ferentz.
On January 3, 2014, Bill O'Brien was announced as the new head coach of the Houston Texans and Ferentz was rumored to join the organization as the offensive line coach.[2] Instead, the Texans chose to hire Paul Dunn, the former Atlanta Falcons offensive line coach.[3]
On January 9, 2017, Ferentz was named the new offensive coordinator for Iowa.[4]
On June 6, 2020, Ferentz and Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle were accused by former players of having made racially insensitive comments and contributing to a program culture that was unwelcoming to black student-athletes.[5] Doyle was later placed on administrative leave.[6]
References
- Gasper, Christopher (January 4, 2011). "Coaching decisions have paid off for Patriots". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
- McClain, John (January 6, 2014). "O'Brien to have six Penn St. assistants on Texans staff". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
- "Texans hire Falcons assistant Dunn as offensive line coach". Houston Chronicle. January 27, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
- Steve Batterson (January 11, 2017). "Brian Ferentz named Iowa's offensive coordinator". www.qctimes.com. The Quad City Times. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
- Leistikow, Chad. "Leistikow: Culture change in Iowa football is necessary, and it must start with Kirk Ferentz". Hawk Central. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- "Iowa assistant Doyle put on leave amid allegations". ESPN.com. June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.