The Iowa Hawkeyes gave head coach Kirk Ferentz a well-deserved extension on Tuesday, keeping their head man through the 2025 season. The six-year contract extension also gives Ferentz a bit of a raise.
The 61-year-old will now make $4.5 million per season, up from just over $4 million under the old deal. This new agreement ends on January 31st, 2026.
The new contract also takes care of the heavily-criticized buyout plan for the coach. Now, if the Hawkeyes were to fire Ferentz, for anything other than a scandal, then they will owe him 100 percent of his guaranteed money in 2016 and 2017, as well as 75 percent from 2018 and 2019. This is up from 75 percent the entire way through.
The terms also state that for every season that the team wins at least seven games from 2016 to 2020, then one of the years from 2021 to 2026, the school would owe him 100 percent buyout.
This contract is long overdue, as Ferentz currently stands as the current longest tenure coach at an FBS school, tied with Oklahoma's Bob Stoops. He's had his team climbing up the rankings over the last two years, including a 12-2 2015 campaign, which ended with a Big Ten title game and a Rose Bowl appearance.
Those feats were enough for Ferentz to win Big Ten Coach of the Year last season, and he has his team ranked at number 16 following a 45-21 season-opening win over Miami (OH). He looks to become the longest-tenured coach in school history, and can do so by finishing out this new deal.
The 61-year-old will now make $4.5 million per season, up from just over $4 million under the old deal. This new agreement ends on January 31st, 2026.
The new contract also takes care of the heavily-criticized buyout plan for the coach. Now, if the Hawkeyes were to fire Ferentz, for anything other than a scandal, then they will owe him 100 percent of his guaranteed money in 2016 and 2017, as well as 75 percent from 2018 and 2019. This is up from 75 percent the entire way through.
The terms also state that for every season that the team wins at least seven games from 2016 to 2020, then one of the years from 2021 to 2026, the school would owe him 100 percent buyout.
This contract is long overdue, as Ferentz currently stands as the current longest tenure coach at an FBS school, tied with Oklahoma's Bob Stoops. He's had his team climbing up the rankings over the last two years, including a 12-2 2015 campaign, which ended with a Big Ten title game and a Rose Bowl appearance.
Those feats were enough for Ferentz to win Big Ten Coach of the Year last season, and he has his team ranked at number 16 following a 45-21 season-opening win over Miami (OH). He looks to become the longest-tenured coach in school history, and can do so by finishing out this new deal.
