Derrick Willies leaving Iowa

[FG80]

I don't know the specifics of the situation so why speculate? That's all I'm saying. He's said it's about his Dad. There's also been things said regarding playing time. Like I said before, I would guess it is probably a combination of both, but I don't know the specifics. I think it's pointless to speculate because it could be a number of things and neither of us really have a clue.

We'll have to disagree about Iowa fans. I've been pretty happy long-term with Ferentz at the helm. I started to turn after the 4-8 season, but figured he deserved one more chance to turn it around. Last season was a step in the right direction, and this season has been a step back so far. So for me it's hinging on these last two games. If they win both and make the B10 championship I'll be content. If they split I'll probably be on the fence, and if they lose both I'll be ready to move on. There's two sides to every argument and no one is right or wrong. Personally I believe Ferentz has brought Iowa some pretty special seasons. That's what has got him this far. So when you say Iowa fans don't demand more that's kind of a cheap statement because there is some history there that accounts for the reason Iowa fans have been willing to cut him some slack. He's done it before. That's not as easy to move on from as it would be if he had only had minimal levels of success.

Let me speculate. According to his good friend CJB and his legal guardian, he quit midseason because he didn't fit Glorious Greg's offensive scheme and lacked PT. I surmise he remained in school in order to maintain eligibility for transfer purposes. He spent his free time school shopping but was unable to find any school to offer him a schollie. At that point, he suddenly missed his teammates, although still going to school with them. To accommodate his sadness, dear dad, whom Derrick has not lived with in years - if ever - decided to leave his medical doctors treating him to come to Iowa City. How special. Of course, Derrick made a public proclamation of his hasty departure rather than knocking on the coach's door to discuss the situation. He also chose to take to twitter to brag that he is back despite again not knocking on the coach's door to ASK if he could return.

As for the fans, they have not demanded better. KF's aw shucks routine has pulled the wool over many eyes. He is a master manipulator. He got his season of extreme success, and a couple above average seasons. But those are anomalies. He and his agent milked those anomalies for all it was worth. His agent pulled one over the AD by making sure KF's name got mentioned for any and all NFL or top college jobs. He is a .500 coach making championship money. He used the anomalies to buffalo the UI into a contract that assures he is set forever, regardless of the outcome of the games. He coyly moved around assistant coaches to make room on the staff for his son, then pretended it was Barta's decision to hire said son. His daughter's fiance was also employed by him. How quaint. Of course the big boss, despite following KF around like a little puppy, proclaimed no knowledge of the engagement and upcoming nuptials. How convenient. Another son's brushes with the law were met with little punishment but a mirage to make it look as if he was. With the number of off-field incidents, which until recently were hardly punished or just a tap on the wrist, and the Everson/Satterfield debacle, I cut the man no slack.

 

[Gonzo]

I do think it says a lot that a player who is supposedly one of your most talented WRs couldn't get a scholarship anywhere else.

There are plenty of examples of guys who had few impressive offers turn out to be great players. From what I saw in the limited time Willies actually was on the field, I'll take him. CPR apparently thought enough of him to offer, and we know he doesn't bring in anything but stud WRs.

 

[breck53]

Would Iowa have any losses right now if players like Powell and Willies were getting all the snaps? What about if CJB was the quarterback all season?

When your coach is costing you a chance for a perfect season or a BCS bowl game because he's purposefully playing less talented players I think it's safe to say your program is pretty fractured.

And you're so plugged in to Iowa football that you know this-wow,pretty amazing. Didn't know you followed the Hawks that much. I didn't even realize that he did this-and I know a lot MORE ABOUT Iowa THAN YOU DO. Your attempt at stirring the pot here is laughable,at best. I'd worry about losing 3 recruits in a week,if I were you.

 

[Rural]

I hope you're wrong - most years I'd agree with this 100%. I think people are finally 'getting it' though. The apathy and overall staleness of the program can't be ignored. Don't think he coaches beyond next year..

They'll probably have to install more temporary seating with that schedule next year. Lawd have mercy it's awful.

Probably a good year to jack up seat licensing/tickets.

 

[CyTwins]

There are plenty of examples of guys who had few impressive offers turn out to be great players. From what I saw in the limited time Willies actually was on the field, I'll take him. CPR apparently thought enough of him to offer, and we know he doesn't bring in anything but stud WRs.

CPR wanted him out of HS, he and nobody wants him now. Only catching 4 passes on the season didn't help his cause. I still think he could develop into a good player but I'm guessing as a coach if you're planning on taking in a transfer you are looking for more. If he was highly touted out of HS or had any production at Iowa he'd be at a different school

 

[Gonzo]

CPR wanted him out of HS, he and nobody wants him now. Only catching 4 passes on the season didn't help his cause. I still think he could develop into a good player but I'm guessing as a coach if you're planning on taking in a transfer you are looking for more. If he was highly touted out of HS or had any production at Iowa he'd be at a different school

Pretty sure any college coach would put in the due dilligence necessary to discover that the reason he's only had four receptions is because his PT was so limited. When he's been given the opportunity, he's performed well. He seems like the type who doesn't think things through too well, based on his flaky back-and-forth decisions, but if his dad is dealing with serious health issues I'm not going to blame him for that. Who knows what kind of progress he actually made in terms of transferring and reaching out to schools, but his options would be limited given that he wanted to be in Arizona near his dad. I'll be very glad if he does return to the program and suits up next year.

 

[CyTwins]

Pretty sure any college coach would put in the due dilligence necessary to discover that the reason he's only had four receptions is because his PT was so limited. When he's been given the opportunity, he's performed well. He seems like the type who doesn't think things through too well, based on his flaky back-and-forth decisions, but if his dad is dealing with serious health issues I'm not going to blame him for that. Who knows what kind of progress he actually made in terms of transferring and reaching out to schools, but his options would be limited given that he wanted to be in Arizona near his dad. I'll be very glad if he does return to the program and suits up next year.

So he wasn't getting playing time at Iowa...I think that sums it up why nobody else wanted him. Not that hard of a concept to grasp.

 

[Section110]

Let me speculate. According to his good friend CJB and his legal guardian, he quit midseason because he didn't fit Glorious Greg's offensive scheme and lacked PT. I surmise he remained in school in order to maintain eligibility for transfer purposes. He spent his free time school shopping but was unable to find any school to offer him a schollie. At that point, he suddenly missed his teammates, although still going to school with them. To accommodate his sadness, dear dad, whom Derrick has not lived with in years - if ever - decided to leave his medical doctors treating him to come to Iowa City. How special. Of course, Derrick made a public proclamation of his hasty departure rather than knocking on the coach's door to discuss the situation. He also chose to take to twitter to brag that he is back despite again not knocking on the coach's door to ASK if he could return.

As for the fans, they have not demanded better. KF's aw shucks routine has pulled the wool over many eyes. He is a master manipulator. He got his season of extreme success, and a couple above average seasons. But those are anomalies. He and his agent milked those anomalies for all it was worth. His agent pulled one over the AD by making sure KF's name got mentioned for any and all NFL or top college jobs. He is a .500 coach making championship money. He used the anomalies to buffalo the UI into a contract that assures he is set forever, regardless of the outcome of the games. He coyly moved around assistant coaches to make room on the staff for his son, then pretended it was Barta's decision to hire said son. His daughter's fiance was also employed by him. How quaint. Of course the big boss, despite following KF around like a little puppy, proclaimed no knowledge of the engagement and upcoming nuptials. How convenient. Another son's brushes with the law were met with little punishment but a mirage to make it look as if he was. With the number of off-field incidents, which until recently were hardly punished or just a tap on the wrist, and the Everson/Satterfield debacle, I cut the man no slack.

This is entirely your opinion. Which you're entitled to. Doesn't make it right. Doesn't make it wrong. I don't disagree with everything you said. Some of the things you said are accurate. Some are quite a stretch.

Bottom line... Ferentz has proven he can take Iowa to special seasons. That's not an anomaly. He hasn't done it in awhile and that's why fans are getting antsy. The special seasons he has brought are quickly fading into the past. They aren't going to buy him time much longer. You can't lay all the blame on him and then give him no credit for his successful seasons by simple calling them anomalies. That's complete hogwash. Everything was his fault in the bad seasons! He deserves no credit for the good ones! That was just luck! Lol please man you sound ridiculous.

 

[Gonzo]

So he wasn't getting playing time at Iowa...I think that sums it up why nobody else wanted him. Not that hard of a concept to grasp.

If you get genuine warm fuzzies by telling yourself the Iowa kid is no good, I won't stand in your way. It's not a mystery that KF prefers to play upperclassmen. You think he wasn't getting playing time because he sucks. I think he wasn't getting playing time because that's the KF way. If you know anything about the program, it's pretty obvious. Makes no difference. I hope he comes back.

 

[CyTwins]

If you get genuine warm fuzzies by telling yourself the Iowa kid is no good, I won't stand in your way. It's not a mystery that KF prefers to play upperclassmen. You think he wasn't getting playing time because he sucks. I think he wasn't getting playing time because that's the KF way. If you know anything about the program, it's pretty obvious. Makes no difference. I hope he comes back.

I'm not saying he sucks, I actually think he will end up being a pretty good player. Kirk HATED DJK and DJK played a ton as a freshman because he was very talented as a freshman. I'm just saying he's obviously not there yet which is why he isn't playing much. If you're going to take a flier on a transfer I would think you would want someone who has proven production or was highly touted out of HS.

 

[Section110]

I'm not saying he sucks, I actually think he will end up being a pretty good player. Kirk HATED DJK and DJK played a ton as a freshman because he was very talented as a freshman. I'm just saying he's obviously not there yet which is why he isn't playing much. If you're going to take a flier on a transfer I would think you would want someone who has proven production or was highly touted out of HS.

There's plenty of programs out there who could use a kid like Willies. Keep in mind this whole "No one else wanted him" thing is pure speculation. No one has a clue whether or not that is the case. It's possible he just simply changed his mind. It's possible he wasn't happy with the programs who did want him. It's possible no one wanted him, but to act like that's what happened here for sure is quite the presumption.

 

[FG80]

This is entirely your opinion. Which you're entitled to. Doesn't make it right. Doesn't make it wrong. I don't disagree with everything you said. Some of the things you said are accurate. Some are quite a stretch.

Bottom line... Ferentz has proven he can take Iowa to special seasons. That's not an anomaly. He hasn't done it in awhile and that's why fans are getting antsy. The special seasons he has brought are quickly fading into the past. They aren't going to buy him time much longer. You can't lay all the blame on him and then give him no credit for his successful seasons by simple calling them anomalies. That's complete hogwash. Everything was his fault in the bad seasons! He deserves no credit for the good ones! That was just luck! Lol please man you sound ridiculous.

There is nothing I said that is a 'stretch.' Really not much opinion either - lot of facts - other than the speculation of Willies which is based on a great deal of facts.

An exceptional season should be winning probably 70% of the games, wouldn't you say? That would be 9 wins. That has happened five times in 15 seasons. I would call that an anomaly. Why can't we lay the blame with him? He is in charge. And the reason we don't need to hand him a ton of credit for the successful seasons is because as soon as KOK and NP left, things became a little more evident, no? Remember how much better Iowa was going to be without KOK? LOL. I tried to tell people it wasn't KOK but KF. Have you ever noticed how our QBs never progress, and often regress. Brad Banks wasn't there long enough and he had 2 years of coaching somewhere else. For Iowa and him that was indeed lucky. Had he come as a freshman, history shows his senior year wouldn't have been as good as it was. Then you have Tate, whose dad is a coach and offered his own advice. So some of the spikes in success can be attributed to slight differences than other seasons such as these.

 

[Section110]

There is nothing I said that is a 'stretch.' Really not much opinion either - lot of facts - other than the speculation of Willies which is based on a great deal of facts.

An exceptional season should be winning probably 70% of the games, wouldn't you say? That would be 9 wins. That has happened five times in 15 seasons. I would call that an anomaly. Why can't we lay the blame with him? He is in charge. And the reason we don't need to hand him a ton of credit for the successful seasons is because as soon as KOK and NP left, things became a little more evident, no? Remember how much better Iowa was going to be without KOK? LOL. I tried to tell people it wasn't KOK but KF. Have you ever noticed how our QBs never progress, and often regress. Brad Banks wasn't there long enough and he had 2 years of coaching somewhere else. For Iowa and him that was indeed lucky. Had he come as a freshman, history shows his senior year wouldn't have been as good as it was. Then you have Tate, whose dad is a coach and offered his own advice. So some of the spikes in success can be attributed to slight differences than other seasons such as these.

So he gets no credit for having special seasons 5 out of 15 years!? You do realize that in the history of Iowa football that's actually pretty good right? And according to you he gets no credit for hiring Norm and KO too right? Is it not the head coach's job to hire good assistants? I'm not saying he doesn't deserve blame. He certainly deserves blame for a lot of things. I'm saying people like you are completely asinine to assign all of the blame on him, yet give all of the credit for his good seasons to people around him or stupidly categorize them as "anomalies". The fact of the matter is he's responsible for putting those people around him to help him develop a team. Just like he's responsible for hiring Greg Davis (which appears to be a terrible hire).

Like I said, his torch is burning out rather rapidly at this point. I said it has been awhile since he's had a special season. His style of football is getting stale when it isn't bringing the kind of win numbers that Iowa fans have began to expect. That includes me. It's his job to get his troops ready to play, and the bipolar team we've seen this year can't be blamed on anyone but him. They really should only have 1 loss right now in my opinion. The blame for the losses to ISU and Maryland falls directly at his feet. The game plan in those two games was atrocious. Yes, the execution was bad too, but it starts with the plan of attack.

You act like I'm rounding support for Ferentz. I'm not. I'm just saying you completely lack any perspective on the situation.

 

[CyTwins]

So he gets no credit for having special seasons 5 out of 15 years!? You do realize that in the history of Iowa football that's actually pretty good right? And according to you he gets no credit for hiring Norm and KO too right? Is it not the head coach's job to hire good assistants? I'm not saying he doesn't deserve blame. He certainly deserves blame for a lot of things. I'm saying people like you are completely asinine to assign all of the blame on him, yet give all of the credit for his good seasons to people around him or stupidly categorize them as "anomalies". The fact of the matter is he's responsible for putting those people around him to help him develop a team. Just like he's responsible for hiring Greg Davis (which appears to be a terrible hire).

Like I said, his torch is burning out rather rapidly at this point. I said it has been awhile since he's had a special season. His style of football is getting stale when it isn't bringing the kind of win numbers that Iowa fans have began to expect. That includes me. It's his job to get his troops ready to play, and the bipolar team we've seen this year can't be blamed on anyone but him. They really should only have 1 loss right now in my opinion. The blame for the losses to ISU and Maryland falls directly at his feet. The game plan in those two games was atrocious. Yes, the execution was bad too, but it starts with the plan of attack.

You act like I'm rounding support for Ferentz. I'm not. I'm just saying you completely lack any perspective on the situation.

Are you saying O'Keefe was a good coach? Man how things have changed in a few years

 

[Gonzo]

There is nothing I said that is a 'stretch.' Really not much opinion either - lot of facts - other than the speculation of Willies which is based on a great deal of facts.

An exceptional season should be winning probably 70% of the games, wouldn't you say? That would be 9 wins. That has happened five times in 15 seasons. I would call that an anomaly. Why can't we lay the blame with him? He is in charge. And the reason we don't need to hand him a ton of credit for the successful seasons is because as soon as KOK and NP left, things became a little more evident, no? Remember how much better Iowa was going to be without KOK? LOL. I tried to tell people it wasn't KOK but KF. Have you ever noticed how our QBs never progress, and often regress. Brad Banks wasn't there long enough and he had 2 years of coaching somewhere else. For Iowa and him that was indeed lucky. Had he come as a freshman, history shows his senior year wouldn't have been as good as it was. Then you have Tate, whose dad is a coach and offered his own advice. So some of the spikes in success can be attributed to slight differences than other seasons such as these.

Calling 9-3 'exceptional' is a stretch, especially in seasons when the B1G has been down and we get to avoid some of the conference's tougher teams.

 

[FG80]

Calling 9-3 'exceptional' is a stretch, especially in seasons when the B1G has been down and we get to avoid some of the conference's tougher teams.

I was trying to be nice. But it should probably be at least 10 wins. He has four of those. The real measurement should be conference wins even the B1G isn't exactly full of world beaters. He has had only 3 seasons where he has won at least 6 conference games.

 

[clonedude]

Calling 9-3 'exceptional' is a stretch, especially in seasons when the B1G has been down and we get to avoid some of the conference's tougher teams.

As an ISU fan, I'd be thrilled with 9-3.

However, with that being said, I won't give this Iowa football team any credit whatsoever until they at least beat someone with a winning record this year. Oh wait, UNI has a winning record now... oops. Still... Iowa has not beaten anyone with a pulse.

And two teams have completely blown Iowa out of the water in Maryland and Minnesota. I'm sorry, Iowa has to be the worst 7-3 team in the country..... by FAR.

 

[FG80]

So he gets no credit for having special seasons 5 out of 15 years!? You do realize that in the history of Iowa football that's actually pretty good right? And according to you he gets no credit for hiring Norm and KO too right? Is it not the head coach's job to hire good assistants? I'm not saying he doesn't deserve blame. He certainly deserves blame for a lot of things. I'm saying people like you are completely asinine to assign all of the blame on him, yet give all of the credit for his good seasons to people around him or stupidly categorize them as "anomalies". The fact of the matter is he's responsible for putting those people around him to help him develop a team. Just like he's responsible for hiring Greg Davis (which appears to be a terrible hire).

Like I said, his torch is burning out rather rapidly at this point. I said it has been awhile since he's had a special season. His style of football is getting stale when it isn't bringing the kind of win numbers that Iowa fans have began to expect. That includes me. It's his job to get his troops ready to play, and the bipolar team we've seen this year can't be blamed on anyone but him. They really should only have 1 loss right now in my opinion. The blame for the losses to ISU and Maryland falls directly at his feet. The game plan in those two games was atrocious. Yes, the execution was bad too, but it starts with the plan of attack.

You act like I'm rounding support for Ferentz. I'm not. I'm just saying you completely lack any perspective on the situation.

Well, Hayden had 6 seasons of at least 9 wins and played one less game almost every season. So you could consider 8 wins the same as 9 under Kirk. That would give Hayden 13 above average seasons. Evy played 9 games a season so using the same percentage he had 4 above average years in 9 seasons.

So when you look at the body of work by KF, those seasons are indeed anomalies. I think you are the one that lacks perspective.

 

[CTTB78]

. 5 games left, only 1 of those games against a ranked team: Nebraska (who is beatable at home).[/QUOTE

Maryland wasn't ranked and neither were we. I see Iowa going 2-3 in the last five.

One of the few times I will be rooting for Nebby.

 

[breck53]

One of the few times I will be rooting for Nebby.

Can't wait for a West Virginia win,either!!