Kirk Ferentz
Age: 54. Current Iowa football coach, already among the university’s best coaches with an 81-55 record during 11 seasons, two conference titles, a packed stadium, four Top 10 rankings, and eight bowl appearances, including this year’s Orange Bowl as Iowa’s second Bowl Championship Series appearance. He first coached here as offensive line assistant (1981-89) to Hayden Fry, preparing 11 linemen for NFL work. Fry recommended Ferentz as his successor. A 1978 University of Connecticut alum, he taught English literature while a beginning coach. After his first stop at Iowa, he coached at Maine, and as an assistant for the Cleveland Browns.