Kirk Ferentz, now the longest-serving HC of the Iowa Hawkeyes, has seen everything in the job. He’s won two Big 10 championships after starting this position at 1-10 in 1999. He’s published double-digit finishes multiple times and wins below 5 too. The last 4 years in particular have been an up-and-down cycle for Ferentz, falling either on 10-4 or 8-5. However, he has a key weapon in his roster this year, set to possibly shock audiences with his debut in the FBS. Ferentz did not get him over to Iowa at his best health, but he sure does look like he is a sleeper hit.

Below the clamor of all the flashy transfers in the transfer portal, Ferentz swooped in on a target no one was expecting. Jackson Arnold went to Auburn, and Nico Iamaleava and Joey Aguilar went to UCLA and Tennessee, respectively. Carson Beck went to Miami, and John Mateer went to Oklahoma. And then there’s Kirk Ferentz, picking up South Dakota State’s Mike Gronowski at the transfer portal. It’s a big deal for either party. Gronowski is making his big leap from FCS to FBS. And that change in stakes is what makes this 2025 season more than just a litmus test for the two of them.

Gronowski, however, remained limited up until recently because of a surgery he underwent right at the beginning of the offseason. But the rehabilitation he underwent has been nothing short of magical, because Ferentz is confident about his new QB. He said in a June 26 episode of The Rush With Tavis and Ross, “He’s doing really well… health-wise, you know, he started throwing the ball this month, which is good. And he’s just ramping it up weekly and getting his, you know, just getting back into things. So we think he’ll be more than full speed in August and really seems to be a positive addition to our football team.”

It’s remarkable how quickly Gronowski has adapted to the Hawkeyes’ practice. At one of the spring practices, he revealed that he had been taking “mental reps” and learning from Brendan Sullivan and Tim Lester. Gronowski also said then that his recovery was going “ahead of schedule” and that he would be fully throwing in June. That might not happen until August, based on what Ferentz revealed. But the major question mark about him fitting into the team in such a short time has been answered. “Our players have gravitated towards him. And that was a challenge because he had surgery in January,” the HC revealed.

While the other high-profile QBs take up much of the attention, Ferentz will be unleashing a 10,311-yard dark horse in the season, and that too in the Big 10. It’s a space where QBs like Julian Sayin, Bryce Underwood, and Dante Moore will all make their debut. Gronowski might just be the game-changing player that Iowa needed. “I think it’s equal to Mateer going to OU,” Joel Klatt said in a June 24 episode of The Next Round. “Gronowski has played 50-plus games, he’s been in national championship games at that level, and we’ve seen that that pays off. So I think Iowa is going to be right there,” he adds.

Gronowski and Kirk Ferentz will be approaching a crucial season for the HC, where he will undoubtedly break one very big coaching record. He’s given 26 years of his life to the Hawkeyes. Is there any chatter about him taking off the HC cap for good anytime soon?

Kirk Ferentz on retiring from college football

Ferentz will be turning 70 in August. And the veteran coach is in no mood to slow down. He told The Athletic, “Nobody can predict the future that way, but I guess I would say the odds are better (for) me being here in five years now than they were in ’99 or 2000. I’m not trying to put a timeframe on this because nobody can answer that question. I know what I feel right now, and I feel pretty good. I feel like this is what I still enjoy doing, I enjoy the people I’m with every day.”

Ferentz also has a major record coming his way this season. The Iowa HC is just 1 win away from being the Big 10’s winningest head coach. He holds 204 wins so far. But he is still just focusing on football. Ferentz isn’t the oldest head coach in CFB at the moment because of Bill Belichick at UNC, who is 73. Ferentz’s age gives him a bird’s-eye view of the stark difference between the college football of his prime and now. “I enjoy all the crazy stuff that’s going on the last couple of years here with our game and the landscape and all that,” he said, unnerved by how fast-paced the operations have become.

This will be Ferentz’s 26 season, and that’s a number not many coaches get to share with just one team. With a trump card in the form of Mike Gronowski, the Iowa HC is sure to make waves in the upcoming season.