The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 5
Meet the Ferentz
Name: Kirk Ferentz
Education: University of Con-
necticut
Experience: Head coach, Uni-
versity of Maine (1990-92)
Offensive line coach, Cleveland
Browns (1993-97)
Head coach, Iowa (1999-pres-
ent)
Pros: Ferentz is highly regard-
ed as a class act among college
coaches. After struggling his first
two seasons at Iowa (4-19), he
revived the program with four
straight New Year's Day bowls.
Ferentz has won the Big Ten
Coach of the Year award twice
since he came to Iowa City and
has fared reasonably well in bowl
games (3-3, with wins over Loui-
siana State and Florida). The one-
time assistant coach under Bill
Belichick runs a pro-style offense
conducive to the Wolverines' cur-
rent offensive schemes.
Cons: It was just a few years
ago that Ferentz was the hot pick
rumored to bolt for a variety of
NFL openings. Now, he doesn't
look so hot. Ferentz's Hawkeyes
are coming off a disappointing 6-6
year that includes a season-ending
home loss to Western Michigan.
He used to be the guy who did more
with less, but after recent unin-
spiring seasons (6-6 this year and
2006), he hasn't looked like such a
motivator. His team has also run
into legal trouble in recent years.
Ten percent of his roster has found
itself on the wrong side of the law
this season. Just ask Michigan
coach Lloyd Carr how off-the-field
issues can distract a team.
Why he'll get it: According to
some websites,Ferentz has already
been offered the job. He has a
fan in University president Mary
Sue Coleman, who was president
at Iowa when Ferentz was hired
there in 1998. He graduates play-
ers, and on the surface, he runs a
clean program.
Why he won't: He might not
run as clean of a program as once
thought. In addition to the current
trend of his players tripping up off
the field, some dubious practices
regarding room and board for his
son when he played for Iowa have
recently come to light - and he's
not looking like a Michigan Man.
Add on the way his teams have
finished the past few seasons, and
he may not be the right guy for the
Michigan job.
What people are saying: "I
think Kirk is one of the better
coaches in the country. I think he's
doing a really good job, and I think
sometimes it's hard to believe that
when you just look at the records.
I think he does a terrific job, and
the program is in great hands."
- Gerry DiNardo, Big Ten Net-
work color analyst and former
Louisiana State and Indiana head
coach.
BEN ROBEF
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is an early candidate for the Michigan job. He has coached in Iowa City for nine years.
Lacks on-field success
A competitor with class
Apparently, I'm in the
minority in this debate,
but that doesn't matter.
I've always thrived as a member
of the fringe group.
Kirk Ferentz should become
Michigan's
next football
coach.
OK, he's 16
gone 6-6
the pastx
two sea-
sons, with
an embar- KEVIN
rassing WRIGHT
home loss -
to Western Pro-Ferentz
Michigan
to keep the
Hawkeyes in Iowa City for Winter
Break. Yeah, he hasn't done the
best in recruiting the top-of-the-
line athletes to play for the Hawk-
eyes, but should that really count
against him?
His quarterback this year was
Jake Christenson, a redshirt soph-
omore in his firstcyear asa starter.
Michigan fans, remember what it
was like with Ryan Mallett under
center? Add to that the suspension
of Iowa's top receiver Dominique
Douglas just a few games into the
season, and at that point, who
wouldn't have written off Iowa?
But Ferentz rallied the team
around a defense that finished
third in the Big Ten in scoring
(two spots ahead of Michigan),
and the Hawkeyes pulled off three
straight wins to almost salvage
a disastrous season with a bowl-
game appearance. Ferentz also
beat Illinois this year. Only Michi-
gan can say the same in Big Ten
conference play.
On to recruiting. Yes, Ferentz
hasn't fared so well in recent
years, especially with Illinois
coach Ron Zook dominating in the
Chicago area, a geographic area
Ferentz used to call a home away
from home. But if everyone is so
convinced Zook is a shady recruit-
er, who could blame a classy guy
like Ferentz for losing out? Plus,
it's Iowa. Give Ferentz the recruit-
ing tools Michigan boasts, and I'm
more than confident he can pull in
top talent year after year.
What's that? He's not classy?
He sets his son up in government
housing designed for the poor?
His players have a nasty habit of
getting in legal trouble?
I'll give you the latter two, but
wasn't Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
considered a classy guy? Didn't he
have recent problems with players
spending more time in the court-
room than on the practice field?
Yes, he did.
I'm not blaming Carr. It's col-
lege football. These athletes are
still college kids, and they're
goingto get into trouble. The key
to coaching is how you handle it,
and Ferentz hasn't wavered in his
decisions. He needed Douglas this
season, but after the wide receiver
stole some DVDs from Wal-Mart,
he was suspended for the year.
Period.
Don't forget, just two short
years ago, Ferentz finished a
streak where he took the Hawk-
eyes to four straight New Year's
Day bowl games with wins
against Louisiana State and
Florida.
Ferentz is a winner, a competi-
tor, a standup guy and someone
who will succeed at Michigan.
But go ahead and doubt
Ferentz. Pine over Les Miles. I
really don't care. A few years from
now, I'll have four words for all of
you: I told you so.
- Wright can be reached
at kpwr@umich.edu.
Kirk Ferentz? No thanks.
I don't want this
to come off as disre-
spectful to Lloyd Carr, because
I appreciate
everything
he did for
the Univer-
sity, but the
last thing
this program,
needs is Carr
lite.
Sure, SCOTT
Ferentz BELL
would be Anti-Ferentz
another great
face for the
Michigan
football team. He'll do the right
thing, say the right thing and
uphold a lot of the long-stand-
ing traditions Carr emphasized a
successor should have at his press
conference last week.
But this is a head-coaching job,
not political office. On-field per-
formance needs to be weighed
heavily when considering a head
coach, and when that's factored
in, Ferentz isn't the guy for the
job.
Were you sick of Michigan's
offense consistently under-
achieving and being stuck in the
stone age in terms of innovation?
You weren't alone. And you won't
be in the future, either, if Ferentz
is hired.
Ferentz's offense has failed to
break the top 75 in total offense
-more than half of the nine seasons
he's coached in Iowa City. Maybe
I'm just manipulating stats from
seasons past to make him look
bad like alot of us evil journalists
do. Eh, not quite. Iowa is 109th
out of 119 Division I teams this
season.
How about recruiting? He's
essentially been pushed out of the
Chicago area by Charlie Weis and
Ron Zook.
Performance in rivalry games?
Ferentz is a dismal 3-6 against
in-state rival Iowa State. Even
though Carr struggled against
Ohio State in the later stages of
his career, at least he took care of
business against Michigan State.
So if it's even possible, Mich-
igan's offense could get even
worse, its recruiting would
regress and Little Brother might
even start beating us more than
once in a blue moon.
But all this should be over-
looked because Ferentz would be
a great face of the program?
No, it shouldn't - especially if
there are questions Ferentz might
not even be the great program
head that everyone assumes.
This season, nearly 10 percent
of Ferentz's players encountered
legal trouble off the field.
Couple that with the housing
controversy some of his players
(including his son) were a part
of a few years back, and Ferentz
might not be Mr. Perfect after all.
With all these things consid-
ered (and I haven't even gotten to
his team's average-at-best record
over the past three years), should
Ferentz even be a candidate for
one of the marquee jobs in all of
college sports? I won't insult your
intelligence by answering that
myself.
The Michigan football team
has an opportunity to make a
statement with this hire. Does it
want to look forward and embrace
innovation, or does it simply want
to try not to fail?
Ferentz may be the safe pick,
but that definitely doesn't make
him the right one.
- Bell can be reached at
scotte b@umich.edu.
Blue seeks to reduce penalties after weekend's tough physical play
By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan may be second in the country
right now, but it's been at the top of the list
when it comes to drawing penalties.
The Wolverines have averaged more than
seven penalties and almost 18 and a half
penalty minutes per game this season. They
trump their opponents in every penalty sta-
tistic - a fact Berenson is actively trying to
change.
"Our team saw all the penalties from
Lake Superior (State) weekend (Nov. 16-
17) - we watched them and we critiqued
them," Berenson said. "Whacking a guy
with his stick rather than skating to him to
check him - that's lazy.
"There are smart penalties, and there are
bad penalties."
Berenson said watching film helped
the Wolverines before this weekend's
games. Still, Michigan tallied nine penal-
ties against the Badgers Friday, including a
five-minute major for hitting from behind
and a game misconduct sophomore Brian
Lebler drew in the first period.
Michigan's fourth line of Lebler, sopho-
more Anthony Ciraulo and junior Danny
Fardig had 21 of the team's 29 penalty min-
utes Friday, including the 10 minutes of
Lebler's misconduct.
Both Berenson and captain Kevin Porter
said after Friday's game Lebler's penalties
weren't entirely justified. Porter called the
misconduct "not that great of a call" and
the penalty-calling as a whole "a little out
of control," but the fourth line's excessive
time in the penalty box prompted Beren-
son to scratch Fardig, the most experienced
player on the line, for Saturday's game.
"That's 11 minutes of penalties our team
had to kill because of that line," Berenson
said. "That can't happen. That's not the
purpose of that line, to take penalties. It's
supposed to be able to kill penalties and
add energy to our lineup."
WHERE IS THE LOVE?: The Wolver-
ines stayed No. 2 in both polls released
yesterday, receiving 10 first-place votes
to Miami's 24 in the USA Today poll and
six first-place nods to Miami's 44 in the
USCHO poll.
"I haven't seen (Miami), but obviously,
I've heard a lot about them and I think
they've got a heck of a hockey team," asso-
ciate head coach Mel Pearson said. "Just
based on the teams they've played and the
teams that we've beat, they're probably
deserving of that No. 1."
This weekend, Michigan's opponents
were far superior to Miami's - Michi-
gan defeated the No. 14 and 15 teams in
the country in Wisconsin and Minnesota,
while Miami beat Canisius (2-9-2) 4-0 and
11-1 - but Miami held onto the top spot.
Though the Wolverines have now been
No. 2 for weeks, the team avoids discussing
its ranking during practice.
"The first time I heard we were No. 2,
it was in an interview somewhere," fresh-
man Scooter Vaughan said. "We don't
really think about it. They don't really talk
about it much in the locker room."
Berenson continued to call Michigan's
ranking too high and said he felt his team
only moved up "from the top 20 to the top
10" this weekend.
Pearson agreed, saying the Wolverines
probably aren't second best in the nation.
"Until you've seen the Miamis, the Mich-
igan States, the Notre Dames ... you never
know," Pearson said. "We haven't played
any first, second, even third place teams in
other leagues, so it's still early to say we're
a top team."
I'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE: Two more wins
led to two more individual honors for the
Wolverines. Porter earned CCHA Offen-
sive Player of the Week recognition for the
second week in a row after finishing with
three goals and three assists this weekend.
Goalie Billy Sauer was named CCHA Goalie
of the Week for the third straight week after
allowing just three goals in two games.
* Mastering defense a challenge in Beilein's scheme
By MARK GIANNOTTO
Daily Sports Writer
Heading into the season, every-
body knew it would take a while
for an inexperienced team to
grasp John Beilein's complicated
offense.
Overlooked, though, was how
tough it would be for the Michigan
men's basketball team to perfect
his defense.
In their 79-65 loss to Butler last
Wednesday, the Wolverines gave
up a Great Alaska Shootout record
17 3-pointers. And while some
credit should go to the Bulldogs'
hot shooting, they also had too
many easy looks from long range.
Butler hit several momentum-
swinging 3-pointers right as Mich-
igan fought its way back into the
contest early in the second half.
"They make threes, they make
threes, they make threes and all
of a sudden it's a double-digit lead
again and we could never recover
from that," Beilein said in his post-
game radio interview on WTKA.
It was supposed to be Beilein's
team that drained all the trifectas
this season. But on a team without
a proven offense, the Wolverines
can't afford to look past the defen-
sive side of the floor any longer.
Along with his backdoor-laden,
3-point-heavy offensive attack,
Beilein is also one of the few
coaches in America to employ an
unorthodox 1-3-1-zone defense on
a regular basis.
You would think the one player
in the back of the scheme would be
someone with shot-blocking capa-
bilities, like sophomore EkpeUdoh.
But Beilein has his point guard
patrol around the rim and has him
more focused on cutting off pass-
ing lanes than swatting shots.
Beilein's objective is to pressure
the ball out of the hands of a team's
normal playmakers and instead
force players unaccustomed to
making decisions into uncomfort-
able situations.
At its best, the 1-3-1 causes havoc
and turnovers for the opposing
team's offense, resulting in easy
fastbreak opportunities going the
other way. Run it incorrectly, and
the opponent is left with wide-
open looks because of the aggres-
sive nature of the scheme.
For just that reason, Eastern
Washington came out firing from
long distance, trying to emulate the
success Butler had two nights ear-
lier, but the Wolverines adjusted.
The Eagles shot 6-for-17 from
3-point range, including a woeful
2-for-11 in the first half. Michigan
held Eastern Washington to under
32 percent shooting overall and
won the game, 61-53.
"I thought we played terrific
defense down the stretch," Beilein
said through the athletic depart-
ment. "That allowed us to get the
scores that we did get."
Beilein is not averse to playing
classic man-to-man defense, but
so far he has used it for just a few
possessions at a time to throw off
opponents.
But as evidenced by the Wolver-
ines' regression in Saturday's 73-69
loss to Western Kentucky, in which
the Hilltoppers shot more than 57
percent from the field, learning the
1-3-1 is still very much a work in
progress.
Similar to his penchant for
details on the offensive end,
Beilein demands mastery of the
little nuances on the defensive
side. Earlier this season, he noted
how freshman Manny Harris
needed to rotate his body position
so he covered more area on the top
of the key while on defense, which
maximizes his ability to create
steals.
With a tough schedule the rest
of the way, the Wolverines won't
have many games in which they
can rely on their talent to win. And
with such a young squad, Michigan
can't count on its experience.
Early on, it's clear that -defense
will decide how many wins this
team can pull off.
"We just need to hang in there
and battle," Beilein said following
Saturday's defeat. "We will need to
now go back and find all the little
things that we need to change."
CLIF REEDER/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein has implemented a 1-3-1-zone defense this season.
I