Sports Illustrated's Mandel Ranks Iowa's Ferentz as Among Worst Coaches in Country

Defenders of Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz have said in the past that the recently embattled head coach has forgotten more about football than most Hawkeye fans know.

Sports Illustrated's Steward Mandel must have taken them literally.

Mandel put Ferentz on his list of the worst coaches in college football at this moment citing the last few year's of disappointment as the primary reason for his free fall from his former position of receiving annual plaudits from national sportswriters:

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa. The 2009 Orange Bowl proved an aberration in Ferentz's otherwise unimpressive recent tenure. Take away that one 11-2 season and the Hawkeyes are 47-41 since 2005 under their $3.6 million-per-year coach.

Mike Hlas, sports columnist for the Gazette, has already written a column questioning the pick, noting correctly that Mandel had Ferentz as one of his top coaches in the country in 2005 and 2006. 

Here's Mandel in 2005:

No one has done a better job the past three years of turning dust into gold, producing three straight 10-win seasons and two shared Big Ten titles despite an overall talent level that pales in comparison to that of conference rivals Ohio State and Michigan.

And 2006:

His teams continue to exhibit the hallmark of good coaching: They get better as the season goes on. With an entirely new D-line last year, the Hawkeyes gave up 314 rushing yards to Ohio State on Sept. 24. Seven weeks later they held Brian Calhoun and Wisconsin to 19.

And this is after Ferentz has been named NCAA Coach of the Year once, and Big Ten Coach of the Year on multiple occasions.

On the other hand, Iowa fans are well acquainted with another coach who struggled at Iowa after receiving a coach of the year award. And in college sports, it's what have you done for me lately.

With expectations as low as they've been in a long time, it should be an interesting season ahead for the Iowa Hawkeyes.