Todd Lickliter Out as Iowa Hawkeyes Men’s Basketball Coach | Remember When Kirk Ferentz Was Under Fire?

Posted March 15, 2010 by iowah0_admin under under Iowa Hawkeyes

Remember when mumblings, grumblings and rumors circulated that Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz needed to be fired? It’s understandable if in the team’s recent success you’ve forgotten but here’s a Pat Forde article that I dug up from a less black-and-golden time for the Hawkeyes:

ESPN — The quick trigger is turning college football into the NFL

Kirk Ferentz appears at No. 16 on this list of coaches, teams and players in trouble. His Hawkeyes had gone 23-21 since 2005. It didn’t keep the Hawkeye family happy.

Though the Hawkeyes were indeed struggling back then, Kirk Ferentz remained coach for the Hawks. He had the university and the majority of fans and media backing him.

So, why didn’t Lickliter received the same treatment? Iowa gave Ferentz a chance to turn things around and look what happend! We’re all celebrating an historical 2010 team.

Who’s to say Lickliter wouldn’t have used 2010′s surprisingly good recruits to build the foundation for a future Big Ten contending team? Speculation over whether or not this group — and the current roster — will stick with their commitments to the Hawkeyes are now abound. Did Lick’s firing doom Iowa to more years of rebuilding?

Yet some would argue that Lickliter should have already been able to rebuild in his three years at Iowa. Is that expectation fair? Was the firing too hasty?

In my opinion, this was an OK decision. Lickliter did have enough time to show improvement and his third year was his worst — also a school-record worst on top of that. That’s not the kind of improvement the Hawkeyes should be seeing.

Many people will claim that because of player transfers, Lickliter was always rebuilding. But if these players didn’t see the team going anywhere and perhaps didn’t like Lickliter’s vision for the team, maybe it was time for the university to adjust its sights, too.

Yet Lickliter may have deserved another year. Iowa hit rock bottom, as far as fans and media are concerned. Next year, the only way for Lickliter to have kept his job would have been some detectable improvement.

We’ll never get to see whether or not his team really was improving this whole time.

I want to know what you think. Take one second to vote in the poll and express your opinion by leaving a comment.

Tags: fire, fired, football, hawkeyes, iowa, kirk ferentz, men's basketball, new coach, todd lickliter

One Response to “Todd Lickliter Out as Iowa Hawkeyes Men’s Basketball Coach | Remember When Kirk Ferentz Was Under Fire?”

Iowa Hawkeyes Blog Says:
March 15th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
New Post:Todd Lickliter Out as Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball Coach | Remember When Kirk Ferentz Was http://bit.ly/bvaP9s #Hawkeyes