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.

Rivals.com—Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz decided not to go through with an in-home visit set up for yesterday with the nation’s top prospect Seantrel Henderson, this according to his father, Sean.

If you’re a subscriber to Rivals, you can find out why the family says the visit was canceled.

According to a comment in Hawkeye Nation’s forums, Seantrel’s dad is quoted as having said, “Tell (the Iowa fans) that he pulled out because we wouldn’t give them our final official visit.”

The only folks who will be buying that load of crap are those who don’t know much about Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa program.

You know, I wasn’t going to say anything but Sean Henderson has kind of been an overly-controlling [insert your own word of choice here] throughout this entire process. I think we’ve probably heard more out of Sean Henderson’s mouth than his son’s. That’s a bit unfortunate, considering this is mostly Seantrel’s decision.

I’m sure Ferentz had a more than sufficient reason for pulling out of the visit. I’m positive it wasn’t because Henderson didn’t chose (or his father didn’t chose) Iowa as his last official visit.

I can think of one good reason why the Hawkeyes may have decided they don’t need Henderson: the extra luggage that would be his father. Sometimes, it’s OK to let the kids make their own decisions.

One Hawkeye Nation commenter suggested that Iowa didn’t want the attention of having the nation’s No. 1 recruit. While this might be true, I don’t think Ferentz would have said no if Seantrel had decided to attend Iowa. I don’t think it would have gotten to the point of a in-home visit being scheduled had that been the case.

Oh, well…it’ll soon be old news.

More Headlines:

Des Moines Register—Freshman running back Josh Brown and sophomore defensive back David Cato have both indicated they will be transferring from the University of Iowa to schools closer to their homes.

Hawkeye Nation—Read a Fox Sports columnist’s best case scenario for the Hawkeyes in 2010 — a national title game vs. Alabama

Hawkeye Nation—Shonn Greene helped influence DeMatha’s Marcus Coker to commit to the Hawkeyes, could help bring in more prospects.

Gazette—The Iowa Hawkeyes have some big holes to fill on the offensive line. No, really. Nobody is over 300 pounds.

Gazette—Iowa will have nine scholarship running backs on its roster in the fall. Is Ferentz crazy? No.

Kirk Ferentz is no stranger to rumors—he seems to have his name thrown into more possible coaching replacement discussions than can be counted on one hand any given year.

The Big Ten Coach of the Year was originally penned into the Notre Dame coaching job discussion by a story ran in the Chicago Sun-Times way back on November 15th.

Now that the Irish have officially dumped Charlie Weis, it seems every media outlet has planted Ferentz on what they believe should be Notre Dame’s short list—though it’s extremely short-sighted.

Ferentz and Weis share a common acquaintance in Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and their salaries are similar. That’s about all that could be tying the Iowa head coach into this messy equation.

Though, it’s all very clean-cut in Ferentz’s case.

Notre Dame would need to change too much for Ferentz to be the proper fit.

Ferentz is Catholic (for what it’s worth) and it’s true that Notre Dame would benefit from a coach with a style similar to that of Ferentz—a focused running attack and strong defense—but let’s face it: Kirk Ferentz is not flashy enough for the Notre Dame fans or the program’s tradition.

How would Ferentz adapt to Notre Dame’s storied pep rally tradition? Even though Ferentz isn’t given much slack when the Hawkeyes struggle, he is still deeply loved by his players and the Iowa faithful. However, it’s hard to see him waving his arms around in Lou Holtz fashion.

Ferentz is not one to get people fired up. He always maintains a calm, collected demeanor—with the rare exception of getting in a referee’s ear, but even that takes a down right outrageous call.

It’s safe to say “Ferentz” wasn’t the name that came to many Notre Dame fans’ minds when rumors started swirling that Weis was soon to be ousted. I can’t claim to know the pulse of the Irish on the subject but I imagine I’m close to being correct.

Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer make a lot more sense, but they have something very important in common with Ferentz—they’re sitting pretty in their respective programs, too.

Notre Dame’s helmets are the only thing golden about the state of Fighting Irish football. It would take a lot of persuasion—or a mighty large paycheck—to get any of these coaches to move location.

Getting Ferentz to up and move could take even more persuasion. Ferentz’s son is a freshman for the Hawkeyes and he has two other children attending the University. That’s a lot of relocation that would be a major pain to deal with.

Yet at first glance, Ferentz’s name admittedly sounds good when thrown into the mix. Take a close look, though.

During Weis’ tenure, he accumulated a record of 35-27 (.565) with the Fighting Irish. Ferentz is 80-55 (.593) in his time spent coaching the Hawkeyes.

Ferentz is recognized for turning the Hawkeyes around after his team limped through its first seasons under his lead. A similar struggle is likely for Notre Dame’s new coach, which makes one wonder: Is there enough patience in South Bend for Ferentz?

Ferentz is also known for picking up the recruits that fly under other teams’ radars and turning them into surprise NFL-caliber athletes.

Weis, on the other hand, has ruined Notre Dame’s recruiting program, but would Ferentz bringing in his usual under the radar recruits appease the Notre Dame faithful who still want blue chippers?

No way that would fly in South Bend.

Though Ferentz will likely keep his cards close throughout the entire discussion, this shouldn’t be confused as proving he’s actually considering the job. Hawkeye fans and others used to Ferentz know he keeps a tight lip about everything personal—it’s simply how he operates.

In an article ran by the (Cedar Rapids) Gazette before Iowa’s final game against Minnesota, Ferentz discussed the Notre Dame job rumors and was quoted as saying: “That’s the last thing I’ve thought about. I’ve been here 20 years and I kind of like my job. I like where I’m at.”

The Iowa Hawkeyes like where he’s at, too.

This article was also published on BleacherReport.com.