LOS ANGELES -- His eyes wide with fulfillment, Kirk Ferentz will tell anyone ready to listen that he and his wife, Mary, raised five children.
“I’m kind of taking a liberty there,” he said. “Mary raised five children. I’ve been a bystander in a lot of ways.”
So it goes for a longtime coach -- 38 years in all for Ferentz, including the past 17 seasons in charge at Iowa.
On the subject of his children, the proud father cannot discuss one of without mentioning them all. There are daughters Kelly and Joanne and sons James (who plays for the Denver Broncos), Steve (a reserve lineman for the Hawkeyes), and Brian (the Iowa offensive line coach).