Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was not in a very good place at the end of the 2014 season.
The Hawkeyes had lost to Tennessee 45-28 in the TaxSlayer Bowl to finish 7-6. It marked the fifth consecutive season that Iowa had won eight or fewer games. He was only two years removed from a 4-8 season after going 11-2 and playing in the Orange Bowl in 2008.
People in the media — people who liked him — said that after 16 years in Iowa City the game was passing him by. The program, they said, had bottomed and would not return to prominence.
But Ferentz, who tutored under Hayden Fry at Iowa before replacing him in 1999, knew better. He knew that with some changes and some re-dedication, the Hawkeyes could be relevant again.
Today, Kirk Ferentz is in a much better place. After going 12-0 during the 2015 regular season, the Hawkeyes lost a classic 16-13 decision in the Big Ten title game to Michigan State, thus missing out on a berth to the College Football Playoffs. Still, Iowa was invited to play Stanford in Friday’s Rose Bowl. It is the first time the Hawkeyes have played in Pasadena since Jan. 1, 1991.
So with that personal redemption as a backdrop Ferentz on Thursday will receive the Dodd Trophy as college football’s national coach of the year. The Dodd Trophy, named after Georgia Tech legend Bobby Dodd, is presented each year by the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
It is a unique honor in that it is not given strictly for success on the field. The winners must also adhere to the award’s guiding principle:
“In recognition of a higher and more noble aspect of college coaching … a style that emphasizes something more than winning the game … a belief that the game should be kept in perspective with college life in general.”
The winners must also uphold the three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, which the legendary Dodd used as the foundation of his program at Georgia Tech.
“I’ve been aware of the Dodd Trophy over the years but I looked at the past winners and was just so impressed,” said Ferentz from his office at Iowa. “I look at people (who) I’ve admired over the years. People like (Virginia’s) George Welsh and (Georgia Tech’s) Bobby Ross. I see guys I’ve worked with like Bill Snyder (of Kansas State, a two-time winner). I am just so honored to be on the same list with all of those great coaches.”
The Dodd Trophy has been presented since 1976. Others to receive the award have included Georgia’s Vince Dooley, Michigan’s Bo Schembechler, Nebraska’s Tom Osborne and Alabama’s Nick Saban.
The award, which includes a check to the school’s scholarship fund, will be officially presented during ceremonies on campus at a date to be determined.
Bobby Dodd was the head coach at Georgia Tech from 1945 to 1966. As an assistant coach, head coach, and director of athletics, Dodd served Georgia Tech for 45 years. He is in the College Football Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
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