Kirk Ferentz has served as head football coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes since 1999.
Now 70 years old, college football‘s longest tenured coach plans to return as the Hawkeyes’ program leader for the 2026 season and beyond.
Ferentz informed reporters of his decision to return on Wednesday, saying he “feels good physically and his wife continues to support his coaching ambitions,” via college football insider Adam Rittenberg. His coaching ambitions seem to extend past the 2026 season as he has no plans to stop coaching in the “near future.”
“I just tell them the truth. I feel really good. I had no idea what it feels like to be 70, and now I do. However many months it’s been. And it doesn’t feel any different than when I was 60,” Ferentz said when asked what he tells incoming recruits during his Wednesday press conference.
“I feel good physically. I’ve got permission from my wife to keep doing this. And it’s what I like doing. I really enjoy doing it,” he continued. “… I don’t envision stopping anytime in the near future. It’s what I do. I don’t golf, and when I did, I stunk. So I don’t see going back to that.”
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Ferentz has logged a 212-128 overall record over his 27 seasons as Iowa’s head coach. The Hawkeyes have notched at least eight wins in each of their last five seasons, including this year’s 8-4 finish.
Iowa closed its 2025 regular-season schedule with a dominant 40-16 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning the No. 23 position in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings. The Hawkeyes now await their bowl game assignment, which will be announced on Dec. 7.
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Ferentz and Iowa currently boast the No. 25 ranked recruiting class in 2026, according to 247Sports’ rankings. The program has eight four-star recruits joining the program before Ferentz’s 28th head coaching season.