• last year
Iowa coach in Orlando
Transcript
00:00 So, you know, nothing really major to announce.
00:05 Obviously a little delay getting here, but no big deal.
00:08 I think our man at the party did a great job handling that.
00:11 And then probably the only--I don't know if you guys have heard the rumor, but I just want to set the record straight.
00:16 San Diego has not reached out to me at all.
00:19 It's been really quiet.
00:20 So I did look at a job there in '96, but haven't heard from them since.
00:24 So take that off the rumor board.
00:27 But yeah, I'm far away for questions.
00:30 So the Chargers are moving?
00:31 Yeah, yeah, Chargers.
00:32 They're moving to San Diego?
00:33 Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
00:34 I'm still--it was San Diego when I visited there, but it's been a few years.
00:39 You know, Dan Gable always talked about if you can't win the championship, get the next best prize.
00:46 And in your case, the next best prize is an 11th win, which has only happened three other times.
00:51 How much of that is a conversation and is it a motivation at all?
00:54 You know, our attitude's always been--we're always trying to be a championship-level outfit.
00:59 And that's--all you can do is your attitude and your effort.
01:02 Those are two things that everybody can control.
01:04 Talent, experience, all those things vary year to year.
01:07 But that's always been our goal, and each and every season that's what we aspire to be.
01:11 And at some point, most seasons, more than not, you get knocked out of that at some point because there's only one champion.
01:18 So whenever that day does come, then it's all about building for the next one.
01:23 And when we do that, it's just, you know, again, it goes back to the attitude and effort people put in.
01:28 So that's always going to have been our mindset for 20-some years.
01:31 Obviously it's a little more realistic for us to maybe operate at a higher level now than it was in '99.
01:37 But nonetheless, it's always a challenge.
01:39 What we do is very competitive.
01:40 This conference is competitive.
01:42 And it pertains to right now where we're at.
01:45 The best we could do is be an 11-win team, which would really be significant.
01:48 Citrus Bowl champions, that would be significant.
01:51 There's a million reasons to play.
01:53 But even when we were 1-9 in '99, that still was a big game play in Minnesota.
01:58 It's a chance to win a game.
01:59 Any time you go out and compete, that's what you're trying to do.
02:02 It's a big developmental period for you during the whole process.
02:05 Any guys flash to kind of make a leap?
02:08 Several, several.
02:09 I'm not going to--
02:10 No names?
02:11 Yeah, no.
02:12 But I mean, even before we left, I left for India, actually.
02:17 I just asked the staff.
02:19 At the end of the week, I said, you know,
02:20 jot down three, five names of the first-year guys that are really impressing you.
02:24 Because, you know, there's a lot of scout teamwork going on.
02:26 Obviously, a couple guys are in the 2-D.
02:28 But, you know, it's always interesting to see what the coaches look at.
02:32 I really don't care about guys that are disappointed in or--
02:34 because, I mean, they're young.
02:35 They're in their first year.
02:37 You know, most of them have a lot to learn.
02:39 But it's always interesting that we're seeing that.
02:41 That's one of the great benefits of a bowl game is just this opportunity to work guys
02:45 that have been on the lip teams all season long
02:47 and work them in our offense, our defense.
02:49 And, yeah, you always see things that are encouraging.
02:52 But it's just kind of like what we talked about with the team overall.
02:55 It's a day-to-day process.
02:57 And if we're doing it right, guys, we'll get better.
02:59 And it's fun to see some guys really start to--
03:02 not just first-year guys, but other guys starting to maybe show some signs that,
03:06 you know, maybe next spring they can prove that they can really help us
03:09 be a better football team.
03:11 Any update on the OC search?
03:13 Yeah, nothing really.
03:15 Obviously it's tabled right now.
03:17 Focus is right on this game.
03:19 But, you know, hope to have a clear idea first two, three weeks of January.
03:24 I'd like to think by the third week of January we got it done.
03:27 But feel really optimistic right now.
03:29 And, you know, we'll end up with a really good person.
03:31 You think about two years ago you got beat pretty badly in the Big Ten title game.
03:36 Came back against Kentucky, and the offense was pretty good, honestly,
03:39 like close to seven yards a play, maybe more than that.
03:42 How much growth has the offense made this period, and how much better can it get?
03:47 I think we're seeing some good things, and we're certainly capable.
03:51 It's just the way offensive football just generally is all about execution.
03:54 I think the biggest challenge is, you know, can we focus a little bit better?
03:58 Can we, you know, make the makeable plays?
04:00 And I talk about that all the time.
04:02 It's just really what the game gets down to.
04:04 If you can do something beyond, you know, the routine stuff, that's always great.
04:08 And to win at a high level you've got to do that.
04:10 But, you know, it all starts with just making the makeables,
04:13 which means, you know, not having a receiver fall start when they shouldn't be listening to the cadence.
04:18 You know, just things like that, little things, you know, dropping balls that are catchable,
04:23 you know, blowing a protection, whatever it may be, those things that are drive stoppers.
04:27 And that's really what usually, you know, stops offenses or derails them.
04:33 You know, when you play a good team, which, you know, in your bowl season
04:35 you're always going to play a good opponent, you know, they're going to make some plays too
04:38 because they've got good players, but we've got to try to minimize what they can do
04:42 and maximize what we can do.
04:43 So hopefully we'll see improvement and progress.
04:45 Kirk, when it comes to the extra year guys, what are the main factors that they are weighing
04:49 and the main pieces of advice you give them whether or not they're staying or going?
04:54 It's probably a little different story for each and every guy.
04:58 And one commonality, there's no easy decisions for guys.
05:01 Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not.
05:04 And what we try to share with them is, you know, take your time
05:08 because unless you've got to make a decision today, you'll probably have more information,
05:12 better information within a week or two weeks, whatever it may be.
05:16 You know, and then ultimately it's about them doing what they need to do,
05:19 what they feel is in their heart.
05:21 It does us no good for a guy to come back if he's not fully invested.
05:24 Raleigh Moss chose to come back, surprised all of us.
05:27 He was fully invested and played unbelievably well, practiced out of sight.
05:31 So that's an example of a guy who made the right decision.
05:35 But you've got to be--hopefully they're enthused either way, you know,
05:38 whatever they decide.
05:40 The other message is, like, if a guy chooses not to come back, like, you know,
05:44 don't feel like we're mad at you because nobody here is mad.
05:46 I'm not mad at TJ Hawkinson.
05:49 Unfortunately he got injured, and, you know, he's got a tough battle.
05:52 He'll do great.
05:54 But, you know, nobody's mad at him for leaving.
05:56 He earned the right to make that choice.
05:58 When guys leave, they're Hawkeyes, you know,
06:00 but it's ultimately about what's best for them, kind of like recruiting.
06:03 You know, make a decision that's best for you and kind of be presumptuous for us
06:07 to think that we know best, you know, when it comes to somebody else's--
06:10 what their goals may be.
06:12 You happen to have Brian here this week, and what will you remember most about his time
06:15 with the program as a player and a coach?
06:19 You know, I'm appreciative he's here.
06:21 I'm appreciative he's coached the last five games.
06:24 So, you know, first and foremost appreciative of that.
06:27 I'm appreciative he's been a coach for 12 years in the program.
06:30 He's been fully invested, done a lot of really good things for us,
06:34 and his contributions have really been very valuable, like a lot of guys on the staff.
06:39 He's been a great staff member.
06:41 And then his career, you know, five years, left a couple of body parts out there.
06:46 I mean, he--you know, it's important to him.
06:48 It's always been important to him, and I respect the fact,
06:51 appreciate the fact that he's out here.
06:53 I don't want to speak for him, but I think, you know,
06:55 part of his motivation is, you know, like all of us,
06:58 he cares about the players we work with on a day-to-day basis.
07:01 And I've said it many times, the best part of our job, my job specifically,
07:05 is the people I get to work with on a day-to-day basis.
07:08 And, you know, it's tough to minimize that.
07:11 So, you know, just our focus right now is on winning this football game,
07:16 doing the best we can, and appreciate him, his efforts, just like everybody on the staff.
07:20 Any more questions?
07:21 What did it mean to have Jay make the announcement that he's coming back,
07:25 both from an obvious physical standpoint, but also intangibles, or seem to be off the charts?
07:32 You know, it's interesting.
07:33 I was going to say his experience, but you think about it, it's like he's a three-year starter.
07:37 But it feels that way.
07:39 And just, you know, the one thing about Jay that's been so consistent since he's gotten here
07:42 is his attitude.
07:43 It's just--and that's what we like about him in recruiting, quite frankly.
07:46 You meet him face-to-face, get to visit with him a little bit.
07:50 You just feel like there's something there that maybe other people are missing.
07:54 And I think he's shown that throughout his career.
07:57 He's been a good special teams guy.
07:59 Last year played a lot of snaps, scrimmage snaps.
08:02 That's with two other guys that are pretty good players playing.
08:05 This year just, you know, we thought he'd play really well.
08:08 We knew he'd be a strong leader.
08:11 I think it's safe to say he exceeded our expectations, all the tackles he's made.
08:14 So that's really been impressive.
08:17 To get a player back like that--and I go back two years ago, you got LaPorta.
08:21 Campbell came back with that little break of getting ready for this game.
08:24 And they both came back from that little break and both walked in my office
08:27 within a half hour of each other, said they're coming back.
08:30 It was like, "Oh, that's good."
08:32 Just because of who they were.
08:33 Not only good players, but who they were.
08:35 So, you know, to have his leadership back is important.
08:38 Obviously he's a good football player.
08:40 And, you know, the more guys that come back for the right reasons, it's a good thing for us.
08:44 What have you seen from Deacon this past month?
08:46 Now he's had a little bit of time to work on things after getting thrown into the fire.
08:49 Yeah, I think he's improved each and every week since going back to October.
08:54 Always remember, as long as he's going to be here,
08:56 there's going to be things he can get better at.
08:58 But I think he's more confident, a little bit more decisive.
09:01 And all these reps--we talked about them for the younger guys--
09:04 they're important for everybody on the team if they're using them right.
09:07 And he certainly, I think, has done a good job of that.
09:09 What about Marco?
09:10 Same thing.
09:11 I think Marco is really--maybe a bigger bonus for him because he hasn't been playing in the games.
09:17 So it's a little bit like last year with Joe Lavas, December was huge for him.
09:22 It's kind of like drinking through a fire hose, but it's been really good for him.
09:26 And he's improved immensely too.
09:28 So that part's fun, fun to see the growth.
09:31 Okay, thank you.
09:32 Okay, thanks, guys.