Bobby Petrino agreed to take the helm at Western Kentucky on Monday, just the most recent in the array of coaching moves across the nation. One coach leaves, that job opens, another coach steps in. Rinse and repeat.

This is the same Bobby Petrino that was once upon a time the head coach for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, left midseason to take the Arkansas job, and then witnessed his career come to a screeching halt with the flip of a motorcycle.

Or so we thought. Or maybe just me.

Petrino was fired from Arkansas eight months ago for unfairly hiring his mistress, and misleading his superiors about her relationship with him and the motorcycle accident. He blatantly ignored ethics while in Fayetteville. Left all possible integrity and character at the door from day one.

And yet, he is free to return to coaching with no consequence.

Ultimately, that’s the choice Western Kentucky made. Hundreds of coordinators and other seemingly viable candidates were passed over for Petrino, a guy who can coach football but a guy who has no sense of leadership. Zero.

Would Western Kentucky hire a journalism professor with a resume similar to Petrino’s? No chance. But hey, that’s college football. That’s the coaching carousel.

This feels so dry. These coaches being brought in for a little while — WKU is more or less a stepping stone for Petrino and he’ll only be there for two or three years, and then he’ll leave.

At the current stage, this type of activity isn’t happening at every major program. There are some schools that have a coach with longevity.

Iowa is one of those.

Kirk Ferentz has been the Hawkeyes’ headman for 14 years now and has a contract through 2020. His current buyout is approximately $20 million. As it has been well documented, Iowa football had a down season in 2012: A 4-8 record and no bowl game, which is a first since 2007.

But it’s not the end all, be all. At least not in Iowa City.

That’s because the coach means something here, a theme that used to exist on numerous other college campuses. Why? The head coach of a major Division-I team is the face of the program. He’s at pep rallies, tailgates, on posters, interacts with boosters, persuades recruits.

With Ferentz, there is that reputation. There is character, and there is integrity. Yes, college football has turned into more and more of a business, schools attempting to generate revenue at every opportunity.

But college football is in trouble if your school has to hire Bobby Petrino. “Teams have to win, though!” At what expense? Parading a mistress throughout an SEC program and getting fired to have another job only eight months later?

Iowa’s not in trouble. There is stability with Ferentz, who’s a symbol of many things, most of those in which Petrino will never be.

Sure, a 4-8 record and second-to-last place finish in the Big Ten is disappointing and way below the bar that’s been set.

It could be worse.

The post Don’t Buy Into The Coaching Carousel: It’s Not What You Want appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Probably the loudest Carver has been in four years.

Correction, the loudest it has been in four years.

In a game that featured a multitude of runs and many momentum swings, Iowa forgot about its atrocious 3-point shooting in the first half, out-rebounded the best rebounding team in the nation, and ultimately defeated Iowa State.

Down 36-35 at the break, the Hawkeyes (8-2) started off the second half on a 6-0 run, took the lead, and never looked back to defeat the Cyclones (6-3), 80-71.

“That’s a good team we just beat,” Adam Woodbury said. “We need to continue to build on this. I think [we] have the character to do that.”

The freshman center (9 points, 5 rebounds) helped the Hawkeyes get off to an 8-0 start from the opening tip, but Aaron White paced Iowa with 18 points. He also added 7 rebounds and 3 assists. A pair of freshman guards stepped up as well — Anthony Clemmons scored 14 and Mike Gesell chipped in 11.

Even being from outside the state, White understands the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry and the kind of implications it can have. The Strongsville, Ohio, native was all smiles after the victory.

“We went to Ames last year, and you see how big this is,” White said. “It’s big for everyone. This is a huge rivalry. I’m sure all the Hawkeye fans are happy.”

They are.

Perhaps most symbolic of Friday night’s win was in the moments after the final buzzer. A portion of the student section ran down courtside to celebrate with the players and coaches. The fans loved it. So did the players.

This is an NCAA Tournament resumé builder. Definitely a notable win on the schedule. Wichita State and Virginia Tech, the only squads to have beaten head coach Fran McCaffery’s squad this season, are both undefeated.

Remember, this was a program that had its worst season in school history just three years ago. A lot has changed since then.

“We executed much better at critical points in the game,” McCaffery said. “Our losses against Wichita State and West Virginia, we didn’t do that. I think we fought in both games, but we didn’t execute.

“And tonight, we executed.”

The post The rivalry is back: Iowa defeats ISU in season-best performance appeared first on KRUI Radio.

You can follow the hosts on twitter: @DJKoulianos and @Matt_Cozzi, you can also send questions for the hosts to djkcozzishow@gmail.com.

The post The DJK & Cozzi Show appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Three weeks ago, the Iowa football team was down in the dumps.

The Hawkeyes wrapped up their non-conference schedule by losing to lowly Central Michigan in Kinnick Stadium. CMU scored a touchdown, recovered an onside kick, and ran a couple positive plays to setup a field goal and win all within the last 100 seconds of the game.

Kirk Ferentz and Co. had their work cut out for them. A .500 record going into Big Ten play for the first time since 2000 didn’t equate too well. It was going to be a long season, perhaps a losing season — even I wrote about it.

Forget about all of that. Iowa has suddenly turned the season around about as fast as it was counted out.

After a dominating win against Minnesota on Sept. 29, the Hawkeyes went into the bye week last week with a bit of momentum. Well, now they have heaps of momentum.

Iowa played just about a complete game against Michigan State on Saturday, getting out of East Lansing with a victory in two overtimes, 19-16. And it was the defense and special teams, two steadily improving units that were criticized vehemently pre-season, that ultimately put Iowa over the top in Spartan Stadium and improved its record to 4-2.

The linebacking corps of Anthony Hitchens, James Morris, and Chris Kirksey have been nothing short of extraordinary. All three have stabilized the opposition’s run game, almost always finding their way to the ball-carrier. Hitchens is second in the nation with 78 tackles while Morris is 33rd with 60.

Through these first six games, the defense has yielded just 17.2 points per game and have held all six opponents under 400 total yards.

The offense is still on some rough footing — 5th-year senior James Vandenberg has thrown just two touchdowns — but Mark Weisman continues to flourish at running back. Weisman has rushed for over 100 yards in four straight games, including 116 and a crucial touchdown against Michigan State.

Remember, Weisman was essentially a no-name seven months ago during spring ball. Not only was he at fullback instead of running back, but he was No. 2 on the depth chart. Over 600 yards and eight touchdowns later, he is a legitimate contender for conference player of the year.

But there is even more reason for optimism.

Iowa is 4-2 and tied for first atop the Legends Division with Michigan, with very winnable games coming up against Penn State at home and Northwestern and Indiana on the road.

And what do you know — the Hawkeyes play just one team currently ranked in the Top 25 the rest of the season: Michigan. The Wolverines haven’t beaten Iowa since October of 2006, and Denard Robinson has had his fair share of struggles against the Black and Gold the last two seasons.

Three weeks ago, Iowa was headed for a 5-7 season and no bowl game.

Now, the Hawkeyes already have four victories with ridden Penn State and struggling Indiana and Purdue teams dotting the schedule for three out of the next four match-ups. Northwestern is beatable on Oct. 28 in Evanston and then there’s that Michigan game on Nov. 17.

You can make your own projections or have your own reservations. But Iowa might remain in first place for a lot longer than any of us could have imagined.

The post Commentary: Don’t blink, Iowa is a contender for Legends crown appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The post B1G Predictions: Week 5 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The post B1G Predictions: Week 4 appeared first on KRUI Radio.