Iowa Coach Shares Blunt Warning For Future Of College Football

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz doesn't seem too optimistic about the future of college football.

There have been plenty of complaints about the path college football is currently speeding down. The transfer portal, while good in theory, has created a "rent a player" system boosted by massive NIL collectives that buy players before they play a single snap.

The sport is unrecognizable from where it was just 10 years ago. It's not all bad, but many feel something has to be done.

Nick Saban raised the alarm that inaction could lead to a "thunderbolt" that breaks the sport. It now sounds like Kirk Ferentz is also very worried about what's looming on the horizon.

Kirk Ferentz sounds alarm on future of college football.

"Sorry to say two years later, we are in worse shape than we were two years ago. I did not think that was possible. We, the adults, have done a lot to really screw this thing up. We have a great game, so I do – old guy in the room – I have got some concerns about what the future is going to look like. I think most people are aware that we have some real issues right now. I am not sure what we can come to agreement what the remedies may be. You see a lot of things that just concern you, and again, there are a lot of moving parts. I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers," Ferentz said when breaking down the state of college football prior to losing to Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl, according to On3.

Ferentz also dialed in on players who chose to opt out of games for the NFL Draft or to hop in the transfer portal.

The Iowa coach added, "It is just a different world. Even 20 years ago, you had guys possibly opting out for the NFL, not near to the extent now. There are just a lot of parties involved now, and it us not always healthy voices that the players here and some of the parties involved are not necessarily thinking about what is best for the individual young people. Just kind of flies in the face of what we try to do as coaches I think, so that is part of it."

Does Ferentz have a point?

For comparison, here's what Nick Saban said back in December:

I think it’s going to continue in the same direction that it’s going until something happens. I call it a thunderbolt, where maybe people start dropping sports because the finance part of it can’t make sense in terms of what you can reinvest in non-revenue sports. Or, some players out there don’t get what they were promised and there’s lots of lawsuits and stuff, you know. There is going to be some kind of a thunderbolt because this is not a system that we have right now that has any guardrails, and in most competitive venues there are some that control what you can and can’t do…Right now, it’s a game of whoever is willing to invest the most has the best chance of having the best team.

It's not word for word the same as what Kirk Ferentz had to say, but it definitely shares the same spirit. To Ferentz's credit, he didn't blame the players.

This is America, and capitalism is the system that rules the day. His issue doesn't appear with players being able to make money.

It sounds like Kirk Ferentz is upset the people in charge allowed a wild west situation to unfold without any oversight or attempt to dial it back. It's hard to get the toothpaste back in the tube, and some coaches definitely feel that's the point the sport is now at.

Is college football out of control? Do Ferentz and Saban have some great points? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.