Ferentz replaces Fry, returns home as new Iowa coach

''Having spent a lot of time out there, I really have a love for that area and those people, no question about it,'' Ferentz said at the Ravens' practice facility in Owings Mills, Md., before the announcement was made.

Ferentz, will replace Fry, who retired Nov. 23 after 20 years with the Hawkeyes. He will be introduced at a news conference in Iowa City tonight.

Ferentz, the Ravens' offensive line coach and the assistant head coach for offense, was an assistant under Fry from 1981 to 1989 before leaving to become head coach at Maine.

''I am simply elated that one of my former coaches and a member of the Hawkeye family will be coming on board,'' Fry said. ''Kirk is very intelligent, very knowledgeable, an outstanding teacher and an individual who will be an outstanding representa

AP PHOTO Hayden Fry is out as Iowa's coach, and his replacement, Kirk Ferentz, was an Iowa assistant under Fry in the 80s.

tive of Iowa football and the University of Iowa.''

Ferentz moved to the top of the short list of candidates after Bob Stoops, who played for Fry on the Hawkeyes' 1981 Rose Bowl team, accepted the head coaching job at Oklahoma hours after interviewing with Iowa on Monday.

Earlier Yesterday, Kansas coach Terry Allen, an Iowa City native, withdrew his name from consideration after talking to his wife and meeting with Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick.

''It's not the right time or the right situation for me,'' Allen said. ''I'm not a job-seeking guy, but Iowa is my native state. My family and friends are there, so it was important that I look into the job.''

Ferentz played linebacker at Connecticut from 1973 to 1976 and was an assistant for the Huskies in 1977. He also was an assistant in 1980 at Pittsburgh before joining Fry's staff.

During his three years at Maine, Ferentz was 12-21, including 6-5 his final season in 1992.

He joined the Cleveland Browns in 1993 and moved with the team to Baltimore in 1996.

''Kirk is an exceptional football coach and a terrific person,'' Iowa athletic director Bob Bowlsby said. ''He is a real players' coach, and he has had success at every level of his career.''

He will be taking over a program that had trouble moving the ball in 1998 and finished with a 3-8 record, the worst in Fry's tenure at Iowa.

Four of Iowa's highest-scoring teams were helped by offensive lines coached by Ferentz, including the 1983 squad that averaged 470 yards a game.

''Kirk is widely regarded as one of the best offensive scheme people in the National Football League,'' Bowlsby said. ''He will bring some outstanding experience to the Iowa football family.''

The Iowa search committee's meeting Tuesday with Ferentz came after Stoops, considered to be the leading candidate, accepted the coaching job at Oklahoma.

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