In the middle of the month, Kirk Ferentz was named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year. Two weeks later, the Iowa boss is on the receiving end of additional coaching hardware.
Wednesday morning, the organizers of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl announced that Ferentz is the recipient of the 2015 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award. Described as “college football’s most coveted coaching award, " the Dodd Trophy “honors the head football coach whose program embodies the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field throughout the season.”
Coming off a 7-6 2014 campaign, Ferentz guided the Hawkeyes to what’s thus far been an 12-win 2015 season. Those 12 wins are the most in school history. Iowa also claimed its first Big ten West title before falling to Michigan State in the conference championship game.
Still, the Hawkeyes will play in their first Rose Bowl since the 1990 season.
Ferentz is the first Iowa coach to win the Dodd Trophy, which was first handed out in 1976. He’s also the first coach from the Big Ten to claim the award since Michigan’s Lloyd Carr in 2007.
“It is an honor to be recognized with the Dodd Trophy, knowing what this award represents in college football on a national level,” said Ferentz in a statement. “I appreciate the recognition for the hard work of our entire coaching staff and every member of our football program and appreciate the acknowledgment of our accomplishments. I am honored to share this recognition with our staff, our players and our great fans and I am grateful to the University of Iowa for providing the necessary support for our success.”
Along with Ferentz, there were five other finalists for the 2015 Dodd Trophy: Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, Florida’s Jim McElwain, Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo, Stanford’s David Shaw and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney,