On Saturday at Michigan Stadium, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz and Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham will assume opposite sidelines for the first time ever. For head coaches who have used similar formulas to last in this business quite a while, the meeting is a long time coming.
The two coaches have seen it all. Ferentz took over with the Hawkeyes in 1999, with Whittingham taking the reins at Utah six years later in 2005. When Whittingham coached his first game with the Utes, the #1 song on the Billboard Top 100 was “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey, and the first iPhone was still two years away from being released. Utah was in the Mountain West, later joining the now-defunct Pac 12 and settling in the Big 12. And the NCAA had just added a 12th regular-season game and formalized instant replay.
Now in his 27th season, Ferentz has achieved somewhat of mythical status in Iowa City, at least according to former Iowa tight end Dallas Clark. Clark played for Ferentz during his first three years at the helm and earned All-American honors. Before departing Utah this offseason, many in Salt Lake City would have given Whittingham a similar billing.
The paths the two coaches carved at programs no...