Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Chris Doyle is out | Who could replace Doyle at the next S&C coach | Gary Barta gives emotional pres conference

Episode Date: June 16, 2020

Chris Doyle is officially out of the Iowa football program. Did we agree with the way it played out and who should replace him? Also, Gary Barta spoke to the press and delivered an emotional press conference. Here are the takeaways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I thank God I was born on the good arms of the Midwest, and not on the battlefields of the U.S. It's a time of panic, and it's intercepted! It's picked off right away! Intercepted by Marty Hooker! Pick six! Eight seconds into the game! Buffen sets up deep in the pocket, goes down the field for Smith!

Oh! He's got it! Smith! Touchdown. 85 yards. High on. Touchdown, 10. Taking a shot in the end zone.

It is caught. No offense. Touchdown. That's either one or you have it. Go ahead and three. Yes. Two-point lead for the Hawkeyes. Good morning and welcome back to another episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. It is Tuesday morning and I am your host, Andrew Wade, and we are back for another episode

of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Lockdown Sports Network. And today's episode is brought to you by rockauto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. And on today's show, we are going to be covering the big news. Chris Doyle is out as the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Iowa. Definitely something we saw coming. The $1.1 million buyout, we did not see coming.

So we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about who could potentially replace Chris Doyle at the University of Iowa, the impacts on recruiting that this is having, and Gary Barta's press conference and the emotion he displayed and kind of what that means as well. If you have liked our episodes that we've been producing, please make sure to go follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and also give us that five-star review wherever you downloaded this podcast at, and subscribe wherever you downloaded this podcast at so you can get all

future episodes delivered directly to your mobile device. We have three episodes coming out every single week. We produced an episode yesterday, an episode today, and we have an episode coming out later this week, most likely Friday, barring any big breaking news that happens in between now and Friday morning. So, that being said, let's hop into the show. First, though, I want to make sure I mention the fact that voluntary workouts have began for the basketball teams. Iowa is back. Luka Garza is back with the team. That does not mean he is definitely playing for the Hawks next season. It just means he's getting a workout in while waiting to understand

what the NBA future holds since the draft has been pushed back to the end of summer, early part of fall. But we'll cover that more as information comes out for that. The big news though, Chris Doyle is out and the Iowa Hawkeyes and Chris Doyle reached a $1.1 million settlement agreement. This provides Chris Doyle 15 months worth of his salary and health insurance. And a lot of people are pretty upset about this and I don't blame them. Here's why in my opinion. First, the dude gets accused of discriminatory behavior. He gets accused of racial comments, inappropriate racial comments. In general, he's accused of being a huge dick to everyone.

And yet, he's getting paid $1. million dollars to not work for the next 15 months he I think he definitely has there's definitely reasons he could have been fired for cause and you know terminated his contract outright however I think why the Hawks did decide to settle is simply to move on from the situation. So instead of letting this battle out in a courtroom, letting this battle out over the next month, couple months, couple years, waiting for the report to come back. And barring whatever the report said, you know, there still was a pretty good chance that it sounded like Chris Boyle was going to fight this. He was not going to go down without a fight. Settling allows both of them to just part ways and get on with their lives. I know that can be frustrating to some, but I do think it was the easiest way for Iowa to move on as quickly as possible

from this situation that has turned so ugly over the last couple weeks. Now, instead of worrying about what Chris Doyle is going to do or whether or not he's going to come at the school and sue the school and potentially tie them up in legal fees, they can just move on. He cannot go at the school anymore, and they can begin their search for a new strength and conditioning coach. I'll be interested to see. We haven't seen a ton of response from the players, especially the players that have been upset about what Chris Doyle did and how he behaved. So I'll be interested to see what that response is.

I think that most Iowa fans have been a little bit frustrated by the fact that he did get that buyout. If you were on the side of not supporting Chris Doyle and expecting him to be fired, as I was. There was a senator who thought it was appropriate to call out the fact that Chris Doyle got a $1.1 million settlement and said, this is not fair for the taxpayers' monies to be paying for this. She got obliterated on Twitter because she needs to understand her facts and the fact that Iowa's athletic program has been self-sustaining, meaning it does not require taxpayer money for the last 12 to 13 years.

She then mentioned the fact that, well, you still have all these pricey stadiums, which with just a little bit of research, you can identify that that is not the case. Iowa, maybe back in 1929, but as of right now, their most recent renovations were all paid for in-house, covered by seat purchases and whatnot. It was not paid for with a single dime of taxpayer money. So interesting that Senator tried to get in on the mix.

I think her message got incredibly lost. I think if she was upset that Chris Doyle got a buyout in general, that's understandable. I'm upset about it too. I think to get $1.1 million to leave and not coach and not work because you did something inappropriate, what a freaking deal. If I did something inappropriate at work, I'm gone. I don't get money at all. I'm just gone. So I definitely got a decent deal there for Chris Doyle.

But again, I think the whole goal was to get him out as quick as possible so Iowa could move on. They need to move on quick. I talked about Gary Barta had a press conference yesterday. We also have seen some issues within the recruiting world. For example, Kalen Goley, a guy out of Key Largo, has decommitted. He never really signed. I don't think he actually ever signed a letter of intent with Iowa, but he has officially decommitted. That was supposed to be a developing pipeline for Iowa.

They already got teammate Quavo Matthews there. I know we thought there wasn't going to be a big impact at 2020 class, but it sounds like, you know, Kalen has decommitted. So that is an impact nonetheless. Like I said, we still have teammate Quavo Matthews there. Or Kaval Matthews, excuse me. I think this is something to keep watching. Scott Dotterman or Chad Lestico put out a really great article about the impacts this is having to recruiting. And he mentioned a few top recruits that have moved on from Iowa because of these allegations. I think it's going to be the first question that comes up any time Iowa tries to recruit a player.

It's going to be something they have to deal with for not just this year, but the next couple of years. I think Iowa's trying to do what they can to move on and build a better direction for the program going forward, but there's always going to be those lingering questions in the back of players' minds, especially the young black athletes. Do you want to go to a program that has been accused of these racial allegations? We're also seeing this kind of have a spiral effect on other colleges.

For example, Mike Gundy, longtime coach at Oklahoma State, was wearing a shirt of a network that is very far right-wing supporting. And that can be very frustrating if you are a player of color as well. That is typically not going to be as supportive of them as you would like to see. And I think we're seeing that already play out a little bit on Twitter and in the press with the shirt he was wearing, the choice of shirt he was wearing. He apologized and said he needs to make better decisions moving forward.

Their star running back, Chuba Hubbard, was not a fan of that as well. So we'll see how that plays out. But we're going to see this, I think, play out across the country as players choose to speak up. I don't think this is a singularly limited to Iowa situation. However, Iowa is the catalyst and the spark plug for making this movement. And for that, I'm so proud of the players who have spoken up. I think it's really incredible and courageous of them to do so.

I think it's courageous of Iowa to continue to try to move forward and try to make the best of the situation and turn a bad situation into an improved situation, a situation that makes players feel comfortable when they come into the program. And they're already taking those steps with that leadership council. They've already taken steps with bringing in people of color to be able to help run the major programs within the Iowa football program. So excited about the increased improvement within the program. But, you know, word to word, let's see some action going forward.

Coming up on segment number two, though, I want to talk about which strength and conditioning coaches could potentially replace Chris Doyle at the University of Iowa. Before we do that, though, we do have an ad from our sponsor at rockauto.com. Rockauto.com is the best place to go get your car parts. Personally, if you have been into a brick and mortar store, it can be a little bit frustrating. The prices are a little bit higher. You get a person who doesn't really seem to care about what you need or want, and they don't typically have every single part you possibly could need because they have a brick and mortar store. So why go into the store? Why waste your time going into a frustrated

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Let them know that Locked On sent you in the comments section of why you are here. And again, RockAuto.com, amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Check it out today to get your car part that you need for your car. All right, we are back for segment number two of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. And as I said before, we took a quick break. Want to touch on what people I thought could potentially replace Chris Doyle. And this will be a really interesting search because Iowa has built a reputation as being a program that develops players.

They turn players from walk-ons and two-stars into NFL athletes and pro bowlers. And so that is a huge recruiting pitch. Let's not deny it. Chris Doyle was a huge recruiting pitch because of what he could do for players. He is gone now, and I think rightfully so. But how does Iowa move on and develop a program and continue that mantra, continue that recruiting pitch of being able to get players in and be able to develop them.

So here's four guys who I think could potentially be on the replacement radar. And I think it is important to note that all these guys have ties to Iowa. So it'll be interesting to see if Iowa goes completely out of house or tries to stick within the Iowa program. Starting with the guy who's currently the interim strength and conditioning coach, Raymond Braithwaite. I know I said that name wrong. I'm not, again, not great with names.

But right now he's the interim director of strength and conditioning. He has been with the Iowa football program for 16 years. So been there for quite some time after serving as the head strength and conditioning coach at Delaware State. Again, the idea of having Raymond here, he is a person of color. You already look like you're changing the program already, but I do think there is some concerns about the fact that this isn't really a new regime. So I don't know. I have not heard a single allegation about Raymond come out, which is fantastic.

And as the interim strength and conditioning coach, you know, he already has that in with the players. He already knows Chris Doyle style as far as the coaching piece, as far as the actual program development piece. So I think that would be the most seamless transition. as far as the coaching piece, as far as the actual program development piece. So I think that would be the most seamless transition. But does Iowa want to take a different route? Does Iowa want to go somewhere different with this?

Do they want to start fresh? That's where I think this will be interesting to see. Or do they stick with Raymond, who has been waiting in the wings for 15, 16 years? Personally, he should be the frontrunner. I think it would be fantastic to keep that continuity from a program development standpoint, but I could see the Iowa football program deciding to go a completely different direction

and just kind of clean house in the strength and conditioning program. And if they were to do that, a couple guys that would be on the radar, two former players, Grant Steen, played for Iowa in the early 2000s, now an assistant strength and conditioning coach with Seattle after spending time with multiple college football programs. He could be a guy who could come in as well. Mark Wiseman, the famous Wiseman for Heisman, running back, interned under the Hawks. He played for the Hawks and is now the current head strength and conditioning coach at Southeast Missouri State. Just recently got that job. He could be a candidate as well. And then Nick DeMarco, currently the director of strength and conditioning at Elon, spent three

seasons as an assistant strength coach at Iowa in the 2015 time period. Those are the four guys who I think could replace Chris Doyle as a strength and conditioning coach. And like I said, I think Raymond should be the frontrunner. I do think the other three are guys to be on the lookout for. But I could really see this going a completely different direction and opening up a full search. When you have a situation like this,

sometimes it is important to, for lack of a better term, save face and go somewhere else. Go somewhere that doesn't have a tie. Rip the band-aid off and completely develop a new strength and conditioning program. From a continuity standpoint, again, that's not the best approach. But from a move forward standpoint, that could be the best approach. That could be the way Gary Barter decides to go. And I'm not sure if it'll be Gary Barter and Kirk Ferentz heavily involved in that situation, whether Kirk will be entirely removed.

But that'll be a huge one to see. Like I said, with Iowa, the ability to develop players is what sells that program to a lot of young athletes. They need to be able to develop a football program or a strength and conditioning program that can develop these athlete trum walk-ons and two-stars to first-round prospects. They do it year in and year out. That is something Chris Doyle could do, but he did it the wrong way. Now we need to find someone who, but he did it the wrong way. And so now we need to find someone who can do something similar and the right way and get the results that Iowa needs to be able to be a contending program in the NCAA.

As information comes out about that, though, we will obviously be discussing that right here on the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. Coming up on segment number three, I want to touch on the Garrett Barta interview and press conference and kind of what he mentioned in there. So we're going to be talking about that in just a few short seconds. Before though, I want to make sure I let you know about the best tasting protein bar on the market.

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It's better than anything I've used before, and I highly recommend it. Check out Built Bar at BuiltBar.com and use the promo code LOCKEDON for $10 off your box at BuiltBar.com. We are back for our third and final segment of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast today. And as I said, I wanted to talk about

the Gary Barta press conference. And Gary Barta does not have a good history of speaking in the public. He just isn't a very good public speaker. And more often than not, he honestly causes Iowa fans to be even more restless because he is unable to communicate what he's trying to communicate. He doesn't do a very great job of speaking about what's happening. And he doesn't, I would say he doesn't really do a good job of handling crises. So when people found out he was having a press conference yesterday, obviously there was some

concern. The fact that it took him this long to have a press conference, also just in general, him speaking, not usually the best, but I thought this was one of his best press conferences. I thought, you know, he best press conferences I thought you know he showed a lot of emotion it broke down a few times as he talked about racism and what he has learned about what that means to some of his you know some of the players some of the former players and some of the current people that are helping lead the Iowa football program so he is clearly it's clear that this has touched him and it has really hurt him that this has become a thing within the Iowa football program. And I think just the willingness to show

emotion in that, that should be something to praise Gary Barta for being willing to be emotional and for being willing to be vulnerable in this situation and understand there is an issue and understand that there's something that needs to be fixed. So I think that to me made me feel really good about the direction of the Iowa football program and the fact that he is going to be making sure that this goes in the right direction. He did mention that he felt like Kirk Ferentz was the guy to lead the program in the right way. Again, as we talked about on yesterday's episode, I thought Kirk Ferentz's

press conference was kind of crappy. I did not think he said a lot. I didn't think all the words he said were great. But Gary Barta feels confident that Kirk Ferentz is the guy to make these changes for the Iowa Hawkeye football program, and I support that. He did also say that the investigation into the other allegations for the other coaches will take weeks, not months. So we should learn the future of Brian Ferentz and Seth Wallace here very shortly. These are two investigations I think will have a profound impact on the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Both coaches have had allegations brought against them. Seth Wallace, good linebackers coach. Obviously, Iowa does do a great job of producing linebackers. But Brian Ferencz is really the one that's going to be the most interesting. Obviously, with nepotism laws, he does not report to Kirk, he reports to Gary Barta. But Brian Ferencz has been a guy who I think has been groomed to be the future head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes. And with these allegations, I think that puts a severe damper on that situation. I think there's a chance that, you know, Brian Ferencz isn't the offensive coordinator coming into the season. And if that is the case, I'm speaking

purely from a football standpoint. I understand if the allegations are true, I support whatever the decision is made to either remove him or suspend him or whatever it may be. However, the allegations have not been as severe as the stuff with Chris Doyle. And obviously not as huge of an outpouring against Brian as it was for Chris Doyle. So I don't know if a firing or dismissal will be what happens. However, if he is let go, that means Iowa now has a new offensive scheme. Brian Ferentz has a very complex offensive scheme, one that he has built from his time at New England with Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels. It is an offensive scheme that

Spencer Petras has learned. It's an offensive scheme that the Iowa offensive athletes have been practicing for the last couple months despite not having spring practice. If anything, the fact that they know the scheme is a huge strength for Iowa as they have been able to continue to work and develop their skill set within that scheme despite not having practices.

So if Brian leaves, I don't know who replaces him as the offensive coordinator. Maybe it's Tim Pulisic, who was the coach at North Dakota. I don't know

who would replace him at that point, and I don't think you'd have that continuity. And I think now it becomes a huge disadvantage for the Iowa Hawkeyes offense coming into the season having to learn potentially a new playbook or a new scheme or just even a new coaching style a new play calling style Kirk has been pretty hands-off with that offensive scheme he's allowed Brian to kind of take control of his own you know take control of his own offense and do his own thing so this is really an interesting situation to watch from a football standpoint. Whether or not Brian is let go, that could have a profound impact on Iowa's success or lack thereof this upcoming season. So it'll be interesting to see. Thankfully,

we will find out within probably the next three to four weeks what that investigation finds out and what Iowa's decision is on that that I do think this is an opportunity for you know Gary Barta to really lay the hammer down and be smart about making these decisions and not allowing these things to continue to move on and his decision will also show what is more important I saw someone said you know mentioned the fact that I Iowa let go of their field hockey coach because she was abusive. Is that the same? And that was a winning field hockey program. Does Iowa let go of their offensive coordinator

who could have a big impact on this year's team? It comes down to what's right versus what is the easy decision. What's right versus what is wanted. Obviously, you want to have your offensive coordinator back, but if he did something wrong, he needs to be punished or reprimanded in a way that's appropriate with the action. So this will be a really interesting case. See, the Chris Doyle one was pretty easy.

You knew he had to go. What happens with the other assistant coaches, we'll find out in the next couple weeks. That being said, though, that does it for our show today. That does it for the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast on this Tuesday morning. We'll be back later on in this week. And if you did like what you heard today, please make sure to go like,

review, and subscribe wherever you downloaded this podcast at. And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And as I have said before, if you do want more Locked On Sports content, make sure to check out the Locked On NFL podcast. Obviously with so many Iowa Hawkeyes in the

NFL, you're likely going to get some Hawkeye content in there. And if you are just a fan of the NFL, make sure to check out that podcast as well. I'm always delivering great content to your door on the Locked On Sports Network. Again, thank you all for tuning content to your door on the Lockdown Sports Network. Again, thank you all for tuning in to today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes Podcast.

We'll be back later this week. As always, stay safe out there, be good to people, and let's go Hawks! you