Report: UI's Aiken to take NFL job
By By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Kirk Ferentz has gone four years without having to dust off a list of potential coaching candidates, sort through resumes and hire a full-time assistant, but it appears as if the Iowa football coach might have to go through that process again.
Citing team sources, The Arizona Republic is reporting in its Wednesday edition that Iowa defensive line coach Ron Aiken is expected to formally be named the defensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals within the next few days.
Aiken, 51, joined the Hawkeyes in 1999 as part of Ferentz’s original staff. He has been pursued by other suitors during his eight seasons at Iowa after helping the Hawkeyes construct one of the nation’s top run defenses.
Aiken declined comment through a message left with the Iowa football department, and messages left for Ferentz and the Cardinals’ front office staff were not immediately returned Tuesday night.
Aiken would be reunited with new Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt. They worked together for two seasons at Vanderbilt until Aiken left for Texas and Whisenhunt joined Ferentz on the Baltimore Ravens’ staff following the 1997 season.
“I think it’s good for Ron,” said former Iowa defensive end Matt Roth, who spent the past two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. “I always thought he’d be a defensive coordinator or a head coach somewhere, but I think this will be good for him. I always thought very highly of Ron. He’s not only a good coach, but he was real good for college-level kids. He was good with discipline and he was a father figure for a lot of kids on the team.”
Ferentz brought Aiken to Iowa from San Diego State. He came highly recommended by running backs coach Carl Jackson after they worked together in 1997 at Texas, and former Vanderbilt assistant Paul Dunn told Ferentz that Aiken was “the best defensive line coach I’ve ever worked with or seen at any level.”
Aiken assembled defensive lines that helped the Hawkeyes rank seventh or better against the run in three straight seasons beginning in 2002. He coached four NFL draft choices at Iowa, as well as two others who signed as free agents and were on professional rosters last year. He also was instrumental in bringing Brad Banks to Iowa by discovering the 2002 Heisman runner-up at Hinds Junior College in Mississippi.
“He’s a father,” said Veronica Iwebema, the mother of defensive end Kenny Iwebema, who was recruited by Aiken and will be a senior next season. “Take coaching away, he’s a disciplinarian. He’s everything you want for your son when his father’s not there, and you want somebody who will represent that. Coach Aiken represented all that.”
“What he promised, he delivered. He’s a man of his word. He’s a man that says this is what I’m going to do, and that is what he does. … When you have someone like that in your family’s life, you are well assured that no matter what the situation, no matter what the circumstance might be, that you have 100-percent trust in somebody that can take care of it.”
Aiken has been part of a coaching staff that has kept its core together since Ferentz’s arrival. Offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe, defensive coordinator Norm Parker, secondary coach Phil Parker, Jackson, tight ends coach Eric Johnson and strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle have been with the Hawkeyes since 1999.
Ferentz hasn’t lost a full-time member from his staff since offensive line coach Joe Philbin left the Hawkeyes for the Green Bay Packers following the 2002 season. Iowa filled the position by moving tight ends coach Reese Morgan into Philbin’s role and promoting Johnson from quality control assistant into his current job.
Since then, 63 of the 64 other teams from BCS conferences added at least one new staff member.
Of the four coaches Ferentz has lost during his tenure with the Hawkeyes, Philbin and Pat Flaherty moved on to NFL positions while Chuck Long and Bret Bielema departed for college coordinator jobs and have since become head coaches — Long at San Diego State and Bielema at Wisconsin.
Roth said he thinks the transition to the professional level would be easy for Aiken.
“He’s relentless in coaching, and he never shows favorites,” Roth said. “He never treated his better players any differently than his young players, which was good. You always got good coaching and good feedback.”
Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or
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