I’m starting to get some real “House of the Dragons” vibes to this season of Iowa football.
Kirk Ferentz = King Viserys. A relatively benevolent ruler who becomes defined by his inability to make the difficult choice until it’s too late and ultimately affects his legacy and offspring.
Kirk’s son, Brian Ferentz = Prince Daemon. He feels entitled to the throne once the king dies but ultimately is at the mercy of the decision of the king. Deep down, he feels he could be doing a better job but is limited by the decisions of his ruler.
LeVar Woods = Princess Rhaenyra. The one who should truly be chosen as the heir but is surrounded by incompetency and family dynamics (i.e. nepotism) preventing him from feeling secure that he’ll one day be the true ruler.
Gary Barta = Otto Hightower. Scheming behind the scenes to keep the status quo and avoid any of the blowback from his decisions sticking to him. Ultimately, he will be front and center reaping the adulation when things are going well but slinks behind the curtain when everyone sees exactly how inept this team is and the difficult decisions that must be made.
In the end, it’s starting to look like the end of the KF tenure will be defined by his inability to either let BF completely run the offense how he likes AND/OR make the necessary changes to modernize this inept attack. Regardless, his blind loyalty and stubborn arrogance will reinforce that in his mind only he knows what’s best and will leave a stain on his legacy.
— Erik
This is brilliant, Erik. Daemon probably isn’t the best comparison for Kirk’s son, Brian Ferentz, because there isn’t really a perfect complement for the Iowa offensive coordinator in the story we’ve seen so far through the series’ first four episodes. Daemon is ambitious and impulsive, but he has demonstrated some competence when pushed. Instead of letting his brother bail him out at the Stepstones, Daemon came up with a plan on his own to defeat the Crabfeeder. This incursion was the military version of at least five yards per play, which is vastly superior to the 2.8 yards per play Kirk’s son, Brian Ferentz’s offense is currently averaging. (Good for No. 131 in the nation.)
A better comparison from Game of Thrones is probably Dickon Tarly. We don’t know what ultimately happens to Samwell Tarly’s younger brother in the books because GEORGE R.R. MARTIN WON’T FINISH THE DAMN THINGS. But we do know what happened to the less capable Tarly brother on the show. Randyll Tarly, the perpetually myopic patriarch of the family, refuses to bend the knee to Daenerys Targaryen. Even though Cersei Lannister is equally if not more evil, Randyll stays loyal to Cersei even though Dany has him at dragonpoint. Dickon, who could have succeeded his father as the lord of Horn Hill and extricated his family from a failed alliance, instead refused to bend the knee to Dany. This was the Westerosi equivalent of taking zero quarterbacks from the transfer portal this offseason. What was Dickon’s prize for his stubbornness? Dany’s dragon Drogon incinerated Dickon along with his father.
