After playing high school football at Upper St. Clair in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ferentz played linebacker for the University of Connecticut in 1978. He spent two seasons as a defensive coordinator at Worcester Academy and one season as a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh. He was the offensive line coach at the University of Iowa under Hayden Fry from 1981 to 1989 before earning his first NCAA head-coaching job with the University of Maine in 1990. After three seasons of coaching the Black Bears to a combined 12-21 record, he became the offensive line coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns (later the Baltimore Ravens) in 1993.

On December 2, 1998, Kirk Ferentz was hired to replace the retiring Hayden Fry as head coach at Iowa. The team struggled during his first two seasons with a combined 4-19 record, but the Hawkeyes earned their first bowl bid under Ferentz after a 7-5 season in 2001. They beat Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl, 19-16.

The 2002 season would prove to be memorable for Ferentz and the Hawkeyes. The team finished the regular season with a 11-1 record, with the only loss coming to in-state rival Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium. They shared the Big Ten Conference championship with Ohio State, as both teams finished 8-0 in conference play. Quarterback Brad Banks won the Davey O'Brien Award for best quarterback and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Carson Palmer of USC. Tight end Dallas Clark was that season's John Mackey Award winner, and placekicker Nate Kaeding was the Lou Groza Award winner. Ferentz was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press for his efforts. Iowa received its first-ever BCS invitation, losing to USC in the 2002 Orange Bowl 38-17.

Despite losing several seniors to graduation, the Hawkeyes compiled a 9-3 regular season record in 2003. They defeated Florida 37-17 in the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2004, for their first January win since 1959. This earned the Hawkeyes a #8 national ranking in both the writers' and coaches' polls at the end of the season. Offensive tackle Robert Gallery was that season's Outland Trophy winner; after the season, the Oakland Raiders chose him with the second overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

Ferentz had to deal with injuries to the Hawkeyes' running backs and the death of his father, John, during the 2004 season. Nevertheless, the Hawkeyes compiled a 9-2 regular season record, sharing the Big Ten Conference championship with Michigan after a 30-7 victory over Wisconsin on November 20. For the second time in three seasons, Ferentz was named the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year. On January 1, 2005, they defeated Louisiana State University 30-25 in the Capital One Bowl to give Ferentz his third straight ten-win season with the Hawkeyes and another #8 national ranking.

The Hawkeyes went 7-4 during the 2005 regular season. After early-season losses to Iowa State and Ohio State and close losses to Michigan and Northwestern, they finished the season with wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota to earn a second trip to the Outback Bowl on January 2, 2006. They lost to Florida, 31-24, in a game marred by controversy.

Ferentz and his wife, Mary, have five children. His oldest son, Brian, was a center on the Hawkeye football team until the end of the 2005 season. Ferentz received heavy criticism when the Des Moines Register reported that his son (among other Iowa football players) was living in low-income government housing generally reserved for low income families while Ferentz earned a multi-million dollar salary. [1] Those particular loopholes have since been closed.

With his recent success at Iowa, many major college and NFL teams have considered Ferentz as a candidate for their head coaching jobs. However, Ferentz has publicly declined any interest in other coaching positions, opting to stay at Iowa. On November 23, 2004, Ferentz and Iowa athletics director Bob Bowlsby agreed to a new contract extension that keeps Ferentz at Iowa until 2012. [2]

On January 2, 2006 the head coaches of Green Bay, St. Louis, Houston, New Orleans, Minnesota, and Kansas City were all fired. With the firing of multiple NFL coaches, there was renewed speculation that Ferentz would be offered a head coaching job with an NFL team. Such speculation was soon put to rest when Ferentz stated that he was still happy with his job at Iowa, and that he had no plans to leave[3].

On June 2, 2006 Ferentz became the highest paid coach in the Big Ten and third highest in college football when he was given a restructured contract that boosted his salary to $2.7 million.