‘That was a huge loss’ – Todd Bowles knows Bucs’ devastating injury is going to hurt more than people realize

 

By Evan Winter

NFL Managing Editor

Sep 24, 2025 2:07 PM EDT

David Reginek-Imagn Images

 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been dealing with injuries to key players before the 2025 season began and that hasn’t changed three weeks into the season.

The latest and most devastating injury comes in the form of tight end Ko Kieft’s broken leg. The injury occurred during the Bucs’ Week 3 win over the New York Jets and is of the season-ending variety. This is the final year of Kieft’s rookie contract, as well, so his future with the Bucs is definitely in question.

Regardless, on the surface, losing your TE3 may not seem like the biggest deal in the world, but Todd Bowles and even Baker Mayfield both know how much work Kieft did behind the scenes and how important he was to the Bucs offense.

 

Kieft helped set the tone for the Bucs offense and special teams

 

“He was probably our toughest player, one of our toughest three players on the team because he was our tone-setter offensively,” Bowles told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “He did a lot of things in the room from a blocking standpoint, so that we have to try and run the ball different ways without them. So that was a huge loss for us.”

Cody Mauch was another tone-setter for the Bucs offense and he’s also out for the year. So, now, Tampa Bay is without its two biggest “firestarters”, which can certainly have an effect on the rest of the group’s mindset in certain situations. Plus, the Bucs no longer have those guys who get under the skin of opponents and someone will have to fill that void.

But Kieft’s main value was on special teams. The unit is already struggling enough after allowing a punt and field goal to be blocked in back-to-back weeks and it’s easy to see why his absence could lead to even more underwhelming protection.

“[He’s] a guy that does a ton for us on special teams [and] a guy that doesn’t get a lot of credit in that regard, and then offensively, [he’s a] tone-setter,” Baker Mayfield told reporters. “He’s always the asshole touching you until the whistle is blown [and] somebody’s pulling you off…

“… We have to have guys step up and do that, because, you know, our identity is being smart and a tough team, but also (playing) physical, physical ball. And we lost two guys for the year that have done that for us. So we have to have guys step up and set that tone for us.”

It’s been “next man up” all year long for the Bucs, so they’re used to it, by now. It’ll be interesting to see how they make up for Kieft’s absence and who steps up along the way.

 

https://atozsports.com/nfl/tampa-bay-buccaneers-news/ko-kieft-season-ending-injury-bucs/

Bob Stoops and Montee Ball to Be Inducted into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame

 

Two college football legends will be honored during next year’s Rose Bowl celebrations in Pasadena

Published on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 | 4:28 am

(Left) Former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops during the Big Ten Championship on December 4, 2021. [Zoey Holmstrom] (Right) Montee Ball ties the NCAA career TD mark.2012 [Bflbarlow]

The Tournament of Roses announced that former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball and former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops will join the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame as the Class of 2025 in Pasadena. Their induction celebrates their remarkable achievements and deep contributions to college football’s legacy and the famed Rose Bowl Game.

 

“The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to pay tribute to individuals who have contributed to the history and excitement of the Rose Bowl Game, and those who embody the highest level of passion, strength, tradition, and honor associated with The Granddaddy of Them All,” officials said in a statement.

 

Ball graduated from Wisconsin as the NCAA’s all-time leader in touchdowns scored and stands out as the only player to rush for 100 yards in three different Rose Bowl Games. He led the Badgers to consecutive appearances in 2011, 2012 and 2013—132 yards against TCU, 164 against Oregon and 100 against Stanford. Ball was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft and played two NFL seasons. He was inducted both into the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025.

 

Stoops retired in 2017 as Oklahoma’s all-time winningest coach and is the first head coach to claim a national championship and all four BCS bowl victories, including the Sooners’ 2003 Rose Bowl win over Washington State. He was a defensive back and team captain for Iowa during the 1982 Rose Bowl, which saw Iowa lose to Washington. As a coach, Stoops was twice named national coach of the year and six times Big 12 coach of the year, leading Oklahoma to 10 Big 12 titles and 18 consecutive bowl appearances; his College Football Hall of Fame induction came in 2021.

 

The new inductees will be celebrated at the 137th Rose Parade presented by Honda, honored during the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential on January 1, and recognized with an official plaque at the Court of Champions at Rose Bowl Stadium. A private ceremony for inductees will take place on December 30. Since its 1989 founding, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame has inducted 148 members.

 

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization hosting America’s New Year Celebration, with 935 members contributing over 80,000 annual volunteer hours.

 

Visit www.tournamentofroses.com

 

Kirk Ferentz one win away from passing Woody Hayes as Big Ten's winningest coach

 

by: Brett McMurphy

September 3, 2025

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images.

 

LAS VEGAS – The (soon-to-be) winningest coach in Big Ten history starts laughing when reminded of how his Iowa career began. Kirk Ferentz lost 18 of his first 20 games – and admits he was fortunate he didn’t start 0-20.

Now, 27 years and 329 games later, Ferentz is one win shy of passing Woody Hayes as the Big Ten’s winningest coach. That will come either Saturday at rival Iowa State or the following week at home vs. UMass.

“I go back, like, ‘how the hell did this happen?’” Ferentz told On3 this summer.

A funny thing about Ferentz’s success is that he never really wanted to be a head coach. 

A former assistant at Iowa under Hayden Fry, Ferentz served as an offensive line coach for six seasons with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens from 1993 to 1998. During that time, he paid attention to Iowa, Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin and Bill Snyder at Kansas State.

“In college, there was a better opportunity for family stability than in the NFL,” Ferentz said. “I really enjoyed coaching in the NFL, but I told my wife (Mary) early in our time in Cleveland that odds were we would be moving every 3-5 years.”

In 1999, Ferentz left the NFL when he was hired at Iowa. “I wanted to be successful, but if it didn’t work out, it wasn’t going to end my life,” Ferentz said. “I was perfectly happy going back (to the NFL) as a position coach.

“I know some guys have ‘got’ to be a head coach. I never wanted to be one, quite frankly.”

His success drew a lot of suitors. Ferentz had several opportunities to leave Iowa, but never did.

In the early 2000s, Ferentz jokes he “was the sexy guy in the room back then.” His agent, Neil Cornrich, approached him about a substantial NFL offer.

“Neil told me, you have to explain to your oldest son Brian, that this is ‘generational money.’ He’ll never have to work if you take this job,” Ferentz said. “My wife tells Brian (then an Iowa offensive lineman) that, and he looks at her and says, ‘I never asked to be taken care of.’

“That was a great parent moment. Like, you know, the kid’s thinking right.”

Ferentz recalls another NFL job he turned down. 

“I didn’t want to entertain it, and it was with a good owner, too,” he said. “A different college coach took the job, and I think it’s funny because that guy has no idea I was the first choice.”

Ferentz won’t name the many NFL teams and college programs that were “quote-unquote better jobs” that tried to hire him away from Iowa. Those so-called higher-paying jobs where donors would sabotage the athletic director or set up clandestine meetings with a prospective coach.

“I don’t want to swim in those waters,” Ferentz said. “At least I don’t have to worry about that shit. They love you when they love you, but they can cut and run pretty quick too. So I just never want to get involved in that.”

Ferentz has had a remarkable run with the Hawkeyes. He’s had only one losing season in the last 24 years. He’s been named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times, won two Big Ten titles and led the Hawkeyes to two BCS/New Year’s 6 bowls.

He’s 205-124. He’s won games in every way imaginable. There was the 6-4 victory – yes 6-4 – vs. Penn State in 2004 and then the infamous 7-3 victory vs. South Dakota State in 2022.

Iowa’s seven points? The Hawkeyes had two safeties and a field goal. Iowa is not always locked in a defensive tug-of-war. The Hawkeyes have scored half a hundred 14 times under Ferentz, the only Division I head coach to coach three sons (Brian, James, and Steve) at the same college. 

On Aug. 1, Ferentz turned 70. His playing career ended after three seasons as a hard-hitting linebacker at UConn in 1976. He’s been coaching ever since. Remarkably, Ferentz has been coaching longer than 59 current FBS coaches have been alive. 

Ferentz knows he can’t coach forever. He believes when he’s ready to step down, “it’s probably going to be pretty obvious to me. Otherwise, I’m cheating the kids, and I’m not going to do that. Or someone else is going to tell me to sit down.

“There’s no perfect jobs and every job has something you don’t like: speaking publicly or whatever it may be, making those appearances. But you do those things to do what you really love doing and that’s coaching. So if it gets to the point where I just start thinking ‘Hey, this stuff outweighs the good,’ then that’s the time to walk away too.”

When that does happen, Ferentz said he will not be involved in finding his replacement.

“Whenever I step down, I just hope somebody in the (Iowa) family is allowed to elevate,” Ferentz said. “We have a handful of guys in the building that are really good. That’s not going to be my decision about that. They didn’t ask me, and I don’t want them to ask me. It’s not my call to make, other than I can endorse a lot of people that we have. I hope they get that chance.”

Despite Ferentz’s slow start to his career, he also got that chance. What a magical run it’s been.

https://www.on3.com/news/kirk-ferentz-one-win-away-from-passing-woody-hayes-as-big-tens-winningest-coach/