Nebraska football: Kirk Ferentz just made himself more likable than Jim Harbaugh

I know that as a long-time college football fan, I'm supposed to respect the job that Kirk Ferentz did at Iowa. But as a Nebraska football fan, I can't help but dislike the guy, especially considering his rather interesting history of employing assistant coaches who have a weird tendency to be racist.

However, as a devout disliker of Ferentz (I don’t hate the man; perhaps that’s where the respect comes in), I have to admit that he took a step forward on the rung of Husker rival coaches this week. He did so by actually being a man and owning up to cheating—by apologizing for cheating.

Contrast that approach with my absolute least favorite head coach in all of sports, Jim Harbaugh. The guy who has never owned up to cheating multiple times. The Nebraska football rival coach who whines and complains whenever he gets caught. Who plays the victim when he gets punished. It was an interesting contrast on Friday.

Nebraska football rival coaches behave differently when caught cheating

It was announced earlier this week that Ferentz and another Iowa assistant coach were both suspended for the Hawkeyes’ first game. They were both punished because of various recruiting violations.

While the actual punishment was rather unimpactful (they’ll miss a game against an FCS team that Iowa should win easily), at least Ferentz owned up to his brand of cheating. He did so at a press conference. He apologized.

Contrast that with Jim Harbaugh, the former Michigan Wolverines head coach who ran away to the NFL when he was caught cheating. The man who, when the NCAA finally punished one of his program's violations, complained, whined, and played the victim.

And for some reason, Harbaugh is still held up as a man’s man. He’s held up as a colorful character who was somehow wronged. 

When he gets away with his crimes against the sport, people will cheer.

Make no mistake. As a Nebraska football fan, I don’t “like” either of these men. I continue to be glad that the Huskers have a head coach who seems to be a genuinely good, ethical person.

But as a regular person, I like one of these men a bit more than the other. And because Kirk Ferentz actually owned up to what he did and apologized, he looks like more of a man that Jim Harbaugh.