Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz says it may be a few weeks before his staff is complete. Ferentz needs a new offensive coordinator after Ken O’Keefe left to join the staff of the Miami Dolphins. He also needs a new offensive line coach after Reese Morgan switched over to the defensive line.

“To me the key thing is getting the right people and the calendar is important to some degree, but what’s more important I think is that we get the right people in place for this program, for this team,” Ferentz says. He says they don’t have to play until September, so they have time to pick the right people.

Ferentz says the timetable moving ahead isn’t firm, and he says it will be a tough job to fill, just like the defensive coordinator spot was. Ferentz was asked if his son, Brian, might be one of the candidates. Brian Ferentz is the tight ends coach for the New England Patriots.

“You know, we’re open to anything right now, anybody that’s out there that has a chance to really help our football team, he’s got a pretty good job right not,” Ferentz says.

Earlier this week Ferentz promoted Phil Parker to defensive coordinator. Parker had been the defensive backs coach for the past 13 years.

There may be one less Aplington-Parkersburg alum in the NFL next season. Chiefs center Casey Wiegmann wrapped up his 16th season in the NFL as the Chiefs beat Denver on Sunday. Wiegmann won’t say for sure that he’s retiring, but does that that a 17th season in the league does not look very likely.

“It’s been a good ride for me…it’s be tough for me to come back I know that,” Wiegmann says. He says he would never tell anyone he was going to retire, because he does not want to be singled out for attention.

 Wiegmann has started 175 consecutive games dating back to the 2001 season, but says that he has run into some injuries of late. “I play football for a reason, I don’t play it to necessarily make the money…I play it because it’s what I like to do,” Wiegman says.

 Wiegmann was an undrafted free agent coming out of Iowa and spent a year on the Colts’ practice squad before breaking into the NFL with the Jets in 1997. He says that he never expected to have such a lengthy career, especially after his senior year when he injured his foot and all the doctors told him he wouldn’t play.

Wiegmann says that the biggest difference between the NFL he came into in 1996 and the league that he may be leaving now is the increased influence of money in many aspects of the game. “It’s become more and more of a business and it’s more about money than anything,” Wiegman says.

 Wiegmann spent time with the Jets, the Bears, the Broncos, and two stints in Kansas City during his career.

By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls

The Big Ten and Pac-12 will extend their relationship beyond the annual Rose Bowl game. The two league’s announced they will scheduled more events against each other in all sports. It includes the sport of football and it calls for each school to play an opponent from the other conference ever year beginning in 2017.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney the university presidents and athletic directors unanimously supported the idea, and he says it is not a short term deal. He says the addition of a Pac-12 opponent means the Big Ten is dropping plans to move to a nine game conference schedule.

“When we began discussing this and adding this as a 12-game…situation, I think our athletic directors quickly jumped to the conclusion, that if we do this…that the nine games would go away,” Delaney said.

Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker during 2011 media day.

Norm Parker has a big challenge in his final game as a member of the Iowa coaching staff. The retiring defensive coordinator must find a way to slow down an Oklahoma offense that averages more than 40 points and 532 yards per game.

Parker says the Hawkeyes need to be ready for the speed at which the Sooners play. “Not only the speed that they execute the play, but the time there is in-between plays, it’s almost like the line up and run a play just as fast as you can get lined up,” Parker says. He says they can run several plays without a gain and then all of a sudden they are ripping off big yardage and score.

Parker says the Sooners will try to snap the ball as many times as possible. “You can see they teams out on the field and they get you tired,” Parker says. He says there is no time between plays to get in rested players.

Parker says it will take an outstanding effort from the Hawks to slow them down. “I think a lot of positions have to play very well for us, I think the free safety is going to be very intricate part of what we’re doing,” Parker says.

The Sooners lost their top rusher and top receiver due to injury this season but Parker says they still have plenty of weapons. “They just reload, they just reload, I mean they take this guy out and put that guy in,” Parker said. He says they have a great football team that is as talented as anybody.

The Hawkeyes and Sooners matchup in Friday night’s Insight Bowl