A week after former players started coming out about the mistreatment black athletes in the program endured, he promised there would be no further personnel changes.

Chris Doyle, Ferentz’s strength coach for 21 years, is still on paid administrative leave while an outside evaluation is conducted. Gary Barta, the athletic director, is anticipated to give an update on the review the following week. At $800,000 a year, Doyle—the target of the former players’ criticism—is the highest-paid strength coach in the country. He has refuted any unethical actions and racial bigotry.

“The biggest question to me is, why the blind spot?” stated Ferentz. Furthermore, I believe that everyone has blind spots. Every leader, I’m sure, has blind spots. The old athletes were really honest. They were pretty straightforward and only made a few pointed observations that would have opened my eyes. And I believe that Tuesday’s meeting and Monday’s meeting came after that light. Therefore, it’s important to attempt to establish an atmosphere where people feel free to express their opinions and know that they will be considered, respected, and measured.”

Given the severity of the accusations, Ferentz stated that having Doyle in the weight room “just wasn’t a workable environment.” However, he refrained from commenting on Doyle, citing the external assessment. Iowa players started their optional exercises with assistant strength and conditioning coach Raimond Braithwaite on Wednesday, following meetings on Monday and Tuesday.

Ferentz apologized for creating a climate where “the coaching style by some was at times demeaning, and created unnecessary frustration and anxiety,” but he did not address any particular charges made by former players or their parents.

“If you have an environment where players don’t feel like they can bring up an issue, that’s a problem,” he stated. “I believe I let those guys down by not fostering an atmosphere in which they felt at ease and by not encouraging them to share more of their experiences and draw our attention to them when they were here. We’re determined to ensure that never occurs again since our coaches share the same sentiments.”

Reversing course According to Ivory Kelly-Martin, the main barrier in the program is communication because participants are reluctant to voice concerns about issues they observe or encounter.

Kelly-Martin described the sense as one of having to tread carefully, not really being able to be oneself or truly speaking up when you heard something. since you can also be attacked.”

Ferentz called his longtime policy prohibiting players from social media “stupid” but said he did it to protect players. On Monday, defensive back Kaevon Merriweather tweeted that fans need to support the team if it chooses to kneel during the national anthem before games this season. Ferentz, who previously opposed kneeling for the anthem, said players may decide to stand or kneel, as long as they do so together.

“The statement was really for the Iowa community, to let y’all know that our team, we are together as one and we expect our fans to be there with us every step of the way,” Merriweather said Friday. “We want you to support any decision this team has made. We haven’t decided on kneeling or not. But any step we do decide to make as team, we want your support, backing us every step of the way.”

Place-kicker Keith Duncan said he doesn’t blame Ferentz for missing problems that affected past players, saying that players see more than coaches and need to be willing to come forward. Duncan, a fifth-year senior, said he has never been part of a more unified team than the current one following the meetings this week.

“I would not want any other coaches to be here right now,” Duncan said “We came here believing in Coach Ferentz, believing in our other position coaches and we still do. … There has never been a trust issue. It’s just partially communication. But I trust 100 percent every single coach in our building.”

While Iowa focuses on moving forward, a group of parents of former players is planning to speak out about problems within the program, especially for black players. Sharonda Phelps, mother of former Iowa running back Akrum Wadley, spoke out earlier this week on Facebook Live about her frustrations with Ferentz and the Iowa coaching staff. Phelps and other parents are working with Pre-PostGame, a sports advisory firm, to discuss their experiences.

Pre-PostGame’s Robert T. Green said the parents want to speak out after Ferentz said he didn’t know about issues black players experienced at Iowa.

“This is not a one-person thing, a two-person thing or a three-person thing,” Green told ESPN on Friday. “There are several receipts and time stamps that will say everything [Ferentz] said to the world is not factual. Some of the things that will come out soon, it only applied to African-American athletes.”

Ferentz on Friday said he didn’t apologize to former players he has talked with over the past week, but accepts blame for any who had negative experiences at Iowa.

“I’m responsible for anything that happens here,” he said. “That’s my accountability, that’s my responsibility, I’m the head coach. So anything that happens is a failure. That’s on my desk. That’s my issue to deal with.

“I can’t do anything about what’s happened. What I can do is try to do a better job moving forward.”