Pollard and blame
- Thread starter GWad
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Nice comeback bra. The mom jokes are the most cleaver. Seriously though, what is your deal with Rhoads? You take the biggest offense to any slight criticism of him.
Get what we pay for? Kind of. I think we could find a HC that can have the same quality of play for a lot less than 2 million. This is probably the biggest reason as to why we could see action by JP.
I don't really buy into transition costs on defense. I'll admit I don't pay as much attention to defenses as offenses but I feel like a head coach, especially a defensive minded one is going to have an idea what he wants to do and will hire accordingly. PR could change everything drastically as well and there could be some hurdles but so long as we aren't completely reinventing the defense, I'm not worried much about that. I see much more quick turnaround in a defense than I would an offense. There just seems to be so many more intricacies to an offense, not to mention you need the QB to be good.
My perception of that could be completely off but I just have more hope for a one year turnaround due to DC than I would OC change.
Valid points, but IMO Wally is very much dependent on guys being in their spots more than other defenses. We don't win match-ups, but we know where to be (except recently).
Right along the same lines as masterbation jokes.
It isn't criticism of the coach I mind. My girlfriend will verify I do plenty of criticizing of what I see watching Iowa State football. I go crazy watching the missed blocks, the poor tackling, lack of discipline in carrying out assignments, and all the rest.
But I also look at the quality of athlete in the last 3 recruiting classes and see that it is better to a man than I can remember in my 35 years watching us get pushed around. I also know the effect that realignment talk had on the program, recruiting, and the quality of player we were able to land at that time. Thanks to those kids for representing Iowa State to the best of their abilities. But for the most part, they weren't bcs p5 level recruits.
I look at the improvements made to facilities, and realize we're only 25 years behind everyone but Kansas in our conference. But at least it's finally done.
The history of the program does shape perception. Jim Criner told the media that someday they'd be drinking champagne in the media room in 1983. That was relatively close to the Earle Bruce glory years (which were only three by the way). Jim Walden recruiting budget was the same the day he was fired as it was the day he hired 8 years earlier. Mac always noted budget differences as a reason it was so hard to win here. And he didn't leave much more than he found when he got here, in terms of talent. And with our very real history, it wasn't rebuilding a program, it was flat out building one. Add the coaching change, and that didn't help either.
He won some games with the bit of talent he had in the first four years. We were a bad pass away from making 4 straight bowl games. Obviously it has fallen off the rails with the last 2 full classes. But again measurable have improved.
In the end though, understanding that Iowa State fans don't have the will to do what it takes to have a winning football program. St Paul clone stated it perfectly, 3rd largest university in the conference, lowest athletic donation level. Look at the fit pitched when the rumor of ticket price increase came out.
But in reality, sorry for the long answer, what I realized early on, and was emphasized in Stillwater, was the decision that Paul Rhoads will lead the team on to the field against uni next fall has already been made. There is a solid nucleus of talent with experience coming back. A second year with MM, and some new blood on the the defensive side, and he gets to see if he can pull it out. He had to eat the sandwich during those hard summers, now that there is stability, facilities, etc let's see what he can do with the improvements.
I've said all along, no excuses for next year.
Couldn't have said it better. The contract is an albatross but JP has held up his end of the bargain and done everything possible to put CPR in a position to succeed.
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The buyout -- $5 million odd -- is not THAT crazy for today`s standards. Probably the cheapest buyout in the conference. Kansas just paid Weis more than that. The 10 year contract sounds maddening. But Rhoads did well to keep the buyout to 750k a year. That`s about 37.5% of the average yearly 2m salary Rhoads would receive under the 10 year contract.
Actually I think JP had also given the Chiz a nice extension, so that's 2 bad coaches (3 if CPR doesn't bounce back) that JP gave big extensions to. JP has done some good things and overall I'd give him a C-. But it seems some people forget that if Auburn and Creighton didn't ride in to save our butt, JP would be long gone. Chiz was not the slam dunk hire some want to think he was as many on here were excited about Brian Kelly becoming our coach, which the athletic department apparently wanted the media and fans to believe would happen. GMac also was not an exciting hire to a lot of fans either (and especially had we known Fred was interested in the job). Those two coaches were well on their way to emptying the Jack and Hilton until Auburn and Creighton saved us.
That is an equal part us, as fans, as it is JP. Every school over-pays to avoid uncertainty. It only is a big deal here because we are poor.
I sort of understand CPR's extension, though I think it was too long. But Chiz and GMac were failing badly from the beginning and I didn't understand the raises and extensions at all. Those two were getting bigger raises than Cael Sanderson's whole salary
IMO he had to either fire them, or extend them, and again the former is a more common option elsewhere. A coach in limbo works some places, but uncertainty is crippling here. What were the buyout details of those extensions?
The real need is to hire better coaches. GMac, Chizik, and Rhoads all looked like sound decisions, but JP gets paid to make the right hire, even if that means be a bit contrariant. Like the Hoiberg hire.
We have to trade length of contract for $$$/yr because of our budget. And even then it's a pretty good contract for Iowa State. Rhoads makes an average of $2 mil per year (which is lowest in the conference). Kingsbury just got an extension thru 2020 with an average of $3.6 mil per year. Rhoads looks like a bargain compared to his.
And if George Washington hadn't sailed across the river on Christmas Eve and kill a bunch of British soldiers in their sleep we probably wouldve lost the war.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. JP has done more than you will ever know for ISU athletics, which is *gasp* more than just a football program.
