Pollard and blame

[awd4cy]

We are light years ahead of the Walden years and light years ahead of the early Mac years. I have never seen anyone who makes up as much crap as you do.

What exactly from the last 2 season leads you to believe this? Yea, maybe they are light years ahead of that winless 94 team I guess..

 

[Wesley]

I think Pollard is an excellent AD! But keeping Coach Rhoads after this season is not good. He has given him long enough. Time for a change.

Next year should be ultimate decision year. Looks like we have seven decent teams in the B12 and then the bottom three. Maybe with god's help we can win five or six next year.

 

[Wesley]

What exactly from the last 2 season leads you to believe this? Yea, maybe they are light years ahead of that winless 94 team I guess..

My problem with all this is the rest of the conference seems to be getting better each year and we are not winning yet.

 

[cycloneworld]

Rhoads used to be very aggressive. Going for random onside kicks here and there, going for 2 against Nebraska, going for it on 4th down seemingly more often than now, etc. but he's a bit more passive these days IMO, even with the fake punt on Saturday.

The problem with having 1.5/5.5 bad seasons is that the bad seasons are happening with his own recruits, 5-6 years into his tenure. McCarney had some straight up AWFUL years, but his teams could bounce back the next year. It's different when a 2-10 year is sandwiched between 7 win season, as opposed to back-to-back 3-9 seasons.

It appears to me that last year was part of a downward spiral, not just an aberration.

I agree with you except for the last sentence. I think giving Rhoads one more year is the right step towards determining if that statement is true. Plus add in his contract situation and its a no brainer to keep him at least for next year.

 

[Cyclophile1]

We were a lot like K-State before Snyder, except we were actually a better football program than they were, but the right coach shot them right past us and a lot of other Big 8/12 programs. It can be done with the right guy, even at ISU.

It's too bad the idiots in charge didn't hire Snyder over Walden in 1987, when Snyder was interested in the ISU job. THAT was a colossal blunder, as it turns out, in a long line of really bad coaching hires for the football program.

 

[Senolcyc]

We should have all gone into athletics. As I've read here, it's not the coach's fault when he doesn't have any good players and it's not the A.D.'s fault when he doesn't have a good coach. It's obviously a no fault industry. And they have dental.

Pollard's job isn't to win football games. It's to create a thriving environment, getting donations, and giving the sports what they need to create a winner. I don't see how you look at anything that is going on at ISU right now and think that Pollard is not doing a good job. He can't recruit the kids and coach the football team, but it seems to me he is providing them with the support and facilities needed.

 

[cyclone13]

My problem with all this is the rest of the conference seems to be getting better each year and we are not winning yet.

It's in line with other poster's thoughts too: We are getting better facilities. But they forget that other teams also get better facilities and they have been miles ahead of us. So technically, we're still the worst.

 

[CYKOFAN]

We should have all gone into athletics. As I've read here, it's not the coach's fault when he doesn't have any good players and it's not the A.D.'s fault when he doesn't have a good coach. It's obviously a no fault industry. And they have dental.

Lol. Pretty good gig. Make millions with no responsibility for the results. Obviously CPR is responsible for the success of the football program and the a.d is responsible for the success of the football coach since he chooses him. In fact the most important job an a.d. has at most d-1 schools is to pick a good football coach since winning football means more fans and a healthy athletic department. CPR has now had 5 straight losing seasons in 6 and if there isn't a nice bounce back next year, attendance will drop. It may anyway if we finish weak this year, but the new stadium addition next year will sure help. Thank you Big 12 tv contract and Mr. and Mrs. Riemann.

 

[CTTB78]

We should have all gone into athletics. As I've read here, it's not the coach's fault when he doesn't have any good players and it's not the A.D.'s fault when he doesn't have a good coach. It's obviously a no fault industry. And they have dental.

And God knows they can't blame the Cyclone fans for a lack of support.

 

[swarthmoreCY]

Pollard's job isn't to win football games. It's to create a thriving environment, getting donations, and giving the sports what they need to create a winner. I don't see how you look at anything that is going on at ISU right now and think that Pollard is not doing a good job. He can't recruit the kids and coach the football team, but it seems to me he is providing them with the support and facilities needed.

Yes, but also no. If JP was offered growing our revenue base to $80 million or having a winning record next year, he should choose the former. However we all know that to do that, JP's job is in effect to get ISU to win more football games.

 

[isufbcurt]

What exactly from the last 2 season leads you to believe this? Yea, maybe they are light years ahead of that winless 94 team I guess..

Easy the young talent that is out there playing this year.

Oh wait, I forgot no one improves, so RsFr Cotton-Moya, True Freshman AL, RdSo TJ, RsFr Campos, RsSo Knott etc etc will not improve only stay the same or get worse.

I am sorry you only look at what is right in front of you and can't see what is in the pipelines. We have been inconsistent this year, offense is good one game but defense sucks, defense is good one game but offense sucks, almost beat a top 10 team, lose to an FCS team, these are all symptoms of a young team that is still learning.

I have been on worse teams than what we have now and those teams turned into a 9-3 team during my Jr. year.

Rhoads and Company will get it back on track I guarantee this.

 

[khaal53]

It seems from comments in and around JTS that the majority of Iowa State fans don't feel that Pollard has any accountability in the failure of the football program. However, the nine years of JP's leadership have yielded one of the worst football records in school history, (at a school with a very poor FB history). Even tho' JP did the hiring, I don't agree that he should bear the brunt of the blame. I argue that JP has basically given CPR everything he has asked for and needed to succeed (and than some,....e.g. SEZ). I believe CPR's mistakes have mounted up and he must accept the lion's share of the blame.
I wonder what others think??

I haven't read through much of this thread, but where is the bolded part coming from? Are you using winning %? Because, it isn't correct.

 

[Clonefan94]

We should have all gone into athletics. As I've read here, it's not the coach's fault when he doesn't have any good players and it's not the A.D.'s fault when he doesn't have a good coach. It's obviously a no fault industry. And they have dental.

I'm not saying he isn't blameless on picking a coach, but all the haters act like Pollard is some kind of renegade out there just shooting from the hip, passing out long term contracts to guys who everyone else knows isn't any good.

As I've said before. By all accounts, even with sports reporting "pros" The Chizik hire was a huge get for ISU. No one knew at the time that Chizik was not HC material. Only that it was probably the biggest coaching hire in ISU history. Everyone was on board wtih that.

Now everyone is blasting all over him for the contract extension for CPR. Which, as I remember, most on here were claiming we needed to do to keep Rhoads. If anyone, it's as much the fans fault and the boosters, that we are stuck with CPR. Rhoads probably wasn't the sexiest hire at the time, but I don't remember anyone freaking out so much about it.

It's amazing how many fans treat hindsight like they knew so much better at the time. The revisionist history on this board is getting out of control. It's gotten so bad, I've read threads that said Dan McCarney's teams were always league competetors and never got blown out. Now everyone is acting like Pollard did such a ****** job with the hiring of football coaches.

Hiring "That guy" isn't the easiest thing to do. If it was, every football team in the country could be competing for the National Championship every year. The true art of an AD is how he deals with the adversity once it happens. I'm just sick and tired of everyone on here acting like they knew so much better than JP and treat the guy like he's doing such a terrible job.

Get a time machine, go back to the late 80s, early 90s. Go back to when Mac's teams were winning and we still couldn't put 42,000 fans in the stands for a normal home game. Go back to Bruce Van De Velde and you'll see what it was really like and you'll notice all the work and effort JP has really put into this school.

Is the guy perfect, no, but you can't argue with what the guy has done here. Well, most people who know about sports can't argue with it. Of course there is always the vocal minority out there, with their agenda they are always trying to push by being the loudest. I'll agree, with football coaching it can't get much worse, but JP is trying, I also agree it can't get much worse with our football coaching. I do know this though, it can definitely get much worse at Athletic Director. I've seen it and lived it.

 

[awd4cy]

Easy the young talent that is out there playing this year.

Oh wait, I forgot no one improves, so RsFr Cotton-Moya, True Freshman AL, RdSo TJ, RsFr Campos, RsSo Knott etc etc will not improve only stay the same or get worse.

I am sorry you only look at what is right in front of you and can't see what is in the pipelines. We have been inconsistent this year, offense is good one game but defense sucks, defense is good one game but offense sucks, almost beat a top 10 team, lose to an FCS team, these are all symptoms of a young team that is still learning.

I have been on worse teams than what we have now and those teams turned into a 9-3 team during my Jr. year.

Rhoads and Company will get it back on track I guarantee this.

That's sounds all nice and beautiful, but there are still going to be plenty of holes on next years team. We have some solid pieces here and there, but that isn't enough to have a great team all around.

 

[Spam]

4 ways things can turn out:

1. Fans like the hire. Coach's performance turns out to be good. AD gets a A

2. Fans dislike the hire. Coach's performance turns out to be bad. AD gets an F.

3. Fans like the hire. Coach's performance turns out to be bad. AD gets a C.

4. Fans dislike the hire. Coach's performance turns out to be good. AD gets an A.

 

[urb1]

Interesting to read the reactions to Pollard giving Rhoads the 10 year contract.

http://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=136234&highlight=extension

 

[GWad]

I haven't read through much of this thread, but where is the bolded part coming from? Are you using winning %? Because, it isn't correct.

I stole it from someone claiming that, come December, we will end up with the 2nd or 3rd worse 9 year stretch of winning football (%) ever. 2nd or 3rd depends on how we finish this year. Granted this person absolutely hates JP (which really cracks me up given his dependence on ISU athletics) and he was clearly trying to deflect blame from CPR to JP and, therefore, may be prone to exaggeration. What are the real numbers??

 

[khaal53]

I stole it from someone claiming that, come December, we will end up with the 2nd or 3rd worse 9 year stretch of winning football (%) ever. 2nd or 3rd depends on how we finish this year. Granted this person absolutely hates JP (which really cracks me up given his dependence on ISU athletics) and he was clearly trying to deflect blame from CPR to JP and, therefore, may be prone to exaggeration. What are the real numbers??

Well, you can tell him he's wrong even if Iowa State loses out.

 

[GWad]

Well, you can tell him he's wrong even if Iowa State loses out.

Is it 4th, 5th, 6th, better,.....what??? I would love to have the facts to re-butt if you have them handy. I'm obviously too lazy to do all that math and you clearly have done the work.

And thanks so much in advance. The work you do with numbers is fascinating.

 

[khaal53]

Going back to 1967 (but including the previous 9 years to get you to 1959) this is currently the 9th worst stretch (out of 48) by total winning percentage (.355) as of right now. If ISU loses out, it would be 8th worst. Win two more games and it would be 11th worst. The median of the win percentages is .404 which is roughly the difference of 4 games swinging from a win to a loss.

There's some other angles to look at and data to include but I may save that for something more formal. But, I will say that if you look at conference games only (to exclude cupcakes) and look at the percentage of games versus ranked teams the numbers swing more to the favor of Rhoads.