Should Paul Rhoads be fired?

[Erik4Cy]

To play devil's advocate we are a kick and 4 minutes away from 3-0 and threads saying how the turnaround has started.

Do good college teams ever say "we are a kick and 4 minutes away from 0-3"? No; they leave the field and nobody has any doubts who the better team was.

This. We can't play the "close but no cigar" card anymore. A bowl victory in only year 1 with mainly losing football with a few good victories and one amazing upset is not enough over the course of 7 years. Thanks for the memories Rhoads. He is a great guy just like everyone says, but ISU FB does not deserve this many straight losing seasons. 6 in a row is far too many. No difficult schedule excuses...that's just it.

 

[Omaha Cy]

Without Rhoads cleaning up Chizik's mess, there's possibly no video board for at least another year or two, and perhaps no south endzone, if the tickets didn't sell so well. His 1st 4 years here seemed to change the culture. Had he failed early on, I really believe ISU would be in trouble in terms of getting the facilities needed to operate in todays arms race of CFB. His success was paramount to the program. I think history eventually will show that.

I was in the group that supported his return for 2015. Mangino's 2nd year, and lot of skill talent on offense had me optimistic. To me it signaled a great opportunity for him to turn things around, if only for 1 season...and I believed he deserved that opportunity. The offense is probably statistically better than last year, but it feels very marginally improved, and obviously passes no one's eye test. I'm not giving up on this team, and feel they will improve some to win a couple more games, but I'm ready to move on from Rhoads.

Currently, there's a lot coming back on defense next year. Lots of key pieces. The offense loses what...4 lineman to graduation. Most of which will log lots of starts and snaps. Barring a miracle, Rohach or Lanning will not be top half Big 12 QBs. It's looking to me like another team that Rhoads won't be able to win with. IF Rhoads could only win 6 games in 2012 with nearly half the defense (5 players) being 1st or 2nd team All Big 12, then he's just not going to get it done next year.

The 150+ that have voted here represent an incredibly small amount of cyclone nation, but man, Rhoads has about 1-2 % of support for returning. The worm has indeed turned.

 

[BryceC]

I did. He's a good coach and a good man who has had some horrible luck and made some decisions he probably wishes he had back. I think he can turn it around with patience from the fan base (a big if) and I seriously doubt that we can find better for football. It's an indictment of sports society and not on Rhoads that everybody has turned on him after just as many were up in arms because he wouldn't say a few short years ago that he was going to retire here because he said that he likely wouldn't control that (which may turn out to be prophetic).

While I admire your position he is going to be negative recruited to the nines. The fans will bail because this is as long as fans will put up with spending hundreds of dollars to watch crap.

Sports society started to change when guys got paid millions of dollars. However losing to FCS schools 2 years in a row likely would have gotten a coach fired in any era. The fans have been more than patient.

 

[BryceC]

People defending Rhoads have only been able to find one coach (Rich Brooks) who turned his program around after bottoming out for 2 years like we just did.

Has anyone ever done it after 3 years like this? I can't imagine that's ever been done, mostly because it's impossible. That leader loses all their credibility as well as their ability to recruit.

Good point on the Brooks thing. It's over barring some ridiculous turnaround. I don't think firing him now does anything because you just can't hire a member of this same staff overseeing the abomination that is the offense.

 

[Cy$]

I'm actually kind of relieved some fans, even on this website, have some expectations for Iowa State football. If it was up to some of you, we'd keep CPR if ISU won 1-3 games every year until he turned 80 because "he's a nice guy". **** that losing attitude crap.

 

[Gunnerclone]

If you're worried about players leaving if CPR gets canned now hate to break it to you but they'll just leave after the season. They know what's up.

And aside from Lazard no one will be missed or hard to replace by any coach with a twitter account. Vaya con dios.

 

[atlantacyclone]

1. Its proven now he isnt a good HC
2. How many more years of patience does the fanbase need to have?
3. He needs to go. The sooner the better.

I would say that he proved to be a good coach his first few years. I guess our talent is lacking even though I really like these players and feel bad for them. Even though he seemed like a good fit it just doesn't make sense to pay millions to lose. I think we should fire him on Monday and bring in Sage to coach the team at least for the rest of this season. We need new life and some hope or we won't be getting many good players in the future.

 

[jbindm]

I don't think the next permanent head coach for ISU is on this staff, so it's not like firing Rhoads now would give the interim guy a head start on much of anything. I do think that if the team stumbles to another two or three win finish then Rhoads has to be fired immediately after the last game and Pollard and Leath should have their short list of candidates ready to go.

It sucks to have this conversation. Paul Rhoads is a class act and no matter how it ends, he did some positive things for the program early in his tenure. That he has been unable to build on those big wins and great moments is really unfortunate. I've always thought that ISU football's ideal scenario was having a good head coach with midwest ties and a desire to be at ISU for the long haul. With CPR, we got two out of those three qualities.

 

[CycloneErik]

I would say that he proved to be a good coach his first few years. I guess our talent is lacking even though I really like these players and feel bad for them. Even though he seemed like a good fit it just doesn't make sense to pay millions to lose. I think we should fire him on Monday and bring in Sage to coach the team at least for the rest of this season. We need new life and some hope or we won't be getting many good players in the future.

I would say that he managed to put something together with players that were left for him, but just might have done less with them than Chizik would have.
Yes, I'm willing to think that Chizik may have been a better head coach, as awful as he was.

 

[temperflare]

I think the only reason to keep him around at this point is if we can't afford to get rid of him. Can we afford to get rid of him?

That and indifference has set in. Let's say we get a new coach. It will take him 2-3 years to get us above where we are now. So, who has a better chance at success sooner than later?

I think we are a league where offense wins games and SOME defense wins championships. Maybe we need an offense minded HC this time around.

 

[IcSyU]

Chizik was unquestionably the better coach and left us in a far better spot than Rhoads is going to. We at least had some talent on the roster when he left.

 

[temperflare]

I don't think the next permanent head coach for ISU is on this staff, so it's not like firing Rhoads now would give the interim guy a head start on much of anything. I do think that if the team stumbles to another two or three win finish then Rhoads has to be fired immediately after the last game and Pollard and Leath should have their short list of candidates ready to go.

It sucks to have this conversation. Paul Rhoads is a class act and no matter how it ends, he did some positive things for the program early in his tenure. That he has been unable to build on those big wins and great moments is really unfortunate. I've always thought that ISU football's ideal scenario was having a good head coach with midwest ties and a desire to be at ISU for the long haul. With CPR, we got two out of those three qualities.

I said as much towards the end of last season, but alluding to this season's results. I too hate this discussion. I like CPR.

BUT...

My emotional investment in this team has peaked and is backsliding. Hate feeling this way. I'm tired of seeing what appears to be solid potential go to waste over poor coaching. It would be different if we had Texas talent that can overcome poor coaching, but we don't.

Sick of seeing MWC, MAC, and other schools have success against P5 teams, even good ones, and we just crap the bed against them each and every time save for Iowa (who may as well be a better than avg MAC school itself).

 

[MartyFine]

How could anyone argue for anything other than immediate termination. Can someone tell me why you would be excited to attend KU game? I'm ready for Hilton Madness

 

[Gossamer]

As I said in the post game thread...remove his coaching status, make him buy seats and watch it with the common folk. He may quit when he sees how bad we are. Otherwise, adios. Time to move on. It will never change as long as he is here.

 

[Daserop]

he should have been fired last season.

 

[ljm4cy]

I would say that he proved to be a good coach his first few years. I guess our talent is lacking even though I really like these players and feel bad for them. Even though he seemed like a good fit it just doesn't make sense to pay millions to lose. I think we should fire him on Monday and bring in Sage to coach the team at least for the rest of this season. We need new life and some hope or we won't be getting many good players in the future.

This is my hope as well. With the bye week and before the start of conference play this is right time for Pollard to act.

 

[GoClones123]

A lot of people keep asking for Mangino. If you think MM would Do better, is it because you believe he is being hand cuffed as the OC by CPR?

 

[Daserop]

A lot of people keep asking for Mangino. If you think MM would Do better, is it because you believe he is being hand cuffed as the OC by CPR?

I don't want MM as our HC. The man has shown me that he doesn't have it anymore.

 

[heitclone]

I don't think its about if as much as when at this point. No way CPR can get to his magic number after losing to 2 of the weaker teams on the schedule. I just hope JP learns from this and hires an offensive minded HC. We went with defensive coaches twice in a row as the exact time college football changed to a passing oriented, offensive game. It's time to catch up to the rest of the country.

 

[Spam]

A lot of people keep asking for Mangino. If you think MM would Do better, is it because you believe he is being hand cuffed as the OC by CPR?

Well..there have been reports of arguments between PR and MM. It's all routine professional disagreements, I'm sure. Having been a successful HC at a B12 school, I'm sure MM wants more freedom than the typical OC.