Rhoads to Ohio State?

[CarolinaCy]

Leaving an assistant coach position is far different than leaving a head coach position in which your identity is so tied up with the team's identity.

I agree with you. I was responding to someone who basically said, "he left ISU once, why wouldn't he do it again?" I say the circumstances are completely different and you can't compare the two.

[Im4State]

cael left for psu. just sayin.

Cael wasn't from Ankeny... just sayin.

[stateofmind]

I was just thinking:
Would you would rather get $4M/yr and only last 4 years and be fired?
OR
Get $2M/yr for the first 8 years and either up the contract or retire after then?

Both cases you make $16M, but one you leave on your terms, the other you don't. But, the one you make the same for half the time...
This is purely a question of what you would do. I would much rather do what I love at the place I love for as long as I want and step away respected vs. the Earl Bruce, John Cooper, Frank Solich, Rich Rodriguez, etc.

***Assumption is that one could be "successful" long enough at a smaller school, but not succeed at the big stage job, or even be successful but hate the pressure that goes with it.

[CYVADER]

Cael wasn't from Ankeny... just sayin.

thanks for your insight captain obvious. that doesn't mean there isn't any correlation between the 2 in regards to what WE think is going on in THEIR heads

[ThatllDoCy]

I love Coach Paul Rhoads, and I don't think you can overstate what he has done for our program. That said, if I were Paul and had to objectively to decide between an OSU team or staying at ISU I would stay at ISU.
1. Paul is young, and this will not be his only chance to move to a "Premier" Program. Plenty of time. Why stop with OSU? Why not wait for Alabama or USC or LSU? Better Conferences and recruiting.
2.Having family close is a luxury, and he has unbelievable job security. Think about Urban Meyer and how he burned out at Florida. Bigger program, more pressure, and only a monetary advantage. Quality of life counts.
3.Paul has unfinished business. He wants this team to win a Championship. What seemed impossible at this point seems less so. If taken care of this guy's ceiling is unlimited at any program. Why leave before getting us into the BCS and really grabbing a HUGE contract from someone else?
4.Legacy. There is no other program that offers him the ability to be Barry Alvarez, JoePa(pre-scandal) or Bobby Bowden. Once in a lifetime opportunity for a Coach. Barry Alvarez may have never won a NC but he left an indelible mark at Wiscy that they are still reaping.

Just my opinion, and no I have no inside info. Just how I see it.

[isufbcurt]

Okay, I don't want to be in the position where I am making the case for him to leave because I hope he retires at ISU (just before pollard, who would hire his successor)...

But people who leave a job for more money, more prestige, a better chance at success, the opportunity to create a better life for not only their kids but grandkids are lacking scruples?

Wow. Why did he even leave ISU as an assistant then? You know, my dad worked 27 years for the same company - never had a wandering eye at other opportnities - and then was axed when the economy tanked 3 years ago.

We had fans on here questioning Rhoads's coaching earlier this year. You don't think we would run him if things fell fat? Exhibit A. - Dan McCarney (native Iowan).

Don't expect loyalty when it doesn't always go both ways.

I'll tell you why he left ISU. He left ISU because under Coach Mac he was the defensive backs coach (and a very good one at that), Coach Skladany was the Defensive Coordinator and if Rhoads wanted to be a D Coord (and a future head coach) he needed to go somewhere else to get that experience and he did.

But you know what even when he was at Pitt and Auburn he kept in contact with ISU, the coaches and the players because he wanted to come back here.

I was disappointed he left ISU when I was playing for him to the point I was glad we beat him and Pitt in the Insight.com bowl, but looking back it was a smart move that was setting the blocks in place for him to come back and lead ISU.

[IowaSTATCyclone]

Cael wasn't from Ankeny... just sayin.

And it is a good thing he won a title before his new school was exposed as a cesspool.

Speaking of cesspools, Ohio State makes me tired just thinking of trying to coach there. Insane expectations, arrogant fans, meddling donors and, at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like anyone ever has any fun playing there. It isn't like there isn't pressure at Michigan or Florida or Alabama or Texas, but gee whiz, Ohio State is the most humorless team, historically, on the planet. If they win, it is business, if they lose, it is tragedy.

Scarlet and gray are good colors for that team. Either they are bleeding or they are boring: It's as if Woody Hayes beat the fun part of football out of that team a long time ago. It is an epic shadow of my favorite sport.

Note I didn't say it was a bad program, just one whose heart I've never been able to find, even when Michigan/OSU was A Big Thing.

I can't imagine Urban Meyer's anxiety disorder is going to stay in remission under those conditions.

[CyJack13]

I love Coach Paul Rhoads, and I don't think you can overstate what he has done for our program. That said, if I were Paul and had to objectively to decide between an OSU team or staying at ISU I would stay at ISU.
1. Paul is young, and this will not be his only chance to move to a "Premier" Program. Plenty of time. Why stop with OSU? Why not wait for Alabama or USC or LSU? Better Conferences and recruiting.
2.Having family close is a luxury, and he has unbelievable job security. Think about Urban Meyer and how he burned out at Florida. Bigger program, more pressure, and only a monetary advantage. Quality of life counts.
3.Paul has unfinished business. He wants this team to win a Championship. What seemed impossible at this point seems less so. If taken care of this guy's ceiling is unlimited at any program. Why leave before getting us into the BCS and really grabbing a HUGE contract from someone else?
4.Legacy. There is no other program that offers him the ability to be Barry Alvarez, JoePa(pre-scandal) or Bobby Bowden. Once in a lifetime opportunity for a Coach. Barry Alvarez may have never won a NC but he left an indelible mark at Wiscy that they are still reaping.

Just my opinion, and no I have no inside info. Just how I see it.

Rhoads isn't even actually being considered for the Ohio St job but if he were I doubt he would turn it down with the plan to wait unitl the next premier job comes open. These type of jobs come open very rarely and coaching fortunes can change very rapidly. One or two bad years here and he won't have any shot at those type of jobs. You have to go for it when you have the chance or spend the rest of your career wondering what you could have done at a school like OSU. Again, it's not going to happen, but if he did leave for a school like Ohio St I would completely understand and have no problem with it.

[AllN4Cy]

Still on Cloud 9 over the win over the Pokes.

I work in Columbus; reliable source in the athletic department told me that Urban Meyer is balking and that Coach Rhoads in on the short list. This disturbs me greatly.

Pollard: Get off your fat butt and rewrite this man's contract! He is not a secret any more!!!!

Source? (Other than your dentist of course)

[buf87]

Look at all the coaches that more on to big time programs and the fans aren't happy being 6-6 or 7-5 and get fired a short time latter and struggle with their careers after that. How many coaches has Notre Dame gone thru in the last 10 years? 3 years of 500 ball doesn't make you invincible. I like CPR and think he will stay and continue to build what he has started.

Jamie Pollard put together head coaching staffs that he thought would win and stay at Iowa State. And I think they will.

[troutslayer]

Ohio State is corrupt, and anyone who takes that job is walking into a hornets nest.

[Boxerdaddy]

Okay, I don't want to be in the position where I am making the case for him to leave because I hope he retires at ISU (just before pollard, who would hire his successor)...

But people who leave a job for more money, more prestige, a better chance at success, the opportunity to create a better life for not only their kids but grandkids are lacking scruples?

Wow. Why did he even leave ISU as an assistant then? You know, my dad worked 27 years for the same company - never had a wandering eye at other opportnities - and then was axed when the economy tanked 3 years ago.

We had fans on here questioning Rhoads's coaching earlier this year. You don't think we would run him if things fell fat? Exhibit A. - Dan McCarney (native Iowan).

Don't expect loyalty when it doesn't always go both ways.

If you've ever heard CPR speak, he talks of building. This is what he did with his career. He could not have gained the experiences that he did at Auburn or Pitt while staying at ISU. He saw how other programs were run and is now implementing the best of those strategies here at ISU.

I can't say that he will never leave but everything he has done and said so far refers to building a program here. I don't think he will leave before that has been accomplished. I believe the man.

[im4cyclones]

Look, I want him to be here too. In fact, I was for him in our first coaching search when we ended with Chizzle.

My point... I get a little worried about so many on here having the "he would never leave" mindset. If the day comes when he moves on to a situation he feels is better for him and his family, then good for him. If he earns it, I have no problem with him going. But people on here will take it like a kick to the stones. I am afraid he will get crucified on here and that isn't fair to him (caveat: as long as he doesn't leave like Chizzle did).

I used the RichRod comparison because I bet those fans were thinking... He is from here, he played here, he wants to be here. Same as the UNI fans with Coach McDermott.

Yes, he is from Ankeny. Yes, he is a head coach at a BCS school. But things change. Motivations and goals change.

And the ironic twist is that many on here expecting loyalty are the same who would be up in arms about moving on if he puts together back-to-back 2-10 seasons. Would we be loyal to him in that case? Probably not. So why expect it back? That's all I am saying.

[cyhiphopp]

I think CPR will be around for a while longer.

One of the reasons I think he could leave is if he doesn't think he can accomplish anything else at ISU. There are many obstacles to be overcome in order to have HUGE success at ISU:

Lack of strong local talent
Difficulty recruiting to nothernmost Big12 school
Lack of big money donors to pump money into the program for facilities upgrades and coaching salaries (including assistants)

CPR would have to tackle all of these factors in order to have significant sustained success at ISU. There may come a time in the future where he believes he is unable to do that and finds an opportunity at another school to consistently win conference titles and compete for national titles. That is something a LOT of coaches want.

I would love for CPR to be able to make ISU a championship caliber team, but it will be really tough.

The state of Iowa will never pump out more than one or two stud players a year (4 stars) and there also aren't that many 3 stars to go around either. That means that CPR will always have to work harder than the rest of the conference to pull in kids from TX, CA, and FL. Heck, we wont even border any of the other conference states next year.

College football is an arms race. If you start from behind, there is almost no way to catch up. ISU is WAY behind UT and OU and does not have the football history and big donors to get above the middle of the pack.
CPR may be happy earning a decent head coach salary, but his assistants might not always feel that way. If CPR starts losing s lot of assistants, it will make his job tougher. Then he has to worry about whether or not his next assistant hire will be as good or better and if the transition will set his team back. Head coaches at power schools don't have to worry about this as much because they have a better pool of assistants to choose from and can pay them much more. ISU might not be able to get to that point.


Overall I think CPR stays around for a while longer, but there are no guarantees and it doesn't have to end up being about his salary.

Successful men like CPR want to have their hard work mean something. If he continues to put his heart and soul into ISU football and feels that he is not getting anything to show for it, he might feel he needs to move on.

[Jarrods79]

If you've ever heard CPR speak, he talks of building. This is what he did with his career. He could not have gained the experiences that he did at Auburn or Pitt while staying at ISU. He saw how other programs were run and is now implementing the best of those strategies here at ISU.

I can't say that he will never leave but everything he has done and said so far refers to building a program here. I don't think he will leave before that has been accomplished. I believe the man.

Agreed. But to further hammer this home...we can all agree that position coaches and coordinators have the shortest lifespan at a program (Chizzle's 2 year head coaching job aside, because he obviously wasn't where he wanted to be)...Paul Rhoads stayed at ISU under Mac for 4 years as a LB/DB coach, and 7 years as the DC for Pittsburgh.

Here we are only in year 3 of Paul Rhoads as a head coach with a BCS Program in a major conference. This is his program now...he is the guy...and he is not done here by a mile. Anyone who thinks he is going to go for greener pastures is just following the paradigm they are being fed by national pundits who don't follow our program closely anyhow. Listen to Rhoads instead.