After The Announcement Analysis

Jeremy · 11-27-2006, 07:04 PM

After The Announcement Analysis – Chizik & Pollard
CycloneFanatic.com
Jeremy Lind

Now that we’ve known for most of the day that Gene Chizik will be ISU’s next Head Coach, let’s break things down and talk about what exactly that means for the future of our program and also briefly discuss what exactly Jamie Pollard is doing at Iowa State.

The man of the hour, Gene Chizik…

First and foremost with Gene Chizik, ISU lands a guy that will reignite the fan-base and bring them together in ways that possibly have never been seen in Ames. Chizik is both the “sexy hire” and that “x’s and o’s hire” that people debate about endlessly. Never before have I seen a university land both a MBB and FB coach that fits both of the criteria in such a short span of time. It’s not unheard of to get a candidate that fits the mold perfectly, but to get two in a nine month span is incredible and exciting for all of us lifelong Cyclone die-hards.

Chizik starts his new Head Coaching career coming from of one of the most storied and prestigious college football programs in the country, The University of Texas Longhorns. Never before has Iowa State snagged such a highly thought of and highly pursued coach from such a major university. While McCarney and McDermott were both coaches on the rise, Chizik is in a somewhat different league with the schools that were starting to show interest in nabbing him. The likes of Alabama, Arizona State, Miami and Michigan State look like they’ll be fighting for the leftovers of Iowa State of all places. Doesn’t that sound incredibly odd, yet fun to say?

I don’t want to overestimate things, but in my opinion, this is probably the biggest hire Iowa State has ever made when you look at the other programs that really wanted this guy and what it could mean for the future of the whole athletic department. Not only were major college programs starting to knock, but so were NFL teams. The hiring of Chizik takes Iowa State to a whole new level of competition and excitement. He may be young, he may not have head coaching experience but from everybody in the know, this guy was about to be the hottest name out there for a lot of major programs looking for a new head coach.

With Chizik, Iowa State grabs not only one of the greatest assistant coaches in the entire country; they also get a very well connected and known recruiter on the national level. A lot of people were excited when they thought of the opportunities that Harbaugh would bring to the table in terms of recruiting, but he doesn’t have near the quantity and quality of connections in Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and California as Chizik according to those in the recruiting circles. Harbaugh, Kelly and Norvell might have sounded like “safe” hires but I think Jamie Pollard new this was Iowa State’s one chance to make a name for themselves as a true competitor in college football. One thing’s for sure, a six year deal worth up to $10 million sure doesn’t say safe and cheap by any stretch.

While it’s easy to say that a guy will be the savior of a program, it’s another thing to actually have it end that way. We won’t know for a couple of years just how well connected and talented Chizik is but if he lives up to half of the hype, Iowa State is going to be going places never thought of before. Now I’ll admit that I would have found the silver lining in any new guy, but I just can’t think of a single downfall of Chizik right now. Maybe I’m still on cloud nine but I just can’t try and twist it any way in my head to make this a bad hire.

Now that we know about Chizik, let’s talk briefly about what Pollard is trying to do at Iowa State…

What Jamie Pollard has done at Iowa State is nothing short of a miracle and should not be minimized in any way whatsoever. When Jamie stepped foot into “The Jake” fifteen months ago, he had to wonder where to start first. Where to start the building process of getting ISU into the upper-echelons of multiple sports nationally. We had a MBB program not far removed from scandal, a FB program floundering with missed opportunities, an incredibly low budget for a major-conference program and a fan-base half comatose.

What’s happened in a little over a year to get the fan-base to think completely differently than they have ever done is just mind boggling. One guy came in with a belief that ISU can be more than just the “other school in the state” and changed people’s mindset faster than I have ever seen anywhere. Jamie realized the opportunities and fans that ISU has and what great things they could achieve with the right mindset. Maybe it’s just a job to him but I really think he believes 100% that ISU has just as good of a reason as anybody else to succeed nationally in multiple sports. Why do we have to be only a basketball school or just a football also-ran? We have everything we need to be successful in multiple sports; it just took the right leader to get the wheels in motion.

Am I just drinking the Pollard kool-aid? Possibly but I really don’t think so. This guy has a vision that I’ve never seen in an AD. I’ve seen leaders and CEOs with great visions but never before have I seen such a young and personable AD understand the root problems any better than Jamie Pollard has in such a short time span. He not only knows how to raise the money we need to be competitive, he realizes what we as fans want and that it’s not farfetched to dream of competing in the Big XII. And to think, it only took one guy fifteen months. Amazing, simply amazing.

Conclusion…

We may just be a “coaching graveyard” in the middle of nowhere to some pundits, but we just did something unheard of. We grabbed three of the hottest coaches in the entire country with McDermott, Sanderson and Chizik in a span of nine months and turned this “coaching graveyard” into the place good coaches go to become great. We just doubled the annual salary of the football coaching staff all in the sake of being an also ran:) Pollard understood this truly was the “Cyclone State” and that if we say it loud enough and long enough, others would soon pay attention.

bureshclone · 11-27-2006, 07:11 PM

OOOOOOO.......I just got chills up and down my back!

HandSanitizer · 11-27-2006, 07:16 PM

That is really crazy when you think about it. I am thinking in 3 years we could really good in those 3 sports. Football might take some time considering the circumstances.

letsgostate · 11-27-2006, 07:45 PM

While I'm very excited about this hire...major concern among some alumni is that this is not another Donnie Duncan. Duncan came in as the offensive coordinator from Texas and was going to bring lots of big time Texas recruits with him. He was a major flop. He was bland and simply did not do the job. ISU had been on a high after Johnnie Majors and Earle Bruce and he took the program right to the pits. We never recovered until the McCarney era made us relavent again. I hope for major success...only an observation I have heard.

ericlambi · 11-27-2006, 07:48 PM

I think comparisons like Chizik=Duncan or Harbaugh=Alford are nonsense. People find some similar characteristics and extrapolate WAY too far.

cyputz · 11-27-2006, 07:48 PM

To look back at the tenure across the complete athletic dept is very young, yet dynamic. Men and women.

Rapplegt · 11-27-2006, 07:49 PM

Thank you, Jeremy! I really appreciate your site and postings. It keeps me well connected to the latest Cyclone sports news. Your analysis is the best anywhere!

guitarchitect7 · 11-27-2006, 08:03 PM

Well I missed you at the presser. Talked to Angie though. But now I see why, you were at home writing this up.

Great job and look forward to others.

letsgostate · 11-27-2006, 08:03 PM

I agree with you EC...comparisons are meaningless..

Jeremy · 11-27-2006, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by guitarchitect7

Well I missed you at the presser. Talked to Angie though. But now I see why, you were at home writing this up.
Great job and look forward to others.

Work went late and I work in West Des Moines & live in Huxley so I wasn't able to make it unfortunately. I'll hope to have some quotes from players I've talked to up tomorrow hopefully.

ornryactor · 11-27-2006, 08:12 PM

There was one particular thing that really impressed me this evening, and did more than anything else to convince me once and for all that Chizik was the best choice for Iowa State:

During his speech, he mentioned that he wasn't going to promise anything for numbers of wins or losses next year, and that wasn't something he was concerned about right now. He said that his primary focus is and will be to "train men of character, integrity, and responsibility".

Now, I know that this is a typical Iowan reaction, but- good for him. It comes with the territory- Iowans care tremendously that someone in a position of influence has the integrity and the strong, hard-working, down-to-earth character needed to make the best of his position for the benefit of those he oversees. It sounds to me like that is exactly what Gene Chizik is planning on doing.

jakemcilroy · 11-27-2006, 08:16 PM

Really fun day to be a Cyclone. Hope brings optimism. Now we all need to steop u pand rally behind the FB program...in the stands, and in the checkbook. If we want a bigtime program, we have to pay for it. We also need to step away and give him time. It might take a few years. Be patient. Be supportive, be crazy, be hopeful. But be patient.

Jeremy · 11-27-2006, 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by ornryactor

There was one particular thing that really impressed me this evening, and did more than anything else to convince me once and for all that Chizik was the best choice for Iowa State:

During his speech, he mentioned that he wasn't going to promise anything for numbers of wins or losses next year, and that wasn't something he was concerned about right now. He said that his primary focus is and will be to "train men of character, integrity, and responsibility".

Now, I know that this is a typical Iowan reaction, but- good for him. It comes with the territory- Iowans care tremendously that someone in a position of influence has the integrity and the strong, hard-working, down-to-earth character needed to make the best of his position for the benefit of those he oversees. It sounds to me like that is exactly what Gene Chizik is planning on doing.

I know people don't like comparisons but as far as their mentality towards winning, Chizik and GMac are very similar. Both don't want to set goals too early or talk about number of wins. Of course the same AD is going to have similar coaches so that would explain it but it does point nicely to the direction the FB program will be heading.

Stormin · 11-27-2006, 08:19 PM

Donnie Duncan was an Assistant at Oklahoma. Everyone thought since he was an assistant at Oklahoma that we would be getting the same quality of recruits as Oklahoma. Duncan ended up being the WORST hire of any in the history of ISU. He was given a great roster PLUS an ENTIRE Freshman class that had been redshirted. PLUS he had been given a nonqualifying RB stashed at a JUCO named Crutchfield to come in a year or so later.

Needless to say Duncan failed miserably and then took the Assistant AD job at Oklahoma and setting us up for the "Criner Error".

IF ONLY Woody Hayes hadn't punched that kid from the opposing team (I think Clemson) in that Bowl game. What might have been.

Jeremy · 11-27-2006, 08:26 PM

The absolute worst thing for ISU is for fans to be questioning the new coach from day one. To compare him to Duncan is absolutely not fair to anybody involved. Chizik is probably the most respected young coach in the country and ISU fans are already questioning if he is the right guy? That would be a clear mistake that would lead to nothing but a self-prophecy of staying at the bottom of the league. It's thinking like that which has kept ISU down for so long and needs to change ASAP for things to improve.