Pollard backs Rhoads

[jbhtexas]

I respect your opinion but disagree. Does it really matter if Rhoads has a 10 year contract making $2 mil per year or a 5 year, $3.5 mil contract if the buyouts are roughly the same? As I posted earlier, Rhoads' buyout is less than that of many other coaches (Weis, Pelini, Muschamp, Ferentz, etc) even though his contract is twice as long.

On the surface, Pollards 10 year/$20 mil contract seems bad. But when you dig into it, its really not.

The problem is that somehow a FB coach with one winning season in six (that coming in his first year), and winning 5 games over his last two years (including two losses to FCS teams) is somehow owed $5,000,000 if he were to be fired. That doesn't seem like a good deal to me, so I'm going to have to disagree with you and say that the contract is bad. As other posters mentioned above, the performance on the field through the end of 2011 did not warrant the magnitude of the contract extension in either the length of time or monetary aspects.

 

[VeloClone]

The problem is that somehow a FB coach with one winning season in six (that coming in his first year), and winning 5 games over his last two years (including two losses to FCS teams) is somehow owed $5,000,000 if he were to be fired. That doesn't seem like a good deal to me, so I'm going to have to disagree with you and say that the contract is bad. As other posters mentioned above, the performance on the field through the end of 2011 did not warrant the magnitude of the contract extension in either the length of time or monetary aspects.

Sure it is a problem, but tell me again, how much is Weiss owed by KU again? And they didn't even get a single bowl game out of him.

 

[ISUFan22]

I think even with a lower buyout, JP sticks with Rhoads. And I am very confident I am right in that.

The buyout whiners need to realize that - and the fact that buyouts suck regardless of who the AD or the college is.

 

[Stewo]

Good riddance, maybe 'Bama nation will accept you into their ranks.

Not sure if serious....

 

[Tre4ISU]

Well, thats the ADs problem if it chooses to ignore reality. The reality is a losing program will always eventually trend negatively in money. You can only push the 'donate more so we can do more' so long before results have to happen.

I didn't push that. I said it counteracts the measure you want taken. And attendance will drive the decision, not ticket sales. Ticket sales happen at the wrong time of year to make an impact. The only thing you can hope for is that the tickets in 15 influence the decision after the season but in the end it will not. If we win three games, he will be fired, if we win 8, he won't and the number of season ticket holders will have nothing to do with that. It's really just logical thinking at work here. But if you want to continue to think not buying tickets in a few months will make a difference in the decision, go ahead. Now, if you just don't want to buy tickets because you don't want to watch ****** football and you think it will be ****** football, as I do, that's different.

 

[jbhtexas]

Sure it is a problem, but tell me again, how much is Weiss owed by KU again? And they didn't even get a single bowl game out of him.

1) KU owed Weis over $5,000,000, but I'm not sure why that's relevant here, especially since there was no extension given to Weis during is tenure at KU. Perhaps there was an extension given, and I missed it. It seems the two situations are quite different.

2) You can probably see why Weis might have been given a high-paying initial contract (and associated buyout) by KU, since he had a winning record as a head coach at his previous Power 5 HC job, including trips to two BCS bowls and two top 20 finishes. I don't see where Rhoads had similar past success, yet his buyout is about the same as Weis'.

 

[AdamJGray]

1. Nobody can complain about the buyout and call out JP for giving CPR the contract. Everyone was ecstatic when it was signed. I can't remember anyone saying it was a bad idea.

2. I like how everyone keeps saying we have had 5 straight losing seasons. Sure it is technically true, but I'm guessing that after we lost to Tulsa in the Liberty Bowl, very few of you were telling your Hawkeye buddies that we had 3 straight losing seasons. At that time everyone was in love with Paul and the job he was doing at ISU. Now, everyone is saying he's had 5 straight losing seasons because they want Paul fired. It's amazing how fans can twist information one way and then another, from season to season, to help their point (positive or negative).

 

[isufbcurt]

1. Nobody can complain about the buyout and call out JP for giving CPR the contract. Everyone was ecstatic when it was signed. I can't remember anyone saying it was a bad idea.

2. I like how everyone keeps saying we have had 5 straight losing seasons. Sure it is technically true, but I'm guessing that after we lost to Tulsa in the Liberty Bowl, very few of you were telling your Hawkeye buddies that we had 3 straight losing seasons. At that time everyone was in love with Paul and the job he was doing at ISU. Now, everyone is saying he's had 5 straight losing seasons because they want Paul fired. It's amazing how fans can twist information one way and then another, from season to season, to help their point (positive or negative).

my thoughts exactly.

Sure technically they are losing seasons but if the losing season is the product of a bowl game loss I tend not to look down on that season.

 

[cycloneworld]

The problem is that somehow a FB coach with one winning season in six (that coming in his first year), and winning 5 games over his last two years (including two losses to FCS teams) is somehow owed $5,000,000 if he were to be fired. That doesn't seem like a good deal to me, so I'm going to have to disagree with you and say that the contract is bad. As other posters mentioned above, the performance on the field through the end of 2011 did not warrant the magnitude of the contract extension in either the length of time or monetary aspects.

Rhoads is the lowest paid coach in the Big 12. I don't know this for a fact but I'm guessing his buyout is near the bottom as well. How does that make a bad contract?

 

[Cyclone29]

The crowd who would fire the coach now are constructing a lot of straw men in this thread. I see very few who think coach will turn things around. Most of us understand that Pollard is making the best of a bad situation. And yes, he is partly responsible for it.

But no crying over spilled milk -- we can't afford to let Rhoads go, pay him off, pay off the assistants, and potentially pay even more for the next staff. Everyone understands ticket sales may suffer, but as has been explained, Pollard is hoping that the UNI and Iowa games along with the SEZ novelty buys us a year after which it is easier to cut bait or we see enough improvement that we feel good about keeping him around.

It is not that hard to understand what is going on.

Why is it so hard for you then?

 

[vortex]

As a rule of thumb, AD's giving a coach a vote of confidence six years in, usually doesn't end well.

 

[Stewo]

Boy, some ISU fans can spin anything. If it wasn't so sad, it would be comical.

 

[CykoAGR]

As bad as you think things are now, firing a coach won't make them better overnight. Rather, it is likely to make things much worse for a few years. Are all of you that think we should fire the coach willing to accept 2-3 years that are even worse?

I would much prefer 2-3 more years taking a chance with Coach Rhoads than throw away the next few years.

3-9 and 2-10 in the past two years is pretty bad. Yes it could be worse but is 0-12 really that much worse than 2-10? If the only two teams that we can beat are a bad Iowa team and a MAC team with their backup QB does it really matter? We lost to FCS teams two years in a row!

To quote a great man " Worse? How could things get any worse? Take a look around here, we are at the threshold of hell"

 

[Al_4_State]

It doesn't really matter if tickets are sold next year or not. Rhoads will be here based on wins and losses. If no one buys tickets next year and he wins 7 games, he will still be here. If everyone buys them and he wins 2 games, he won't be. In the grand scheme of things, when losing is the problem, ticket sales do not matter. For one, when this decision is made (now) he doesn't have ticket info. If we get to the ticket sales part of the year and it doesn't go well, he isn't making a decision then anyway.

I don't believe this for a second.

 

[CykoAGR]

Not sure if serious....

Oh I think he's serious. Some people on here cant imagine that anyone would stop spending money and time to watch a terrible product and believe with blind faith that things will get better if the fans just shut up and donate.

I mean after all this is ISU and we were born to suck.

 

[Al_4_State]

I think even with a lower buyout, JP sticks with Rhoads. And I am very confident I am right in that.

The buyout whiners need to realize that - and the fact that buyouts suck regardless of who the AD or the college is.

I think you're right, and that's the point I've tried to make. Rhoads could go 0-12 and we could not score a single point and Pollard wouldn't fire him with a $5,000,000 check from a donor in his hand to do it.

He will continue to be an ISU employee not because we can't financially afford to stop him from being an ISU employee, but because his boss absolutely will not fire him.

 

[Stewo]

Oh I think he's serious. Some people on here cant imagine that anyone would stop spending money and time to watch a terrible product and believe with blind faith that things will get better if the fans just shut up and donate.

I mean after all this is ISU and we were born to suck.

It's sad for him if he is serious. And it's obvious that he's young and without a family. I mean, because collegiate sports should certainly come before family.

 

[Cycsk]

28-32
20-17
37-30
45-48
31-34
24-37

Seems to me that he isn't very far from that bar right now.

Indeed. Despite all of the concerns people have about this team, they were competitive.

 

[awd4cy]

Indeed. Despite all of the concerns people have about this team, they were competitive.

Looks like Chiziks 08 team was competitive. Did you think that at the time? Just asking btw.

44-17
48-28
5-17
31-34
33-35
35-49
24-28
30-38

 

[joefrog]

It's almost like some people want Iowa State to fail next year just to get rid of Rhoads. I don't understand that logic at all.

I think there are reasons that we could turn it around next year and I'll be rooting like hell for that to happen. Do I think its a given? Heck no. Could we be in a similar situation next year? Sure. But until that happens, I'm going to root for the football team and the coaches instead of predict us to be 0-12 and spout off other stupid crap.

Want has got nothing to do with it. People are examining past performance, looking at talent lost and incoming talent, and coming to the rational decision that there isn't much chance for better results.

Can you name one thing a PR coached team excels at? Can you name what our philosophy is? Why, if defense is his specialty, has it been so poor during PR's tenure?

"He's an Iowa boy, loves it here, and we can't lure anyone better so why take a chance?" That is the same damn thing I heard with McD. We replaced him with Fred, how has that turned out?

Evidence points to PR having a ceiling of about 6, and a floor of 2. Granted, that is about ISU average. But then ISU has never been as close to our peers in facilities and resources as now.

I expect results, and I am damn tired of subsidizing failure.