Sure, it sounds like "Coach Speak" to say that the next game is the most important game in the Matt Campbell Tenure, but the OkSt game is. It was ok for him to lose the Iowa game. It sucks, but his job security was never in question for losing that. The Ohio game was a disaster for multiple reasons, but he was still not in danger because he has proven to be able to win at Iowa State (at some capacity). We are frustrated with the team, but you reading this on a Cyclone site means something...
Here is the truth.... Losing at Iowa State does not get you fired. Let's face it. We are not LSU or Nebraska that can fire their coach after going 10-2 or 9-3 just because they think he will never win at the level they want. ISU hopes that you make a bowl every other year and putting out multiple losing seasons a couple years in a row isn't the end of the world. Yes, there is a point to when losing is a factor in the ISU HC being fired, but it is not mutually exclusive to the REAL reason...
The real reason you get fired at Iowa State: Apathy. We all know what to expect for our opening play of the first drive. We have seen it every game of every year. It worked once: 2021 KSU. Every other time it was like running into a brick wall. And if ISU does the same play this weekend, I expect "Boos" although I will not participate. The fanbase is tired. The gameplan isn't working and we are BEGGING for a change.....
So what happens if it doesn't change? What happens if we continue to try what doesn't work? I'll tell you. We will have about 53,000 fans for the TCU game. 40,000 fans for the KU game and a burnt orange stadium for the Texas game. You will think: "We need to fire this coach cuz we suck." Jamie Pollard will think: "We had an AMAZING year for season ticket sales, and these people are choosing to stay home. They already had the ticket and they chose not to use it. We are going to sell much less next year." As the athletic director, one of your KPIs is "Season Ticket Sales." It's a huge, dependable revenue generator and the way to sell season tickets is to sell excitement. That will move Pollard's needle....
Rhoads was fired because the fan base became apathetic. Prohm got fired because the majority of Cyclone Nation didn't watch the 2020 season even during a pandemic with nothing else to do. I hope that the staff makes a change. I love the Cyclones and Rocco is a stud. I still believe in Campbell and hope he takes the steps he needs to.
Here is the truth.... Losing at Iowa State does not get you fired. Let's face it. We are not LSU or Nebraska that can fire their coach after going 10-2 or 9-3 just because they think he will never win at the level they want. ISU hopes that you make a bowl every other year and putting out multiple losing seasons a couple years in a row isn't the end of the world. Yes, there is a point to when losing is a factor in the ISU HC being fired, but it is not mutually exclusive to the REAL reason...
The real reason you get fired at Iowa State: Apathy. We all know what to expect for our opening play of the first drive. We have seen it every game of every year. It worked once: 2021 KSU. Every other time it was like running into a brick wall. And if ISU does the same play this weekend, I expect "Boos" although I will not participate. The fanbase is tired. The gameplan isn't working and we are BEGGING for a change.....
So what happens if it doesn't change? What happens if we continue to try what doesn't work? I'll tell you. We will have about 53,000 fans for the TCU game. 40,000 fans for the KU game and a burnt orange stadium for the Texas game. You will think: "We need to fire this coach cuz we suck." Jamie Pollard will think: "We had an AMAZING year for season ticket sales, and these people are choosing to stay home. They already had the ticket and they chose not to use it. We are going to sell much less next year." As the athletic director, one of your KPIs is "Season Ticket Sales." It's a huge, dependable revenue generator and the way to sell season tickets is to sell excitement. That will move Pollard's needle....
Rhoads was fired because the fan base became apathetic. Prohm got fired because the majority of Cyclone Nation didn't watch the 2020 season even during a pandemic with nothing else to do. I hope that the staff makes a change. I love the Cyclones and Rocco is a stud. I still believe in Campbell and hope he takes the steps he needs to.
