Iowa State has reportedly fired head coach Paul Rhoads.
The Paul Rhoads Era in Ames is over. According to Thayer Evans from Sports Illustrated, the Iowa State Cyclones have decided to part ways with their embattled football coach.
Iowa State HC Paul Rhoads has been dismissed per source.
— Thayer Evans (@ThayerEvansCR) November 22, 2015
In seven seasons with the Cyclones, Rhoads compiled a record of 32-54. He never could quite get over the hump in a competitive Big 12 Conference. Rhoads’ best year was his first, 2009, where Iowa State went 7-6 and won the Insight Bowl over Minnesota. The Cyclones never won more than three conference games under Rhoads, and in the past three seasons own a conference record of 4-22 – including a dismal 0-9 (2-10 overall record) in 2014.
Now on the hunt for a new coach, Iowa State enters a terribly competitive market. The USC Trojans, Miami Hurricanes and Maryland Terrapins all have vacancies at head coach. Even programs like the UCF Knights and Illinois Illini present competition for the Cyclones.
Names like Tom Herman and Justin Fuente will probably be thrown around by hopeful fans. However, those individuals, should they leave their respective programs, are destined for one of the bigger fish in the pond. Iowa State will likely dip into the FCS or coordinator ranks for its next coach. One name that could catch some traction is Gene Chizik, who left Iowa State for Auburn and opened the door for Rhoads’ tenure. While his record was unspectacular while in Ames, he did win a national championship with Auburn. Chizik is currently the defensive coordinator for the North Carolina Tar Heels.
This makes the second major coaching hire in less than a calendar year for AD Jamie Pollard. He was tasked with replacing Fred Hoiberg after The Mayor departed Ames for the Chicago Bulls.
Sadly for Rhoads, this postgame rant following a loss to Texas remains his greatest hit with Iowa State.