Iowa State hires Auburn coordinator Rhoads, takes more shots at Chizik

AMES, Iowa — Iowa State had pinned all its hopes on Gene Chizik — which was why his jump to Auburn after just two seasons was such a kick in the gut for the cellar-dwelling Cyclones.

Judging by the passion native Iowan Paul Rhoads showed upon being introduced as Chizik’s replacement, Iowa State at least has someone who is less likely to wander.

Rhoads, a native of nearby Ankeny and a former Cyclones assistant, was hired as Iowa State’s coach Saturday.

Rhoads, 41 spent last season as the defensive coordinator at Auburn, the same school that lured Chizik away earlier this week.

“I can honestly tell you, on a beautiful day in Ames, Iowa, it’s great to be home,” Rhoads said.

Rhoads, who has never been a head coach, was the defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh from 2000-07. He was also an assistant with the Cyclones under Dan McCarney from 1995-99.

Surrounded by dozens of family members and well-wishers who made the short trip to Ames through a snowstorm for his introductory news conference, Rhoads had to stop a number of times to compose himself.

Many have labeled Iowa State a coaching graveyard, but Rhoads couldn’t contain his excitement over the chance to rebuild the Cyclones.

Iowa State went 2-10 last season and was winless in the Big 12. Under Chizik, the Cyclones were 5-19 and never won a road game.

“There are deep roots here,” Rhoads said. “I was born 10 miles down the road.”

Iowa State said Rhoads agreed to a five-year deal worth $5.75 million in guaranteed compensation, with incentives available to increase that total.

Rhoads also plans to appear at halftime of Iowa State’s men’s basketball game against Jacksonville State on Saturday night.

Chizik was hired as Auburn’s head coach Monday, after Pollard said Chizik twice told him he would turn the Tigers down. Chizik’s departure after just two seasons and a 5-19 record was a major blow for Pollard, who was praised for hiring Chizik away from Mack Brown’s Texas staff in late 2006.

Chizik had even accepted Pollard’s verbal offer of a two-year contract extension a week before Iowa State’s season finale, though nothing had been signed.

Pollard had called the way Chizik left the Cyclones “extremely disappointing, and it’s clear that his departure still stings.

“We needed to identify someone who had high ethics, very high integrity, who had academic values — cared about the academic success of his student-athletes, about their personal success, and to look for an individual who would be loyal to Iowa State,” Iowa State president Gregory Geoffroy said. “In Paul, we have exactly the right person to be our new Cyclones football head coach.”

Rhoads was one of about a dozen candidates Pollard said he interviewed. But Rhoads was the only candidate Iowa State extended an offer to, and Pollard said Rhoads’s experience and his plan for turning around the Cyclones made him stand out among the other candidates.

“Getting the right person was far more important that doing it quickly,” Pollard said.

Rhoads certainly knows his way around Iowa. His father, Cecil, was a high school coach in Iowa for more than 30 years and is a member of the Iowa High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. Rhoads was also a special mention All-State pick and the class valedictorian at Ankeny High.

“What my dad gave me was passion,” Rhoads said before tearing up. An Iowa State spokesman attempted to move on to the next question, but Rhoads stopped and him and said, “I knew this would be hard, but this is fine. This is who I am, this is what you get.”

Rhoads worked under Walt Harris and Dave Wannstedt at Pittsburgh, helping lead the Panthers to the 2004 Big East title. He was approached by former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville in 2002 to be the Tigers’ defensive coordinator. Though Rhoads turned him down, he moved to Auburn before this season.

The Tigers were ranked 15th in the nation at 18 points allowed per game this season, but finished just 5-7 and Tuberville resigned earlier this month.

Rhoads will have his work cut out for him at Iowa State. The Cyclones went 0-8 in the Big 12 despite not playing Texas, Texas Tech or Oklahoma.

“We will be physical,” Rhoads said. “We will give you all you have for 60 minutes, and we will hit you coming off the bus.”

His first order of business will be to keep Iowa State’s young players from jumping ship. Iowa State played a large number of freshmen this season — brought to Iowa State by Chizik — and Pollard said earlier this week that many of them likely felt betrayed by Chizik’s move to Auburn.

Quarterback Austen Arnaud said Saturday that while most of the older players have already gotten over Chizik, some of the Cyclones youngsters are still hurting.

“To you, I issue this challenge,” Rhoads said to Iowa State’s players. “It’s time to roll up our sleeves, put on our hard hats and go to work together.”