Iowa State is firing head coach Paul Rhoads, the Cyclones announced Sunday. Rhoads will coach his last game for the program on Saturday at West Virginia, the program said.
Paul Rhoads fired as Iowa State head football coach
The Cyclones are jumping into a crowded coaching market.
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
The news was first reported by Football Scoop and others, one day after Rhoads was mocked by a recently fired assistant during a collapse of a loss to Kansas State. That L dropped Rhoads to 3-8 on the year and 32-54 overall.
Rhoads had a hot start at Iowa State, posting a 7-6 record and a victory in the Insight Bowl in his first season with the team, but he wasn’t able to lead the Cyclones to another winning season after that.
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After 17 wins in the next three seasons and three Big 12 wins in each year, the wheels fell off and Iowa State won just five games in the next two years, and finished 0-9 in Big 12 play in 2014.
A 3-9 record in 2015, his third consecutive season with three or fewer wins, was the end of the road in Ames. Rhoads leaves having never won more than three Big 12 games in a season.
Prior to his chance at a head coaching job with the Cyclones, Rhoads made a name for himself as the defensive coordinator at Auburn and Pittsburgh.
A win over Nebraska in his first season and a passionate, emotional speech to his players after the game made Rhoads an instant favorite, but the lack of success in the following seasons eventually wore down the school’s patience.
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