Big 12 Head Football Coaches Ranked: No. 10 – 6

Sep 13, 2014; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Paul Rhoads reacts to a call during his matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

No. 9: Paul Rhoads, Iowa State

How does this man still have a head-coaching job? Is it because Iowa State fears the difficulty of luring a capable coach to Ames?

Being raised only 20 miles from the Iowa State campus and being a former Cyclone assistant helped Rhoads land the job in 2008, and the sentimentality of the earnest folks of Iowa might be his only saving grace.

Rhoads’ only winning season was his first in 2009 when most of his players had been recruited by his predecessor Gene Chizik, who left to be the head coach at Auburn. The hot-tempered Rhoads has led his team to three bowl appearances, but none since 2012.

In six seasons under Paul Rhoads, the Cyclones are 29 – 45 (.392 winning percentage). At almost any other school in the conference, such futility would not be tolerated. One must wonder if Rhoads will still be employed were Kansas not in the same conference to distract the rest of the nation from seeing the poor job he has done in Ames.

Over the years, Rhoads has been more prone to public outbursts that have made him a buffoon in the eyes of the nation. His antics have brought more publicity to the program than his team’s performance has making him an online celebrity for all of the wrong reasons.

Rhoads angry at a call that went against his team:

Rhoads following a controversial loss to the Texas Longhorns on national TV:

Perhaps his rants would be more powerful if his team was winning. But they sure wouldn’t be any less entertaining. The bright side for Rhoads is that when he finally does leave coaching, he should have a guaranteed job as a TV announcer for a pro wrestling organization. His tirades might actually be useful in that career.