ISU Coaching Search

It depends who you talk and what they fear most in hiring a new coach.  Some same avoid another hot assistant who will jump ship after a few successful seasons (or none).  Others say we need a young coach to keep the young players.  Others yet say we need a proven head coach with experience.  Well what about a black head coach?  Midwest ties?  Florida or Texas ties?  O negative or AB positive?

Goodness gracious people, we need a coach who will win games.  End of story.  And AD Jamie Pollard knows this.  And more important he could give a rip about the color, or age of the coach, he wants wins. 

So who will it be you may ask?

My Short list:

Turner Gill - Buffalo HC

It's too bad he's holding out for a very top tier school to offer him a job (Auburn?)  He's day will come (think Nebraska in a few years, you know after a 9-3 season)  And I firmly believe he's holding out for a big name school.  

Brent Venables - Oklahoma DC and Assistant HC

The Oklahoma D-coordinator has midwest ties, is young, and ready for a HC job.  So what if he wants to jump ship in a few year for a bigger school.  He won't do it without some success here first.  And that's what Iowa State needs right now.  Success, not more excitment without results.  Don't think he can coach?  Look at the OU-Tech final score.  Or better, see how many yards TTU didn't throw for in that game.  He can coach.  And our defense needs it.

Charlie Strong - Florida DC and Assistant HC

Has strong ties to FL and TX, a top assistant at Florida with Coach Mac.  If you don't think Strong is asking Dan about this job, you're crazy.  And I would trust Dan would say something like this - "Great program, fans love you even at 7-5, just get out if they hire a new AD"  All kidding aside, if Strong is looking to make a name for himself, this would be the place.

Todd Graham - Tulsa HC

The guy knows how to score points.  About the only team to score more points than Oklahoma and TTU is Tulsa.  He knows the South (TX and OK) to recruit.  Has HC experience.  Not a bad pick overall.

Others mentioned - Mike Stoops (Arizona HC), Chris Peterson (Boise State HC), Gary Patterson (TCU HC), Gary Barnett (Colorado HC, former), Phil Fulmer (Tennessee HC, former)

My pick was Turner Gill, but his contract extension at Buffalo makes this a no go. 

With that, either Venables or Strong should get the nod based their experience on the Defensive side of the ball, their connections to recruiting, and experience.  

Right now, I lean towards Venables because of his Midwest ties.