Ex-Iowa and Present Packers Assistant Joe Philbin Should Get a Look From ISU's Pollard. Brian Kelly, UNI's Farley, Montana's Hauck Mentioned, Too

Al Schallau and Barry Crist, who spend most of their time rooting for Iowa, and Iowa State graduate Doug in Davenport are weighing in today on the Cyclones' football coaching situation.

Schallau is suggesting that Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard hire former Hawkeye assistant coach Joe Philbin -- now the Green Bay Packers' offensive line coach -- as the successor to Dan McCarney:

"Ron,

"Bob Commings was head coach at Iowa for five years, and compiled a record of 17 wins, 38 losses. In November, 1978, there was never any doubt that Commings would be
fired after the Hawkeyes' 2-9 record that year.

"Dan McCarney's record at Iowa State after his first five years was 13 wins, 42 losses. I think Iowa State made a big commitment to mediocrity when McCarney was not fired after the 1999 season.

"The Schallau Doctrine tells us that there are certain college football and basketball coaches who would be big winners no matter where they coached. Examples:

"Lute Olson, Roy Williams and Tom Izzo in basketball. Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer and Charlie Weis in football.

"The athletic director's job is to find such a coach and hire him. Those coaches are rarely looking for jobs. They already have good jobs. So the A. D. must vigorously pursue such a coach.

"I think Joe Philbin, former offensive line coach at Iowa, is exactly that kind of coach. Iowa's offensive line in 2002 was the best I have seen in the college ranks in the last 10 years.

"Philbin is now the offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers. I think Iowa State should be going after him to be the Cyclones' next head coach."

Al Schallau

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Schallau, an Iowa graduate who now is an attorney in California, is given credit for making then-Iowa athletic director Bump Elliott aware of Lute Olson's basketball coaching ability. Elliott hired Olson, who went on to have a 168-90 record from 1975-83 with the Hawkeyes. He's been an even bigger winner at Arizona. I don't know if Joe Philbin would be interested in leaving the Green Bay Packers and becoming the head football coach at Iowa State, but it wouldn't hurt Pollard to ask him. Philbin is in his fourth year on the Packers' staff. He was named to be in charge of Green Bay's offensive line by first-year coach Mike McCarthy on Jan. 17, 2006. He's only the third offensive line coach in the past 15 seasons at Green Bay. Although hampered by injuries, Philbin's tight ends were productive. Green Bay joined Tennessee as one of two NFL teams to have three tight ends with as many as 25 pass receptions. Philbin was Iowa's offensive line coach from 1999-2002. In 2002, the Hawkeyes had one of the best offensive lines in collegiate football. Three of his players -- guard Eric Steinbach, tackle Robert Gallery and center Bruce Nelson -- were named to three of the five first-team all-Big Ten line spots. Steinbach, a second round choice of Cincinnati, was a consensus all-American. For Pollard, I think Philbin would be worth a look].

JOE PHILBIN COACHING BACKGROUND

Year College/Pro Team Position Coached

1984-85 Tulane Graduate Assistant

1986-87 Worcester Tech Offensive Line

1988-89 U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Offensive Line

1990-93 Allegheny College Off. Coordinator/
Off. Line

1994 Ohio University Offensive Line

1995-96 Northeastern University Off. Coordinator/
Off. Line

1997-98 Harvard Off. Coordinator/
Off. Line

1999-2002 Iowa Offensive Line

2003 Green Bay Packers Asst. Offensive Line

2004-05 Green Bay Packers Tight Ends/
Asst. Offensive Line

2006 Green Bay Packers Offensive Line

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Barry Crist, a Hawkeye fan from West Des Moines, writes:

"Ron,

"A friend of mine spoke with Barry Alvarez about Pollard's dismissal of McCarney. Barry exploded with 'Why does Jamie think he can hire a better coach than Mac? Every other coach that has had a winning season at Iowa State leaves at the first opportunity. Dan has worked his tail off there for 12 years.'

"Another friend talked to his old Iowa roommate, Mike Stoops. The Arizona coach said, 'Iowa State will never beat Nebraska, Texas or Oklahoma again! If I needed a defensive coordinator, I'd hire Mac in one second.'

"Why not hire Mark Farley from UNI? He has a good offensive mind and would probably stay at Iowa State. Since Jamie already hired Greg McDermott from UNI, this makes sense as there would be no need to raise $135 million as the Clones could play all the games in the dome."

Barry Crist

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I suggested Farley's name a week ago for the Iowa State job. He certainly would do just as well, or better, than some of the guys I've seen mentioned as McCarney's successor. And, yes, I think McCarney would settle for being a defensive coordinator at a major college if nothing develops for him as a head coach. Dan doesn't want to stay out of coaching for a year, and my feeling is that he'd take the best coordinator job available just to remain in coaching. As far as I'm concerned, he'd look pretty good on the Iowa sideline if Norm Parker should decide to retire anytime soon. Crist said Montana coach Bobby Hauck could also be in the Iowa State picture].

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Doug in Davenport, an Iowa State graduate, sent a follow-up to his earlier e-mail about the Cyclone coaching situation:

"FYI from Doug in Davenport.....

"Was I possibly on the right track with the guy from Grand Valley State in Michigan? WOI-TV is saying Brian Kelly at Central Michigan State may be a candidate for the Iowa State job. Kelly was the coach at Grand Valley State until two seasons ago. He won a couple of NCAA Division II titles at Grand Valley. On Kelly's staff at Central Michigan is former Iowa strength coach Paul Longo and former Hawkeye Zach Shay."

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Kelly, who won Division II national championships in 2002 and 2003 at Grand Valley State, is certainly worth a look. Like Farley, he probably wouldn't cost Iowa State a lot of money. Kelly's base salary this year is only $160,000. The trouble is, he's being rumored as the next coach at Michigan State, which recently fired John L. Smith. And the Michigan State job is regarded as being much better than the Iowa State job].

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ABOUT the photos: Brian Kelly is pictured at the top. The photos at the lower right and lower left aren't meant to be an ad for Hair Club.com. That's Joe Philbin on the right and Mark Farley on the left. Photos courtesy of the Detroit News, the Green Bay Packers and Google.