Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Assigned Reading: How Iowa State settled on Steve Prohm as its new head coach

Steve Prohm

AP Photo

AP

When Fred Hoiberg officially became head coach of the Chicago Bulls, the fact that he would one day move on to the NBA did not come as a surprise to Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard. The two have a good relationship, and during Hoiberg’s time in Ames that meant frequent communication on matters such as Hoiberg’s coaching future.

Pollard moved quickly to fill the vacancy, with Iowa State President Steve Leath offering his thoughts on who should be hired and the school using a search firm to help with the process. However the search firm wasn’t used in the way that some assume them to be; that they’re hired for a program that doesn’t know how to handle a coaching search.

Instead the school provided the firm with a list of names to look into in regards to background and interview logistics, with that list being narrowed down to seven before the interview process. In this story by Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register, the entire search is broken down and it includes this interesting exchange between Pollard and Hoiberg:

When Pollard asked whom he should consider as his replacement, Hoiberg responded with two words: Steve Prohm.

“The first person out of his mouth was Steve Prohm, and Fred said the reason was that, ‘He runs everything that I run. I’ve met him, (and) he’s a man of character,’ ” Pollard said. “That did not mean Steve Prohm was getting the job. I did not meet Steve Prohm until (last) Sunday morning for the first time.”


Obviously not all head coaching searches are the same, with schools having particular criteria as to who they end up hiring. But this was a very interesting read, especially for those who wonder if Iowa State’s offense will change from the highly successful system run by Hoiberg.

The story can be read here.