The dark condition of the Iowa State football program was brightened on Saturday by the hiring of Paul Rhoads.

Five days before Christmas, the Iowa native was announced as the replacement for Gene Chizik, who abruptly and surprisingly left the team one week ago.

After two seasons in Ames, Chizik became the head coach at Auburn, where Rhoads worked as a defensive coordinator for 11 months. Before then, Rhoads was a defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh for seven seasons and was an assistant for Iowa State from 1995 to 1999.

On Dec. 4, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville resigned after 10 seasons, leaving Rhoads and his family with an uncertain future.

The 41-year-old said the job is a gift, though he doesn’t think about it that way.

“This isn’t anything that I’ve dreamed about or hoped would just happen – I’ve worked for this day,” he said. “A couple people have brought that up recently – ‘You know what? You were out of work and just been through a crazy ordeal and now look at you, you’re the head football coach at Iowa State.’

“All that is true, but deep down I know I’ve worked to be in this position and have very detailed plan in place.”

And now, Cyclone fans can worry about winning games. The football team ended the 2008 season with a 10-game losing streak, and Chizik’s departure added another challenge to rebuilding the program.

The dead period for recruiting begins on Monday, but on Sunday there is a mandatory quiet period.

That means that – according to NCAA guidelines – no recruit will be able to speak to Rhoads until Jan. 2, unless they are in Ames on Sunday.

The winter snowstorm currently underway in Iowa makes that task even more difficult. It also framed Rhoads’ commencement speech at the Jacobson Athletic Offices, where he preached to a small group of fans and media, but also a large group of friends and family.

Rhoads, who grew up in Ankeny, was already planning on being in Iowa on Saturday for the holidays, but arrived one day sooner by the request of athletic director Jamie Pollard.

The pair had a second meeting this week that lasted for nearly seven hours and went over Iowa State football “from A-Z,” Pollard said.

Rhoads was given the news on Friday and said he was composed throughout the interview process, but “lost it” when he talked to his wife.

“This professional journey of mine has seen me through four of the six BCS conferences. By the time I was 27 I had seen all four time zones,” Rhoads said. “But I can honestly tell you on a beautiful day in Ames, Iowa, it is great to be home.”

Pollard said that the fact Rhoads is a former Iowan “had no bearing” on the hire, but that it was a “huge bonus.” The third-year athletic director said “roughly a dozen candidates were either met with or spoken to,” but Rhoads proved to be a clear fit.

Quarterback and Ames native Austen Arnaud was in attendance for Rhoads speech, and said he believed his new coach “does love Iowa State.” But that’s not what counts.

“Winning is what’s going to determine his fate, and that’s his job,” Arnaud said. “But just from our standpoint – right now – we couldn’t have got a better hire.”

Rhoads said the trademark qualities of his football team will be that they are smart, intense, and “will hit you coming off the bus.”