Iowa State head football coach Dan McCarney was granted a two-year extension on his previous five-year contract Thursday.

In light of the team’s 2-7 record so far this year, student reaction to the extension has been varied.

Some students supported the Athletic Department’s decision.

“It was a good thing,” said Danny Dean, freshman in agricultural business. “He’s graduating a lot of students and building a program. Even though they’re not winning on the field, what he’s doing off the field is more important.”

Other students have not seen McCarney’s success in endeavors off the field as progress for the program.

“If all it takes to be a Division I football coach is to be a nice guy and get your students to go to class, then sign me up,” said Matthew Craft, junior in political science. “I’m sure we can find someone else in the country that can do the same thing and still give us a chance of winning some ball games.”

Some students pointed out specific reasons why they do not believe McCarney is the right man for the job.

“We’re in a lot of games, but we lose a lot of games,” said Shawn Mohr, sophomore in management information systems. “We just cannot put out a decent effort in the fourth quarter. It seems that would be a coaching problem, not a lack of playing talent.”

Another student asserted that he is tired of hearing that the Cyclones are still “rebuilding.”

“Every year he brings in more [junior college] recruits and calls it a ‘rebuilding year,'” said Shane Beenken, senior in agricultural business. “I want to know when we’re going to stop rebuilding and actually field a team.” Despite some negative talk surrounding the contract extension, there are still students willing to give McCarney another shot at turning around the program.

“I think McCarney has been a very poor coach so far,” said Kyle Lorenz, junior in finance and accounting. “However, I believe in giving second chances. I support the extension and look forward to seeing if McCarney really can ever field a decent Division I football team.”