Why Rodney Coe was dismissed from Iowa State

A few weeks ago, the 2014 Iowa State football team was dealt a serious blow when it was announced that senior defensive tackle Rodney Coe had been dismissed from the program. 

Coe, who transferred to Iowa State from Iowa Western Community College in 2013, came on strong at the end of his junior campaign. Despite having shoulder surgery in the off-season, expectations remained high for Coe’s senior year. After a full season of playing Division 1 ball along with spring and summer workouts, some felt that Coe could be one of the top defensive tackles in the Big 12 next season.

So why exactly was he kicked off the team? According to Paul Rhoads, the answer to that question is fairly simple.

“There are expectations and rules and policies within this program that are going to be followed by one and all and he just slipped up one too many times with those expectations and that was the result,” Rhoads said after Monday’s spring session.

There you have it. That was the first public statement that Rhoads had made on Coe since the dismissal. One can only assume that it will be his last. 

You have to admire Rhoads for pulling the plug on a guy who apparently couldn’t follow the rules but even so, that is still a tough loss for the Cyclones.