FAYETTEVILLE -- A month ago, Paul Rhoads and his wife, Vicki, visited the Arkansas campus to watch their son, Wyatt, compete for Iowa State's track and field team at the Razorback Invitational.
"We didn't have anything else going on," Rhoads said. "So we thought a road trip to Fayetteville sounded like a great idea, and we came down here and spent a couple nights."
Rhoads is back in Fayetteville for an extended stay, and this time the former Iowa State head football coach has plenty to do.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema hired Rhoads as defensive backs coach last Wednesday. The opening was created Feb. 17 when Clay Jennings resigned to become defensive backs coach at Texas.
Rhoads said Monday, after taking part in his first offseason workout and staff meeting with the Razorbacks, that he had no idea he'd be working at Arkansas during his visit for the track meet, but that what he and his wife saw made a positive impression.
During the visit, Rhoads said he got a tour of Arkansas' facilities from Razorbacks Athletic Director Jeff Long, who was athletic director at Pittsburgh when Rhoads was the Panthers' defensive coordinator.
"This profession is about your family to a certain extent, and [his wife] being able to see the climate down here and the environment was important in the process," Rhoads said.
Rhoads said when Jennings resigned, he called Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith to inquire about the opening. Rhoads said he knew Smith through coaching against him at Iowa State when Smith was at Iowa and Rutgers, and that they have the same agent, Brian Harlan, who has a sports management firm in Chicago.
"The philosophies between Robb and myself are very similar, and I think our personalities mesh very well," Rhoads said. "Robb's a great defensive mind. He's got great passion for the kids.
"So getting a chance to start knowing him better has been very exciting to me."
Bielema said there was a lot of interest in the defensive backs coaching position, but Rhoads' experience made him stand out.
"When the position came open, I had a lot of guys applying and I was thinking more on just guys that are DB coaches looking to advance their careers, and Paul first reached out to Robb," Bielema said. "They had a nice conversation and then Robb reached out to me and then Paul reached out to me, and he was the only DB coach we brought in, to be quite honest.
"Once we felt comfortable with the staff both ways -- Paul with them and the staff with Paul -- I was very comfortable with the interview, and that's why I made that offer."
Rhodes, 49, was defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh and Auburn for a combined nine seasons before coaching at Iowa State for seven seasons. But he said he won't have trouble following orders as a position coach rather than giving them as the head coach or coordinator.
"I'm looking forward to having my own position room back and that be my concern," he said. "After 16 years of either calling plays and putting a defense together or making the decisions that affect the entire program, getting back to the grass roots and having the opportunity to teach and coach on a daily basis in one room, I'm extremely excited about."
Bielema said he's confident Smith, who is going into his third season as Arkansas' defensive coordinator, will work well with Rhoads.
"Both are very knowledgeable, and both have back end experience," Bielema said. "I think both are mature.
"Sometimes those things that cause you issues early in your career, you kind of grow out of. Maybe the resistance to hear other things and resistance to change, you get better as you get older."
Rhoads had a 32-55 record at Iowa State, which after this season ESPN rated as the 64th toughest job among 65 teams in the Power Five Conferences, ahead of only Wake Forest.
New Arkansas running backs coach Reggie Mitchell, who as a Kansas assistant the previous six seasons faced Iowa State in the Big 12, said he was excited about Rhoads joining Arkansas' staff.
"Every year in the Big 12, he beat someone that they said Iowa State couldn't beat," Mitchell said.
Under Rhoads, the Cyclones went to three bowl games and won road games at Nebraska in 2009, at No. 22 Texas in 2010, at No. 2 Oklahoma State in 2011 and at West Virginia in 2013. His teams beat Iowa three times and beat No. 22 Texas Tech in 2011 and No. 13 TCU in 2012.
Iowa State finished 3-9 last season, but beat Texas 24-0.
"Paul's teams were always well-prepared," Mitchell said. "They played hard. They were physical. He did a great job, because Ames isn't an easy place to recruit to. They did a good job of developing guys and getting them to play."
Rhoads said he has enjoyed getting to know Arkansas' defensive backs and that they showed enthusiasm during Monday's workout.
"They were very eager, and it's fun to see that kind of attention, whether it's just to my voice or to the details of what it is I'm coaching," he said. "Certainly, you see great things -- what little I've seen on film -- and you see things that you think you can have an impact on and begin to fix.
"We've already started on that."
Sports on 03/01/2016