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Assessing Coach Arth (and his staff)


akronzips71

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10 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Interesting. Let's play out a couple of scenarios.

 

First, Arth stays at Akron and combining his first three years at Akron with his time at UTC, nobody any bigger than Akron ever touches him. He is too young to let his career rot away at Akron. There is no Earthly reason for it, but it is truly The Graveyard of Coaches. Heck, Bowden is now in a worse situation than he was at Akron, but he was pretty long in the tooth.

 

Second scenario, he leaves Akron to go to LA to be the QB coach. He falls into a great opportunity with a great young QB. QB coaches are some of the highest paid non-coordinators in the NFL making almost $1 million annually on the high end.  More games annually and no job description that includes kissing the rear ends of 16-18 year old kids in the recruiting process. People can say whatever they want about soCAL, but if you make that kind of money you aren't living around homeless encampments.....Did I mention the weather? Their two "bad months" involve having to run the air conditioner because of the heat. Even if he only made $650K he would improve his income at Akron while improving his future employment opportunities. Hmmmm.....

 

If Arth hasn't at least made a call, he is nuts.

I am not sure I would say Bowden went to a worse program than Akron. I think they are in pretty similar places. 

 

From a budget perspective, ULM is behind Akron, but Bowden was able to pull in a really nice mix of young and coaches with with P5 type experience at ULM. They are doing a big presser to announce his staff with Tim Brandoto MC the event and the extended Bowden family present.

 

In Bowden's remarks since he began at ULM he has made reference to changes in the type of support he received once the university president and athletic director changed at UA. He wasn't disparaging, but it was clear he felt hampered, and if it would have only impacted him, he would have left after the bowl win in 2015. He stayed due to the financial impact on his assistants. 

 

His comments have made me wonder if Arth, or any coach would have the right leadership behind them at this point at UA. I remember when they decided that Bowden had to change his recruiting focus and limited use of the plane for recruiting. What else don't we know about that impacts the program?

 

I did not think Arth was the right hire, but I think, in retrospect, it is unlikely that there could be a right hire at UA with Williams, and possibly the current president at the helm. If nothing else, the major financial bind from firing Bowden with 2 years left on his contract and digging themselves into a financial hole with Arth has made this a very bad situatuon at a time when schools like Akron are facing unparalleled financial challenges. 

 

Is Arth getting what he needs to be successful? Bowden has been very creative with staffing hires at ULM and has a staff far better than what the school can afford as a result. His connections helped him do that. He has a nice mix of P5 seasoned guys (Rich Rodriguez, Ron West), and young talent with a history of wiwinning (Alonzo Hampton, Zac Alley. GA's from Clemson.) There are some mentors along with the high potential talent from the Clemson GAs.

 

Arth doesn't have the legacy connections and likely doesn't have the budget to bring in top quality assistants. Arth, himself, doesn't have a mentor and the assistants on his ream don't have them, either.  Arth's oldest assistant doesn't have other experience at the collegiate level. I am guessing Arth is under serious budget constraints which makes it hard to bring in the right assistants to help them exceed. Dollard has given them a lift, but what happens if he is injured? (like Warren Ball) There just isn't a lot there to be encouraged about at this point.

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18 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

I did not think Arth was the right hire, but I think, in retrospect, it is unlikely that there could be a right hire at UA with Williams, and possibly the current president at the helm.

I think you have this turned around. I'm not a fan of the current President. His PR strategy seems to be to take a bad situation and make it worse through poor communication.

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I'm not saying he will/wouldn't ultimately end up succeeding here, but it would sting to lose him. We are already 2 years into this miserable process and would likely be starting from scratch. Not to mention its so late in the process...I can't imagine there are many attractive candidates out there to replace him at this point. Also I pulled the contract info and I think we'd be entitled to a whopping $300k if he leaves.

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14 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Today I learned I am blocked by GT on twitter. Wonder what I said to him ?

I'm blocked by him too because I tweeted that it was "suboptimal" that the ABJ have 4-5 reporters at a Browns game instead of having a single reporter at our Sunday game -v- Louisville last season ?

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1 hour ago, Sergeant Zip said:

2021 preview of #OurWay and adjust the program culture from Patrick Mayhorn

I have always thought the #ourway label was pretty lame...nothing catchy or particularly inspiring. It implies a hard line push vs. pull attitude and an imposing of will. Truthfully, that's what I have seen from him on the sidelines when he explosively yells at kids. 

 

I realize some of you believe that is how you get people to change, but it just isn't. Any study on human motivation will prove you wrong. When you look at what Swinney does, he really builds a trust culture and one of care. Their PAW Journey program provides workshops on topics that help the kids beyond the football field. They care for the whole player. These kids are being marketed to in a way that has never been seen before and I think there is a growing numbness to it. Authenticity is a differentiator.

 

Perhaps the biggest part of change management (which is essentially what he is doing) us selling your vision for the future. It has to be sold internally and externally. I don't think he has done it externally. Every coach in America believes you don't win without culture. There is nothing special about that. There is no differentiating message to recruits, parents, media, or fans on that message. 

 

It doesn't appear that he is doing that internally, either. He didn't start from scratch. He had players who had won. There was some legacy established between the bowl win, MAC East title, P5 wins, and Wagon Wheel wins. He didn't inherit a team coming off of two 1-11 seasons. 

 

A coach that has sold his vision is able to retain players. Retaining players means that even the kids who are walk-ons buy into the vision. The transfer portal is a good indicator that he isn't doing that.

 

I have never been convinced of his sincerity and priority for the kids, in his interviews. I am not saying he doesn't care at all about hem, I am sure he does at some level, but I am not sure it is at the level that convinces a kid who sits the bench and is far from home for four years to stay.

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We all see what we want to see.

 

Irons has proven himself at a level beyond HS.  If nothing else, this will raise the level of competition at QB.  I have not seen anything about Kato's plans for 2021.  Passing success is much more than pass blocking.  Recognition of where and when to throw the ball, delivering the ball on time, and completing the catch.  Recognizing and handling stunts was a real problem for the O-line.  Let us see if coaching and hard work can improve that for '21.  The O has no where to go but up!  The same goes for the D.  We got man handled!  We had trouble stopping anyone.  Can they toughen up?  Pass coverage will improve with better pass rush.  

 

Will Arth & staff be here and able to lead this team to an improved '21 version?  I think they will be here.  We will see if they are able.

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