Jump to content

What are you looking for in a Head coach?


LZIp

Recommended Posts

3 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

Would love to hear your explanation for the critical nature of football for other sports at D1 programs.

Seems like a lot of ADs spend time creating obscure women's sports like rowing in order to comply with title 9 because they have football.

I was thinking the same thing. It would seem to me that dismantling the football program would help the Title IX issue. There seems to be a lot of cognitive dissonance with the football discussions.  I would love to hear  the good, bad, and the ugly of dismantling the program and it's affect on the University and its other sports programs. Let's face it, there probably aren't a few hundred people outside the athletic department that even care about Akron football. Most are on this forum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, VAZip said:

I was thinking the same thing. It would seem to me that dismantling the football program would help the Title IX issue. There seems to be a lot of cognitive dissonance with the football discussions.  I would love to hear  the good, bad, and the ugly of dismantling the program and it's affect on the University and its other sports programs. Let's face it, there probably aren't a few hundred people outside the athletic department that even care about Akron football. Most are on this forum.

Zips football attendance and revenue (as bad as it may be comparatively) blows every other sport's attendance and revenue out of the water. Why don't we just cut all sports?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Zips football attendance and revenue (as bad as it may be comparatively) blows every other sport's attendance and revenue out of the water. Why don't we just cut all sports?

I'm not an expert by any means, but I'm guessing without the pay games each year the football program has to be a serious financial burden with scholarships and infrastructure cost. Maybe stick to the things you do well and things that bring some level of prestige to the U. Soccer,  basketball,  Track,  etc. It doesn't appear Akron does football well. 0

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

Would love to hear your explanation for the critical nature of football for other sports at D1 programs.

Seems like a lot of ADs spend time creating obscure women's sports like rowing in order to comply with title 9 because they have football.

Ok, I’ll try and explain, if you have a football program that is 85 scholarships, with title nine you have to then give 85 women scholarships, therefore there are usually more girls programs than boys.  If your going to pay for all these scholarships your football program is the best avenue for this.  Men’s basketball is next but isn’t capable of funding swimming & diving, cross country, track & field, softball, rifle.  Of

which we have some good programs but without football we don’t give those 85 scholarships and several programs are eliminated 

 

Make the football program profitable and it makes the whole athletic program more viable, IMO it’s critical, not easy but we got to get it figured out, I know the education is the most important part but the whole experience (education, athletics, campus life, internships, working, commuting) are all part of the college experience 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We need a coach that can recruit. Period. 

 

Irons is a player. He can almost singlehandedly win football games. Dollard was a player. He could almost singlehandedly will football games. Mathison, while not at their level, is a player. After that...all our present players are essentially interchangeable. There's no other Arth-recruited talent on our roster that ANY other MAC program would want, let alone a P5 program. Yeah, you can see flashes of potential here and there from a DB or WR...but we are flat-out woefully short on talent.

 

The proof: 0-4 MAC teams that lost to Duquesne curb-stomp us on our home field.

 

You want linemen that are big, strong and agile. Our lines are small, slow and unathletic. Ditto the linebackers.

 

It isn't will, or scheme, or conditioning that gets us pushed around the field. We're just smaller and less talented than all our opponents. 

 

Arth made the decision to build the program predominately with youth. It has hurt. Bowden had the same choice when he arrived, and liberally supplemented his classes with transfers. He once said (paraphrased)  - "If we only recruit freshmen, we'll get killed and I'll just be recruiting the next coach's kids. AD's don't wait 5 years for you to win now-a-days." Can't argue with that.

 

Transfers like Williams, Marcus, Davis, Coe and Natson were the types of impact P5 transfers we needed to start winning games at Akron. However, he also recruited NFL talent like Gilbert, Kyron Brown and Jatavis Brown out of high school. Maybe Council lands in the NFL too?

 

I predicted 1 win when this season began. Irons' play made me hopeful we could possibly see two...but it's not going to happen.

 

Lee Owens was a marginal coach (see him sitting at 2-2 at Ashland right now). But with a decaying off campus stadium and zero facilities he recruited the likes of Frye, Hixon, Blackburn, Payne, Hendry, Dwight Smith, Matt Cherry and many other solid, fun-to-watch players. Several landed in the NFL. 

 

Bowden once said - "We need to find a way to win at Akron." 

 

He also said - "Sometimes the local HS programs know you too well. Kids from Florida don't know Akron from Kent or BG, so that's where we need to recruit until we get better." It's true. I see zero value in making local recruiting a major emphasis right now. Of all the players I listed above as NFL caliber...how many were from Akron? Hendry was from North Canton. That's it.

 

There is a way to win at Akron. It starts with identifying and recruiting talent. Period. Then lather, rinse, and repeat. There's no other option.

  • Like 7
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, LoyalZIP said:

I'll throw a couple of names I find interesting out there. I don't necessarily expect them to be guys that would come here, but considering the state of everything at Akron from the football program being a hot mess to the University itself being its own hot mess, I have no idea what direction we could go with this. There are still 7 games left in this season anyway.

 

Nick Caley--New England Patriots TE coach. John Carroll guy (which pretty much turns me off) was a GA here during the Brookhart years. He's served as an assistant at a couple P5s, and has been with the Patriots for 6 years. He's not a guy you hear about too often, at least I haven't in any Akron circles. 

 

Bryan Gasser--Akron OC. If the U was looking to save money with this hire, this may be the route to go. DISCLAIMER: This is probably not a good idea. But here's my thinking. He has no connection to Arth other than he has worked with him since 2019. Basically, he isn't one of these cronies that are a cancer. And after the disastrous 2019 season, Arth took away the playcalling from Zagorski and turned it over to Gasser and I think most people would agree, it has gotten a good amount better. He's got a nice resume that is littered with success at Toledo and Iowa State with Campbell. If Gasser was the OC in the Bowden years instead of Milwee, those teams would have been much better. But ultimately, house will probably (rightfully) be cleaned and Gasser will put Akron in the rearview. 

 

Some kind of successful JUCO head coach--My thinking here is that they will be able to manage the personalities you may need to recruit in order to build something here, and they are used to being in programs that have absolutely no money. Can you get Teon Dollard and make him behave as well? That's so hard to do at Akron, and the "border" of Exchange St. is so crucial for both the school and the program. That mess over there is what's holding everything back right now. Why would a good player's parents want to send him to Akron when you can just as well send him to Kent where none of that crap is going to be an issue? Sure, this is much more of a university issue, but I'm not sure I trust anyone LESS than Tom Arth to deal with something like that. 

 

Pardon the long-windedness. I'm pretty much at a loss when it comes to this topic right now. I love Akron with all of my heart and soul, and I can't even say I'd want to coach at Akron right now considering what's going on with the program and university. Getsy or Charlie would be absolute home runs, but I'm afraid those are just fantasies at this point. Akron isn't good enough for its most successful alums. Reality hurts. Hope I'm wrong. 

Arth calls the plays.  Players don’t have to like coaches but respect is important and from the ones I’ve known you don’t want Gasser

 

Not trying to be a jerk, just throwing what I’ve heard from some players

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A great choice for a turnaround and then exit would be Jim Grobe. He knows the region very well and is highly respected by high school coaches.  He transformed a moribund Ohio program (pre Solich-era budgets and resources) by fitting an offense (triple option) to the talent at hand.  His teams were extremely fun to watch.

 

He then had success at Wake Forest. He is considered the savior of the Baylor football program.

 

Grobe would be a strong choice for establishing a viable foundation for a younger successor.

 

 

Edited by jupitertoo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, jupitertoo said:

A great choice for a turnaround and then exit would be Jim Grobe. He knows the region very well and is highly respected by high school coaches.  He transformed a moribund Ohio program (pre Solich-era budgets and resources) by fitting an offense (triple option) to the talent at hand.  His teams were extremely fun to watch.

 

He then had success at Wake Forest. He is considered the savior of the Baylor football program.

 

Grobe would be a strong choice for establishing a viable foundation for a younger successor.

 

 

He's a great man....but he is almost 70

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, 94zipgrad said:

Arth calls the plays.  Players don’t have to like coaches but respect is important and from the ones I’ve known you don’t want Gasser

 

Not trying to be a jerk, just throwing what I’ve heard from some players


I have heard mixed things and I greatly appreciate the insight, thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, jupitertoo said:

A great choice for a turnaround and then exit would be Jim Grobe. 

 

He then had success at Wake Forest. He is considered the savior of the Baylor football program.

Uh, no. I almost threw up when I saw this.  Not sure how Grobe has fooled so many people in his career. I sat in the stands for several years and watched Grobe transform an ACC Championship team into a losing team then a losing program. I watch him waste the senior season of then the best QB in Wake history and go 5-7 by running the fullback dive ever other play in a winnable game against Miami which they lost 17-10. 

 

After a bad season he went and told the AD he wanted transition the offense to a triple option attack which would have doomed the program for decades. They had a great AD at the time who responded with, "You're fired." That's leadership we need at Akron. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, 94zipgrad said:

Ok, I’ll try and explain, if you have a football program that is 85 scholarships, with title nine you have to then give 85 women scholarships, therefore there are usually more girls programs than boys.  If your going to pay for all these scholarships your football program is the best avenue for this.  Men’s basketball is next but isn’t capable of funding swimming & diving, cross country, track & field, softball, rifle.  Of

which we have some good programs but without football we don’t give those 85 scholarships and several programs are eliminated 

 

Make the football program profitable and it makes the whole athletic program more viable, IMO it’s critical, not easy but we got to get it figured out, I know the education is the most important part but the whole experience (education, athletics, campus life, internships, working, commuting) are all part of the college experience 

 

Now I understand your thinking; unfortunately it's wrong in the extreme.

Take an accounting class (learn things like the difference between revenue and profit) and then we can talk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

Now I understand your thinking; unfortunately it's wrong in the extreme.

Take an accounting class (learn things like the difference between revenue and profit) and then we can talk.

Ok, I did at Akron lol, maybe I misunderstood what your looking for.  I thought you wanted an explanation of title nine & affect on the athletic program.  Just out of curiosity if we didn’t have football how many programs get eliminated?  Idk but if it was strictly financial there wouldn’t be any programs, the football program is the only one that can sustain them all.  There is a lot in that statement and I’m not going on for days.  I assume we all get it.  All these points have been made throughout this topic and don’t need repeated but your question and answer gave the impression you know nothing about title 9 and affect on athletic programs.  It really hurts a lot of schools.

I hate stooping to your level but take a class on comprehension, I said to make the football program profitable.  Didn’t say it was but it has potential, most of the other sports have no chance to sustain themselves & rely on the football team getting throttled in money games & the little ESPN contract to play mid week in November

 

I was always taught when someone attacks a person personally they have no argument, try and make your point without the jab

 

 

Edited by 94zipgrad
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

We need a coach that can recruit. Period. 

 

Irons is a player. He can almost singlehandedly win football games. Dollard was a player. He could almost singlehandedly will football games. Mathison, while not at their level, is a player. After that...all our present players are essentially interchangeable. There's no other Arth-recruited talent on our roster that ANY other MAC program would want, let alone a P5 program. Yeah, you can see flashes of potential here and there from a DB or WR...but we are flat-out woefully short on talent.

 

The proof: 0-4 MAC teams that lost to Duquesne curb-stomp us on our home field.

 

You want linemen that are big, strong and agile. Our lines are small, slow and unathletic. Ditto the linebackers.

 

It isn't will, or scheme, or conditioning that gets us pushed around the field. We're just smaller and less talented than all our opponents. 

 

Arth made the decision to build the program predominately with youth. It has hurt. Bowden had the same choice when he arrived, and liberally supplemented his classes with transfers. He once said (paraphrased)  - "If we only recruit freshmen, we'll get killed and I'll just be recruiting the next coach's kids. AD's don't wait 5 years for you to win now-a-days." Can't argue with that.

 

Transfers like Williams, Marcus, Davis, Coe and Natson were the types of impact P5 transfers we needed to start winning games at Akron. However, he also recruited NFL talent like Gilbert, Kyron Brown and Jatavis Brown out of high school. Maybe Council lands in the NFL too?

 

I predicted 1 win when this season began. Irons' play made me hopeful we could possibly see two...but it's not going to happen.

 

Lee Owens was a marginal coach (see him sitting at 2-2 at Ashland right now). But with a decaying off campus stadium and zero facilities he recruited the likes of Frye, Hixon, Blackburn, Payne, Hendry, Dwight Smith, Matt Cherry and many other solid, fun-to-watch players. Several landed in the NFL. 

 

Bowden once said - "We need to find a way to win at Akron." 

 

He also said - "Sometimes the local HS programs know you too well. Kids from Florida don't know Akron from Kent or BG, so that's where we need to recruit until we get better." It's true. I see zero value in making local recruiting a major emphasis right now. Of all the players I listed above as NFL caliber...how many were from Akron? Hendry was from North Canton. That's it.

 

There is a way to win at Akron. It starts with identifying and recruiting talent. Period. Then lather, rinse, and repeat. There's no other option.

Bowden has over 50 new kids on the team at ULM this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, 94zipgrad said:

Ok, I’ll try and explain, if you have a football program that is 85 scholarships, with title nine you have to then give 85 women scholarships, therefore there are usually more girls programs than boys.  If your going to pay for all these scholarships your football program is the best avenue for this.  Men’s basketball is next but isn’t capable of funding swimming & diving, cross country, track & field, softball, rifle.  Of

which we have some good programs but without football we don’t give those 85 scholarships and several programs are eliminated 

 

Make the football program profitable and it makes the whole athletic program more viable, IMO it’s critical, not easy but we got to get it figured out, I know the education is the most important part but the whole experience (education, athletics, campus life, internships, working, commuting) are all part of the college experience 

If only NCAA D-1 football can provide revenue to support a D-1 athletic program, please explain the following examples:  UC-Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine (I think they had football), Cal State L.A (my cousin's ex-hubby QB'ed their last team in the 60s before downgrade and elimination) ALL dropped their D1-A football programs nearly thirty years ago (50 for CSLA) and never looked back.  I think all of these schools provide the same number or more athletic programs than Akron.  I maintain MAC membership alone forces UA to maintain this athletic albatross.

 

Edit:  UC-Irvine never had a football program.  I was thinking of Cal State Northridge (CSUN) which dropped football at the same time as UCSB, LBSU and CSUF.

Edited by Z.I.P.
addition
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Z.I.P. said:

If only NCAA D-1 football can provide revenue to support a D-1 athletic program, please explain the following examples:  UC-Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine (I think they had football), Cal State L.A (my cousin's ex-hubby QB'ed their last team in the 60s before downgrade and elimination) ALL dropped their D1-A football programs nearly thirty years ago (50 for CSLA) and never looked back.  I think all of these schools provide the same number or more athletic programs than Akron.  I maintain MAC membership alone forces UA to maintain this athletic albatross.

 

Edit:  UC-Irvine never had a football program.  I was thinking of Cal State Northridge (CSUN) which dropped football at the same time as UCSB, LBSU and CSUF.

I would say do some research, I took 1, CSLB but these are State Schools in California.  State Schools in California fall under the Community College Rule for California Residents of 2 free years of College.  The baseball roster, the biggest roster they have is made up of all California residents except 3.  There Athletic Fund (like Zip Fund) is expensive.  I can get parking in Lot 9 for all home games for $100,  things start on there list at $2,500.  They are a really good baseball program & have a good size roster so they have a couple more girl programs than boys because of title 9 but we have 6 boys & 10 girls programs.  Eliminate football you eliminate 85 scholarships for girls so you can eliminate a lot of the girls programs but you have to still offer a scholarship for girls for everyone you do for the other 5 boys sports and how do you pay for it, you can’t.  We have Baseball right now because of a donation, I don’t have all the answers but do we require each program to get donations to be self funded?  Your still strapped by the rule if you give a boy a scholarship you give a girl a scholarship so that could still create problems cause baseball got a nice donation and have a program you have to have that many more girl scholarships.  I could see baseball going away again at some point.  I could go on for days about the cost & effect on each other’s programs but I think most understand.  We also have the issue of cutting football and hurting soccer & basketball by having to probably drop divisions and finding another league.  It’s complicated, but it can be done if the BOE decides to do it.  IMO it’s better if you find a way to make the football program work.

 

plus this is off topic of what we are looking for in a head coach

Edited by 94zipgrad
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/4/2021 at 9:12 AM, a-zip said:

It's not the greatest winning % but I think he could have much better success coming home to Akron.  It would be well received, probably a boost in attendance and a safe pick.  HS coaches around Akron love Coach Winters.  Let's face it, we are not the most desirable destination right now.

Would loved to have seen Winters here after they fired JD. At 63 he has been away from D1 for a long time. This is not a Brian  Kelly situation who came from D2.

I am not as concerned about local connections as some. The next guy if there is one needs to be able to recruit the entire Midwest, Pennsylvania, some in the South and once in awhile Texas, Arizona and California. Yes if you can get a good local kid try to keep him from going to the Big 10 or another MAC school but don't bring in local kids who aren't D1 caliber.

Don't know anything about John Hunt other than what I read here. But, that seems like the kind of background Akron should like to attract. Owens, JD and Bowden all had D1 backgrounds.

Can't see firing Arth now. If the AD has decided to go a different direction, starting putting out the back channel inquiries. Toward the end of the season if you have a couple of prospects in mind, let Arh go and get a head start.

BUT..Arth only needs 5 more wins to be Bowl eligible baby(lol).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Z.I.P. said:

If only NCAA D-1 football can provide revenue to support a D-1 athletic program, please explain the following examples:  UC-Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine (I think they had football), Cal State L.A (my cousin's ex-hubby QB'ed their last team in the 60s before downgrade and elimination) ALL dropped their D1-A football programs nearly thirty years ago (50 for CSLA) and never looked back.  I think all of these schools provide the same number or more athletic programs than Akron.  I maintain MAC membership alone forces UA to maintain this athletic albatross.

 

Edit:  UC-Irvine never had a football program.  I was thinking of Cal State Northridge (CSUN) which dropped football at the same time as UCSB, LBSU and CSUF.

 

If Akron was to cut the football program the time to have done it was before Infocision was built. I've ran the numbers many times here and don't fill like digging up those old posts, but between the guarantee games, MAC tv money, sponsorships, CFP money allocation, etc. the football program pretty much pays for itself on an operational standpoint. That said, I still find it absurd a 1-11 FBS coach still commands a 600k salary. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Lee Adams said:

Would loved to have seen Winters here after they fired JD. At 63 he has been away from D1 for a long time. This is not a Brian  Kelly situation who came from D2.

I am not as concerned about local connections as some. The next guy if there is one needs to be able to recruit the entire Midwest, Pennsylvania, some in the South and once in awhile Texas, Arizona and California. Yes if you can get a good local kid try to keep him from going to the Big 10 or another MAC school but don't bring in local kids who aren't D1 caliber.

Don't know anything about John Hunt other than what I read here. But, that seems like the kind of background Akron should like to attract. Owens, JD and Bowden all had D1 backgrounds.

Can't see firing Arth now. If the AD has decided to go a different direction, starting putting out the back channel inquiries. Toward the end of the season if you have a couple of prospects in mind, let Arh go and get a head start.

BUT..Arth only needs 5 more wins to be Bowl eligible baby(lol).

 

I definitely feel there is a lot of talent in the midwest that gets missed. It's a big reason why I feel the MVFC is perennially the best FCS conference as so many FBS players slip through the cracks and find there way onto teams like North Dakota. States like Illinois might not produce a ton of blue chip 4 & 5 star recruits, but they have a ton of G5 talent that gets missed as teams focus so much on Texas, Florida, Ohio, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think NEO should be overemphasized in recruiting at the expense of losing in other areas but there's so much talent that they have to give it attention to try to keep some of that talent here.  Also, you may not get that kid the first time through but if you put the school in his head and make a good impression it may come back to you when that kid doesn't make at hsi first choice and decides to enter the transfer portal. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(Akron football) should re-enter the OAC.It would make for a good fit the conference headquarters are in summit county.
 

The opposing schools are close and Tom Arthritis and his DC wouldn’t be so overwhelmed.It could save a cash strapped institution a lot of money you know.

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's get a coach who is entertaining, and can get attention in a state where it is really hard to get out of the shadow of the 800 lb gorilla in Columbus.  Deion Sanders is currently in FCS at Jackson State, but I bet he'd make the jump to FBS.  No shortage of attention there, although the team's discipline issues probably wouldn't be fixed.

 

I like the idea of skilled assistants, and you wouldn't even have to leave the state to get Marcus Freeman (Cincinnati's Defensive Coordinator).  Clark Lea (Notre Dame DC) also stands out in my mind.  If you want a HC who is a previous OC, then Tony Elliott (Clemson) is top.

 

Former HCs I'd want to interview include Bob Stoops or Chris Peterson.  Bob's Y-town connection could prove a strength, especially if Tressel will put in a good word for us.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Aaron said:

Let's get a coach who is entertaining, and can get attention in a state where it is really hard to get out of the shadow of the 800 lb gorilla in Columbus.  Deion Sanders is currently in FCS at Jackson State, but I bet he'd make the jump to FBS.  No shortage of attention there, although the team's discipline issues probably wouldn't be fixed.

 

I like the idea of skilled assistants, and you wouldn't even have to leave the state to get Marcus Freeman (Cincinnati's Defensive Coordinator).  Clark Lea (Notre Dame DC) also stands out in my mind.  If you want a HC who is a previous OC, then Tony Elliott (Clemson) is top.

 

Former HCs I'd want to interview include Bob Stoops or Chris Peterson.  Bob's Y-town connection could prove a strength, especially if Tressel will put in a good word for us.  

 

Bob Stoops would be a game-changer for the program. Not sure Akron could afford him, but that would be huge. Long shot, though, I assume. 

 

I guess the good thing would be is I don't see him wanting to go back to the "big schools", so Akron could be his last college stop, perhaps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Aaron said:

Let's get a coach who is entertaining, and can get attention in a state where it is really hard to get out of the shadow of the 800 lb gorilla in Columbus.  Deion Sanders is currently in FCS at Jackson State, but I bet he'd make the jump to FBS.  No shortage of attention there, although the team's discipline issues probably wouldn't be fixed.

 

I like the idea of skilled assistants, and you wouldn't even have to leave the state to get Marcus Freeman (Cincinnati's Defensive Coordinator).  Clark Lea (Notre Dame DC) also stands out in my mind.  If you want a HC who is a previous OC, then Tony Elliott (Clemson) is top.

 

Former HCs I'd want to interview include Bob Stoops or Chris Peterson.  Bob's Y-town connection could prove a strength, especially if Tressel will put in a good word for us.  

 

None of those names Akron could afford outside of maybe Deion. Freeman is reportedly making 1.6 million this year. Why would he take a $1 million pay cut to take a bottom 10 FBS job? Clark Lea is head coach at Vanderbilt and is making I'm guessing $3 million.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...