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The comments regarding the new coach are very short sighted. Akron football is a business. In business, there has to be contingency plans. Contingency A, B, C, and D should be laid out on an annual basis. If Larry does not have a list of potential hires ready to go, then he needs to go back to the Golden Dome and pray that Touchdown Jesus will rescue him and all of us Zip fans.

Lance Leipold at Buffalo is doing alright I reckon.

Stars Wars Episode 1 was better than Return of the Jedi OSU should be in over OU Baker should be rookie of the year

I've just accepted that I'll see 2-3 articles per year about Infocision for the next 20+ years until it's paid off. At this point, regardless of how you fill about it, it's a sunk cost. Bulldozing it won't suddenly make the payments go away. We need to try to make the best of the situation. No point in beating a dead horse.

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/high-school-football/2018/10/18/Western-Pennsylvania-WPIAL-high-school-football-talent-decline-recruiting/stories/201810170104 Here's an interesting read. Cleveland mentioned later in article. Any N/E Ohio city could just the same be mentioned. Anyhow to keep this topic sensitive, I'm surprised Marla didn't say in her article that Williams should consider Condoleezza Rice for HC.

I realize I'm increasingly an "old fashioned guy", but I am not a fan of the whole search firm trend. Old Larry is making in the area of $300K, has a staff, and many qualified folks would volunteer to help. He should also be pretty well connected.

What's most important is making the right hire. If it takes us two weeks to find the best candidate and we lose out on a handful of recruits so be it. I'd rather that than for us to rush a decision and hire someone we'll have to fire in 3-4 years.

Nearest hotel to UCSB is the Best Western South Coast Inn. I just checked, they have rooms available (I'm surprised) Thurs-Sun for around $200/night. Best rate I saw in a quick search is Sandpiper Lodge at around $120 night. This is a perfectly reasonable place about 8 miles from campus, near a shopping mall. Also near a bus stop for cheapest travel, Uber or taxi also available. Probably have to deal with surge pricing after the game. Head into Isla Vista on foot after the game and find a place to hang out until the crowds go down. There is a actually plenty of affordable dining in or near downtown Santa Barbara proper, about 10 miles from campus. State Street, from the beach up to the 1400 block or so, is filled with restaurants, many quite reasonable (under $20 for a good meal). Google the "funk zone" for more ideas (just off State Street); the Lucky Penny is good. A very famous local taco stand (one praised by Julia Child) is La Super Rica on Milpas St, about a mile from downtown. More great Mexican food at Los Agaves, 3 locations, one on Milpas, one in Goleta. Plenty of beaches to walk along: Goleta Beach Park is near campus, also a pretty good restaurant there, the Beachside Bar Cafe. Try the scallops. Oh, Fish Enterprise downtown SB has great seafood, a little pricier (~$30 to $40 for a full meal) but good & a fun place. That's it off the top of my head for now ...

Hire Getsy.

Please don't hire anyone with Notre Dame ties.

Oh I don't know, maybe because he would be multiplying his salary and advancing his career. Pretty crazy thought, I know.

This is Akron's first true road game and one of only 2 on their OOC schedule. The game should provide some valuable experience before MAC play.

Regardless of what you believe the talent level to be in NEO, I am pretty confident it is superior to upstate New York, SE Ohio, NW Ohio, eastern Michigan, western Michigan, northern Illinois, or central Indiana.

GT on 1590 right now.

Yes. That tweet went world wide. Lots of good comments as well from all over the world.

If the top talent is here, the next level MAC type talent is here. With that talent and the facilities, becoming bowl eligible shouldn't be the highlight of a UA season.

From 2013-2017 Ohio produced 79 blue chip recruits. That's 5th best in the entire country. Argue with facts all you want, but Ohio still produces lots of elite talent comparative to other states. I live in Stark county that's N/E Ohio last I checked. Every year Stark county sends several players to big time D1 programs. https://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2016/6/28/12040586/rankings-state-stars-florida-texas-california

Frankly, I don't care what he does. He made a couple million off of UA so he'll be doing just fine. Some G5 program would be wise to add Mounds and Stroud. Both should have a job somewhere in college within the next 15 months.

Looks like I'll be listening to this one on the radio.

$5.95 for the single game.

Yes but you should also be prepared for the out-of-nowhere coaching candidates that might express an interest in the job after it is announced which is something you cannot plan for. After Ianello was fired, I doubt anyone thought Bowden would end up as the next football coach of Akron.

Looks like on their site here.

It was impressive! $4!! But they sold out pretty quickly. Wine too - $4! And they were pints, not 12 ouncers!

I've read them, they just don't make any sense. Nobody here is expecting Akron to contend with Ohio State, Clemson, or Alabama for national championships. We play 8 games against other MAC teams, 1 against a FCS, and typically another 1-2 games against other G5 OOC opponents. If we were Rutgers and had to play Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State on a weekly basis, your post might actually make some sense, but we don't. We play PCCC, Miami (the crappy one), and a host of other extremely winnable games against G5 competition. Please explain to me why NIU or Toledo as a G5 school can recruit players that can win the MAC, but by your logic Akron can't?

Marla has the right idea. https://www.ohio.com/sports/20181202/marla-ridenour-ua-needs-to-become-stepping-stone-for-coaches-to-elevate-football-program

I think I proved my point (you may want to try to spell correctly in yours). 'Next man up' is coach speak that has found its way to the bar. I don't like cliches. Good luck to the next coach - let's hope it's not an Iannello type hire.

Here's to hoping this "search firm" looks at the coaching trees of the offensive minds in the game - Riley, Holgersen, Swinney, Babers, Gundy, etc. Who are they grooming and how do we get them here?

Top notch facilities in the number 5 state for top notch high school talent. That should be enough to attract some very worthwhile candidates. It's the very same reason that being average in the MAC shouldn't be the Zips high point.

I will throw one out there: Steve Spurrier and why not!

I still remember the night at the JAR when they introduced him as our football coach during a basketball game. Both he and the crowd went wild. I am not sure what happened this year. The team started out very strong but looked absolutely horrible in the MAC. It became very clear that we relied on Kato's running ability and the run option. Our 2 wins against the worst teams in the MAC were based on his outstanding running ability. We he got hurt we still went with the run option and our offense went nowhere without his quickness. I am not surprised by this decision as nobody was attending the games when we became non competitive in the MAC.

I will miss Terry Bowden because he brought the first watchable football to the Zips while I've been a Zips fan. First Bowl win, and first MAC Championship game in a decade. He was never able to recapture the offensive potential that we all thought we saw in the first two years here. Thanks Terry for getting us out of the gutter. Now let's hope we can find the guy to take us to the next level.

From an ESPN story about 20 minutes ago. Possible candidates to succeed Bowden include Mississippi State offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan and Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. I was unaware that Luke Getsy is the OC at Mississippi State. He would be an interesting choice. The guy definitely provided a lot of fire when he played here.

Thanks, Dre. I think that’s where we all are. I know I have nothing but love and respect for Terry and will be eternally grateful to him for digging us out of the Ianello Abyss. At the same time, I’m ready for a change and I think we’re all in agreement on that. Thank you, Terry. ??

I'll never forget the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. Sob.

Bowls in two of the last four seasons, including our first Bowl win in 2015. 5-2 record against Kent State. THANK YOU TERRY BOWDEN

Taylor Twellman has tweeted his approval

The fat lady sang this morning.

Akron has a gem with this soccer program. The school, community, and administration needs to fully support the program due to its elite status and keep it there. Invest in soccer.

We can talk about population all week, but the simple fact is football is THE sport in Ohio high schools, especially northeast Ohio. It's a northeast Ohio hotbed. The best athletes play football in high school. In other parts of the country, that isn't true.