Captain Kangaroo

Harney back for VCU? Abreu progressing? K.e.n.t. starting to unravel. Out.

Same to you, Lee. And all other members. From Summit County, to Hawaii to the Middle East and everywhere in-between, Happy Holidays to all the folks who've made this the go-to web site for Zips Athletics discussion and news. I'm grateful.

To the relief of many, I will cease beating on Wistercill. I'm excited about basketball season, and have reason for football excitement for the first time in 3 years. The incessant shilling-for, or beating-down Wistercill should have run it's couse for now. Both sides have stated their views at-length, and nothing fresh is presentable at this time. It is time to focus on the teams and their respective seasons. Lots of good stuff going down on the hardwood and the gridiron in early 2012. Final Four opponent at the JAR Thursday evening, and a Bowden wearing Zips gear on the recruiting trail as we speak.

I am 6 foot tall. I can't throw a 40 yard pass, nor is my last name Moore. I can't play D-1 QB. Clayton Moore is a lousy QB. People can want him to be a good QB as much as they want Wistercill to be a good AD, but at the end of the day, you want it to be one way, but it's the other. Clayton Moore had more balls swatted back in his face in 2011 than Terry Pluto's favorite all-male gang bang porn. Is there a statistics specialist on ZN.o that can summon his stats from 2011? I bet they are pretty telling. Amazing that anyone can compare Kellen Moore to Clayton Moore. Why not throw Mary Tyler Moore in the fray too?

Agree 100%. If the new staff can get Price to hold on to the ball, we'll have three really good WR's.

Unfortunately, like a lot of my college buddies, I haven't seen Dave in almost 20 years. If I do see him on-campus, I will certainly be a responsible ZipsNation member and pose the appropriate questions. And I agree that Snowball would have a place on the Zips. Maybe only special teams...but he's a tough kid and a winner. He's the type of player we need on our team beginning next season.

I think 3 is very possible. If Iannello weren't such a mess on game days, he would have won 3 games last season. Good coaching, good game day strategy and a MAC schedule should give us 3 wins.

If Abreu can play at 70% or better, we have a good chance at a win. If Abreu and Harney are back, at 70%+ and [100%- a little rust] respectively, we should win the game.

Sometimes my ability to see the future is just plain scary. Then again, predicting Terry Pluto's column storylines is like shooting fish in a barrel.

At season's end, Broderick Alexander was our best running back. But personally, I'd move him to LB to help cover for the loss of Wagner.

Is this Zach, or GP1? Having a crappy QB from Mississippi on our roster had absolutely nothing to do with Bowden's decision to take the UA job. If it did...than what's Bowden's buyout cost? We should get rid of him immediately. I look for Bowden to be hunting for a premier QB as I type this post. One that can see over his offensive line, and who can throw the ball 40+ yards and hit a target.

Makes sense. In business, you interview a number of candidates before offering the position to the one who you find through the interview process to be the most qualified. There are things that are brought out during the interview process that may cause either the interviewer or interviewee to decide that there is not a good match. It appears that UA and Bowden found each other mutually attractive during the interview process, and that mutual attraction did not work out with the other candidates. Damn Paul Winters has always been a liar.

BTW - Kudos to Hilltopper for being first with the news

I can't wait to see Coach Bowden's first Ohio Burger commercial!

Former alum? Did they rescind your degree? Thanks for stopping by. All opinions and info are welcome.

I was told the silhouette was actually Paul Winters', and due to a reduced Marketing budget we were forced to find a coach whose head dimensions were identical to Paul's. Man, did we get lucky.

I mentioned in another thread (and was quickly swatted down) that one of the things I liked about a Winters hire was the prospect that UA would be the destination he had always hoped for. With so many coaches in the crappy MAC jumping ship after a couple decent seasons, the thought of a KD for the football program sounded very appealing. One poster said that Bowden is 55 years old and would not likely be attractive to larger programs as a job jumper. I'd like to hear from knowledgeable posters about whether a head coach approaching 60 years old (assuming a few good years at UA) would have a chance to jump to a WVU or similiar program. Assuming Bowden does well here, how attractive will he be to larger programs in three or four years? Look at the Top 50 programs in the nation. How old are their respective coaches, and how old were those coaches when they were hired? Anyone hired @ 60 years old, that wasn't already an assistant?

Party pooper. Reading up on Bowden, it was funny to see his last season @ Auburn his salary was .... $155,000. Times have changed....

Reinforces our belief that folks here on ZNO could've done the job for FREE that UA has now squandered $75,000 on: search committees. We were calling for Bowden two years ago, let alone a month ago when this process started. Like you, CK, I do wonder if TW ever even had Bowden on his wish-list. If he did, then why did he drive to Detroit and offer the job to a guy he snubbed two years ago? Did he somehow think Winters would do something for UA that a top talent like Bowden would not? How deluded is that thinking? No, I rather suspect that TW fell into this one back-asswards, and may come out smelling like a rose thru no effort of his own. You know the old saying....sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Regardless of how it played-out, I am grateful. Merry Christmas to us.

He would be "jumping back" to the big time at age 60. His age has been part of other schools hesitance. Big time programs want younger guys (Urban is going to OSU at 47) almost a full decade younger than Bowden. I think Bowden just wanted to be at this level again and wanted to make a difference somewhere. I agree. The guy is 55 years old. He's not job-hopping. If he got the Zips to the point where he was attractive to a BCS program, I'd be tickled pink. Then our next coach search would be much more fun. But he hasn't even had an introductory press conference at UA yet, so talk of him leaving for a better job is pretty funny.

I share the sentiment that Bowden was one of the best available. Correct me if i'm wrong, didn't he spend some time with the Zips as an assistant? Anybody that experienced the Rubber Bowl trough's has instant street cred in my book!! WOOT Go Zips!!! Ku*k Fent!!! Spent one year (1986 I believe) as an assistant for Gerry. And you'd think CoachGerry would have more to say about that If you're looking for Akron connections, he was also at Auburn when Bill Muse was the President.

Agreed. There weren't many names remaining that would get me excited. This is one. Beats the hell out of Temple's offensive coordinator.

Bowden Overview Certainly would be the best hire of the available coaches. Hopefully it pans-out.

people may get him confused with his brother, which is a lot more than you can say about Ianello. Funny line.

Watching the game last night, it really eats at you to see the potential of this team if we can ever get healthy and suspension-free. We are really good as-is. Probably in the top 3 in the MAC even without Abreu and Harney. With them, if it ever happens, it will really be amazing to watch. The game vs. OU on the 14th will be awesome. As a tiny side note - Did anyone else notice Green leave the scorer's table, walk back to the bench, and decline to enter the game? He doesn't appear to be a happy camper. Certainly the least of our concerns, but I always like to see what the guys at the end of the bench can do when given some PT (being a career bench-warmer myself). Oldham actually has some decent skills.