When Arth decided to build his program predominately with Freshmen, he had to know the beatings would come early and often. He also had to know in today's FBS world that AD's and fans don't wait 5-6 years for a winning record. I think he grossly underestimated either the talent required to win in the MAC, or his ability to recruit enough impactful Freshman. His outdated Freshman-first recruiting approach cost him.
The chips were stacked against him from the start, with a late hire. But he could have overcome that with some aggressive recruiting of JUCO and P5 Transfer talent on the OL and DL.
I disagree that the Zips are now going to turn around and go backwards. We are 3-24 during Arth's tenure. That's already rock bottom. By comparison, Terry Bowden took over a winless L-M football program and has won 4 games this year.
Arth is a good person, and he'll land on his feet. But he proved he didn't know how to win at Akron. His approach netted 3 wins in 27 games. We need a coach that knows how to win at Akron. And for those who think it isn't possible, look at Kent. They have been worse than the Zips most of the past 20+ years. Until they somehow found a coach that could win at Kent.
I'm sure the kids presently in the Zips program are hungry to win. Hopefully the good ones stick around and see some quick success with the new coach.