Zipgrad01

I see what you are trying to say, but I, as do most Americans, have a problem when someone says that we would be better suited to just accept that and get on board if we don't agree with it. That's like saying you were a German that didn't agree with Hitler, but you should just shut up and support him because a majority of the country thought he was the man to lead them. I don't think his analogy is that far off. It is like running a corner store compared to a walmart. You sell the same things, but the size of the store, the number of employees and that $ coming in and going out is just on a smaller scale. The complete silence on the hiring process has gotten me so frustrated that it is hard for me to support anyone because I have no idea what is really going on or who is really in the running for the job. Because of that, I can't just drink the Winters is the man kool aid.

Simply amazing. If I read a previous article correctly this assures that Johnson will be out of a job at ucla. Could get interesting.

All of this is very true. Like I said, all I see are big time guys that have zero chance in coming here and then Winters. Something about that just bothers me.

+1 Give him ...or anyone...a hall pass for next year and let them do it right. How many times did we get burned down the middle on pass plays this year. And the safeties?? Freshmen. Looks like they had some talent but they were freshmen!!! Bring in some JUCO linemen and redshirt ALL the freshmen. That strategy will simply not work at the D1 level. Telling all the freshman that they have to sit out would be the kiss of death for recruits. Read comments from recruits....many kids go to places that they think they can play right away. Working in the pro's is one thing, they dont have a choice where they get drafted. Players at the D2 level typically don't have the options to go to other schools, so they go with the program and sit out the year. Turner Gill redshirted his whole freshman class this year at Kansas. And he got fired. True...but it did not seem to affect recruiting. And I am only advocating redshirting the freshman class in his 1st year. After that...maybe 80% would be redshirted. http://cjonline.com/sports/football/2011-0...dd-depth-kansas What you are saying isn't exactly true. He redshirted most, not all of his freshman. I am sure he didnt tell all these kids that they would be redshirted. That would have been suicide. If you read on, he says that he was going to begin to play more freshman and not redshirt all of them.

I really hope we arent revisiting most of the same candidates as two years ago. That probably means that most of them have nothing to earn the job this time as opposed to last time. Like I said, we need to find qualified guys that have turned programs around. We can't be stuck on Winters just because he is the Akron guy.

This leads to another question... if Winters was hired to be the guy at UA, does his whole staff come with him or do one or more of his assistants stay at Wayne State to lead that program? If the latter is the case, then new coaches possibly with FBS experience and regional recruiting ties could also be on the new staff. I doubt the whole staff would leave. More than likely one would stay to take over the program. i am sure Winters would try to bring some and not others and those coaches would more than likely decide to stay with the new WSU coach or leave with Winters. It is basically the exact scenario that is going on at Toledo right now.

Who says that we have agreed that we want a coach that is a Akron lifer? I would not be opposed to a Beckman type guy that comes in, turns the program around and leaves for a bigger job. The guy hopefully hires fantastic assistants that can step in and keep the train chugging.

+1 Give him ...or anyone...a hall pass for next year and let them do it right. How many times did we get burned down the middle on pass plays this year. And the safeties?? Freshmen. Looks like they had some talent but they were freshmen!!! Bring in some JUCO linemen and redshirt ALL the freshmen. That strategy will simply not work at the D1 level. Telling all the freshman that they have to sit out would be the kiss of death for recruits. Read comments from recruits....many kids go to places that they think they can play right away. Working in the pro's is one thing, they dont have a choice where they get drafted. Players at the D2 level typically don't have the options to go to other schools, so they go with the program and sit out the year. Turner Gill redshirted his whole freshman class this year at Kansas. And he got fired.

There is a former coordinator out there who once had his offenses in the Top 10 nationally. This former coordinator has also taken a laughing stock from one of the worst teams in their division to the brink of playing in a national championship game. This coordinator has also coached in the MAC so he understands how difficult it is to win somewhere like Akron. Rumor has it, he has close ties to Akron as well. Not another William Riker. 1-9 and 3-7. He was a whopping 4-16 in his first 2 years. How does he follow that? He goes 6-5 in year 3 and follows that up with an impressive 3-8. I am sorry, but if our new coach is 13-29 after 4 years he is as good as fired. We would be screaming from the rooftops to get him out of here. Oh yeah...and this isnt against the SEC, it is D2 ball. I don't disagree that people would be calling for him to be fired after that record. I might even depending on the circumstances. However, there is nothing to indicate the exact outcomes will happen. UofA has a heck of a lot more going for it than WSU does. The fact that he has had any winning record there is impressive to me. The fact that he is one game from the national championship game is even more impressive. True. He may turn things around in 2 or 3 years. Having already built a program can only help him, however, if he does struggle after 3 or 4 years, does UA stick with him to give him the chance to do the same thing he did at Wayne State? Are there other coaches out there at the D1AA level that took bad programs and turned them around in a quicker fashion and then sustained that success? Those are the guys that I hope they are judging Winters against.

My problem with this whole process has nothing against Winters. My problem is that it seems to be Winters and no other people that are remotely interested in the job. It seems our search has done two things... 1. Try to find a big name guy to make the fans happy. 2. Hire Winters because he is a fan favorite. I just really hope that we have exhausted all resources looking for extremely qualified guys that.. A. Arent huge names and B. Have big upside and would actually be interested in the job.

There is a former coordinator out there who once had his offenses in the Top 10 nationally. This former coordinator has also taken a laughing stock from one of the worst teams in their division to the brink of playing in a national championship game. This coordinator has also coached in the MAC so he understands how difficult it is to win somewhere like Akron. Rumor has it, he has close ties to Akron as well. Not another William Riker. 1-9 and 3-7. He was a whopping 4-16 in his first 2 years. How does he follow that? He goes 6-5 in year 3 and follows that up with an impressive 3-8. I am sorry, but if our new coach is 13-29 after 4 years he is as good as fired. We would be screaming from the rooftops to get him out of here. Oh yeah...and this isnt against the SEC, it is D2 ball.

+1 Give him ...or anyone...a hall pass for next year and let them do it right. How many times did we get burned down the middle on pass plays this year. And the safeties?? Freshmen. Looks like they had some talent but they were freshmen!!! Bring in some JUCO linemen and redshirt ALL the freshmen. That strategy will simply not work at the D1 level. Telling all the freshman that they have to sit out would be the kiss of death for recruits. Read comments from recruits....many kids go to places that they think they can play right away. Working in the pro's is one thing, they dont have a choice where they get drafted. Players at the D2 level typically don't have the options to go to other schools, so they go with the program and sit out the year.

Who was the only one to mention Narduzzi in the Wheel of Fortune thread? The idea that they would hire an only-recently-successful small college coach over a guy with Narduzzi's resume? That's laughable, and predictable. What's so great about his resume? His defense was fifth in the Big Ten in rushing defense? Why am I not filled with the desire to run to him with a job offer. This guy falls under the category of Coach X. Just another guy who attends all the clinics and does what everyone else does with varying success depending on the talent level of the team. Another Commander Riker. Everyone in Star Fleet knows a captain has to lead a smaller star ship to become captain of the Enterprise...or in our case, a medical resupply ship. In any event, at least Winters has experience leading a ship. With that said, could he be a good coach for Akron? Yes. Lots of people could win at Akron. We have loads of potential. His defense is ranked 9th in the country in total scoring defense and top 20 in every category. He also had the 35th ranked defense at Miami (Oh), 38th ranked D at Northern Illinois and top 30 defenses at Cincy. He has done it everywhere. He has a good resume. Top 30...Wow! He may be good, but there are lots of good guys. We need the best fit. Yes, wow Top 30. He had 4 different schools rank in the top 25% of D1 football in defense, with two of those being MAC schools. How many good MAC defenses have you seen? You obviously have a better choice than a consistent top 30 coordinator. Who is it?

Who was the only one to mention Narduzzi in the Wheel of Fortune thread? The idea that they would hire an only-recently-successful small college coach over a guy with Narduzzi's resume? That's laughable, and predictable. What's so great about his resume? His defense was fifth in the Big Ten in rushing defense? Why am I not filled with the desire to run to him with a job offer. This guy falls under the category of Coach X. Just another guy who attends all the clinics and does what everyone else does with varying success depending on the talent level of the team. Another Commander Riker. Everyone in Star Fleet knows a captain has to lead a smaller star ship to become captain of the Enterprise...or in our case, a medical resupply ship. In any event, at least Winters has experience leading a ship. With that said, could he be a good coach for Akron? Yes. Lots of people could win at Akron. We have loads of potential. His defense is ranked 9th in the country in total scoring defense and top 20 in every category. He also had the 35th ranked defense at Miami (Oh), 38th ranked D at Northern Illinois and top 30 defenses at Cincy. He has done it everywhere. He has a good resume.

Not at all. I know a lot of guys that played for Winters and they all absolutely loved the guy. I just want to make sure we are making the best hire. Kind of the think with your head, not with your heart kind of example. I am playing devils advocate in a lot of my responses. If he is the guy we hire I will fully support him and his staff to the fullest. That had BETTER include grilling/smoking every known form of meat before each and every 2012 home game in Lot 9 I did that through Brookhart and Ianello, why stop now? You forgot drink every known brand of beer known to man.

Whoaaaaa. Someone asked a question about who Winters might POSSIBLY look to add to a hypothetical staff at Akron. Don't pin MY LAME A$$ attempt to research said staff on Winters. Why don't you wait to see if he's hired and assembles his own to do that. And by "barely above the high school" level, I assume you mean D-II. Now, not only are head coaches at D-II worthless pieces of $hiT but so are any and all the assistants who work at that level. If that's your opinion, so be it. It's definitely not mine. Go Zips! Well...the good thing is Toledo will suck. Matt Campbell started in D3. Yep...good thing for us.

Not at all. I know a lot of guys that played for Winters and they all absolutely loved the guy. I just want to make sure we are making the best hire. Kind of the think with your head, not with your heart kind of example. I am playing devils advocate in a lot of my responses. If he is the guy we hire I will fully support him and his staff to the fullest.

So let me get this right...because Winters is black he will recruit better? That is what I am getting out of your response. Uhhh, no. Not sure where you're getting that. I did point out that he was a local product. Local coaches should remember him and know of him, and his local ties should produce dividends. Was it my mention of Buchtel? I pointed out Buchtel because they are the local power in HS football. I can't imagine anyone reacting well to sales pitches from Ianello, regardless of race or ethnicity. Can you? Yeah, it was the I can't IMAGINE line about Ianello and recruiting to an inner city campus comments. Sorry if I took it the wrong way, that is just how it sounded. Actually, I can imagine people reacting well to Ianello. He came from a big program, could throw all his former big name coaches around, etc...and obviously had success in the past. Now, Ianello walking into a high school right now....thats another story.

Good question...i may have to change my vote since I assumed Mark.

Whoaaaaa. Someone asked a question about who Winters might POSSIBLY look to add to a hypothetical staff at Akron. Don't pin MY LAME A$$ attempt to research said staff on Winters. Why don't you wait to see if he's hired and assembles his own to do that. And by "barely above the high school" level, I assume you mean D-II. Now, not only are head coaches at D-II worthless pieces of $hiT but so are any and all the assistants who work at that level. If that's your opinion, so be it. It's definitely not mine. Go Zips! lol.. easy there. I am simply stating that he has only coached high school ball and position coaching jobs at the D2 level until recently.

+1 But I think they are referring to another Stoops. Mark Did you take that picture while Obama was vacationing in Ashland?? I was referring to Mark, not Mike Stoops.

So let me get this right...because Winters is black he will recruit better? That is what I am getting out of your response.

Kazmierski has barely been a coach above the high school level. If he is the quality of staff member Winters brings, I will gladly pass.

I voted for Stoops as well. My reasons are as follows... 1. Name recognition. Not only is this helpful in landing recruits, it also gains fan interest and creates a buzz (ticket sales) 2. The name recognition will also help in bringing in a higher quality coaching staff. 3. He has a heck of a nice resume and success at every job. 4. He is a good recruiter and his NE Ohio ties and big name will help. 5. It is fairly easy to put up points in the MAC. He is a defensive guru and it is one thing that we have never had at Akron....a good defense. We have no shot at getting him, but he is my #1 choice.

Of course he is. Pick the defensive guy who has no chance of getting hired because the mac is an offensive league. It gives you something to bitch about during this off season and the first losing season. You will have 18 months of material. Right on. Narduzzi is the favorite of more than just Zach. Unless you think others have the same reason for picking Narduzzi...maybe we should cut the kid some slack. I hope we are looking into Narduzzi. He has a great background and has had success everywhere he has been.