Class of 82

Ah, Dr. Ruebel. Never gets enough credit for the modern UofA. No, he doesn't. And few remember just how bad things were when he took over. Actually, "bad" is an understatement.

After the field house and the stadium, we are all-in with football. As we should be. Building a winner here, building a tradition here, building the kind of bridge between the school and community that football is uniquely able to build... it's downright critical. Heck, it's even more critical now, if you ask me. This low-point in a way reminds me of when the infamous Peggy Elliott nearly succeeded in destroying UA on her pathetic way out of town. What followed was caretaker Marion Ruebel righting the ship and setting the stage for the Landscape for Learning and the amazing things Dr. Proenza has been able to achieve in campus improvements, research growth, corporate partnerships, etc. Out of the bedlam and chaos left by evil Queen Peggy, came the greatest era of growth and development the university has ever known.

I know we have "the best facilities in the MAC," but what else about the Akron job should appeal to a quality candidate? I'm too bummed out and angry to think about it clearly at the moment. Perhaps the less emotional at Zips Nation could articulate why HC at Akron as of December 2011 is a worthwhile job for a promising young coach.

That's a start, even though I hate to see people get canned. But this is just too huge of a screw-up to let pass. Not only was the Ianello hire a disaster, but we're now still without a coach at the most important time of the year. This is the worst I've felt about UA football since they "promoted" Jim Dennison to AD. Honestly, I'm as angry now as I was then. I've been disappointed many times over these last several years, but I haven't been mad, really. But dammit, I've just about had it. We need a freaking miracle.

Worse, we're bound and gagged and approaching a large, e-coli-infected waterfall.

Well, neither is the fact that the offenses coordinated by Winters were the most consistently good that Akron's ever had, hands down, since they went Div-I. And neither is the fact that Winters did not coach defense for teams that were consistently bad on defense. Winters was the offensive coordinator, not the associate head coach, or anything of the sort. With all due respect, to imply that he was is just inaccurate. Sorry for the double. Computer locked. I know I have to keep asking this, but if this guy was so great in his tenure here, then why did he end up in a D-II job in crappy Detroit? That's a great question. It obviously has nothing to do with his abilities, as his achievements amply demonstrate. I think one of Akron's (the whole city, not just UA) problems has always been that we seemingly are so desperate for national affirmations of ourselves because we always assume we suck. The best thing Proenza ever did was come in here and say,"Akron doesn''t suck! In fact, this place is amazingly great, and I feel privileged and honored to be here. We're going to achieve great things." He said it loud, and often, and everywhere he went, and he got people to buy into UA like they hadn't in quite some time. The kind of guy we got when Proenza came is the kind of coach we need, skip, and that's why I was so gung-ho on PW.

It could have just been a courtesy offer. We'll probably never know. I think that theory has at least some credibility, since we've waited until his team was done playing. But, if this theory is true, would it really make the Winters supporters any happier? I wanted Winters, BUT, I'll support our next coach regardless. And I will root for the Zips no matter what. That said, I expect their to be some accountability at the highest levels for what's going on with the most important athletic program at our school, a program into which $70 million has been invested. I believe we're at true breaking point here, and if this gets screwed up yet again, I fear for the future of Akron continuing to compete at this level. That would suck... a lot.

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Well, neither is the fact that the offenses coordinated by Winters were the most consistently good that Akron's ever had, hands down, since they went Div-I. And neither is the fact that Winters did not coach defense for teams that were consistently bad on defense. Winters was the offensive coordinator, not the associate head coach, or anything of the sort. With all due respect, to imply that he was is just inaccurate. Sorry for the double. Computer locked.

Sounds like Jungle Hunt to me. I guess we'd be the cannibals. Who's the girl we're trying to lower into the flaming cauldron in front of Buchtel Hall? More important, who's the idiot trying to save her?

Truly disappointing. Devastating, even. I agree about TW, but I'm not letting Dr. Proenza off the hook, either. I love that man, but he's not without some responsibility in all this. For God's sake. This isn't just your run-of-the mill coaching search. We're on the verge of totally blowing a $70-million investment, and the president needs to play a leadership role here.

Figures. They better get this one right, folks. Or heads should be rolling down Buchtel Common. Alternatively, mobs with pitchforks and torches will be marching UP Buchtel Common. (This assumes, of course, that there's enough of us left to constitute an actual mob.)

What a strange list. That's one way to put it. Demetrick Shaw not on the list? At all? He was the guy that really made everything work @ Can't. This is some NBA fan's view of the MAC .. after he go through the top 8 or 10, he was out of ideas? They do have Shaw at 46, which is still a joke. Personally, I'm with you. He's top 10, or at least top 15, in my book. Gates was certainly the meat on that team, Huffman and Mitchell the potatoes... but Shaw was the gravy. Zeke's a great defender, but inch for inch and pound for pound, Shaw is the best defender I've seen since following the MAC. Given who they represented, I "hated" that team, but I have to admit that their NCAA run was a lot of fun to watch. With all due respect to Derrick Tarver, I'd put Jeremiah Wood in before him. When healthy, Wood could, and did, dominate games.

Stats are nice for making points. But you have to have some understanding of how those stats are relevant to the point you're trying to make. Akron lost under Lee Owens (with Paul as OC) because the Zips could not defend, period. Akron was a blast to watch (and often frustrating to watch) under Lee Owens (with Paul as OC) because they could put up points against virtually anybody. Paul Winters held up his end when he was here. Try again.

Sure, It doesn't matter what level. That's what Notre Dame thought when they hired Gerry in 1979. And Gerry's teams at Moeller could have destroyed most D-II teams. There's a reason why we designate different levels of college football. Well, Faust was a great recruiter and a great motivator, but I'd argue he was never a truly great coach at any level. He had a lot of great coaches working with him at Moeller to coach up the strongest roster in the state. Notre Dame got themselves a great recruiter who happened to be a mediocre coach at best. Fortunately for them and for Lou Holtz, they got rid of Faust before the great players he recruited were gone. Winters has already proven himself as a successful assistant and as a head coach and as a recruiter. Faust never did. Neither did RI.

I'm sorry, but that's just a terrible-- as in really terrible-- take. Eight years ago, Wayne State was to Div-II football what UA is now in the FBS... the worst program in the country. Saturday, Winters had Wayne State competing for a national championship, having won four playoff games on the road. A guy who can take the nation's worst program and do that, is one heckuva a coach and leader of young men. That's the kind of guy we should get, if we can get him.

Well said. Having to pay a guy a high salary is one thing. Locking that in for half a decade before you know what you have is just, well, really dumb. Having fired the last coach after only 2 seasons, and having a HUGE rebuilding project to undertake where the first 2 seasons are going to be absolutely abysmal, probably means some out-of-the-ordinary guarantees are going to be included in the new coach's contract. I know I'd demand them. Good point, Capn, as usual. However, there are a lot of ways to structure contracts that are fair and reasonable to both sides. I'm supposing that's why coaches have agents and universities have lawyers.

Well said. Having to pay a guy a high salary is one thing. Locking that in for half a decade before you know what you have is just, well, really dumb.

Exactly. But sometimes leaders have to make choices they'd rather not make. Sometimes, they have to find a way to re-motivate and recapture the enthusiasm of the people they need on their side, even if it means they have acknowledge their own mistakes. If PW is the right guy... and he is, in my view... then they should get him in here, address his concerns as best they can, lay out their own expectations of PW, and make this happen. However, I am virtually certain they will not. This is not really a Wistrill issue in my view. It's a Proenza one. The one Achilles heel of the Proenza tenure at UA has been an unfortunate propensity for never, ever, ever, ever, allowing for any chink to be shown in the president's image as the faultless leader who must be idolized. He can never be wrong. He can never be expected to say he made a mistake. It is not only irritating (to me, anyway); in the long run, it's counterproductive. And I say this as someone who admires the guy and appreciates the tremendous contributions he has made to our university. He has a thousand fine qualities, and is the greatest UA leader since Auburn. Humility, however, is not our president's strong suit.

Reading that Detroit article really ruined my morning. Winters is not going to be the next coach. I have zilch confidence in the "powers that be" getting this right. In short, we are doomed. Other than that, I'm really optimistic about the future.

Well, I'm not happy to acknowledge it, but I think UA administrators deserve that not-so-veiled dig at what has been some arrogance over the past few years. Are they humble enough not to take what I believe is valid and fair criticism and hire the guy anyway. I hope so, but I'm not optimistic. If UA had not already indicated that he's not their guy, my guess is that Winters effectively pulled the plug on his coming here with those public comments. Sad.

Excellent post, WNN. Personally, I think Winters is the perfect hire at this juncture. An Akron guy... through and through. If some want to say we settled, so be it. I think the reasons for a Winters' hire boil down to two things: 1) He has proven he can coach... ie. make players better than they were when he got them. 2) He has proven he can bring good players to a perennially bad team by selling them on a vision of the future. Good coaches are good coaches at virtually every level, but let's face it, recruiting is something else entirely. Just because you can recruit at Notre Dame or Ohio State or Florida does not mean you can do it at a place like Wayne State or Akron. It's far more complicated and difficult at schools with no winning reputation, even when you have facilities like ours are now. Our next coach has to be a great salesman who believes in what he's selling and can get kids and parents to buy into something yet to be built and feel good about their choice to do so. Objectively and regrettably, I'd have to say Akron football is a pretty hard sell these days. So was Wayne State before Winters got there. FWIW, I say, let's just get his butt in here. Peace. Out.

Expansion would ruin one of the best events going in college sports.And forget about this being good for mid-majors, who would almost certainly be guaranteed relegation to the bottom 32 unless they've had an OOC season for the ages. When the big conferences start offering you something with one hand, you can bet that their other hand is holding the shank that's gonna disembowel you. That's just how those guys roll. They are not our friends. Nor will they ever be.

There has always been a significant subset of coaches in all sports at all levels who see intimidation or humiliation as legitimate tools of motivation or discipline. I think perhaps the question is one of degree. Are there circumstances where yelling at a kid not only can be wholely warranted but entirely constructive? Sure. Nearly all of us probably can relate a story where getting an energetic earful proved helpful in our development as human beings.But there is no question in my mind that there are a great number of coaches who cross the same blurred lines that some parents do, where what might be intended as something constructive escalates into something that can only be described as abuse.Where those blurred lines lie is not something easily described or agreed upon, but I will say that the coach or the parent that leans more than rarely on the intimidation/humiliation crutch is treading some very dangerous territory when it comes to developing young people in a healthy and constructive way. And if they don't have other effective methods for motivation and instruction in their toolbox, then they can only be described as incompetent boobs.Just my two cents.

The new AD is a professional whose job and reputation are most definitely on the line with this hire. So it seems reasonable to support whatever decision the guy feels most comfortable with. Only fair, if you ask me.In the For What It's Worth Department, Urban Myer had never been a head coach when he got hired at BG.