ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net

With the depleted talent level that we're left with in the wake of Ianello (SO glad he's gone) I'd like to see Terry kick start the program with JUCO talent. Turn the program around as quickly as possible on the field and then the better high school kids will take notice.

Merry Xmas all and Happy New Year. Things should look up this year for Zips football!

I was born in West Virginia and I am looking forward to any hillbilly humor this hire may bring on this board. Oh, OK, so say hello to your sister for us when you get home.

Maybe I'm the only one to admit it now that Bowden has been hired, but I wanted Winters, and I think it's crappy how many are now piling on the guy. Winters is a UA alum, a very good running back for the team and a former coach who spent most of his career trying to get back to the Zips. Why are people on this board taking shots at the guy now? He's an honorable man, a good coach and many of us would have been very happy to have him coaching the Zips in 2012 and beyond. I will readily admit that I am excited about Bowden and that he is a splashy hire, but does that mean that Winters is worthy of the abuse he's taking here? And speaking of Wayne State, I would not have bet money that last year's Zips would have beaten Winters' team. Now, concerning Thomas, he's a lazy douche bag of the first order. You watch. He'l do a crappy, sloppy job, at best, covering the Zips.

Wagner's best move, by FAR, will be to stay with the Zips and dedicate his last year at UA to turning the ship in the right direction. If he has NFL talent, he'll get a fair shot in the NFL regardless. It's foolish for him to think otherwise, especially with Terry Bowden as the new HC.

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?

Considering where we all were yesterday, the hiring of Bowden is fantastic. I still would have chosen Winters because I think he would have been a longer burn. He would have been successful and would have made this his destination. He would have been another KD, while we have hired another Huggins. The best we can hope for now is three or four years of revived Zips football before Terry will jump back to the big time.

Party pooper.

Nice Dumb and Dumber reference (kind of an odd one considering the hire is NOT dumb... :-). Great hire!!! http://youtu.be/UnkefjCES-4

Just imagine if the latest offer to Loeffler is rejected. What then? And how long will it take to get to plan C, or D? Between TW and the utter destruction brought upon us by The Grim Reaper, wow. Just wow.

Whenever AccounTemps finally gets Bob out there.

I was one who was convinced that the Info, coupled with other campus improvements and in the afterglow of the Motor City Bowl and beating of NC State and Syracuse, would signal a new era of high quality D-1 football at Akron. It's deeply disappointing and shameful that the program has sunk so far, so fast. The Info just pisses me off anymore. It is nothing more than a symbol of missed opportunity and wasteful spending if the university cannot find a way to fully utilize it and make it generate revenue. The university students and the community need and deserve so much better. In spite of the good things that Proenza has done, the entire football program/facilities are quickly dulling the shine on his legacy.

It is my opinion that this is the low point for this program in the Div1-A (FBS) era. As we deal with having been spurned by Winters in favor of a D-II program, am I the only one who will not be surprised if, 5 years from now, UA is a FCS program? There are schools that maintain tiered status (big time basketball, small time football) and it certainly seems possible that UA could decide that the 25-year big-time-football experiment has failed in Akron. I know some will flame me for bringing this up today, but how much lower can UA football sink before structural/competition changes are contemplated?

I voted yes. What has YouTube Tom done for the program?

I'm glad someone else is. I've said all along that I think a lot of people could win at Akron because I believe in what can be accomplished at the school. Look at how well soccer and basketball do and the football team can do the same thing. Winters was one of those guys I believed could have won. I'm worried beyond the point I normally worry when TW is making a decision. Is there anyone left out there on the list of "a lot of people who could win at Akron"? I don't know, but the list has to be pretty darn small at this point, if not empty. Feeling pretty low right now. What's even worse about all of this is that Winters was a guy for whom UA would have been a destination job. Like a KD, we could have expected him to do well and to maintain long term continuity. If we're really lucky and we find a guy to turn this mess around, he'll likely be a hot shot who will stick around just long enough to earn a sniff somewhere else and will disappear. Seeing that happen constantly at MAC schools just sucks, even at the good programs. Winters, for me, meant something different than that demoralizing carousel and that was a significant part of my support for him getting the job. Now the best we can hope for is a young turk to turn things around and bolt. That's not awesome.

I am very disappointed. Winters seemed like a sure thing and a good bet to turn the program around, engender community support and to stay for more than 2 or 3 years. For reasons obvious, and apparently not obvious, this program smells very bad to potential candidates. Man I wish we had a little more inside knowledge of what's happening between LP, TW, candidates and large donors.

PW takes a glancing shot at UA in the article, but remember that he is likely still in an emotional place after having just played in the championship game. I also believe that it would be difficult to reconcile leaving a program you built from scratch to start the whole painful process over again. Add to that ambivalence his having been blown off a couple years ago by TW. From recent quotes that I've read from PW, he seems like a solid, if emotional, guy. I'm not going to read too much into the situation based on the Detroit news article, but given all we've heard it is my hope that PW will be named today or tomorrow. I'll be disappointed if he isn't the next head coach.

Yes.

For over 2 years we have read how iCoach has set the program back 5 years or more. That the team has no talent and Ianello was a poor recruiter as well as a poor coach. Now...I am not defending Ianello. But if those observations are correct...then there is absolutely no reason why we would win many games next year. New head coach, new coaches, new systems...will take some time and well as the stated lack of talent. So...my objective is that we should take a deep breath and look at things rationally and GIVE THE NEW COACH SOME TIME AND PATIENCE. And more importantly...some support. I would like to think that the new coaches can wring some goodness out of this horrid roster, that Ianello and his assemblage of idiots really were The Worst Ever. However, I agree that we're in for a long recovery here. I have absolutely no doubt that this is the numero uno worst FBS program in the country and is at its low point right now. In fact, I would argue that if the program were to sink any lower there would be no way that it could remain a FBS program at all. On a side note, it's quite an achievement to possess the worst program in the country when you have the amazing facilities we have to offer. Even with the best possible hire, kids are going to resist UA if they have other options. The new HC will have to find a couple of keystone players, kids who can be sold on potential and the ability to be "the guy who turned it all around." Then with improvements on the field and with the "vibe" of the program others should follow. That's a, what, 2, 3, 4 year process?

Agreed entirely. Few know the uphill battle they'll be taking on at UA better than Paul Winters. This is the worst program in the county and one that players don't want to join right now. He will come in with a clear knowledge of the challenges, having just dealt successfully with a smaller version of the same at Wayne State. If he can recruit, especially locally, things will get better for Akron, and fast. It appears, from what I've heard from other posters here, that his offensive coaching is a known commodity, and a plus. If he can find a DC to improve the defense, and recruit, the program should be on the upswing soon. Hiring PW is a win if they can get him to sign.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ucla-f...0,6992720.story See linky. Johnson, who is preparing to coach UCLA in a bowl game and will leave UCLA thereafter, admits that he has been contacted about the UA job. The article also mentions Paul Winters as a leading candidate. Nothing new but thought I'd post it.

If Tressel is involved in the search, I would guess that he would recommend and identify with the "local guy" done good. Tressel, the little Ohio engine that could, himself never aspired to be anything but the OSU coach. Doesn't it make sense that the Paul Winters story would be much more appealing to to Tressel than some hot prospect who had no ties to the program or the area? I have to believe that he would be drawn to, and relate to, a Paul Winters, with the local ties, the loyalty to his home town, the real understanding of what it will take the make things work at UA. Of course, if Winters cheated at Wayne State, played ineligible players but dressed nattily at all times, he would be even more appealing to Tressel. Sorry, I couldn't resist taking the shot!

Short of Tressel, nobody would have excited the unexcitable fan base in Akron. Now, winning is the only thing. Well, winning with an exciting offense would be even better, but you guys who think that the name Narduzzi or Campbell would excite Joe Akron have it wrong in my estimation. The excitement I want to see is the excitement of good local players and their coaches when the coach and/or his staff make recruiting visits. From what we hear, Winters has done very well in this area at a program even more moribund than UA. If he can recruit strong local kids and play an exciting brand of offensive football, and then win some games, and show the community that he genuinely cares, that's a home run for UA at this point in time. We can worry about winning the MAC and going to interesting bowl games once the program has been risen from the dead. I just want Winters to come in and make me even the slightest bit interested in Akron football again. And don't misunderstand me. I'm not going to think it's OK if UA becomes a middling but non-dominating MAC team. From what we see of Winters at Wayne State, I believe there is every reason to believe that after restoring some semblance of credibility to the program, he will be able to grow it.

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Zipgrad01's primary goal online seems to be to shoot down anything positive relating to a possible hire of Paul Winters.