ZipRoo

Hmmm. Let me put on my zoot suit and call in a few favors.

Overheard at press conference: "I think it's a helmet. You're gonna need one, yourself."

Ianello looks like Richard Kind. That ain't good.

Word.

Can't students / fans, frankly, don't deserve the team they have. The flushes are in the same general place UA was in the year we went to the Bowl game.

You "voters" are real head-scratchers. More time, eh? Didn't realize UA fans were such gluttons for punishment. "Please sir, may I have another...LOSS?"

OK, I wasn't addressing that point in my original post, and what you say doesn't contradict anything I said. But since you bring up Ianello's association with losing programs his whole career, you should be aware that the record book contradicts your point. Here's Ianello's career record as an assistant coach prior to coming to UA: 1988–1989 Alabama (SEC): 9-3, 10-2 (19-5). Overall winning program. 1990–1993 Wisconsin (Big Ten): 1-10, 5-6, 5-6, 10-1-1 (21-23-1). Program went from big loser to big winner. 1994–2002 Arizona (Pac-10): 8-4, 6-5, 5-6, 7-5, 12-1, 6-6, 5-6, 5-6, 4-8 (58-47). Overall winning program. 2003–2004 Wisconsin (Big Ten): 7-6, 9-3 (16-9). Overall winning program. 2005–2009 Notre Dame (Independent): 9-3, 10-3, 3-9, 7-6, 6-6 (35-27). Overall winning program. To summarize, Ianello had an overall winning record at four of his five assistant coaching gigs, and in the one where the record was just under .500, he helped turn the program around from a 1-10 record to 10-1-1 in four years. So, while Ianello's career as an assistant is not as brilliant as Chizik's, it's also not one of a perennial loser. Like we've said before, Dave....an Ianello apologist. Are you trying to say by your numbers that the Rob Ianello we know is responsible for turning around ANY program...past, present or future? With all due respect, you're dreaming. Keep spinning, though.

Might be true, Lee, but the danger in keeping Ianello around is: The program will not be taking any steps forward. Then when the axe finally falls, we're years further down the road of abysmal football...and the sport isn't even relevant in Akron anymore. We're at a crossroads right now: expensive new facilities...and a product and coach that couldn't be worse. Does UA continue down the wrong road, or make a course-correction immediately to begin walking the right direction? The decision lies within Buchtel Hall...and Zips fans deserve better.

Aaaannndddd....if, by chance, the Zips do "win a game," as you state, that makes him alright to continue here? I really hate the "more time" argument in sports. It's a synonym phrase for "this guy isn't doing the job, but wants to continue collecting a paycheck."

RE: He is relatively young and appears to be in good health. Ha, ha. Wonder if Proenza had any more than two two "skills" to go on. I guess I'll add one: His last name contains four of the five vowels. (The only one missing is "U," which stands for unqualified.)

I'm still waiting for a Zips fan to offer ONE strong point about Ianello. Just one. Surely for a guy to be hired at a D-1 school, he had to "sell" something about himself. Are they just invisible traits? I'm befuddled. I couldn't name you a single good reason for this guy being here. Not one. And yet, in the poll, a few of his friends and family actually vote to "give him more time." Yeah, that's just what a losing program needs. To give a guy with no skills "more time."

Yes, and the head coach gets high marks for this 30-0 drubbing. Just like he did on Wistrcill and Proenza's pre-hiring standards: 1) Prior head coaching experience. CHECK. 2) Innovative strategist. CHECK. 3) Gets the most out of his players. CHECK. 4) Well-respected by players and peers. CHECK. 5) Treats colleagues and fans with professionalism and kindness. CHECK. 6) Will excite our fanbase and bring large crowds to InfoCision. CHECK. 7) A proven winner the city will rally behind. CHECK. 8) Makes superb in-game adjustments. CHECK 9) Wanted by every other D-1 school with a coaching vacancy. CHECK 0) Most importantly, acquainted with Tom Wistrcill. CHECK

Clearly, Wistrcill came in and pulled the wool over a lot of eyes at UA. Does anyone seriously believe anyone at Akron had ever even "heard" of Rob Ianello, much less considered him to lead the morose program back from the abyss? How very interesting that Mark Stoops was interviewed and not hired. If he would've accepted this job, and we selected Ianello instead, heads should roll...yesterday. I'm also still waiting for the explanation on why Fickell was not even given the opportunity to interview. Ohio-ties are, for better or worse, important to people in NE Ohio. Both Stoops and Fickell had the ties and both would've been widely-popular choices. You pick the guy nobody wants, and you get exactly what you paid for....on the field, and in the stands. Failure. That goes for double for the AD, who masterminded this coaching debacle.

Zach. We agree on a lot of things, and I do see some of your points. But, I can't quite see how someone would view their resumes as "similar" when I believe one of them has about 25 years of coaching experience, and the other has about 10 years. And I am no defender of Rob's by any means. Frankly, I wish just about anyone was here now instead of him. Then why do you seem to be going out of your way to trash anyone suggesting that Fickell (he would qualify as "just about anyone," doesn't he?) would've been a better choice than Ianello? I ask once again, please name me JUST ONE...JUST ONE...thing you like about Ianello as coach. I anxiously await anyone's intelligent answer. You don't even have to dumb it down. Just list one of his valuable assets/strengths. Just one.

Pretty flawed argument, GP1, when you consider who the Zips hired as their last three coaches. Faust was retirement age and had already been at ND. Owens...well, whoever thought it was a good idea to hire a HS coach got what they deserved. Brookhart?....good heavens, his credentials were about as poor as Ianello's. And Ianello?....no one will come headhunting for him either. That speaks more to the flawed UA selection process. The right man could come in to this market and awaken a sleeping giant. You really think RI is that man? Fickell would've connected with people from Day 1.

I was kind of surprised to see that he's "only" making $250 thousand. I found a Columbus Dispatch article from this past summer that said, "In recent years he (Fickell) has been interviewed for an assistant's job at Notre Dame and been a candidate for the head coach job at Akron." So, according to this story, he was a candidate for the Akron job, although its not clear how serious a candidate he was. I assume if he was a candidate he was interviewed. His name was sure mentioned a lot. I also looked back at some old ABJ articles when Ianello was hired. The comments from back then are interesting. They are mostly negative with a few "give the guy a chance." There's the point, in a nutshell. NO ONE wanted Ianello as coach...from the very get-go. His hiring was an utter disappointment for the entire Zip fanbase. The best anyone could muster was "give the guy a chance." No excitement, no bump in ticket sales, no positive reaction in any way. Imagine how badly UA had to screw up this hiring to provoke such an apathetic response. And you think the situation has gotten any better as we see/hear how he treats coworkers, players and fans? Bad to worse is the best way you can describe it. Good coaches "coach up" their players and get the most from them. Has anyone seen even a shred of evidence this guy is able to do either? (And please, don't give me that nonsense about needing "his own recruits." We see what those recruits are doing for Notre Dame, don't we? Yeesh. (And Dave in Green, I only recently felt compelled to join ZipsNation--after Rasor's ridiculous call to retain Ianello, following a laundry-list of negatives about him. So I don't know who you're comparing me to. Sorry.)

Thank heavens for Zach the Zip's posts. He's one of the very few who make sense on this site. If people are really here to try to justify Ianello's hiring and knock the very notion of Luke Fickell coming to Akron, I have to seriously question the football intelligence of these commentors. You guys can all jump on the Ianello Bandwagon, and we'll talk to you in five years, when Akron is still in the Bottom 10 and even the administration is publicly wondering "What, again, was it that we saw in this guy?" And then the new AD (because TW will be long gone) will say: "He wasn't my idea. You guys could've had a top assistant from Ohio State. Go figure."

Fickell makes $250k as a "co-coordinator". Ianello makes $350k as a head coach. You do have to wonder how much excitement we could have seen by announcing his name as coach. As opposed to the incredibly neutral reaction surrounding Ianello's hire. Who was honestly excited about that? I don't think anyone outside of Wistrcill showed any excitement. EXACTLY. A struggling program like Akron *H-A-D T-O H-A-V-E* a headline-making hire as head coach after three failed attempts (Faust, Owens, Brookhart). It had to be as much about PR as coaching...and UA failed miserably. I could not BELIEVE the hire, and I'm sure Akron fans uttered a collective, "Ho-hum, you've got to be kidding. That's the best ya got?" Proenza failed miserably when he brought YouTube Tom to town, and we're seeing the by-product in his disciple.

You'll never get the UA administration to admit to anything regarding Luke, but if you find the right people "in the know," they can tell you that there is truth to this story. All of it. As to why Fickell would want to leave OSU...well, every assistant at some point endeavors to move up the ladder. He has coached for nearly a decade under Tressel (another UA alum), and Luke is already familiar with UA. Everyone starts somewhere, and with the campus upgrades and Ohio ties, why wouldn't someone like him be interested in Akron? I'm sure the pay is a big step up from assistant, and it's good training for future positions elsewhere, if desired. I'm surprised we have to dumb it down for so many commenters here. Aren't some points rather obvious? ((Oh, and Skip-Zip...if Ianello was in such demand, please name me one other D-1 school that ever offered him a HC job....or any that WILL offer him after we're finally rid of him.)) ((Zach The Zip: Brilliant post. Spot on.))

Most intelligent post on this thread. Couldn't have said it better myself. If UA was simply INTENT on not hiring a HC with previous experience, how is a young, energetic, upbeat, former PLAYER and longtime assistant coach (for multiple positions) at a national championship school NOT a better fit than a recrooooter from who-knows-where?

Here's Fickell's bio page and photo. Yeah, notice all of the practical coaching experience...for one of the top D-1 programs in the nation. And an Ohio guy, to boot. This is what we COULD HAVE (SHOULD HAVE) had here at Akron: http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArtic...p;Q_SEASON=2010

So, we finally have the identity of the Ohio State assistant who wanted this job: Luke Fickell. Eight years on Tressel's staff....a personal recommendation by Tressel, along with a donation to UA....and the Zips (err, their outsider, Tom Wistrcill) opted for an unproven non-coach to lead this program. This is a disgrace and an embarrassment. Zips fans should demand an explanation.

Brookhart was a huge mistake, as everyone now can clearly see. But it was compounded by hiring someone more inept than JD, who was probably only kept around because his father-in-law was a big donor. Yes, Jacquemain cost us a lot last year with his shenanigans, but what about all of the other sub-500 seasons? We've been taking "two steps back..." for so long, I don't think anyone connected with the program would know how to take "one step forward."

In terms of Coach I's future, if he goes 0-12, there isn't a program in the country that would hire him in D-I or even I-AA. He may be a good assistant, but he'll never get another head coach job again. That's just the reality of college football. Please name me one other D-1 school in the country that would've hired Ianello TO BEGIN WITH, other than Akron, the 120th worst team. If Ianello was in such "demand," surely *someone* at the D-1 or D-2 level would've snatched him up, right? But no. For some reason, UA always thinks it knows best...and brings in unqualified assistants or recroooters to...what (?), "learn on the job?" Just what we didn't need.

You'll need to be more original than that to gain traction on ZN.O. I'll stand by it. Every one of Dave in Green's posts defends the coach/program. Strange.