ZipRoo

Dave in Green is quite the Ianello apologist.

Gaffney has the access to ask legit, tough questions to Ianello that have nothing to do with being negative. "Why do you always go for a field goal when your offense needs a touchdown?" I WANT AN ANSWER FOR THIS ONE! Trailing by 3 touchdowns in the middle of a 3rd quarter, we attempt a FIELD GOAL?! Again and again!? What's the point?? I'll never forget when ol' Lee Owens pulled that stunt down at Ohio State. Akron was in the game, moving the ball, trailing 28-14 late in the game....and instead of going for a fourth-and-short, he sends in the field goal unit. Should've been fired on the spot. Same for Ianello. Either you're here to WIN....or you're a LOSER.

Best line from the article: Ianello said after the loss to Western Michigan — in which he faced a one-person news conference — that it was his team's worst overall performance of the season. One reporter bothered to show up. Hmm...do ya think apathy for this program has reached an all-time high/low. Not even the press cares anymore, and they're PAID to care.

I've read this BS statement on this board umpteen times and have never commented on it once. After watching this year, this statement now brings my blood to a boil! I'd give my left pinky for another "lucky" year. Lucky. Hey, every team needs a little luck. Akron just got it in buckets that year. 6-5 regular season (barely bowl-eligible)...then a totally-miraculous and improbable endzone catch to win the MAC (anyone who says it wasn't miraculous didn't see it)...followed by a loss in the Motor City Bowl. We only made the MAC playoff because of some odd formula (losses in division, or something). Don't make it out to be more than it was. A fun time, certainly. But WAY lucky. JD hung his floppy hat on that season way too much and fooled a lot of people. He was never the guy for this job, either. But he's better than what we've got now.

I will concede one point: JD was a fairly nice guy, but overmatched in this position. His recruiting over a 7-year period was hit-and-miss. He should've been gone in 2007. People who brag about the Zips bowl game in 2005 should look closer and see that we really "backed into" that one. It was not an impressive year, rather a very lucky year. So JD's tenure was mediocre to poor. But JD puts this guy to shame in coaching. That's a sad, sad statement. Wonder just how low Proenza will allow the program to sink before stepping in to rescue it? You know Wistrcill won't do it; Ianello was "his guy." Which totally says everything we need to know about YouTube Tom.

HOLY SMOKES! Wagner ranks 9th in career TDs and 6th in rushing yards...and we're suffering thru a season with running backs who look like they're stuck in mud?!?! Cripes, get this kid working on offense!! Ianello, I realize you're clueless, but you have one of Ohio's all-time premier football athletes on YOUR team. Utilize his SKILLS! And yea, CK, I saw Wagner's smiling face on the sideline....and instantly thought: Why isn't THIS KID'S FACE on billboards, tickets, programs, et al....instead of the goofy-looking "coach" ? Whoever is doing sports marketing over there should get a clue: Wagner's got it going on, and UA needs to take advantage ON the field and OFF.

First off, $5 is not "giving away." A butt in the stands purchasing a program, food, drinks, etc. is better than a butt on the couch at home adding zero to the UA coffers, wouldn't you think. Second, only kids got $5 tickets (with a paying adult). And I can assure you, there's no kid in Akron who received $5 worth of entertainment with that ticket. Was the stadium packed or not? Just how clueless ARE you, GP1? What part about "not all tickets were $5" aren't you understanding? And at this point in the season, a beautiful day with an 0-7 team and a coach/AD which no one wants, Akron U is about the furthest thing from people's consciousness. They could've stood at the door and given away free tickets and no one else would've showed up. It's too little, too late. The $5 ticket campaign needs to begin before the season, before we see how atrocious the team is and people KNOW to stay away.

If I had to choose, I guess I'd take the tOSU assistant. However, why would the top assistant at OSU leave there to coach at an 0-12 school? And please don't tell me the facilities. We were supposed to be good because of facilities and look where we are now. GPI, your criticisms are so ignorant, they really don't deserve a response. But if you actually knew the facts, you would know that Tressel did, indeed, recommend and push for his assistant to be hired at Akron--and UA didn't even return the call. Apparently Wistrcill had his mind made up. And NO ONE ever imagined the Zips would be 0-12...that's just a by-product of hiring Ianello. Heck, even J.D. wouldn't be 0-8 at this point--that's just fact. Akron is an outstanding in-state institution with brand-spankin-new facilities that are 2nd to none, situated in a hotbed of HS football (Cle/Ak/Canton). An Ohio State man over a Notre Dame guy? I'd take it every day of the week. Once again, the hiring process for this coach is as mysterious as it is mystifying.

So glad you posted this, Big Zip. I'm certain that GP1 is the guy who is also the king of negativity on Rasor's blog. A big sore spot with him seems to be the very notion that our tickets are overpriced. I mean, that's not even open to debate. $15 or $20 for this product is utterly insane, but somehow GP1 justifies it and even believes those who won't pay it should just stay home. He must be independently wealthy and not realize the tough times many families are going thru. Family of 4 x $15, plus parking, food, drinks, time wasted....add it up. He probably also supports the insipid notion that Ianello should stay. Yeah, GP1, he's doing a bang-up job destroying the last remnants of a once-proud program.

First off, $5 is not "giving away." A butt in the stands purchasing a program, food, drinks, etc. is better than a butt on the couch at home adding zero to the UA coffers, wouldn't you think. Second, only kids got $5 tickets (with a paying adult). And I can assure you, there's no kid in Akron who received $5 worth of entertainment with that ticket.

The question we should be asking is: If your boss asked you if you would like to leave and he'd give you a parting-ways goodbye package, would you go? PLEASE SAY YES. And please, Dr. Proenza, make the offer. End the error.

Are you kidding??? the 5 straight run plays in the 1st quarter (1st and goal at the 1) didn't excite you. But you can't blame RI, if the run didn't work the first 4 times, who would have thought the 5th time wouldn't work either? Yeah, and on defense...who would thought that #83 for WM would be able to continue catching wide-open passes after the first, oh, half dozen burns? I wonder if #83 was ever even mentioned at halftime. But this is nothing new with Ianello. There ARE no in-game adjustments, so if a team wants to keep going to the same well...ROCK ON, baby! It's like we have a blind man on our sidelines. Or at least clueless.

That's what he gets for dining in the Chuckery. Question is: Given the choice, would you rather have had Jim Tressel's top assistant from Ohio State, or a recruiter for Notre Dame? Exactly how hard is it to recruit for ND? "Hello, Catholic star from Florida? Wanna come play under the Golden Dome? Okay!" "Hello, Catholic star from California? The Pope wants you in Indiana! Okay!" "Hello, Catholic star from Texas? How would you like to play on national TV each and every week for the richest, most noteworthy Catholic program in the world? You would?! Okay!" Whew! That's some tough job, there, Ianello. I'm sure ND must have had great, great seasons of success while you were there manning the phones. Oh....wait.....

I'm guessing there's more to it than that. I didn't see any Rowdies section from a half-hour before game time....or ever, the entire day.

Lets contact Wistrcill! He's too busy planning the next Akron "Family Day/Weekend." I'd like to meet one "family" who bought into that bunk.

We're paying the price for Muse and Adams' scheming a quarter-century ago. Jim Dennison was a highly-respected football coach, here in Akron, throughout Ohio, and across the country. Bo Schembechler confirmed that. It's no knock on Coach Faust, who was brought in to "make the transition to D-1," but many UA fans and Dennison supporters lost respect for the school at that time and have never returned. [bottom line, if Dennison were still coaching UA today, we'd no doubt be having success.] After Coach Faust, it was one mistake after another, with Owens, Brookhart and now the worst, Ianello. In two decades, was it utterly impossible to find a coach, at any level, with a track record of success as a head coach? Word is, UA has approached D-3 Mount Union's Larry Kehres more than once, but he didn't want to leave. The point is, you find a successful winner at some level, and normally success will follow. Guys who know how to win....WIN. Sure, high school programs like Moeller (Faust) and Massillon (Owens) are successful thru the advantage of drawing many of the top athletes to their powerhouse schools. So the transition from HS to college head coach is not ideal. But how many D-2 coaches....or even OHIO guys (like those on Tressel's staff) would look mighty good on our sideline now?

Reading accounts this week about Rob Ianello, I have to wonder what Proenza and Wistrcill ever saw in him. Was the list of qualified candidates really that atrocious? He can't stand the AKRowdies, and apparently caused them to be removed from the stadium Saturday. His own team has quit on him, obviously. The fans didn't support his initial hire, and things have now gotten to the anger and apathy stage. Several reports have him acting like an arrogant tyrant to other members of the Athletic Dept. staff, as if he somehow walks on water. He very obviously is in over his head, as we keep seeing the same futility week in, week out. No imagination, no improvement, no competitiveness...even with the worst teams in the MAC. He guided the Zips to a stunning loss to a D-2 Gardner-Webb "powerhouse." It's not like he came here with an empty roster. Good coaches can beat you with their players, then switch sides and beat you with *your* players. I don't think Ianello could even find the other sideline. Is this really the guy we want leading our program going forward? Does anyone believe there's any chance the fans would EVER rally behind this guy? Seriously. No chance. It's one thing if you're a likable guy like G. Faust whose teams lose; but when you're a schmuck, no one wants to be associated with you. Does UA really think fans will come back in droves to fill---even halfway---a $68-million stadium with Ianello at the helm? And how many businesses will ever renew their suite contracts? The product is an embarrassment. And yes, JD was given two years too many. He obviously didn't do us any favors with the talent he brought in; although there *were* talented troublemakers he and Rhoades agreed to part ways with. But overall, this new AD/Coach regime is such a step down from even what we've experienced over the last seven years, there's no point in continuing the mess.

How many games did it take for many of you to finally reach "the end?" Proenza and his upper team must negotiate a buy-out of both Ianello and Wistrcill, both of whom have done zero for this school. They never were accepted by the locals, and they never will be. It was a lose-lose situation from the get-go. Then, Proenza needs to personally call Jim Tressel and apologize for UA not giving him the time of day when he recommended one of his top assistants for the UA job. A smug tyrant just won't fly in this city. Admit the mistake and move on now.

Am I wrong in remembering that Ianello came here saying "the cupboard is full" and "we can win now?" So, if he actually believed his own words, he either can't recognize talent, or he certainly can't coach it. I've heard and read enough about this guy, including on this very thread, to realize Akron hired the W-R-O-N-G guy. Who, besides the fans, will take the fall for that hire? His reputation here, now, is beyond repair. Bet UA is so glad they made his mug the "face" of the tickets and promotion, eh? Proenza is going to have to step in and end this madness now. Too many millions have been spent for some carpetbagger recruiter to come in here and kill an entire fanbase and program.

Isn't that just about the most amazing statement you can conceive? UA, with their "nationwide" search, hires a guy that many fans consider the "single worst" possibility EVER? It boggles the mind, actually. However, then we gaze up north and see that many, many Browns fans believe Lerner did the exact same thing, hiring Mangini. And is anyone stepping up to defend Manny Acta's hiring....when Sandy Alomar was clearly the better choice (Toronto sure things so)? Too, the Cavs hired a guy who didn't even understand OFFENSE, when he had the top player in the game. This is clearly a NEO epidemic. Some very short-sighted and poor decisions by men being paid millions of dollars to know better. Which brings us back to Akron's dilemma, "the single worst coach ever hired in D-1 football."

The jig is up in NE Ohio, wouldn't ya say? Call us fairweather fans, frontrunners, just plain fed up, or--more to the point--tired of wasting money on a bad product. But the Indians "fans" have been in revolt for several years now, and it's not going to get any better up there. And now, the remaining Zips fans are seeing the light. You can't continue to disrespect your fanbase time after time, raising prices, poor hires, and no hope (ever) of winning. Fans are more savvy now, and our discretionary dollars will be doled out accordingly. If the U of A is happy with their hires and their product on the field, that only compounds the problem and delays any hopes for a reversal of fortune. I'm an actual Zips supporter, but I can tell you right now: there's no way I go to a football game if I'm not given a ticket. I've seen more entertaining games at the high school level for 5-bucks.

Problem is...Ianello NEVER had the support of Zips fans, and it's only gotten worse. Just as Belichick alienated the Browns fanbase and could never have prospered in Cleveland, the situation here in Akron is b-a-d. At least we recognize it early and won't be forced to compound the error by keeping this guy around. Exercise the buyout clause and start with a clean slate. Cut your losses. The future of UA's football program, and ergo--the athletic department as a whole--DEPENDS upon getting the right fit here. Three to five years of this guy and his mess, we're looking at friends and family only at games. Come on, Luis, make a D-1 level decision. Admit this was a mistake from the get-go, and bring in some actual pros to help find the man to lead this program. Again, I'm sure other schools and coaches have eventually had a measure of success, but are we really ready to risk our future on this obviously-flawed choice? There's no reason for it.

Funny, I was LAMBASTED on Rasor's blog over the past year when I suggested that ticket prices were too high for the UA football product. LAMBASTED. "We're D-1...Stay at home, then!...How can UA support its athletic dept.?...What's $15 or $20 a game??"----Those were all the excuses I heard, justifying UA charging $10 to $15 MORE than crosstown rival Can't State. Well, who's lambasting NOW? Took ya all long enough to finally see the light. I was also LAMBASTED for suggesting that Terry Bowden would ever come here. Well, he's at a I-AA school, and every man has his price. He also coached here before. Bottom line, folks: Think before you instantly go negative on other bloggers' thoughts. Our tickets ARE overpriced, and Ianello was NOT the right hire. Either was TW. Call me what you want, but I'll be at the game Saturday. I support the school. But I certainly do not support the hiring decisions. And after hearing about Ianello's alleged arrogance and intolerability around the department, I am more convinced than ever...this guy has GOT TO GO. NOW.

Dude, nice try taking credit for the Bowden idea, but *I* first floated it on Rasor's blog way back when JD was fired....go back and look....I even posted Bowden's entire resume to make it easy for UA. However, I was attacked there and here for even suggesting such a hire. Go figure. Now everyone's on the bandwagon. No matter. What's interesting now is that Minnesota just fired their no-experience head coach midseason after the school hired him to fill their new stadium. Coach was a big time bust. And who was Associate AD at Minnesota when they made that genius hire? None other than TOM WISTRCILL. Here's the firing story. Insert Akron for Minnesota, and Tom is writing this story across the country... http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/s...Brewster-101710

I agree wholeheartedly. By now, surely Proenza and the Administration realize what a colossal error they made, both with Wistrcill and especially Ianello. I'm told that Tressel wanted one of his assistants to interview for the UA job, but that no one from UA would even respond to Tressel. What is going ON over at Hilltop High? Are they so smug, so arrogant, that they wouldn't even give the coach of Ohio State--an Akron alum, mind you--the time of day? As fans, we have every right to seriously question the process used in hiring this worthless AD and Coach. Something just ain't right, here, folks. And for Razor to suggest that we're stuck in this predicament for FIVE years is beyond insane. Proenza had better act swiftly and decisively, because the on-campus sports investment is going to pot...and fast.