hiroad1

My kid is a WVU alum, so I'm a big fan and pay close attention to the Mountaineers. I hope the post about Stew and Akron was a joke. He was not a good game day coach (sound like anyone else we know?), and he really made a mess at WVU on his way out. In spite of his record, Oliver Luck decided to get rid of him less than a year after becoming AD. It was a bit tongue in cheek. But Stewart might be the most hated coach ever with a 70% winning percentage at one school. There are stilll supporters who point to his overall record. No doubt, it sounds odd that a guy with that winning percentage should be considered weak as a coach. I'd go into it, but that is talk for the WVU forum.

For those who mentioned Leach as a stretch candidate.......... He just took the job at Washington State in the PAC 12. This from Football Scoop: Washington State: Bruce Feldman is reporting that Leach's deal is 5 years, and will make him the third highest paid coach in the Pac-12. Our analysis puts that at north of $2.5 million per year.

My kid is a WVU alum, so I'm a big fan and pay close attention to the Mountaineers. I hope the post about Stew and Akron was a joke. He was not a good game day coach (sound like anyone else we know?), and he really made a mess at WVU on his way out. In spite of his record, Oliver Luck decided to get rid of him less than a year after becoming AD.

Knowing that you are not impressed with Kelly's 118-35 record tells me how much you support Winters. And that's fine. I can see what an emotional choice this is for some people who have a history with him. And I'm sure his mediocre record would be defended by someone who played for him. I'd probably try to do the same thing. To the poster who implied that I KNOW that he's never even gotten 1-AA interest, that's not true. I don't know that. But, if someone could tell me the schools that have shown interest in his services, since his accomplishments are more impressive than Kelly's, I'd like to know. I'm guessing that there has to be a some reason why Kelly has spent the last couple of decades moving from GVSU to CMU to Cincinnati to Notre Dame. And during that same general time frame, Winters has been an OC at his alma mater, and has been at a D-II school in urban Detroit ever since. Some have different ambitions. During that same time Larry Kehres has been the coach at Mount Union. He has been approached any times but decided he likes it where he is. I think ITZ and JZ84 and others like myself want someone who will be like Kehres or Winters at Wayne State or Dambrot. How long was Kelly at one school?? I think it would be far better to have a successful coach here for 8-10 years. I was hoping JT would bring that as this would have been his last job. But I will take my chances with Winters....and UofA Alum, raised in Akron and loves the area. He is one of our own...that should count for something. We are taking a chance with any coach coming here...time to give one of own a chance. Personally, I truly do not care if we get a coach who moves up from Akron in 3-5 years. If they move up on their merit, it will mean Akron is winning and on the right track. The program will then be more attractive to subsequent coaches too. IMO, whether or not someone wants to stay in Akron for a decade should be low on our list of priorities. I want a winner. I want the coach who will take the fastest and most energetic approach to establishing a winning program. We've got some real challenges, and we need the BEST person we can sign to turn it around for us. If they stay in Akron a long time great, but I'm not worried about that. totally against this. We get 2-3 good years from someone and then take the risk of hiring another Ianello? Caleb Porter is one of the highest paid soccer coaches because Akron can afford it based on the success he's brought. IF we get a good coach that fills the Info, we need to pay that coach enough so they don't leave. I respect your opinion, and everyone's. That what fan forums are about. However, soccer is in a far different category than football. How much does Caleb make? Not that much compared to top football coaches. Look at the link to college football coaches total compensation below. If my quick count was right, 47 schools are already paying their coach more than $1,500,000 per year. We paid Ianello $375,000. We don't have 1) a 100,000 seat stadium, 2) a lucrative league television contract, or 3) major finacial donors like so many other schools do. Sorry, but we can't pay what other schools can, will and do. We have to accept that a hot coach is likely to leave Akron for greener pastures, and who could blame them? I want a hot coach and I am willing to see the turnover. Other schools manage. Look at Cincinnati. WVU figured it was likely Holgerson would move on qucikly when they hired him this year. Look at others shools in the MAC. It happens a lot where they have winning programs. I want a winning program here. The rest is the responsibilty of the Athletic Driector to manage the department like a business and be prepared to replace coaches as needed. If we are consistently playing in December or January, I think they should be happy to deal with that problem. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/foo...rise/51242232/1

Knowing that you are not impressed with Kelly's 118-35 record tells me how much you support Winters. And that's fine. I can see what an emotional choice this is for some people who have a history with him. And I'm sure his mediocre record would be defended by someone who played for him. I'd probably try to do the same thing. To the poster who implied that I KNOW that he's never even gotten 1-AA interest, that's not true. I don't know that. But, if someone could tell me the schools that have shown interest in his services, since his accomplishments are more impressive than Kelly's, I'd like to know. I'm guessing that there has to be a some reason why Kelly has spent the last couple of decades moving from GVSU to CMU to Cincinnati to Notre Dame. And during that same general time frame, Winters has been an OC at his alma mater, and has been at a D-II school in urban Detroit ever since. Some have different ambitions. During that same time Larry Kehres has been the coach at Mount Union. He has been approached any times but decided he likes it where he is. I think ITZ and JZ84 and others like myself want someone who will be like Kehres or Winters at Wayne State or Dambrot. How long was Kelly at one school?? I think it would be far better to have a successful coach here for 8-10 years. I was hoping JT would bring that as this would have been his last job. But I will take my chances with Winters....and UofA Alum, raised in Akron and loves the area. He is one of our own...that should count for something. We are taking a chance with any coach coming here...time to give one of own a chance. Personally, I truly do not care if we get a coach who moves up from Akron in 3-5 years. If they move up on their merit, it will mean Akron is winning and on the right track. The program will then be more attractive to subsequent coaches too. IMO, whether or not someone wants to stay in Akron for a decade should be low on our list of priorities. I want a winner. I want the coach who will take the fastest and most energetic approach to establishing a winning program. We've got some real challenges, and we need the BEST person we can sign to turn it around for us. If they stay in Akron a long time great, but I'm not worried about that. totally against this. We get 2-3 good years from someone and then take the risk of hiring another Ianello? Caleb Porter is one of the highest paid soccer coaches because Akron can afford it based on the success he's brought. IF we get a good coach that fills the Info, we need to pay that coach enough so they don't leave.

Knowing that you are not impressed with Kelly's 118-35 record tells me how much you support Winters. And that's fine. I can see what an emotional choice this is for some people who have a history with him. And I'm sure his mediocre record would be defended by someone who played for him. I'd probably try to do the same thing. To the poster who implied that I KNOW that he's never even gotten 1-AA interest, that's not true. I don't know that. But, if someone could tell me the schools that have shown interest in his services, since his accomplishments are more impressive than Kelly's, I'd like to know. I'm guessing that there has to be a some reason why Kelly has spent the last couple of decades moving from GVSU to CMU to Cincinnati to Notre Dame. And during that same general time frame, Winters has been an OC at his alma mater, and has been at a D-II school in urban Detroit ever since. Some have different ambitions. During that same time Larry Kehres has been the coach at Mount Union. He has been approached any times but decided he likes it where he is. I think ITZ and JZ84 and others like myself want someone who will be like Kehres or Winters at Wayne State or Dambrot. How long was Kelly at one school?? I think it would be far better to have a successful coach here for 8-10 years. I was hoping JT would bring that as this would have been his last job. But I will take my chances with Winters....and UofA Alum, raised in Akron and loves the area. He is one of our own...that should count for something. We are taking a chance with any coach coming here...time to give one of own a chance. Personally, I truly do not care if we get a coach who moves up from Akron in 3-5 years. If they move up on their merit, it will mean Akron is winning and on the right track. The program will then be more attractive to subsequent coaches too. IMO, whether or not someone wants to stay in Akron for a decade should be low on our list of priorities. I want a winner. I want the coach who will take the fastest and most energetic approach to establishing a winning program. We've got some real challenges, and we need the BEST person we can sign to turn it around for us. If they stay in Akron a long time great, but I'm not worried about that.

Played with the heart of a lion. Congratulations Brian, and Thank You!

I always believed that there were too many things working against the situation for both parties to agree. I believe I wrote "I would be SHOCKED" if it was able to be worked out. okay..."the MAJORITY of us got caught in the hoopla"...Better? Heck, I characterized the Tressel stuff as "crazy talk", but I got caught up in it too as it escalated. It was hard not to hope it had some validity.

Anybody know this guy? His Twitter profile says he's an intern at ESPN Cleveland. His tweet from a few minutes ago........ BobbyDigital2 Got a new candidate rising for the akron job , and found out why tressel has been around the program

Marky Mark, if "Mr. Withers" is good enough for you, he's good enough for me. Your info is impeccable. We'll let you do the introduction at his first press conference. ... I feel like I'm talking to a Can't State fan I don't even want Withers. Why would I randomly make that story up? That's stupid. It's pretty immature to accuse me of something so stupid. I'm going to take a wild guess.. Are you a Steelers fan? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume you are not just messing with us. So, here is a tip........ It is Winters, not Withers. Paul Winters.

I called my brother who lives out of state to tell him about the surreal frenzy occurring over the Tressel rumors yesterday. This board was nuts, and the re-tweet feature at Twitter getting an overload workout. You are probably right that many people will now be dissappointed with almost any coach who is selected. That's a shame, but it may not matter in the big picture. On Friday last week most of us desperately wanted to get rid of the coach, and probably figured our options for a new coach would be promising D1 coordinators, or possibly a couple of people with modest head coaching resumes. And that it would take a couple of years to become truly competitive in the MAC, and to really fill the stadium. So, we are right on track with where we were before the Tressel flirtation. There is some hard work to be done with this program. There are no quick fixes. Let's get a passionate coach and get on with it. Go Zips!

Wow. You really let your hopes get too high regarding Tressel. Landing him was a HUGE stretch at best for Akron. This kind of attack on Tressel is silly, and pointless. Please everyone, let's get on with the search. My hopes are for the survival of the football program. It's more than about wins and losses, it's about the community and their support for the program. Can you name another candidate what would be able to garner instant support from the people and businesses of Akron? Nobody outside the old hardcore fans know who Paul Winters is, let alone Toledo's OC. Go around town and ask people if they know who Paul Winters is and if they would be excited if he were to come here. All you'll get is blank stares. Tressel was it. Our only shot at seeing the community rally. Anybody else, and you'll have to wait years to get even a third of the support. My point was not to dispute what Tressel could have meant to the Akron program. That would have been huge. I just thought the personal attack on JT for not coming to Akron was over the top.

We have to remember where we are too. In the MAC and the worst team in D1 in 2011. We can only get a big name if they want to come here. We have to work within a budget and we have limited market appeal right now. It's very similar to how the Cleveland Indians struggle to land big name free agents. Terry Bowden is a name, but there are several schools with bigger programs than Akron with coaching vacancies right now. Why wouldn't one of them offer Bowden if he is all that, and why wouldn't he accept one of those schools over Akron. I'm from Akron my whole life, an alum and a season ticket holder. I'm not down on Akron, but we have to be realistic, and we may not get a name here. That doesn't mean we can't get guy capable of turning this thing around just as fast as one of the names above might.

Once other schools are beating down his door, it's too late for us buddy. Every coach has to get his first shot in the big leagues from somebody. Brian Kelly's came from Central Michigan. They took a winner at a lower level nobody was "beating down the door" for. I don't think they regretted their decision. This is a guy who knows how to turn a program around and win. Instead of focusing on everybody else, focus on the Zips needs, and you'll see he's exactly what we need. InTheZone, are you family, or agent for Paul? Ha ha.

Wow. You really let your hopes get too high regarding Tressel. Landing him was a HUGE stretch at best for Akron. This kind of attack on Tressel is silly, and pointless. Please everyone, let's get on with the search.

If there is ANY validity to "Withers" being offered the job without UA first conducting a serious search and then interviewing qualified candidates, it must mean only one thing. TW is taking the safe route in order to save his job. I do not believe they would hire Paul Winters without first conducting a valid search. I call BS on this one.

Paul may be the right guy. But, come on. To say he is the only guy? Geez man, we need to look at everybody. If Paul Winters filters up as the choice, great. But not by default!

If you do a search on "tressel" you will find it. I'm not sure where it was headlined earlier in the day, but it was not removed from the site as of 15 minutes ago.

I would admit that I am a skeptical and cynical person who was wrong. Then I would say a little prayer of thanks for the good fortune!

Several people have expressed this same sentintment, but I don't think we will see this happen. That is not the way large, sophisticated organizations work. During the process when a US Presidential Candidate is contemplating a Vice President nominee, they narrow it to a few people. Then they try to get their first choice on board, but that choice does not always work out. They NEVER announce their second choice by saying "we really wanted so-and-so, but that didn't work out". Nobody wants to admit they failed. The same thing is true when selecting CEO's or Coaches. Plus, Tressel's lawyers may have had UA sign a confidentiality agreement before agreeing to open discussions. There may be a legal reason the Tressel details never become public.

We've been drunk on Tressel talk for three days. We need to sober up and think like we would have the day BEFORE Ianello was fired. This is Akron. It's MAC football and we are the worst D1 team in the country right now. We are not going to get Nick Saban to come here. Every great coach started as a coordinator somewhere. Then they move on to first head coaching opportunities, usually at lesser schools (Urbam Meyer at BG, Tressel at YSU, etc.). The challenge for the selection committe will be to identify the best of the up and coming talent. Maybe we land someone with head coaching experience, but schools like Akron sometimes have to make wise investments in lesser known talent. There is some risk, but there can be real upside too. I don't want to see us become too conservative with our selection. As long as it is not an individual decison by TW, I think the committee can find us the right guy.

Yeah, why on earth would we consider an offensive coordinator whose team averaged 48 points a game against MAC teams to finish 7-1 in the conference, beat Temple in Philly and come within one play of beating tOSU? It would be too rational.

So, i started a few days ago saying the Tressel talk was crazy. Then I got caught up in he euphoria too It was fun, and Tress to Akron would have been huge. If it is not gonna happen let's reset. Ianello is gone. We were really excited about that. Most of us probably imagined a coaching profile that would have included some experienced D1 coordinators or a few people with head coaching experience. If we are back to that, so be it. It can still be great. I want to see somebody who can inject some energy and game day intelligence. We have to work our way back up to being competitive , then dominant in the MAC. We thought we had won the lottery, but we didn't. We are still a lot better off than we were five days ago. Go Zips!

Stoops is more than likely going to be on OSU's staff. I am skeptical about it happening, but lets not act like its impossible. Didnt Akron hire Faust right after he was fired from Notre Dame? We CAN get the big boys. Big difference in the accomplishments and departure status between Faust and Tressel. Faust was Notre Dame's version of our Ianello experience. He was run off as a failed experiment. Tressel was a wildy successful coach who got caught up in an NCAA mess.

I believe this is a distinct possibility. UA may just be sitting back, being silent & simply enjoying the attention right now. However, I think the fallout would be too negative were we all to eventually learn that JT was never a serious candidate, or, let alone, a candidate at all & the UofA was just leading everyone on. So, I'm going with JT being a very real, perhaps even likely, possibility right now. I think he is a serious candidate. But if they sign him there will be a shit storm. NCAA baggage, money, priorities and GP1. There will be many who will disagree vehemently and loudly. What impact will paying JT 2-3 times KD and CP have?? I think there is nothing but upside for the football program but many other potential issues we have to deal with that could be harmful to the UofA. Would you take JT if it eventually drove away CP?? Lots of issues. This debate is good. It won't be JT that drives away Porter. CP is more likely to be "lured" away by a huge salary coaching in the pros. Not saying it would. I really think it would have a positive impact on the soccer program. But I heard at times that CP likes that Akron is not a football school and soccer has a higher profile here. My point is...there are lots of issues to consider. IMO, UA could not pass on Tressel if he is available to us. Football is too important strategically. Having said that, I agree that UA would need work very diligently to assure that soccer gets the attention, promotion, resources, and attendance it deserves under a guy like CP. I don't know Tressel, but he strikes me (in spite of the tattoo-gate) as a high integrity and loyal person (it may be loyalty that got him into trouble). I don't think he would create a coexistence problem with the other sports. If Tressel were to take Akron football to national prominence, I think we, and the other coaches could live with that.