Lee Adams

I have a VERY hard time believing that any assistant that has been there for the last 10+ years had NO IDEA what was going on. This would be a very questionable hire. I think that whole staff should get a "show-cause" penalty! I know were at the bottom of the barrel. And,this guy may be a good coach. But, anyone who has been on that staff is at least tainted. Please stay away from that crap. That whole mess in Unhappy Valley isn't over yet.

Thought a lot about this very thing last night. I think the lesson is this... there is no substitute for leadership. Sports, especially football, are lessons in the kind of teamwork and camaraderie that define the human condition. Anyone whose been a part of a winning team, at any level in athletics or business, knows that there's no better feeling in the world than the sharing of success among your brothers (and sisters, too, as the case may be). But every winning team, at any level, has leaders, and ideally a leader who creates the vision, sets the tone, defines the standards of behavior and dedication, and holds their self and others accountable to the whole. It's true in every human endeavor, really, but it's especially true in football. We always say things like "This guy can really coach," or, "Wow, he's a great recruiter," when looking at coaches, but those are secondary attributes, in my view. Fundamentally, great coaches and great recruiters are great leaders first... and last. So ultimately, facilities don't inspire players or recruits, or even fans for that matter. Real inspiration requires leadership... period. We haven't had it, and we won't see any sustained success until we get it. Unfortunately,a number of posters here were wary of any sort of longlasting 'Info. Effect' from the very beginning And,it seems that along with a lot of fans,the Administration was 'blinded' to the realities that had been the football program here for years. They tried to build from the top down instead of the bottom up. Nobody will argue the fact that it is much more pleasant to go to a game at the Info. Hell,not having to deal with the restrooms at the Bowl was enough for me. But,as we are now seeing with the hiring process, there are a number of factors coaches and players use in making their decisions. Obviously,and not surprisingly one of those factors is who they will be working for. Right now its pretty hard for a coaching candidate or potential recruit to figure out if they want to work for the people who are calling the shots now(apparently at least one did not) or who might be calling the shots in a few months. Even if we scratched our heads at the hiring of Ianello 2 years ago,I don't think too many fans thought that the situation would deteriorate to this point. Who is the 'right' guy for the job now? Nobody knows for sure. But we sure as hell better hope that somebody over on Buchtel Ave. finds him quickly.

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. You can throw money at some things. You can sell 'things' to corporations and have them dictate your future. Football at Akron has neither enough money throw nor much of anything of any value to sell.

Were the whispers telling you to hurt anyone? Yes,please take the meds as prescribed.

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. Just when I thought I couldn't feel any lower.... Could be he didn't want to work for Wistrcill. Blame him?

Simple. Get rid of TW!! IF,this is true,I hope this puts to rest the idea than some had that just because Akron has 'nice facilities' that coaches would fall all over themselves to get here. Now because of the history and the people who are currently running the show,the program has to take what appears to be the leftovers. Whether or not this signals Wistrcill's exit,we'll see. Wouldn't be surprised. HOPEFULLY,and hope is all we have,whoever is hired can get this turned around in a couple of years. Otherwise, this program is going to continue to freefall to who knows where!

Good thing he doesn't have to play anymore.

Temple blows out Wyo.

The guys on your list who might not have had his hiring announced imediately are Loeffler and Watson.. Thats only because I believe both teams are still playing?.(unlike Akron). But usually if coordinators get a HC job they can go immediately.The others,including Mason, appear to have been available. If a current Akron asisstant is 'pushing' Mason it may not be the best recomendation given the previous regime's performance. But,since it doesn't seem anybody knows anything for sure....?

After reading your post, I can respond with a clear....No. Thanks for your ongoing obsession with what I write. Nice response. I didn't think you had it in you to actually consider yourself may be the problem. About what I expected. I'm not interested in most of what you write other than to laugh at you for thinking you know so much more than you really do. Please carry on.

I would have to say that Winters needed a better track record. Paul went 6-5 in 2009 after an eight win 2008. I can see how he looked past him. Not sure what digging up the past will do to help anything at this point..... Might tell us a bit more about TW and his competency. I think we already know about that. I'm more interested in the future than digging up the past. But I'm not 100% sure it IS about digging up the past. Maybe the question could be worded better than I originally submitted, but I want to know why he is the right guy NOW when he was not 2 years ago. What are you seeing NOW in him that you did not see before. Is it "simply" just that he has taken them to these heights this year? If it is, I'm not saying that is a bad thing. It is addressing the now while at least being cognizant of the VERY RECENT past. I hope people are finally realizing,and this has been said by several of us,that Akron is not going to attract what some might call a more 'notable' coaching candidates until the 'atmosphere' around the football program improves. Choosing my words carefully. There have been a lot of names thrown around that would probably have never considered coming here. We now see what a guy like Fickell was at least looking for whether he gets the Pitt job or not. The Tressel thing? People will believe what they want to believe because it can't be proven or disproven. The Bowdens,Leaches,Zooks and names like that? Would they ever consider Akron? Maybe they all got phone calls. Maybe not. The situation is at this point,Akron has to do what is POSSIBLE given the status of the program. We are probably seeing what is possible given the entirety of the circumstances in the program. Whats different about Winters now as opposed to 2 years ago? Maybe he is actually getting LEGITIMATE consideration this time. Maybe its the fact that Wistrcill hasn't already decided he can hire a friend with little legitimate coaching experience. Maybe it is because he has successful head coaching experience with the added experience of taking a team through the playoffs. He might not be able to drag this program from the depths. But he probably deserves a shot somewhere.

With the current job market, it might be a good time to stay in school at Akron and get an advanced degree. I'll be interested to see how many other D-1A schools are lining up to sign an undersized player with a knee injury that forced him to miss the last game. See you on the field in The Big Dialer next fall Brian. Wow, way to stay classy with one of the Zips' only highlight players, GP1. My post is intended to be neither positive or negative. My personal opinion about Wagner is he is a good player, but he makes too many tackles too far behind the line. Like everyone else on the team, he can be replaced. Since I have to spoon-feed this post, let me start by saying the next statement applies to everyone remaining on the team. If anyone doesn't wan't to come back next year, they shouldn't let the door hit them on the way out. They are a group of players who went 1-11 the last two seasons and only beat one D-1A team and lost to a I-AA team. While Coach I was a problem, there wasn't much effort being put out on the field at the end of the season so they are complicit in the failure as well. There is plenty of guilt to go around when things go as bad as they did. I agree with this - a LOT of his tackles are after at least 4+ yards. He is a great hustler - no doubt about that - but doubt he would even be a starter at a major program much less the NFL. Great guy to have on your team at this level. He sticks out even more here because the defense has been so bad. He might stick with some NFL team that is looking for a 'run through the wall' special teams guy. Once you make a team if things fall right you might get a chance as a position player. Too bad everyone on the D didn't have his motor.

As has been covered previously on this site,contrary to the beliefs of some Akron is not a highly sought after job. It is becoming one on the 'graveyards' of coaches. If you think about why a coach hasn't been named yet it might be because all of those names of those coordinators with little no head coaching experience that have been thrown around may not have any REAL interest. Usually,if a coordinator from another staff is hired for a HC job he leaves right away to start the new job. Nobody is going to hold up a coordinator who is moving into a HC job. Losing 2-3 weeks this time of year is critical.

'Big winner' at Akron is defined as what?

Oh boy?!

So, you have the only valid opinion in these forums? You use a stupid post from one person as an argument to shut down the coaching search, and to select the guy you like best. A bit arrogant, don't you think? I happen to disagree with you. I would be angry if UA did not conduct a thorough search to find the best coach to lead this program. Who IS the BEST coach? I certainly don't sit here and pretend to know. You could throw out a name,he could end up hereand win the MAC next year. Or,he could end up like Ianello. We all have a list of what WE think are qualifications for the next guy. But,who is it?

You're unimpressed with the #6 offense in the country. OK You point to one school in D2 and act like that's the accurate represenation of D2 football. Wayne State plays in the GLIAC, which includes teams like Grand Valley State, which average more people per game than we do (in people actually in the seats, not the tickets sold to sponsers trying to keep our D1 status afloat). There are a lot of great coaches that have come out of the GLIAC, including Brian Kelly, who worked a miracle at CMU and Cinci. There are many more, do some research and get back to me. I don't know who in the heck you think we're going to get to come here who is more qualified than Paul Winters, but your constant bashing and ignorance is getting old.

I'm not unimpressed with D-II football as much as I am unimpressed with the idea of catapulting a guy up two levels to coach at my alma mater. Especially a guy that I am personally unimpresed with, am unimpressed with his coaching record, and unimpressed with what he and his fellow leaders did to this football program the last time around. For me, that's not the guy you go out on a limb for and give him a two-level leap. And up to this point, it doesn't appear that any of the other 119 D-1A programs have been willing to do it either. The word 'catapulting' may not apply when describing taking the Akron job. Not only is this not like going to a top tier D-I program,its not even moving 'up' to a successful 'mid-level' D-I program. Nobody here has any idea if Winters or somebody else will get the Akron job. But it certainly is not a reach for a successful D-II coach to come to Akron.

Things have changes a bit ( ) since this story first surfaced, but Crist is now officially available. But it looks like he'll most likely wind up at Wisconsin, Utah, or San Diego St. Or UT?

Boy thats a fact. Not like anybody here can do anything about who is hired.

I see a lot of people saying Proenza/Wistrcill need to hire 'the best man for the job'. As has been the problem for the last 20+ years nobody seems to be able to define what the phrase 'the best man for the job' means. Lot of generalities being thrown around. Maybe its Winters. Maybe its Campbell. Maybe its ??? What we do know is the last coach who had a winning record at this school hasn't been here for a long time. Whoever the next coach is needs to rebuild a foundation for the entire program. He needs to be able to show current improvement on the field. In other words he needs to be able to 'coach up' players he inherits. Needs to build a recruiting base. Needs to TRY to reinvolve the community in the program. And on and on and on. This problem isn't just the fault of coaches either. Its also the responsibility of a succession of AD's. Its the responsibility of others in the administration. I fear that no matter who comes in here its still going to be a few more years before this team becomes consistently competetive in the MAC. That doesn't mean we shouldn't see improvment,it means they better get the 'right' guy this time.

Is Lombardi still available?

Just like everything else here some speculation. Maybe Wistrcill has 'some guidance from above' on this one. Maybe some folks who sign his checks and pay the bills are guiding this search more than the last. Don't look behind the curtain.

I don't think the candidates with current jobs would appreciate being on an announced short list. Said that.