Lee Adams

Point being,if the AD and Proenza do a REAL search there are plenty of possibilities out there who have some sort of track record as a head coach. They are not all going to be interested but pick up the phone and talk to more than just a few people this time.

IF,its down to these 3, Winters has the BETTER quals. for THIS job in my humble opinion.

He's "advising" us to take a position coach with no experience running a team or calling plays. That's not encouraging at all. Lets hope not. May be a nice guy but even with Tressel recommending him thats way too much of a reach. Too much OJT needed there.

I'm gonna sound like Dave when I say this, but there is no recipe for a good choice. Some great HC's had their first job as a HC in the MAC. Previously their highest position was a coordinator. Urban Meyer, Brady Hoke, Al Golden, Gary Pinkel... Point is, we need to find the right coach for us. He may have been a head coach for 30 years, or never. Problem is figuring out who the 'right' coach is before he and Wistrcill make another mess of things.

We need to get off the hiring of the 'hot' young coordinators with no HC experieince. This program needs stability. It doesn't need another assistant with no experience running a program trying to learn on the job. Its time for Wistrcill to get on the phone and contact some of the HC's in the GLIAC,Gatweway,Penna State Athl Conf,the OVC etc. who are having some success now. These guys recruit the same areas as Akron,they are familiar with the turf. They may be older guys. They may not have the name recognition of the names being thrown around here. But there are some guys with track records who might be conviced by the facilities and the right $$$ to come here. Winters probably falls into that category. Its tiring watching these guys try to learn on the job then leave with the program in worse shape than when they arrived.

Now that it appears that the Tressel storm has finally passed back to what may actually help this program. Maybe instead of going after the latest 'hotshot' coordinators or even 'hotshot' younger coaches at a lower level,maybe what Wistrcill needs to look at is the possibility of stability. If Wistrcill is interested there are some more established coaches at I-AA and D-II who have been successful where they are. It seems like all the AD's in recent history have gone after assistants from bigger programs with very limited success here. Maybe he needs to actually look this time at people who don't jump off the page or who are not his friends. Maybe he needs to look at coaches who have been winning at lower levels who might listen to an offer. But to do that you actually have to do some research. There are coaches in the Gateway,GLIAC,PSAC,OVC etc who are familiar with this area and are successful where they are. I am getting tired of watching coaches with no coaching track record trying to learn how to run a program on the fly. We know Faust didn't work but he probably never should have been in D-I to begin with. Get somebody on the sidelines who has a clue before they get here for c....t sake.

Not that Bowden wouldn't be a great hire....but. Why at this point in his career after he has coached in the real big time and has been successful with non-football gigs as well as his current gig would he need or want to come to a place like Akron? He is not oriented to this part of the country. He has stated he wants one more shot in the SEC if he could get. But,he hasn't gotten some bigger jobs he has interviewed for. He is going to get more exposure down south by doing what he is doing now. But,you can always make an offer.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say our starting QB this year will not physically grow taller in a different system or with a different coach. Well, Ianello trying to force a 6'1" QB into a pro-style offense to drop back against 6'5" defensive linemen never seemed too smart to me either. However, I really don't know if Moore might be better in a different system. Not saying Moore is in the same league, but Denard Robinson is also 6'1". BTW, I'm one of the people who sometimes stood at the games and screamed for Ianello to go to Nicely. So, I'm not here to defend Clayton. I'm just saying that things have been so screwed up for two years that I don't think the average fan (me) can assess what we have in terms of player talent. The one obvious exception being B. Wagner. And,it wasn't just that he was trying to force his guy Moore into a dropback system. The offensive system he installed didn't really fit most of the players he had to work with. In the middle of year 2 he started to make some changes on offense but at that point neither QB could save that team. And,the defense was just a bucket of s..t from start to finish. Thats one reason they have to find a coach who can be flexible enough to put the players he inherits into a system that fits them until he can get more of his guys. I was never really sold on Moore but I was never sold on Manley Waller and some of the other guys who got most of the playing time. Lets hope.

Maybe Tressel maybe not. Figure it out and move on. It is pretty obvious that nobody around here knows with 100% certainty what was going to happen with Ianello nor what is going to happen regarding the next coach. Again,they can make an 'offer' to anyone. And its not a matter of anyone having egg on their faces because they couldn't guess that the last coach was going to be fired or who is going to be hired.I didn't 'think' he would get fired. Many thought he 'should' have been fired including myself. This type of stuff is supposed to be fun for the people who post here. Its opinion. I hope its not a matter of having to 'prove' oneself here because this is at the bottom of my priority list when it comes to things that are really important. Have fun with it.

All good points. The law suit stuff doesn't bother me. It's not like he is his own lawyer or something and spends hours putting together his own cases. Bigger schools have to worry about the potential hit from ESPN if they hire him (ESPN will run negative stories about him), but Akron doesn't because nobody is paying attention. Only way Leach would drop to this level is if he felt he had absolutely no hope of getting into a bigger program. But his first choice if he does drop will be south or west not north. He can hang on doing the radio show with Jack Arute from his house in the Keys. Only other place he said he would consider living is Clorado.

Dennison is important to UA because he is one of the winningest coaches in its history. He also was involved with the program for 20 years (including 7 as the AD). And why would Tressel be interested in Akron? Its home.

Its one thing to offer a guy like Tressel a job. Its another thing for it to realistically have a chance of happening. They could offer a number of successful head coaches who are now out of work. Shoot Dennis Erickson won a national championship at Miami. I think he is now lost in the desert. I would think that most people would love to have a guy like Tressel IF he can actually get on the field. But if the possible sanctions are not going to allow him to actually coach move on.

A couple of problems right now. First and foremost we don't know if either Nicely or Moore could have performed better under a different system with coaches who knew what they were doing. Second there will be defections as there always are when a coach gets fired. Who knows who will stay. Its gonna depend on what type of system the new guy runs. Surer as hell hope its not a 'pro' or power set. Thats one reason I would question Fickell. If he were hired and tried to bring some of those OSU coordinators with him we are going to be looking at what they were doing down there. Can't do that here.

I agree with this except for Winters. An inconsistent coach in D37 or whatever low level league he plays in isn't what I want. Leach is rumored once again for the Wash State job. Please,not Turner Gill. He fell flat when he tried to move up. Probably wasn't ready. Don't need a guy on the way back down. Right now there are all kinds of guys out there with successful head coaching experience. Do you want a Solich type,an older guy who has coached at the highest levels and had some success? Do you want a younger guy(HC) from a lower level who is on the way up? Or do you want another coordinator with no HC experience? I want someone who has successfully run a program at some level and has dealt with the responsibilities of being in charge.

Great question. I think it would be a terrible career move for him. IF he can stay on staff at OSU for just a couple of more years, better opportunities will open up and his professional experience will be expanded beyond Owens and Tressel. I would tend to agree with these as reasons logic would compel Fick to stay at OSU, plus no move for his family (kids schools). Staying is certainly less risky than leaving. Heck, he may get a better offer than Akron yet this year. On the other hand, maybe he has anxiety over how his role will play out under Urban Meyer. Have you ever had a job where you got a new boss, and it was clear the new boss never considered you one of "his guys", and you never really felt comfortable with them? Luke must be wondering how that situation will work out. Plus, while he'd be taking over a bad program at Akron, he should be able to improve it fairly quickly and then move on to coach at a bigger program. IMO, it could be decided based on money, and how comfortable Luke feels being in a situation where he knows he was "pushed" onto Urban Meyer by the OSU atheletic department. UA may be able to close the gap regarding money. The other variable can only be determined by Luke's gut decisons, and likely only after he has had substantial discussion with Meyer (who will surely say all the right things). I doubt Fickel will be prepared to make a decision right away, unless he has already concluded he does not want to stay on under Meyer. Why would Meyer want a leftover from the Tressel era. All that does is divide loyalties among the players. You know there would be players who would have more loyalty to Fickell than to Meyer in a case like that. He doesn't need that crap. Its not as if Meyer couldn't pretty much get the pick of any assisstants he wanted. Supposedly, the OSU administration and athletic department insisted to Meyer that he offer Fickel a position as a reward for his thankless job of loyally leading the team during this season of suspensions, investigations, and turmoil. They are rewarding Fick for his service as a good soldier. Thats nice of OSU. One would then assume as Meyer is, that Fickell will take a head coaching job somehwere pretty quickly. No reason for him to hang on at OSU any longer than he has to if he gets a job offer. His guy Tressel is gone. Meyer owes him nothing.

The guys on 92.3 are talking about the 'Akron Thing' right now. Thats Phelps not the two blowhards who are on before. The take there is Tress goes to the pros so the sanctions aren't an issue. Fickell MIGHT fall to Akron,IF he wants a headcoaching job. They also made the point about Hazell being at Can't and how that would jack up the rivary(not that that is a reason to hire Fickell). They pretty much dismissed the Vest to Akron rumor.

Great question. I think it would be a terrible career move for him. IF he can stay on staff at OSU for just a couple of more years, better opportunities will open up and his professional experience will be expanded beyond Owens and Tressel. I would tend to agree with these as reasons logic would compel Fick to stay at OSU, plus no move for his family (kids schools). Staying is certainly less risky than leaving. Heck, he may get a better offer than Akron yet this year. On the other hand, maybe he has anxiety over how his role will play out under Urban Meyer. Have you ever had a job where you got a new boss, and it was clear the new boss never considered you one of "his guys", and you never really felt comfortable with them? Luke must be wondering how that situation will work out. Plus, while he'd be taking over a bad program at Akron, he should be able to improve it fairly quickly and then move on to coach at a bigger program. IMO, it could be decided based on money, and how comfortable Luke feels being in a situation where he knows he was "pushed" onto Urban Meyer by the OSU atheletic department. UA may be able to close the gap regarding money. The other variable can only be determined by Luke's gut decisons, and likely only after he has had substantial discussion with Meyer (who will surely say all the right things). I doubt Fickel will be prepared to make a decision right away, unless he has already concluded he does not want to stay on under Meyer. Why would Meyer want a leftover from the Tressel era. All that does is divide loyalties among the players. You know there would be players who would have more loyalty to Fickell than to Meyer in a case like that. He doesn't need that crap. Its not as if Meyer couldn't pretty much get the pick of any assisstants he wanted.

Or stall splinters For the record, I'm not set on any one individual. As much as I despised Tressel in the past, both at YSU and OSU, I'll admit if there is any chance of hiring him here, UA needs to give it a shot even if it is primarily for financial reasons. Assuming the potential coaching ban is not an issue, I still have a mild concern over whether he can operate the same program as he did at YSU without the threat of NCAA violations occuring here. And if he runs a 100% clean operation, will he necessarily be successful? Aside from these particulars, there is always the possibility that the one time successful "big time coach" simply doesn't get it done at the lower level program (for example Dick Crum at K.E.N.T., and more recently Bill Curry at Georgia St and Larry Coker at UTSA). Still, it's probably a risk worth taking, but there are certainly no guarantees regardless of who gets the job. Oh and one more thing. We can't schedule Slippery Rock and Clarion to open every season like Tressel did back in his YSU heyday. Ya and you can't schedule Akron,Toledo,OU etc,etc as your OOC patsies.

Tressel was in Tommy Evans Lounge yesterday, spotted by several people. This is Tressel's job if he wants it. He's been to several athletic events this year including the Zips soccer game against OSUcks. Who knows if he'll accept, but we should get everyone in this community behind a Tressel hire. Spread the word that Akron wants him. Put some pressure on him to say "yes" Maybe he was here talking up his man Fickell. Maybe not.

Nice work. Here are my qualifications: 1) Some type of successful HC experience at the D-II level or above. 2) Experience recruiting Ohio,Western Penna first and the ability to bring in a few athletes from down south or out west. 3)Has the ability and WILLINGNESS to adapt his schemes to the players he inherits. 4)Willingness to at least try to keep players from the previous regime and not run them off. 5)Willingess to bring in asisstants who aren't just retreads and who can adapt to the conditions as they exist here. 6)The ability to coach before and ON gameday. He has to be able to do more than assign positions and put players on the field. 7)The willingness to accept responsibility when he screws up and say so in public. 8)The willingness to connect with the few fans who actually still follow football here. 9)The ability to beat Can't. It ain't gonna be easy.

Suddenly a lot of people have crystallized their opinions. Hell,24 hours ago we weren't absolutely sure we would be looking for another coach. Without naming names,what are the qualities that the next coach absolutely has to have?

How about we speculate w/o getting personal. I suppose if any of us were suited to make these decisions we would have been doing so for years.

Ya and so is Dennis Erickson,probably.

Keep us posted. I think that there were a sizable number of people who didn't think Proenza would pull the plug on Ianello this year. I thought it would be another year because of mone not because Ianello deserved another. Proenza has reached despararation to do this now. He has to make some sort of a splash with the next hire or the program becomes moribund. Anybody know what names were recommended when Ianello was hired?