GP1

No and no. Didn't even know there was a Jeff Bowden. I saw Tommy Bowden's last game in person against Wake on a Thursday night. The offense was terrible. Never won and easy to win ACC Championship. Never even won his division when the ACC went to divisions. Let's not bring in a tired cast because their last name is Bowden. Personally, I think we got the best of the Bowdens. Brighter days ahead.

No they wouldn't. There is a huge difference between the size and mentality of a person between the ages of 16 and 18 compared to a person between the ages of 18 and 23. It's men vs. boys and the men win. I think you're giving a cliche of a response, while forgetting that so many Moeller players were heading right to top-level BCS schools the following fall. A typical high school player might not be good enough to compete against a D-II college plaer. A typical Moeller player in the 1970s?...Absolutely. No way.... You're dreaming. 17 year olds can't compete against 22 year olds in football as a team. Different levels of college can compete...not high school vs college.

Not a problem, I'm stuck at the office because corporate thinks we are "productive" on days surrounding a holiday. The guy I work for is entirely too smart for that type of thinking.

No they wouldn't. There is a huge difference between the size and mentality of a person between the ages of 16 and 18 compared to a person between the ages of 18 and 23. It's men vs. boys and the men win.

Stop making sense. I'm not defending our Moore. However, if Bowden doesn't bring in one of his own recruits to be QB, it will be interesting to see how he does in a spread offense with a staff who knows how to run it and coach it. If he becomes more comfortable in an offense suited for his size and style, maybe the accuracy improves. Maybe they can utilize his running ability more. Maybe he'll continue to get balls batted down...who knows? A lot of things can happen. First things first though. We got rid of a pro style coach and brought in a spread coach. Good things will happen starting there.

Not to rain on the parade I do think this is a great hire BUT comparing what Terry Bowden did In the SEC to what Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier has done and continue to due is down right dumb. Terry won two years with the previous coaches recruits. Plus the sec was no where near what is now. LSU was not bowl eligble the first three years he was there. They lost to them during one of those years. Plus this is the time when Nebraska was dominate with Tommy Frazier and Florida state was a dynasty. Tennessee won their title in 1999 Florida won in 1996 when they beat auburn. Just bottom line if your saying that the SEC was the best hands down your wrong. He won but not with his recruits like les miles. But he didn't get a ring so he's not les miles or none of the above During the 10 year period SEC 3 National Championships ACC 2 Big 12 (though didn't really exist) 3 Big 10 1 Big East 1 So the SEC was one of the dominant conferences at that time. The Big 8 had 3 one with Colorado in 1990, two with Nebraska (one of which was considered split with Penn State) The SEC saw Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida win national titles. They would have had 4 if not for Auburn's NCAA sanctions which would take away Florida State's national title. Thanks for saving me the time. I've been outside staining the deck I said, in July, I was going to stain before my family got to my house the day after Christmas.

If he is thinking of leaving, he is already gone. We need guys who are all in. If he wants to stay and be all in, then fine, but I don't think that is the case here.

I hope the members of the committee are not the same people who sat on the Coach I committee. Unfortunately, nobody on the committee has probably heard of Ludwig von Mises and the three elements necessary for change. A person must experience all three before making a change. 1. Uneasiness with the current state of affairs. 2. A vision of a better state. 3. A belief that a better state is achievable. Before making Paul an offer, the committe/TW should have known the answers to these points. Was Paul uneasy with his current situation? I would tend to say no based upon the available information because WSU just played for the national championship. Given Paul's age, some discussion with him should have focused on his age and ability to make a leap/take a risk at this point in his life. The older someone gets, the more risk averse they become. Not scoring on point 1 is enough to not close a deal. However, is the vision of a better state UofA football coming off two 1-11 seasons and an Athletic Department with TW at the helm? My personal opinion is no, but others are free to argue. Strikes 1 and 2 now have happened. A belief that a better state is achievable. With TW as the AD? I would say no. It doesn't matter though because Paul was never uneasy with his current situation. Everyone thinks TW should have been able to easily "close the deal" with Paul. Nonsense. Even if TW is a good deal closer, von Mises would tell us there was no way Paul was going to accept the position. The best way to close a deal is to guide a person in a direction that creates points 1,2 and 3 to happen in the mind of the decision maker. That's what the best of the best salesmen do. Make them realize for themselves the change is necessary. Timing has to be right when closing a deal. It wasn't the right time for Paul so the timing was off. I told you guys weeks ago, I should be on the hiring committee. They need someone who understands Ludwig von Mises. Excellent analysis GP1. Believe me or not. A little bird told me that the AD at Wayne State,Fournier was an assistant at Akron but got fired. This person seemed to think that he waited until the dust settled with the Akron offer to Winters then upped the ante by offering him a very lucrative 5 year extension. Given what happened to both of them here that apparently sealed the deal. I believe you. Fournier was always kind of a sneaky little guy. Either way, we are in a great position today.

I look for Bowden to be hunting for a premier QB as I type this post. One that can see over his offensive line, and who can throw the ball 40+ yards and hit a target. I'd look for another too. However, if they don't get one, a decision has to be made and someone has to play QB. If some of the parts change, then the QB might get better. A properly coached and called spread offense takes a lot of kids, with limited talent, and makes them good. We didn't have anyone who knew how to call the plays or coach the kids on staff for this type of offense. Here is our current QB situation and the reason why we need one from the outside. 1. Moore: Didn't show much last year. 1-11 as starter. Hard to get the 1-11 stink off of someone. Could be good in a spread. Too many years ahead of him to spend the time to see if he gets good. Keep him in case we need him. 2. Nicely: Won 4 games in two seasons as starter. Benchwarmer last year. Don't waste a year on this guy. Give him his walking papers and his Christmas gift from Santa (see above). 3. D'Orazio: Hasn't played in a game in what will be 3 years. Hasn't sniffed the field in any capacity. Good safety?... Why wasn't he on the field last year? On a talentless team, the guy couldn't get on the field. My guess is there isn't as much to this kid as eveyone on this board seems to think...maybe there is. Lots of guys look good at Division V high schools. See what he can do on defense.

I was going to post a topic about this, but I didn't want to start a topic filled with a stupid article, but thanks for bring it up because it is worth addressing. Pluto Article Pluto is a porn loving jackass....I can respect that. However, this article is terrible. He is almost mad that Akron is daring to get good with a big name coach when we "tried something different". No crap pornboy. We are sick and tired of being something Pluto never gets sick and tired of, UofA and Can't for that matter being the little engine who could. We are trying to get good. He loves Winters and so do we. Winters would have done just fine at Akron, but he isn't Bowden. Winters isn't the quick turnaround guy we need. Pluto also thinks it would be a good idea to have Lee Owens on staff. He can't be serious. Owens took a crap on UofA on his way out the door. He shouldn't be allowed in the City, let alone on campus. That paragraph is so stupid it is shocking to read. Attention Terry Pluto. Try a Google search. Akron went 7-6 in 2005, not 7-5. The extra game was a bowl they had the nerve to make so you probably wanted to ignore that. In closing, Terry Pluto can suck it.

I wonder how much Moore being on the team influenced tb's decision.?.? Did tb take the job, in part, because he believed he had a QB he could work with? Lots of questions to be answered down the road. It's going to be fun to watch unfold.

Good topic Big Zip. Of all the coaches we could have hired, tb probably knows more about Moore than any of them. A LOT more. Moore is from Mississippi. For those of you who haven't looked at a map in a few years, MS is next to Alabama. TB loves JUCO players so he probably took a close look at Moore and knows his potential. From all we have heard, Moore was a good spread offense player. Moore comes to Akron and between the pro offense and the bad coaching, we saw the results. Is the player bad or is the coaching bad? I think it was a lot more than that. Good players with bad coaches lose. Once losing starts, confidence and momentum is lost. Once confidence and momentum is lost....well, we saw the results. Combine that with a bad coach and we get a 1-11 season. Also, Moore is a southern kid. TB will be able to relate to him in a way that a guy from New York like Coach I couldn't. It is going to be fun to watch Bowden in press conferences. Southern coaches don't just sound different when they talk, they say different things. They are funny and refreshing. Of the three current QBs, Moore has the best shot at starting when Bowden brings the spread offense to town. I think Bowden can help him turn the page. If Bowden brings in a JUCO QB, all three of them had better hope Santa brings them some luggage this Christmas.

Pardon my ignorance, but was the SEC as prominent in the 90's as they are today? No. The SEC has won the last five national championships and is about to make it six in a row. It was still the best conference in the country at the time though.

There are two types of winning in college football. 1. Regular winning 2. Winning in the SEC We have just hired a guy who won 75% of his games at category #2, at a school on probation for part of the time. The league is absolutely brutal. This guy is a real winner. Do you guys know who else wins in the SEC? Nick Saban...Les Miles...Steve Spurrier. Recognize these names? We have a coach who did what these guys did/do. I hope everyone understands what a great hire this guy is. Of the available talent on the market right now, this guy is the only one who has done it at category #2.

Link “I’m so excited to be a Zip,” Bowden said in a news release. “With the great resources and the commitment to winning by the administration and community, it’s just a matter of time until we build a championship program.” I couldn't get past this quote. Makes me even more excited. Looks like UofA has finally figured out the value of winning. What's that I see? The building process ends with a championship. I freaking love it. This is the type of public statement I want to see. No...."We are going to build a team everyone can be proud of" nonsense. Let's win. Thanks for bringing the attitude and a big boys view of college athletics TB. Welcome back!!

I'm going with 3-5. It doesn't take long to load up on good JUCO players and get the program moving forward. In reality, kids haven't even made an official campus visit yet.

Good post. Wagner will need a boatload of luck to get in the NFL. I think I was the first one last season to say he makes too many tackles dowonfield. Nice MAC player, not an NFL player. Come back to Akron next year Brian...It's your best shot. Kansas is a dump.

The only problem I see is Gerry Faust had all the same qualities when hired at UA. Could be Faust part. 2, I'm trying to be optimistic, but the bad luck we have with the football program is killing my spirits. Faust never coached at a lower level.

Go right ahead. See what you come up with.

Solich went the four year recruit route, not heavily Juco. The university never would have allowed it. OU Roster Compare past to starters and you will see more JUCO at OU than most MAC schools.

There is one thing some of you are going to have to get used to. Bowden is a JUCO guy and he will bring good ones to Akron. OU turned their program around with JUCO guys Solich brought in from Okahomaand that part of the country. Please don't think this program is going to get turned around with frosh from NE Ohio high schools. Without JUCO guys, we are looking at another five year "building process" and Bowden is the type of guy who has no interest in a "building process". He wants to win and win right away. He will get JUCO guys to help him do that. I say bring them in. We need to start winning and winning soon.

Let's revisit Ludwig von Mises and his three elements for change. Maybe it will give us some insight into how Bowden was thinking. 1. Uneasiness with current state 2. Vision of a better state 3. A belief that a better state is achievable A guy like Bowden has been to the top. There isn't much time for him to get back to the top if that is what he wants. The addiction is powerful. My guess is he would like one last shot at the big time and was uneasy with his current situation. A short stint in Akron may be just what he needs and he knows it. That takes us to a vision of a better state. He wants to coach D-IA again and sees himself that way or he wouldn't have signed on the dotted line. I'm down with someone believing in themselves. He needed to get in somewhere he could prove himself again. The way he left Auburn wasn't the greatest and lots of schools probably didn't go after him. Screw those schools and their shortsightedness...proof that college athletics is run by idiots. A believe that a better state is achievable. He probably looked around at Akron and believed getting good, and in a hurry, was possible at Akron. It is. I think we all agree that the potential at Akron is very good and we have not taken advantage of our situation. Bowden is a guy who can and is probably very comfortable in his own skin. He is probably comfortable taking the Zips and turning them around quickly. I would have no problem with Bowden coming to Akron, turning it around in 2-3 years and moving on to a better opportunity. von Mises would tell me that is how he is thinking. If this happened, we would have the confidence and momentum we so badly need. This program just needs to get off of its back and get moving forward. Everything else is in place to be good. Bowden will do a good job because he has to do well for himself and I'm OK with that. I'm really excited today!!!!!

Interesting. No names come to mind and maybe that is a good thing. Maybe the type of person he is looking for would be more appropriate for where we are today. The one thing he really lacks is the connection with Ohio coaches. He will need to get some guys connected around Ohio, Michigan and W. PA.

Among many other reasons, thanks for giving me a reason to take my Akron Zips sweatshirt off the shelf. I'll be wearing it around Charlotte tonight. Go Zips!!

I never thought we could get a coach like him. For the first time in a long time, I'm excited about the Zips again. Quick turnaround is the key and he is a quick turnaround guy. Today is a good day to be a Zip.