GP1

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.

I remember watching the Louisville game on TV. And we've discussed the Delaware St debacle here before. Someone has to recall the 1986 QB. I'm pretty sure Vernon Stewart was a SR in Dennison's last year (1985). Maybe I'm mistaken. Link

Wasn't Andy also QB in 1986? I seem to rememeber him playing the better part of one season. Didn't he get hurt in 1987 with Mark Unaitis finishing up the season? I don't remember who the QB was in 86 (still in high school), but it wasn't Andy. Andy was a redshirt frosh in 87. Andy didn't get hurt, he got benched for the first series of the game against Louisville. I'm going off of fading memory here, but here it goes....We were destroyed the week before by Deleware State 52-27 or something very close. Andy threw three pick-sixes and we had a punt blocked in the endzone for a TD against us. Nobody would even look at him on the sidelines. Faust wanted to shake things up the next week so he started Mark U. and we drove down the field against Louisville (In that old minor league baseball stadium they used to play in) on the first drive and scored. Scoring with Mark U. in the game was too much for Faust to handle so he pulled him the second series and put Andy back in. We ended up losing by around 21 and only scored 10. That spring, Faust brought in Mike Johnson to be the started and Mark U., during the summer, went to the ABJ and said the job should be his. The next day he was removed from the team. Oh, the Faust years.

I share the sentiment that Bowden was one of the best available. Correct me if i'm wrong, didn't he spend some time with the Zips as an assistant? Anybody that experienced the Rubber Bowl trough's has instant street cred in my book!! WOOT Go Zips!!! Ku*k Fent!!! Yes, that's why i've mentioned it. He was our QB coach under Faust back in about 1987 Who was our QB in 87? I was 10 forgive me for my lack of knowledge. Andy Kubik was the QB in 1987. Bowden was not the coach that year...Carr was. Andy started one year as a redshirt frosh then Faust brought in Mike Johnson and Andy was on scout team for the rest of his career at Akron. Jeff Sweitzer was the #2 QB and then started after Johnson graduated.

Don't hold your breath too long CoachGerry. Those 20 Diet Cokes a day you drink could cause quite a gas bubble.

Story

Since this post is about trust, I'm going to go out on a limb and trust every word of WNN's post is good. Thanks for the effort. I left only these three parts in for a reason. It's one thing to not trust someone and still be able to negotiate a contract, as the contract is a form of protection. Paul could have done some negotiating, yet he decided not to. Goes directly to trust and the belief TW is someone he can't trust.

He was probably just listening to Frenchy and Dunn. What problem I had was he had a hat on as well. He clearly did not look like a professional. It's not a huge deal but I would have liked him to show some respect towards his teammates and the program. A hat as well? Well, that settles it....someone call the cops. How is listening to music and wearing a hat not respectful to his teammates? Yikes, did it turn into the 1950s in here again?

Nobody is perfect. We have people on the horizon. The only question now is how far is the coach away from perfect.

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.

Perhaps a little more patience and time during that change would have yielded a better result? Maybe the two had been talking for a couple of months leading up to that period.?.? I'm all for a little more patience if the situation calls for it. More time isn't what I'm worried about. I'm more worried about us not being able to land one of our own from a DII school and what that says in general about the state of the program..... and our ability to bring in someone with a coaching pulse because our program has no pulse.

This is the oddest coaching selection since Ted Turner selected himself as manager of the Braves.

Ah, Dr. Ruebel. Never gets enough credit for the modern UofA.

Sorry Big Zip, this is Browns fan logic. Paul has done nothing wrong. He looked at the job and decided where he was was a better fit for him.