GP1

Good post. A lot of how good of a coach you are depends on the players on your team. Better players = good coach. Poor players = bad coach. If players didn't matter, people wouldn't care about recruiting. Vince Lombardi won 75% of his games in Green Bay and only 58% of his games in Washington. Same guy, worse records. Good coach or bad coach? Maybe it was the players. I've said before, my objection to Coach I is philosophical. I don't believe his style of play is conducive to winning in college football in 2010. I'm sure the guy knows a heck of a lot about football and probably more than 99% of the posters on this board. The Zips didn't need a guy to come in an go on a five year "building process". We've had enough of that. We needed and still need a guy to win asap. If the Zips don't get things turned around quickly, that stadium sitting on Brown Street is going to be as empty as a Sunday evening church service on Super Bowl Sunday. If they go 0-12, I think they should fire him not because he doesn't know anything about football, but because a guy who goes 0-12 can never get the program turned around because he will be crippled by the 0-12 record. Fans will walk away. Recruits who want to come to an 0-12 program will be slim....good players want to play at winning programs. As bad as the MAC is, I still hold out hope that we can win at least ONE game. It really isn't unreasonable in the MAC.

Pretty flawed argument, GP1, when you consider who the Zips hired as their last three coaches. Faust was retirement age and had already been at ND. Owens...well, whoever thought it was a good idea to hire a HS coach got what they deserved. Brookhart?....good heavens, his credentials were about as poor as Ianello's. And Ianello?....no one will come headhunting for him either. That speaks more to the flawed UA selection process. The right man could come in to this market and awaken a sleeping giant. You really think RI is that man? Fickell would've connected with people from Day 1. Do I think RI is the man? Hell no! IF this team goes 0-12, he should be fired, along with the AD who hired him, at the end of the year. Other than being from Ohio (I'm not sure why that matters), what would make him a great coach? He was a defensive coach at UofA during the Owens years....Remember how the defenses played during those years? Did anyone ever think we get the quality of coaches we get because it is all we can get? Why is UofA an attractive position? Why would a guy like LF come to UofA?

This is as close as I could get to an article stating LF had any real interest in the job at UofA. It only says he was a candidate. This could mean anything. The interesting thing is it is in an article about tOSU coaches getting raises. Was he interested in UofA, or was he interested in getting a pay increase? $100K difference between assistant coach at tOSU and head coach at UofA. What would you do? UofA has yet to produce a coach that goes up the ladder after UofA, earning it the Great GP1 name of "The Graveyard of Coaches". I would have done exactly what he did.

Good post. This is the best part. ND just isn't bad, they are terrible and void of any talent. Navy has better talent....NAVY. I watched Wake almost beat Navy this season and Wake is terrible. Getting back to a question I asked earlier. What evidence is there that LF is even interested in the program beyond the fact that he has a connection to UofA through his professional career? I'm sure he would like to see the Zips do well because he coached at UofA, but is there any REAL evidence he showed a level of interest beyond just a passing glance? Someone please provide that evidence.

I agree it is a disgrace and embarrassment. I demand an explanation.... What evidence is there that this guy wanted the job?

There is no great anything on this team. However, there is a lot of "good enough"....good enough not to go winless.

We have basically the same level of talent that won three games last year. They shouldn't go winless.

This rumor is false.

I can't. I also don't remember who was looking for coaches last season. The real question is, "Who else was interested?" There are always discussion on this board about who we should hire. The more important question is, "Who is interested?" Hire Bowden?....What if he isn't interested? etc. Despite there being twenty-two FBS schools looking for a new coach after last season, only two were interested in Ianello: Akron and San Jose State. I didn't state the questions clearly enough. I should have said, "Who else was interested in Akron?" I know because of confidentiality reasons they can't say, I'd like to know who else was interested or even who else was contacted to see if they were interested. You can only hire someone who wants to be hired.

You guys aren't going to believe this, but I have a button on my frige....

If you limit it to the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB then it is probably true. However, basketball is played in many countries that have professional leagues other than the NBA and those leagues are very popular. The interest in the NBA in China, the fastest growing economic market and largest population, is huge. Let's see where soccer is in a few years. My guess is basketball will give it a run for its money.

You are not looking at everything. Compare TV ratings in each and it tells the real story. Soccer is a niche sport that not many people like, but those who do like it really like it and have the money to go to games. I'm sure millions of US viewers watched "Some of the World Cup". I did and I hated every minute of it. We watch it not because we like it, it's because it was forced down our throats like the Little League World Series and the WNBA are forced down our throats. MLS can out draw NBA and NHL because it has bigger stadiums and fewer games. Did MLS even break 2.0 million fans last year? The NHL will be played in an NFL stadium this year and there will be 60,000+ fans watching it. What that tells me is if the NHL had as few games as MLS and played in bigger stadiums, they would average more than MLS.....same for the NBA. Please stop with how popular soccer is in the US. My entire life, I have had to listen to how soccer is becoming more popular and it is still a niche sport played by kids who couldn't make the baseball, football or basketball teams. It is also painfully boring to watch and Americans won't put up with that.

Obsession is a bad thing. But if it makes you feel better about yourself, so be it. Maybe you should check SOS at the end of the year. I doubt you will post it then. Do you think they will rise into the top 70?

I can't. I also don't remember who was looking for coaches last season. The real question is, "Who else was interested?" There are always discussion on this board about who we should hire. The more important question is, "Who is interested?" Hire Bowden?....What if he isn't interested? etc.

At this point, most fans either love lbj or they hate him. This ad is not going to change that. It probably reinforces both opinions. For the people who love him, it is going to sell a lot of shoes to them. If it is a good product, it may also help sell some shoes to those who hate him. Either way, people are talking about Nike. The truth is, Nike has a reputation for making great products. If my feet weren't so freaking fat, I'd buy them myself. Today, someone is going to go buy a pair of Nike golf shoes because they saw the ad and were reminded: 1. Nike is a good brand and they make golf shoes. 2. I need a pair of golf shoes. 3. I'm going out to buy a pair of Nike golf shoes.

Nobody knows the answer to the first question. What we do know is JD would have had 16-17 returnig starters on his team in his system. That is enough material for Coach I to do SOMETHING with beyond potentially 0-12. So if the question is whether or not it is realistic to believe JD could have done better than 3 wins, I guess it falls within the world of reality. It's within the world of reality to believe Coach I, or any coach, could win 3-4 games with those numbers. The answer to question #2 is yes. See the number of returning starters. Owens took over a terrible team with far less talent than there is on the current Zips team and won more games than Faust. It can be done. It isn't getting done. When an AD fires a coach, what he is saying is, "I can hire someone who can produce more wins than the current guy." The expectation for more than 3 wins is realistic. It happens all the time in college football. We are talking about going from 3-4 wins...this isn't asking very much. You're right, nobody can see the future. What we do know is if we go 0-12, the damage to Coach I's reputation, as it is taken advantage of by coaches recruiting against us, may be insurmountable. Fans focus too much on their own program and don't take into consideration how a program's shortcomings can be taken advantage of by other programs. If we go 0-12, we are in huge trouble the next couple of off seasons and seasons. This team really, really, really, really needs to avoid an 0-12 season. In terms of Coach I's future, if he goes 0-12, there isn't a program in the country that would hire him in D-I or even I-AA. He may be a good assistant, but he'll never get another head coach job again. That's just the reality of college football.

If I had to choose, I guess I'd take the tOSU assistant. However, why would the top assistant at tOSU leave there to coach at an 0-12 school? And please don't tell me the facilities. We were supposed to be good because of facilities and look where we are now. No one believes new facilities automatically make a team better. New facilities certainly make a better recruiting tool than dumpy facilities, but they're just one of many recruiting tools that may make one school more attractive than another to recruits. With new facilities and a coach renowned for his recruiting abilities, UA could reasonably be expected to attract higher potential recruits than in the past. That takes more than 1 year to evaluate. Then there's the matter of coaching higher potential players into a cohesive team that plays at a higher level than previous Zips teams, which takes even longer to evaluate. Are you saying we are still in our never ending "building process"? I think I've seen this play before.

I'm trying to save the football program, not destroy it. It may seem negative, but it isn't. Stating that this program has done next to nothing in 20+ years isn't a dig, it's a fact. Stating the MAC has been a terrible conference with some good years since 1940whatever isn't a dig, it's a fact. Reality isn't an opinion. There could be a great ending to the story of college football if the non-bcs schools decided to go their own way and have their own division. Great endings are positive, not negative. It is silly to believe that there are 130 some teams out there who can compete at the same level. Even in D-1, there are only about 40 programs (probably less) at a high level. If we could get things turned in the right direction, we could compete for a national championship at that level. In terms of facities, we have everything we need to compete at a new level. Instead,we choose to be victims of a bad decision made 20+ years ago now. I used to be a believer, but a few years away from the MAC and watching even bad ACC football has shown me how far away the MAC is from being respectable. Somehow my idea has been turned around to mean we are "droping down" to I-AA. That isn't the case. The non-bcs schools need to get together and form their own division and take control of their own future before the non-bcs schools do it for them. When the BCS schools act on their own, they don't consult nonbcs schools and it always turns out bad for us. I say screw them and get away from being their b....youknowwhatitchs. If anyone out there thinks the BCS schools wouldn't act on their own, ask yourself this...Is the BCS the first step in those teams making their own division? If you say no, are not reading all of the tea leaves. Look beyond the MAC and UofA to see the future.

First off, $5 is not "giving away." A butt in the stands purchasing a program, food, drinks, etc. is better than a butt on the couch at home adding zero to the UA coffers, wouldn't you think. Second, only kids got $5 tickets (with a paying adult). And I can assure you, there's no kid in Akron who received $5 worth of entertainment with that ticket. Was the stadium packed or not?

If I had to choose, I guess I'd take the tOSU assistant. However, why would the top assistant at tOSU leave there to coach at an 0-12 school? And please don't tell me the facilities. We were supposed to be good because of facilities and look where we are now.

How long to turn it around? What would the turn arond look like? Define winning. Why would any successful lower level coach come to Akron when they could wait it out for a better opportunity? If we hire a guy like this and it doesn't work, then what? I say enough is enough. This isn't just an issue pertaining to UofA, it reaches out to all non-bcs schools with he exception of about five. There is always some theory out there that if a MAC school just does a few things then success will follow. Long term success does not follow MAC schools....it doesn't even follow the MAC.

I'm interested to know if the age old idea of basically giving away tickets for $5 is packing the stands or not. Did they pack them in yesterday or did they just reinforce the expectation in NE Ohio that the cost of going to a UofA game, good or bad, should be $5?

yes and no A move needs to be made. A drop to I-AA on our own would be equally as bad, if not worse, than the move to 1A on our own. I'll say it again. The non-bcs schools need to develop their own level of college football. It's already there, they just need to control their own future and put some structure around it. I do agree that 20+ years is enough. The 60+ year experiment of the MAC in I-A needs to come to an end too. Enough is enough. Off to the Steelers game.

Hello from Miami, FL. Just got off the beach. 35-0.....good-bye from Miami.

As soon as running backs stop running through holes with their heads down, the NFL should outlaw head to head contact. Until then, the shot on Cribbs was a good hit. The last time I checked, the head was at the top of the body....around three inches from the shoulders. Running backs should be forced to run completely up and down in order to avoid contact with their heads.