GP1

Have any of the people complaining walked on a job site in the past few year? The truth is, there are a lot of Mexicans working in construction in the US and the other part of that is they are the only people willing to work hard enough to assemble a building on time. It was not intended to be a knock. Sorry to the sensitive.As the guy who drops the "racism card" whenever you have the chance in discussions about talent level of suburban football players, you ought to recognize a sweeping generalization when you write it.My apologies to the kids in the suburbs. I had no idea how difficult their lives were....but then again, I did see The Breakfast Club when I was young.

Just for the record, the rules of the NCAA are such that only a lawyer can understand them. In fact, the University compliance officer for athletics is a lawyer. How do we expect a football coach to know 100% of the rules when I bet the compliance officer has to look them up from time to time. With that being said, there are going to be violations from time to time and that is what the self reporting process is for.OK, so there is a non-severe penalty associated with a minor violation. Tell that to Reno....

What evidence is there of this strategy working in the past 25 years?

Let's be honest, people were critical of Mack because he wasn't Mike Waddell. Those people were idiots. Unfortunately, a lot of them still post.People are being critical of the new guy because it appears as if his first big decision was a mistake.

Yep, I mean why would you tell a person who is just forgetting to put in one bolt in each car to completely stop what he's doing until they see if it's a problem?I hate to be the overreaction police again, but here it goes. If you forget to put a bolt in a car, someone can get killed. If you forget to use the right color pen, your company might lose it's ISO 9000whatever status and you get written up. Investigation is needed for the former and not for the second. From all accounts, Reno forgot to use the right color pen.

If our procedure is to suspend coaches for extremely minor violations while the issue is being investigated, we need to revisit our procedures.When the AD throws a young coach under the bus and leaves him hanging to the point that the guy has to resign, I don't see how he couldn't have his hand in it either directly or indirectly. I have a feeling the new AD has really stepped in it here by throwing probably the only coach that could be considered a "fan favorite" under the bus.Another question...If this guy is a marketing genius, how come he could not see an overreaction to a minor situation in this case as a public relations disaster?

Momma, on the one hand I agree that we are all speculating about what happened. It's a board forum, wherein people do that. On the other hand yours is the second post that infers that the new AD is up to no good, setting up an honorable coach in order to not only get rid of him but to supply the excuse for getting rid of the staff later on. I would suggest that you are speculating just as much on that point, and I would also argue that based on the Zips' performance on the field so far, the AD needs absolutely no "other" justification to let the entire staff go at the end of the season, beyond the simple fact that after 5+ years of JD and Co, the team is a disaster on the playing field. Why would Wistrcill need any more than that to remove any of the coaches at this point?STZFans sometimes think firing a coach is like firing a regular employee where it takes months of back-up paperwork to fire them. Inreality, there are "outs" in the coaches contracts that are exercised when they are terminated. They can be fired at any time for any reason.I'd also like to clarify that my brilliant question raised on this thread. It's not that the new AD is up to no good, it may be that he is an overreacter. If that is the case, I worry about the guy being the AD. If this indeed turns out to be nothing, the new AD has made a huge mistake with Reno. Will his next big exective decision be to suspend KD for throwing an empty diet soda can in the trash instead of the recycling bin? Let's keep an eye on this guy. Something smells funny and it may be nothing, but let's be careful.My problem is that this team has become such a mess that we don't know the extent of the problems at this point. Is it in the coaching? Are the right players being recruited? Are there other currents and undercurrents that are badly dysfunctional? I think there are three problems with the team and the mess is easy to clean up at this point because there is talent on the team.1. The Zips are like the Dallas Cowboys. They have a lot of talent and not all of it is a fit for what they are trying to do. The Zips recruiting in recent years was like an NFL team that drafts "the best player available" instead of what they need. Draft what you need, not what looks good.2. JD's LOYALTY made him keep the last OC around too long and he was a drop back/traditional offense guy who didn't know what he was doing with the new offense. There is no rythm to the Zips offense and it has been years in the making. Someone else needs to come in and get things straightened out.3. JD's STUBBORNNESS with the 3-3-5 has created a soft culture on the team. It's not that the players are sissys or anything, it's that they are not being put in a position to be successful. This 3-3-5 has made the defense a "soft" defense and the offense is unable to knock anyone off the ball because the only time they compete against a physical team is in games.The Zips badly need a culture change. The problems are not in the talent on the field. The only way to get a culture change is to change the coach because he is too loyal and stubborn to change it himself.

Momma, on the one hand I agree that we are all speculating about what happened. It's a board forum, wherein people do that. On the other hand yours is the second post that infers that the new AD is up to no good, setting up an honorable coach in order to not only get rid of him but to supply the excuse for getting rid of the staff later on. I would suggest that you are speculating just as much on that point, and I would also argue that based on the Zips' performance on the field so far, the AD needs absolutely no "other" justification to let the entire staff go at the end of the season, beyond the simple fact that after 5+ years of JD and Co, the team is a disaster on the playing field. Why would Wistrcill need any more than that to remove any of the coaches at this point?STZFans sometimes think firing a coach is like firing a regular employee where it takes months of back-up paperwork to fire them. In reality, there are "outs" in the coaches contracts that are exercised when they are terminated. They can be fired at any time for any reason.I'd also like to clarify that my brilliant question raised on this thread. It's not that the new AD is up to no good, it may be that he is an overreacter. If that is the case, I worry about the guy being the AD. If this indeed turns out to be nothing, the new AD has made a huge mistake with Reno. Will his next big executive decision be to suspend KD for throwing an empty diet soda can in the trash instead of the recycling bin? Let's keep an eye on this guy. Something smells funny and it may be nothing, but let's be careful.

Don't you mean, "Other than Brett Biggs"?

Two things.....I trust the Captain on this one..... and I don't like the saying, "Ready, fire, aim".Is anyone going to ask whether or not the AD overreacted to this at the onset? If he did, what does it say about the new AD? Is the new AD level headed enough or does he make quick and poor decisions.The problem with a potential overreaction is he is potentially destroying the career of a good person in order to look good. Just like the KD story at CMU, this will unfortunately follow Ferri for the remainder of his career as long as there is an internet. Right now, the new AD doesn't deserve any slack because he hasn't earned any. We should be carefully watching for more of this in the future.

I think JD wanted to stay one more year regardless of the outcome because of the opening of the new stadium. Six years is a good number of years at a job for a football coach. Coaches live a very nomadic lifestyle. Ambition is the driving force. The comings and goings of a coach should not get fans upset.You're right, from what I have heard, JD has had offers in the past to be a position coach in the NFL and turned them down...if you have one offer, you can get others. Maybe I looked at a post wrong, but I think JD is the third lowest paid coach in the MAC....he can get third lowest paid coach money in the NFL as an assistant.After this season, JD's tombstone will be along side Faust's and LO's in the graveyard of coaches. There is no way he is going to get another D-1A head coaching job with his record at Akron, but he is a good position coach which makes him a good candidate for the NFL or BCS level college. I don't know JD, but I bet he knows he will never get another shot at coaching a D-1A team. The guy that was fired from Cincy a few years ago will never be the head coach of a D-1A team and he had a better career at UC than JD at UofA. A MAC football coach needs to have success early and leave ASAP if they want to move up the coaching ladder to a BCS school. JD didn't do that and he is where he is today.As far as taking medicine, the pile of crap a coach has to eat after getting fired really doesn't taste that bad. It usually involves a buy out and a new job around January.As far as leaving after one good year....that's all it takes. There are far more "builders" out there that would see the one good season as a sign that the guy stayed and "built" a great program against all odds, than people with common sense. Never underestimate the stupidity of hiring committees and people working in athletic departments.

+1

What I am most pissed off about this year is I thought there were going to be changes after last season in terms of the style of defense and creativity in the offense. My opinion was if he committed to make changes he should stay...If not, he should go. There really haven't been any.I'll throw this out there and maybe I'm completely wrong. I think JD went into this year thinking that regardless of how the season went down, 2009 was going to be his last year at Akron. He would have said anything to stay one more year. If we had a good year, JD was going to leave. If we had a bad year, he would get his buyout and be on his way. Either way he was going to do what he wanted to do when he came here regardless of the outcome.

Does anyone think Temple can win the MAC East? Good MAC schools pile up the points against their competition and Temple did that against at least the defending MAC Champion.Last year I thought Temple could be really good in time, but not this soon.

I love discussions of what makes great players great. Bird was all of the above plus two very important personality traits. The first was toughness...Bird played with injuries that most would not and teammates get picked up by that. Bird played with back pain that would land most people in the hospital.Secondly and most importantly, Bird was like all great players in that he hated to lose more than he liked to win. The down great players feel after losing is greater than the high they feel after winning. They expect to win and will break their back to win.

Who asked you a question? Oh wait, he's not pregnant is he? He might not be our only pregnant recruit. See my question on Erick Howard's weight gain......

Want to have some fun? This is a general invitation for anyone living in the Charlotte area or would like to attend. There is no cost for attending and you buy your own drinks/foot.This coming Thursday, October 8, 2009 at happy hour, there will be an All Ohio Alumni Night at Blackfinn Irish Pub at the Epicenter in downtown Charlotte. Parking is best located under the Epicenter. If you don't know where the Epicenter is, it is on College and Trade Streets across from the Omni Hotel on it's west side and the new Ritz on it's north side. It is where they have Alive at Five now. Dale Jr's bar is located in the Epicenter as well...everyone in Charlotte knows where that is.All Ohio Alumni Nights are when people from only Ohio universities and colleges gather somewhere in downtown Charlotte for drinks and fun. There is not public speaking or anything like that...just fun. Some schools are organized enough to have a local alumni table at the event and there are 2-3 a year. Typically, there may be anywhere from 100-200 people attending. The demographics range from young to old. I've never not had fun at one. You might be surprised at the high level bank executives/business leaders from Charlotte that went to Ohio schools and attend.

HOW DARE YOU CALL THE MAC MEDIOCRE!!!!!!!! It's pure crap and we all know it.

Let's hope the coaching situation doesn't scare him and others away from Akron.Sounded to me like he was coming for the facilities and school anyway. (oh wait, facilities don't matter on where a player goes)Partly, he could also be coming to UofA to play close to home. Maybe he would have come to UofA even if they were still playing in the RB.What I am most impressed about is his discussion of winning. The kid wants to win first and foremost. It looks to me like he wants to win more than playing in a new stadium. That is the kind of kid we need. I don't want kids who are coming to UofA to play in a new stadium. I want kids who are driven to win and will dedicate themselves to winning. We might have one here. Time will tell.

Bissinger's first chapter is attached. Not about the movie, but interesting read and sort of ties into this thread. For those of us not living in Akron any longer (I actually lived in the city) the visual is real. Bissinger is a bitter old guy now, but he is a great writer. This book should be a good read.

We have seen some senior leadership. It consisted of a kid that was reared on the mean steets of Mentor stealing from his team.

I'm not concerned about making this list. It is not a secret that MAC schools tend to dominate this Bottom 10 list. I'm more concerned about another losing record.

I could talk Hogan's Heroes all day long. There is a huge historical error in the show and it is that Col. Hogan is said to be in the Air Force. In reality, the Air Force was not created until after WWII and Hogan would have been a pilot in the Army. Other than that, the show is both culturally and historically accurate.

Everything I have learned in my life about the German people/culture and WWII comes from watching Hogan's Heroes. I know for a fact the Geneva Convention was in effect prior to 1949.

Stop making sense.It's not like we are even asking for that much winning. The most frustrating thing about the Zips right now is they will not even go 6-2 in a horrible conference (for a lot of reasons). 6-2 gets them to seven wins. They probably won't even go 5-3 in the MAC. 5-3 would give them six wins and at least a shot at a bowl.When the new coach gets here, I don't think it is unreasonable to demand seven wins out of the guy next season. There will be enough talent and the next coach needs to win with the existing talent.