Akron's Rob Ianello

[skip-zip]

I certainly understand the concern over lack of HC experience. I think you can be good at working with and developing certain groups of players, and finding players....but not be the type of person who can manage a coaching staff, and lead a program.And I see the Wisconsin connection as well, which also rubs me the wrong way a little bit. I sure hope we've made a good decision.

[Zipmeister]

I had not heard of Ianello until about 2:30 or so yesterday. I read up on him as much as I could. What I can come up with is this...He can recruitHe can developHe can bring players upHe has worked for a National Champion (no, not the coveted D-II national champion some of you all want, but some team from Alabama, I think they are the Crimson something another)I know that ND and the ND fans thought enough of him to make him the interim coachHe was thought of highly enough by Weiss to be made Asst. Head Coach Offense (the Walt Harris position)He has great contacts in the NFL world (big deal to recruits)He has ties to the SEC, Pac-10, and Big 10 (meaning he can recruit nationally, and did for ND, but I think theKid is the one that said "You better be able to recruit for ND they have MILLIONS of dollars" yes and the toughest entry requirements of any D-1 school in the country outside of the Academies)Bottom line we wantedHistory of winning....checkExperience as a head coach....noneStrong recruiter....checkPassionate....TBDI think he fits 75% of what we want, I really didn't know what to expect, I knew my top candidates wouldn't be available to us (London and Strong) but I also didn't want an area guy. Why? Because 90% of the time that "We can't succeed, we are Akron" is so bread into people that it is self defeating.I am fine with this hire. If we are at least 5-3 in the MAC next year I like the hire.

Meister sighting in 5, 4, 3, 2........

1, ...........I will reserve judgment until the news conference when hopefully we will learn how many of my criteria the new head coach meets. Specifically:1. a willingness to coordinate home football games with rifle matches and club baseball games (ideally hold all three events on Summa Field at the same time).2. a concerted effort to recruit smaller defensive backs.3. a pledge to continue the feared 3-3-5 defensive scheme.

[Zip Watcher]

And I see the Wisconsin connection as well, which also rubs me the wrong way a little bit. I sure hope we've made a good decision.

Not singling you out here skip .. lots of people calling this out .. and you're just the most recent.When exactly did it become a BAD thing to NETWORK? Why is it a bad thing to leverage everything you have in your arsenal to find the person you think is the best for the situation? Do people really think that TW only interviewed people with whom he'd work previously??!! Really? The guy used everything at his disposal to find the one that he thought was the best fit for the situation. It might have included networking.One other thing I think that hasn't been brought up yet: I'm happy they got this done before the next domino fell in the coaching carousel. Whether it be Kansas filling their job, or ND hiring one .. the longer the Zips waited, the harder it was going to be to attract a top flight candidate to this job. Say Kelly goes to ND .. Butch Jones goes to Kansas or Cincinnati .. more and more mid-level jobs are going to open up .. and it may have been more difficult to get a guy like Ianello in here. So thanks for that Tom.It's a new day. B) B) Go Zips!

[Big Zip]

As mentioned here earlier....Urban Meyer came from a lesser position at Notre Dame and I think he's done well. I'm sure there are plenty of others who haven't had success, but I'll definitely reserve judgement on this hire. Everything I've read about him points to him being a solid hire. Just read through his twitter account too...nothing earth shattering, but it does some to point to him being solid (not that I would expect anything else). According to TW he didn't keep in contact with Rob after leaving Wisconsin so perhaps this isn't the buddy hire he is being painted as. On the other side this is TW putting his career in the hands of Rob with this hire and that must say something. Mike Thomas didn't need to hit a homerun with the football coash he hit it in other areas....those areas seem to be going fine now and this is TW's career move. Good luck Rob! ITZ I'm sorry to hear you are going to stop supporting your alma mater because you disagree with this hire. For that I hope Rob is extremely successfull to watch the haters like you eat crow. From the responses on this board it seems as if he is definitely going to be an underdog.Finally, where exactly do you expect someone to get their first head coaching experience? Face it our conference is one step up from the FCS conference...it might as well be an FCS conference the way some of these schools play. This isn't the SEC, Big Ten, Big East etc. As much as you'd like it to be -- it just isn't.

[zen]

I find myself coming up with rationalizations about the Wisconsin connection.After all, if you happen to have personal knowledge about someone who is going to be under most everyone else's radar, that's an advantage for you.But all of the arguments against it make it hard not to hear the negative side.Is it just taking the easy road, making a pick that you are familiar with, rather than doing the hard work of finding and then culling all of the best candidates?Worse (and this is hard to believe) is it a form of insider nepotism or networking among old friends and colleagues?

[Quickzips]

Exactly the kind of hire I did NOT want to see. A guy who has zero head coaching experience coming from a mediocre BCS school (sorry ND fans, your team just isn't that good, and hasn't been for a decade or more) whose only apparent redeeming quality is that he's supposedly a great recruiter and has ties to our AD. I'll cautiously give this guy the benefit of the doubt for now, but let's just say I'm skeptical. Recruiting ability should never have been the determinative factor in this decision, and it appears it was. We've got the best facilities in the conference and some of the best in the area to be able to attract talented kids. We don't NEED a coach whose specialty is recruiting. We could have done just fine with an average to just above average recruiter who is a great X's and O's guy that can coach his recruits up on Saturday.

[Zipmeister]

I find myself coming up with rationalizations about the Wisconsin connection.After all, if you happen to have personal knowledge about someone who is going to be under most everyone else's radar, that's an advantage for you.But all of the arguments against it make it hard not to hear the negative side.Is it just taking the easy road, making a pick that you are familiar with, rather than doing the hard work of finding and then culling all of the best candidates?Worse (and this is hard to believe) is it a form of insider nepotism or networking among old friends and colleagues?

Personally I don't find insider nepotism nearly as objectionable as outsider nepotism. Look a smiley face.

[zen]

I find myself coming up with rationalizations about the Wisconsin connection.After all, if you happen to have personal knowledge about someone who is going to be under most everyone else's radar, that's an advantage for you.But all of the arguments against it make it hard not to hear the negative side.Is it just taking the easy road, making a pick that you are familiar with, rather than doing the hard work of finding and then culling all of the best candidates?Worse (and this is hard to believe) is it a form of insider nepotism or networking among old friends and colleagues?

Personally I don't find insider nepotism nearly as objectionable as outsider nepotism. Look a smiley face.

<- like that?Stay on target luke. Don't be distracted by my repetitive, pleonastic, wordy redundant verbiage.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I find myself coming up with rationalizations about the Wisconsin connection.After all, if you happen to have personal knowledge about someone who is going to be under most everyone else's radar, that's an advantage for you.But all of the arguments against it make it hard not to hear the negative side.Is it just taking the easy road, making a pick that you are familiar with, rather than doing the hard work of finding and then culling all of the best candidates?Worse (and this is hard to believe) is it a form of insider nepotism or networking among old friends and colleagues?

The people at Notre Dame had no problem with the fact that the guy was previously employed by Wisconsin. But the US AD should? That's insane.The guy came into a Wisconsin situation where the team was 1-10, and recruited a class that went to the Rose Bowl. But UA should avoid him because he formerly worked with TW? That's insane.Look at the resumes of any AD or coach. In their particular region they've been employed my multiple schools. That's their life...if they are any good, they get a promotion in 4-6 years. After 20 years in the business, you've ended up working with scores of administrators and coaches. So TW should limit his talent pool because he worked tangentially with someone 8 years ago? Or 15 years ago? I don't get people's logic. I really don't.

[skip-zip]

And I see the Wisconsin connection as well, which also rubs me the wrong way a little bit. I sure hope we've made a good decision.

Not singling you out here skip .. lots of people calling this out .. and you're just the most recent.When exactly did it become a BAD thing to NETWORK? Why is it a bad thing to leverage everything you have in your arsenal to find the person you think is the best for the situation? Do people really think that TW only interviewed people with whom he'd work previously??!! Really? The guy used everything at his disposal to find the one that he thought was the best fit for the situation. It might have included networking.One other thing I think that hasn't been brought up yet: I'm happy they got this done before the next domino fell in the coaching carousel. Whether it be Kansas filling their job, or ND hiring one .. the longer the Zips waited, the harder it was going to be to attract a top flight candidate to this job. Say Kelly goes to ND .. Butch Jones goes to Kansas or Cincinnati .. more and more mid-level jobs are going to open up .. and it may have been more difficult to get a guy like Ianello in here. So thanks for that Tom.It's a new day. B) B) Go Zips!

Good point. I actually think there are a number of positives when hiring someone you already know, including the idea that their previous relationship probably helped us land this guy. I'm only a little concerned about the other side of the coin....that possibly he was looked at in too-positive of a light because of the former connection.

[zen]

I don't get people's logic. I really don't.

The logic is argumentative, and intended for use by those who like to work things out without simply accepted the company line. It's a form of skepticism. It is not intended to be overly negative, except for it's use in deriving alternative perspectives.If you think the point of asking questions is to make the statement that we should reject him simply because he does have ties to the AD is to completely miss the point. And since you have demonstrated your intelligence consistently on this site, I'm quite sure you missed the point rhetorically.I think you can be more fair than to accuse me of saying that we should reject anyone that might appear to demonstrate a conflict.

[Zip Watcher]

Here's a question:Would there be less questions / assumptions about TW knowing Rob previously if the Kokinis / Mangini arrangement in Browns Town had worked out differently?Is this Browns Fan neuroses creeping into the Nation? B) B) Go Zips!

[ZachTheZip]

Here's a question:Would there be less questions / assumptions about TW knowing Rob previously if the Kokinis / Mangini arrangement in Browns Town had worked out differently?Is this Browns Fan neuroses creeping into the Nation? B) B) Go Zips!

Ianello is one step removed from being a Belichick assistant.

[GoZips]

I'm confused.Here's Cap'n telling us to not pre-judge a person because he has never been a head coach and waschosen over a proven winner (Chuck Martin, 63-5, on the verge of winning his third national championship).When the real issue is that said Ianello has been a recruiter for the past twenty years at several institutions.That speaks volumes about his personal skills and recruiting abilities. Here, here. On the flip side, twentyyears in the same position. Pretty stagnant as far as developing other coaching skills.Paul ("Bear") Bryant was one of Alabama's greatest football coaches, if not the outright greatest. Bryantcouldn't coach his way to the men's room. He relied on the best talented assistants he could hire. HopefullyIanello has similar skills, because I see a resume as blank as Brookhart's was. That makes me uncomfortable.Ron Ianello = JD Brookhart II

[zen]

Paul ("Bear") Bryant was one of Alabama's greatest football coaches, if not the outright greatest. Bryantcouldn't coach his way to the men's room. He relied on the best talented assistants he could hire. HopefullyIanello has similar skills, because I see a resume as blank as Brookhart's was. That makes me uncomfortable.

This was my very first though (first post in fact) in the thread that rumored Ianello. I don't know, but perhaps the HC doesn't have to be the Xs & Os guy at all, if you have the right people in place. In fact, that seems to me to make more sense organizationally. It's almost like when they judge a president by the cabinet he puts together.

[Dr Z]

I'm confused.Ron Ianello = JD Brookhart II

We hired ROB, not Ron, does that help?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Here's a question:Would there be less questions / assumptions about TW knowing Rob previously if the Kokinis / Mangini arrangement in Browns Town had worked out differently?Is this Browns Fan neuroses creeping into the Nation? B) B) Go Zips!

Ianello is one step removed from being a Belichick assistant.

The way you repeat whatever you hear, you're one step away from being a parrot. But I don't hold it against you?

[Zipmeister]

Here's a question:Would there be less questions / assumptions about TW knowing Rob previously if the Kokinis / Mangini arrangement in Browns Town had worked out differently?Is this Browns Fan neuroses creeping into the Nation? B) B) Go Zips!

Ianello is one step removed from being a Belichick assistant.

The way you repeat whatever you hear, you're one step away from being a parrot. But I don't hold it against you?

ouch

[Zip Watcher]

Brief Ohio.Com article (presumably Gaffney).And just for Dr. Z:

He also wants to play a 4-3 defensive scheme.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I'm confused.Here's Cap'n telling us to not pre-judge a person because he has never been a head coach and waschosen over a proven winner (Chuck Martin, 63-5, on the verge of winning his third national championship).When the real issue is that said Ianello has been a recruiter for the past twenty years at several institutions.That speaks volumes about his personal skills and recruiting abilities. Here, here. On the flip side, twentyyears in the same position. Pretty stagnant as far as developing other coaching skills.Paul ("Bear") Bryant was one of Alabama's greatest football coaches, if not the outright greatest. Bryantcouldn't coach his way to the men's room. He relied on the best talented assistants he could hire. HopefullyIanello has similar skills, because I see a resume as blank as Brookhart's was. That makes me uncomfortable.Ron Ianello = JD Brookhart II

You should email Tom and notify him of him of the error in his ways. Here's a template from a few years ago. You write a letter like that, to keep a coach that's 17 - 95?!No thanks...I'll trust the AD on this call.

[ditchrider1]

We would have had to pay out the rear to get a big name. I see the point about a FCS up and comer but that is no safe bet either. At this point I am satisfied because...A: JD is goneB: No more 3-3-5 As long as he is not a fan of the shotgun hand-off nonesense and uses a tight end every now and then I will be fine with him.Honestly...this is Akron, did we really expect a Bowden or a Stoops?

[GJGood]

I just hope if success comes our way under his leadership that he isn't one of these guys that takes the first offer that comes along from a bigger program. That is what scares me about RI. I have no problem with the hire from an X and O's standpoint in the immeadiate future. I just don't want to see him jump ship two or three years down the road. From his comments today and his past "big school" only resume I have found no comfort in this area.

[xu9697]

A lot of us MUST be happy with his comments on the type of offense and defense. Looks like we will concentrate on running the ball, I-formation and 4-3 defense.We might need to move some guys around to DL and FB, but I love to hear we are going in this direction. He has been born and raised out of the Bama, Wisky and ND offenses...and that is a good thing. We might even see a TE involved!!!I am more excited just from hearing this. Nicely will excel if we put in an O similar to ND.

[Z.I.P.]

I'm confused.Here's Cap'n telling us to not pre-judge a person because he has never been a head coach and waschosen over a proven winner (Chuck Martin, 63-5, on the verge of winning his third national championship).When the real issue is that said Ianello has been a recruiter for the past twenty years at several institutions.That speaks volumes about his personal skills and recruiting abilities. Here, here. On the flip side, twentyyears in the same position. Pretty stagnant as far as developing other coaching skills.Paul ("Bear") Bryant was one of Alabama's greatest football coaches, if not the outright greatest. Bryantcouldn't coach his way to the men's room. He relied on the best talented assistants he could hire. HopefullyIanello has similar skills, because I see a resume as blank as Brookhart's was. That makes me uncomfortable.Ron Ianello = JD Brookhart II

You should email Tom and notify him of him of the error in his ways. Here's a template from a few years ago. You write a letter like that, to keep a coach that's 17 - 95?!No thanks...I'll trust the AD on this call.

Thank you Captain. I'm sure everyone loved this touche' comment: Are you an idiot? It was a women's basketball coach. Its not like he just fired JD because he had a friend who needed a job.Bring back Balki Bartokomous! Where'd he go anyway?

[Zip Watcher]

Bring back Balki Bartokomous! Where'd he go anyway?

At last report, the ZipsNation.Org search party is still on its mission started to Put-in-Bay a few years ago in search of DA ZIPMAN!You'll have to wait to find Balki .. priorties.