Ianello...worst coach in UA history?

[ZipRoo]

Reading accounts this week about Rob Ianello, I have to wonder what Proenza and Wistrcill ever saw in him. Was the list of qualified candidates really that atrocious?

He can't stand the AKRowdies, and apparently caused them to be removed from the stadium Saturday.

His own team has quit on him, obviously.

The fans didn't support his initial hire, and things have now gotten to the anger and apathy stage.

Several reports have him acting like an arrogant tyrant to other members of the Athletic Dept. staff, as if he somehow walks on water.

He very obviously is in over his head, as we keep seeing the same futility week in, week out. No imagination, no improvement, no competitiveness...even with the worst teams in the MAC.

He guided the Zips to a stunning loss to a D-2 Gardner-Webb "powerhouse."

It's not like he came here with an empty roster. Good coaches can beat you with their players, then switch sides and beat you with *your* players. I don't think Ianello could even find the other sideline.

Is this really the guy we want leading our program going forward? Does anyone believe there's any chance the fans would EVER rally behind this guy? Seriously. No chance. It's one thing if you're a likable guy like G. Faust whose teams lose; but when you're a schmuck, no one wants to be associated with you.

Does UA really think fans will come back in droves to fill---even halfway---a $68-million stadium with Ianello at the helm? And how many businesses will ever renew their suite contracts? The product is an embarrassment.

And yes, JD was given two years too many. He obviously didn't do us any favors with the talent he brought in; although there *were* talented troublemakers he and Rhoades agreed to part ways with. But overall, this new AD/Coach regime is such a step down from even what we've experienced over the last seven years, there's no point in continuing the mess.

[Lee Adams]

The thing that everyone needs to look at with this team is that there has been NO improvement in competetiveness on the field 8 weeks into the season. Even if the team is not winning it should have become more competetive on the field no matter who the opponent. The players are familiar with the system and the coaches. The coaches are familiar with the players. No knowledgable fan expected this team to win more than a couple games this year. But what was rightly expected was for the coach to get the talent available to play at its highest level possible. The team is not bereft of some talent. This coach has so far failed. Hell even JD won what, 6 games with Owens' players his first year. It does appear that a number of players,NOT ALL have indeed cashed it in on this coach. IF this coach is indeed as portrayed above it would explain some of what we see on the field. Most of us have no knowledge of that. But, we are in for at least 2 more years of this regime. Plan accordingly. Why weren't the Rowdies there yesterday??

[ZachTheZip]

Right now, the coaching staff has lost control. Even with an ineffective head coach the assistants can sometimes keep control of their individual units enough to make a difference. Right now, that's only happening with a few units.

One thing that would gain back some respect for the head coach is if, after the season, he went through and chose not to renew the scholarships of the worst offenders who are sleepwalking and openly acting against the team. That's what the coach at Syracuse did the past two summers in a row. He got rid of the worst of them right after he came in and then dumped the rest after one season and it appears to have paid off greatly. Addition by subtraction might be the solution.

[Zipmeister]

I heard Icoach eats puppies.

[Buckzip]

I heard Icoach eats puppies.

Source. I heard kittens

[RUMPLEMINTZ]

Bro this is Akron, not Syracuse. BCS teams have the pick of the litter when it comes to recruiting. Who is going come to a MAC team that sucks. If you ever met Rob Ianello or seen him walk around campus, well that explains everything!!!!!!!!

Right now, the coaching staff has lost control. Even with an ineffective head coach the assistants can sometimes keep control of their individual units enough to make a difference. Right now, that's only happening with a few units.

One thing that would gain back some respect for the head coach is if, after the season, he went through and chose not to renew the scholarships of the worst offenders who are sleepwalking and openly acting against the team. That's what the coach at Syracuse did the past two summers in a row. He got rid of the worst of them right after he came in and then dumped the rest after one season and it appears to have paid off greatly. Addition by subtraction might be the solution.

[ZipRoo]

That's what he gets for dining in the Chuckery.

Question is: Given the choice, would you rather have had Jim Tressel's top assistant from Ohio State, or a recruiter for Notre Dame?

Exactly how hard is it to recruit for ND? "Hello, Catholic star from Florida? Wanna come play under the Golden Dome? Okay!" "Hello, Catholic star from California? The Pope wants you in Indiana! Okay!" "Hello, Catholic star from Texas? How would you like to play on national TV each and every week for the richest, most noteworthy Catholic program in the world? You would?! Okay!"

Whew! That's some tough job, there, Ianello. I'm sure ND must have had great, great seasons of success while you were there manning the phones. Oh....wait.....

[ZachTheZip]

Bro this is Akron, not Syracuse. BCS teams have the pick of the litter when it comes to recruiting. Who is going come to a MAC team that sucks. If you ever met Rob Ianello or seen him walk around campus, well that explains everything!!!!!!!!

Right now, the coaching staff has lost control. Even with an ineffective head coach the assistants can sometimes keep control of their individual units enough to make a difference. Right now, that's only happening with a few units.

One thing that would gain back some respect for the head coach is if, after the season, he went through and chose not to renew the scholarships of the worst offenders who are sleepwalking and openly acting against the team. That's what the coach at Syracuse did the past two summers in a row. He got rid of the worst of them right after he came in and then dumped the rest after one season and it appears to have paid off greatly. Addition by subtraction might be the solution.

Players who want to start right away instead of sitting on the bench at a BCS school. We wouldn't be competitive against BCS schools but we would at least be able to play with lower and middle MAC schools.

[RootforRoo44]

never thought i'd say this but... THAT IS HOW YOU COACH A FOOTBALL GAME, Ianello should learn from Mangini!

Totally unrelated i know but wow. Though the ONLY 2 plays that have got me excited enough to jump out of my seat all year have been the only two trick plays that RI has run (fake FG vs Can't, flea flicker vs WMU) so at least do some more of that and lose while being entertaining!

[ZachTheZip]

Maybe Rob Ryan should be our next coach.

[akzipper]

never thought i'd say this but... THAT IS HOW YOU COACH A FOOTBALL GAME, Ianello should learn from Mangini!

Totally unrelated i know but wow. Though the ONLY 2 plays that have got me excited enough to jump out of my seat all year have been the only two trick plays that RI has run (fake FG vs Can't, flea flicker vs WMU) so at least do some more of that and lose while being entertaining!

Are you kidding??? the 5 straight run plays in the 1st quarter (1st and goal at the 1) didn't excite you. But you can't blame RI, if the run didn't work the first 4 times, who would have thought the 5th time wouldn't work either?

[ZipRoo]

never thought i'd say this but... THAT IS HOW YOU COACH A FOOTBALL GAME, Ianello should learn from Mangini!

Totally unrelated i know but wow. Though the ONLY 2 plays that have got me excited enough to jump out of my seat all year have been the only two trick plays that RI has run (fake FG vs Can't, flea flicker vs WMU) so at least do some more of that and lose while being entertaining!

Are you kidding??? the 5 straight run plays in the 1st quarter (1st and goal at the 1) didn't excite you. But you can't blame RI, if the run didn't work the first 4 times, who would have thought the 5th time wouldn't work either?

Yeah, and on defense...who would thought that #83 for WM would be able to continue catching wide-open passes after the first, oh, half dozen burns? I wonder if #83 was ever even mentioned at halftime. But this is nothing new with Ianello. There ARE no in-game adjustments, so if a team wants to keep going to the same well...ROCK ON, baby! It's like we have a blind man on our sidelines. Or at least clueless.

[akzipper]

never thought i'd say this but... THAT IS HOW YOU COACH A FOOTBALL GAME, Ianello should learn from Mangini!

Totally unrelated i know but wow. Though the ONLY 2 plays that have got me excited enough to jump out of my seat all year have been the only two trick plays that RI has run (fake FG vs Can't, flea flicker vs WMU) so at least do some more of that and lose while being entertaining!

Are you kidding??? the 5 straight run plays in the 1st quarter (1st and goal at the 1) didn't excite you. But you can't blame RI, if the run didn't work the first 4 times, who would have thought the 5th time wouldn't work either?

Yeah, and on defense...who would thought that #83 for WM would be able to continue catching wide-open passes after the first, oh, half dozen burns? I wonder if #83 was ever even mentioned at halftime. But this is nothing new with Ianello. There ARE no in-game adjustments, so if a team wants to keep going to the same well...ROCK ON, baby! It's like we have a blind man on our sidelines. Or at least clueless.

Even Eric Wright could have covered #83...

[bandzip]

Even Eric Wright could have covered #83...

That's harsh.

[GP1]

Question is: Given the choice, would you rather have had Jim Tressel's top assistant from Ohio State, or a recruiter for Notre Dame?

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.

[Dave in Green]

Question is: Given the choice, would you rather have had Jim Tressel's top assistant from Ohio State, or a recruiter for Notre Dame?

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.

[GP1]

Question is: Given the choice, would you rather have had Jim Tressel's top assistant from Ohio State, or a recruiter for Notre Dame?

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.

[MaxZIP]

Question is: Given the choice, would you rather have had Jim Tressel's top assistant from Ohio State, or a recruiter for Notre Dame?

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.

To be in charge and show potential for the next level of head coaching.

[ZipRoo]

Question is: Given the choice, would you rather have had Jim Tressel's top assistant from Ohio State, or a recruiter for Notre Dame?

If I had to choose, I guess I'd take the tOSU assistant.

However, why would the top assistant at OSU 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.

GPI, your criticisms are so ignorant, they really don't deserve a response. But if you actually knew the facts, you would know that Tressel did, indeed, recommend and push for his assistant to be hired at Akron--and UA didn't even return the call. Apparently Wistrcill had his mind made up. And NO ONE ever imagined the Zips would be 0-12...that's just a by-product of hiring Ianello. Heck, even J.D. wouldn't be 0-8 at this point--that's just fact. Akron is an outstanding in-state institution with brand-spankin-new facilities that are 2nd to none, situated in a hotbed of HS football (Cle/Ak/Canton). An Ohio State man over a Notre Dame guy? I'd take it every day of the week.

Once again, the hiring process for this coach is as mysterious as it is mystifying.

[Dave in Green]

Question is: Given the choice, would you rather have had Jim Tressel's top assistant from Ohio State, or a recruiter for Notre Dame?

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 have no problem at all with a never ending building process as long as it produces real growth and success.