Misplaced blame

[jupitertoo]

While Rob Ianello and staff haven't covered themselves in glory thus far, the mess at InfoCision still belongs to JD Brookhart. The guy left almost nothing for Ianello to work with, despite what the AD might have stated in a Gordon Gee-like moment. If things are still as ugly this time next year, yeah, start calling for Ianello's head. But Brookhart really screwed this program with his recruiting "prowess" over the final three years of his tenure. He clearly expected to move on to a better job before reality caught up with him.

[ZachTheZip]

Yeah, because it was Brookhart who botched the coin flip and lost to Gardner Webb. And it was Brookhart who kicked 50 players off the team and then complained about a lack of depth. And Brookhart who decided to run a pro offense without any players who could play in it. And Brookhart who chooses to kick field goals when down by 21 points late in games. And Brookhart who lets teenagers decide whether to go for 2 points after a touchdown. Yeah, I see what you're saying. It's obviously all Brookhart's fault.But seriously, how many of Brookhart's recruits are even still on the team, let alone starting? Ianello has his recruits in all the key positions already. It's his team, his players, and his coaching that's losing games now.

[jupitertoo]

Yeah, because it was Brookhart who botched the coin flip and lost to Gardner Webb. And it was Brookhart who kicked 50 players off the team and then complained about a lack of depth. And Brookhart who decided to run a pro offense without any players who could play in it. And Brookhart who chooses to kick field goals when down by 21 points late in games. And Brookhart who lets teenagers decide whether to go for 2 points after a touchdown. Yeah, I see what you're saying. It's obviously all Brookhart's fault.But seriously, how many of Brookhart's recruits are even still on the team, let alone starting? Ianello has his recruits in all the key positions already. It's his team, his players, and his coaching that's losing games now.

I'll handle this quickly, Zach, since I know your mom almost has dinner ready and "Gilligan's Island" comes on in 45 minutes.The Zips' captain, a Brookhart recruit, made the decision on the coin flip. He misunderstood the coach and didn't think through what he was telling the officials.Ianello didn't miss chip shot field goals and an extra point against Gardner Webb.Ianello did assess the talent and attitudes of many existing players and urged some troublemakers to leave. He made demands of several other players to "get with the program" and accept their responsibilities, and they failed to do so. It's his program and they're his rules - if you don't want to follow them, then move on. It's best in the long run that they have left. Why should he encourage the university to continue to pay for the education of malcontents? Do you think Urban Meyer would be any less strict?When you build a house and it's going to be a colonial with a basement, you don't use the slab foundation left over from the previous home. No, the move to a Pro style offense didn't suit the existing players, but why build your program around a short-term strategy? It's hard, but it doesn't get you where you ultimately need to go. The fact that he's using the pistol now is simply a recognition that his QBs are not very talented under center.The field goal decision? I can argue either side, but when you have zero chance to convert a 4th and 18, why not get the points? The games were not winnable - everyone knows that - and we're just watching him get young kids some reps so they can mature faster. I did and do question the decision to go for two early in the CMU game.Yes, many of the current players are Ianello's recruits...and they are very, very young. Winning ain't easy with a bunch of freshmen. As as much as you guys like to assail the quality of MAC football, there are some decent programs with established coaches, and if you think Akron should be able to match up with them right now, you're out of your mind.It hasn't been fun for anyone, but it's wrong to pillory the coach at this stage; all it does is send the wrong signal to potential recruits. What blue-chip player would want to sign on to a program where the fans have already abandoned ship?And finally, I would not be surprised by another loss this week. That team in Portage County is VERY physical, especially on defense. Ohio lost three linemen against Can't earlier this year. Not sure how a young team like Akron will handle that.

[bobbyake]

While Rob Ianello and staff haven't covered themselves in glory thus far, the mess at InfoCision still belongs to JD Brookhart. The guy left almost nothing for Ianello to work with, despite what the AD might have stated in a Gordon Gee-like moment. If things are still as ugly this time next year, yeah, start calling for Ianello's head. But Brookhart really screwed this program with his recruiting "prowess" over the final three years of his tenure. He clearly expected to move on to a better job before reality caught up with him.

everyone's entitled to their opinion, but there's no way Rob Ianello could ever out coach JD Brookhart. JD Brookhart was a million times better than Rob Ianello will ever be. And yes, I was calling for JD's head too: http://zipsnation.org/forums//index.php?sh...t=0&start=0Why do you have to insult Zack? You're the one finding excuses and sticking up for the worst coach in D1 football history.

[bobbyake]

I'll handle this quickly, Zach, since I know your mom almost has dinner ready and "Gilligan's Island" comes on in 45 minutes.

Zach's a good guy and a die hard Zips fan, are childish insults necessary?

[zen]

blame Bushrookhart

[Dave in Green]

Interesting points, jupitertoo. You can't make comments like that on this forum without getting ripped to shreds, as I'm sure you knew before posting it. So kudos to you for having the courage to post an unpopular opinion. Forums are especially boring when there's a pack mentality that discourages dissenting opinions.

[akronzips71]

The fact remains that the program is a national embarrassment. We should thank Joe Paterno for taking the heat off us this week.As a very notorious '71 grad posted in another thread, this "team" may be holding us back from escaping from the MAC.Our other major sports are quite credible. When I was an undergrad we went to a bowl game and played against Terry Bradshaw.There is simply no reason that a Div 1 school with the enrollment we have can field a national champion soccer team, and a basketball team that wins 20+ games every year and goes to the madness, builds a new football stadium, and gives athletic scholarships can not field a .500 football team.

[jupitertoo]

The fact remains that the program is a national embarrassment. We should thank Joe Paterno for taking the heat off us this week.As a very notorious '71 grad posted in another thread, this "team" may be holding us back from escaping from the MAC.Our other major sports are quite credible. When I was an undergrad we went to a bowl game and played against Terry Bradshaw.There is simply no reason that a Div 1 school with the enrollment we have can field a national champion soccer team, and a basketball team that wins 20+ games every year and goes to the madness, builds a new football stadium, and gives athletic scholarships can not field a .500 football team.

This could be a Zips fan.

[Z.I.P.]

The fact remains that the program is a national embarrassment. We should thank Joe Paterno for taking the heat off us this week.As a very notorious '71 grad posted in another thread, this "team" may be holding us back from escaping from the MAC.Our other major sports are quite credible. When I was an undergrad we went to a bowl game and played against Terry Bradshaw.There is simply no reason that a Div 1 school with the enrollment we have can field a national champion soccer team, and a basketball team that wins 20+ games every year and goes to the madness, builds a new football stadium, and gives athletic scholarships can not field a .500 football team.

Trust me my fellow Old Timer, Akron's American football team is no "national embarassment" -- outside of the Zips Nation no one knows or cares that they have a team. And that includes the part of the nation I live in. I suspect my part of the nation is growing in size too. Having a pathetic team for X years is like having an NBA team on strike for that time -- when the strike's over, will people remember they still have a team?

[phil]

You raise a legitimate question. How did we get to be so bad so quickly. Since I coach has taking over the team, we have not been competitive at the division 1 level. You blame JD and his recruits. Most people on this board blame I coach. Assuming the school does not fire him, you believe that within the next 2 years this team will improve greatly since I coach will have his own players. I hope that you are right but I fail to share your optimism.

I did get to know coach Brookhart and he was a hard working guy who had a very good reputation in the community. In this era of coverups, he did the right thing when he dismissed his starting quarterback on the eve of their first game because of a violation of team rules. Further, he never publicized the infraction protecting the quarterbacks privacy. He had roots in this community and he told me that he passed on other opportunities that paid more money when he was at Akron. When the AD decided to fire him with one year left on the contract, he understood that was the nature of the coaching business and had no complaints.

JD was a good guy and had several successful seasons at Akron. I do not believe he is the one to blame for the last 2 losing seasons.

[UAZipster0305]

You raise a legitimate question. How did we get to be so bad so quickly. Since I coach has taking over the team, we have not been competitive at the division 1 level. You blame JD and his recruits. Most people on this board blame I coach. Assuming the school does not fire him, you believe that within the next 2 years this team will improve greatly since I coach will have his own players. I hope that you are right but I fail to share your optimism.

I did get to know coach Brookhart and he was a hard working guy who had a very good reputation in the community. In this era of coverups, he did the right thing when he dismissed his starting quarterback on the eve of their first game because of a violation of team rules. Further, he never publicized the infraction protecting the quarterbacks privacy. He had roots in this community and he told me that he passed on other opportunities that paid more money when he was at Akron. When the AD decided to fire him with one year left on the contract, he understood that was the nature of the coaching business and had no complaints.

JD was a good guy and had several successful seasons at Akron. I do not believe he is the one to blame for the last 2 losing seasons.

If true, this is very classy of JD. I always respected him as a person, and never thought he was a bad coach...just one who wouldn't take us to the next level (BCS). I'd be happy if we were just competitive in the MAC every year. Soccer and basketball are plenty good enough to keep my interest for 8 months of the year.

[Dave in Green]

I don't want to take anything away from JD, who by all accounts is a good and decent man. But a couple of technical points need to be made:

Do we really know that it was JD's option to dismiss the starting QB prior to the first game, or did this rise to a higher UA executive decision based on the nature of the violation in which JD would have had no option?

Also, we can't really credit JD for not publicizing the infraction, as UA employees are required by law not to publicly comment on the nature of serious student violations that would rise to the level of dismissal from the team.

The above should in no way detract from anyone's good feelings about JD.

Overall, I think we can all agree that some combination of what JD left behind and what Ianello has done with it has resulted in where the Zips football program is today. There's plenty of room for differences of opinion on what portion of responsibility can be placed on both the former and current head coaches. But as time goes on the responsibility continues to shift more to the current man in charge.

[Doug Snyder]

You raise a legitimate question. How did we get to be so bad so quickly. Since I coach has taking over the team, we have not been competitive at the division 1 level. You blame JD and his recruits. Most people on this board blame I coach. Assuming the school does not fire him, you believe that within the next 2 years this team will improve greatly since I coach will have his own players. I hope that you are right but I fail to share your optimism.

I did get to know coach Brookhart and he was a hard working guy who had a very good reputation in the community. In this era of coverups, he did the right thing when he dismissed his starting quarterback on the eve of their first game because of a violation of team rules. Further, he never publicized the infraction protecting the quarterbacks privacy. He had roots in this community and he told me that he passed on other opportunities that paid more money when he was at Akron. When the AD decided to fire him with one year left on the contract, he understood that was the nature of the coaching business and had no complaints.

JD was a good guy and had several successful seasons at Akron. I do not believe he is the one to blame for the last 2 losing seasons.

I agree 100%. JD was a great guy. I rooted harder for him because he was such a class guy. But...I did not think he was a great HC. Some guys are not cut out for it. Look at Dave Wannstadt...great coach but not a good HC at any level. I wish JD nothing but the best. I do think that the type of guys he recruited set us back. How much is just a WAG. iCoach now has the team and all the success and failure needs to belong to him...right or wrong. He has made many mistakes. Hopefully he will figure it out soon because having him succeed is our best option.

I returned to Miami last week to watch the game. Miserable weather the day of the game…but every other day was beautiful. Saw Treadwell walking from his home on campus to the stadium. It was a different feeling seeing a guy content and happy to be the HC of the school he dreamed of coaching (Miami grad). He was passed over twice before and finally got the job. It does not appear that he will be going anywhere anytime soon. Contrast that to Haywood who only stayed 2 years and iCoach. Both see their current job as a career stepping stonewith no need to be overly involved with the community. Just build a winner and move on. Look how much better the futbol and basketball programs are perceived by the Alumni and students at UofA. I am more convinced than ever that we should turn to Paul Winters if iCaoch is fired. Bring in Hixon as a WR coach and get people here that want to be here and love the UofA. I know some will say that will set us back if they fail…but most older (and wiser) Zips know that we never had success so there is really nothing to lose….just delaying the climb up. Just my opinion.

[Lee Adams]

While Rob Ianello and staff haven't covered themselves in glory thus far, the mess at InfoCision still belongs to JD Brookhart. The guy left almost nothing for Ianello to work with, despite what the AD might have stated in a Gordon Gee-like moment. If things are still as ugly this time next year, yeah, start calling for Ianello's head. But Brookhart really screwed this program with his recruiting "prowess" over the final three years of his tenure. He clearly expected to move on to a better job before reality caught up with him.

Was it the current AD or coach or both who said that when Inello took over the cupboard was not bare? By the way JD said sometime back around '06 that the Zips got lucky before they got good. Not defending Brookhart, I thought he needed to go. But,I think most fans expected to see more tangible improvement this season than has been exhibited. Ianello will be back next year so he will have even more of his recruits on board and playing. Its not going to get any easier for anyone for a while.

[Dave in Green]

Technically speaking, the cupboard is not bare if there are a few cans of baked beans in it. The Zips' football cupboard obviously had more than a few cans of baked beans in it. But when you look at the number of quality players it takes to make a winning football team -- 11 starters on offense, 11 starters on defense, special teams and backups -- it's easy to see that a cupboard that's not bare might still not have enough to produce a winning football team.

But it's unfair to blame it all on the players or all on the coaches. The Zips' cupboard may not have been as well stocked as other teams in the MAC, but the head coach also had no head coaching experience. It was not the greatest combination to begin with. The best hope was that the coaches and players would improve and overcome their early handicaps.

We've seen some improvement in some areas, but not enough to affect the won-lost column.

[Captain Kangaroo]

While Rob Ianello and staff haven't covered themselves in glory thus far, the mess at InfoCision still belongs to JD Brookhart. The guy left almost nothing for Ianello to work with, despite what the AD might have stated in a Gordon Gee-like moment.

I'd buy the party line too, if I was an OU fan looking for an easy, annual 17% gift towards bowl eligibility.

I used to hope K.e.n..t. would retain Pete Cordelli and Jim Corrigal for similar reasons.

[johnnyzip84]

Perhaps blaming iCoach IS misplaced. OK then, I blame jupitertoo for our gridiron troubles of late

[MDZip]

Perhaps blaming iCoach IS misplaced. OK then, I blame jupitertoo for our gridiron troubles of late

Could he perhaps be the insider threat?

[johnnyzip84]

Perhaps blaming iCoach IS misplaced. OK then, I blame jupitertoo for our gridiron troubles of late

Could he perhaps be the insider threat?

Sort of like this guy? -->

[MDZip]

Perhaps blaming iCoach IS misplaced. OK then, I blame jupitertoo for our gridiron troubles of late

Could he perhaps be the insider threat?

Sort of like this guy? -->

Hmm, even though only us old guys will get the reference, the pieces do seem to fit. He seems Lost in Space (even chose the name jupitertoo), is a stowaway (from OU) and is a professor. If we find out jupitertoo's real name is Dr. Smith there should be a full investigation.

[mivid12]

The fact remains that the program is a national embarrassment. We should thank Joe Paterno for taking the heat off us this week.

yes b/c the ENTIRE NATION was fixated on Akron football...

[RowdyZip]

Misplaced blame MY ASS. FIRE ROB IANELLO NOW.