Hire Paul Winters Now.

[g-mann17]

Beckman is on the Illini's short list. Does that hurt our chances of getting Campbell? If he is a real up and comer Toledo could just hand him the reins.

[johnnyzip84]

Beckman is on the Illini's short list. Does that hurt our chances of getting Campbell? If he is a real up and comer Toledo could just hand him the reins.

If the Illini go with Beckman, I'd say that's a very likely scenario.

[johnnyzip84]

Beckman is on the Illini's short list. Does that hurt our chances of getting Campbell? If he is a real up and comer Toledo could just hand him the reins.

Chicago Tribune says the Illini are indeed close to signing Beckman.

Beckman is meeting with his Toledo staff on Thursday morning, a source said. Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas did not immediately return a call from the Tribune.

[Dr Z]

Does that hurt our chances of getting Campbell? If he is a real up and comer Toledo could just hand him the reins.

Maybe Toledo will steal Winters from us?

[johnnyzip84]

Does that hurt our chances of getting Campbell? If he is a real up and comer Toledo could just hand him the reins.

Maybe Toledo will steal Winters from us?

Hmmmmmm.........he has coached there and Toledo is a lot closer to Detroit.

[Dr Z]

Hmmmmmm.........he has coached there and Toledo is a lot closer to Detroit.

I'll go out on a limb and say he would not be on their short...or long list.

[johnnyzip84]

Hmmmmmm.........he has coached there and Toledo is a lot closer to Detroit.

I'll go out on a limb and say he would not be on their short...or long list.

Was just trying to fan the flames.

[Dr Z]

Was just trying to fan the flames.

Your just afraid Winters is going to fire you, and hire ITZ.

[skip-zip]

Campbell worked with Urban Meyer as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green, and is a rumored "top target" by Meyer as offensive line coach at tOSU.

How ironic would it be for UA to snatch up a coach targeted by Urban Meyer at tOSU?

Urban Meyer’s Coaching Staff: Offense

Interesting. It does make me wonder if a young position coach like him at OSWho could make what the HC makes here. If money would even be the issue. But, since Urban Meyer has already convinced his superiors to pay big money to assistants, who knows.

I guess it would come down to whether becoming a HC at D-1A is a better move than working at a low position at a big school at this point in his career.

[RowdyZip]

Nothing new, but footballscoop.com is posting that Winters will get the Akron job following Wayne State's last game.

[Dave in Green]

Add the Perry Township family connection into the mix of what might influence Campbell's choice if given multiple options.

[johnnyzip84]

Nothing new, but footballscoop.com is posting that Winters will get the Akron job following Wayne State's last game.

Whether he gets the job or not, and whether you think he deserves the job or not, there is one thing you have to admire Paul for this season. In spite of the continuing speculation about the Akron job, he has not allowed himself or his team to lose focus. You can’t say the same about Kevin Sumlin, for instance.

[InTheZone]

That's okay, I promise we won't bring all these comments up when he wins his first MAC championship

I'll buy you and JZ84 a beer after the game.

Sounds like a plan.

[InTheZone]

I have never been a TW supporter, but I will give him credit for this.... I and every other alumni football player that I've heard from that has emailed him about this coaching search has recieved a quick and personal response from him addressing all of the points in our emails, answering all of our questions, and stating that he really wants the football alumni to be part of this process. Tons of guys are making themselves part of the process and our choice is unanimous.

Getting alumni involved in the program is great and has been a long time coming at Akron. Friends of mine that played at other 1-A schools have great alumni associations that are very involved in their programs and made to feel like they should be. There are strong connections between the past and present, and that creates a sense of pride. That has never happened here at Akron, and that's why you see all of our higher profile alumni completely absent in promoting the program (JT, Vic Green, Charlie, Chase, Hix, Jamie Reader, D Smith, etc etc). Whether he takes our advice on the best man to lead this program is up to him, but we may finally have an AD that understands the importance and benefits of alumni involvement.

Now that doesn't excuse him for some of the bs decisions and policies he implemented in his first two years here, but its certainly a step in the right direction.

[Dr Z]

Nothing new, but footballscoop.com is posting that Winters will get the Akron job following Wayne State's last game.

Wow, that was some extensive search, good thing they brought Tressel and everybody else in.

How long does it take to type in z-i-p-s-n-a-t-i-o-n-.-o-r-g? End of search. No wonder he has time to answer emails.

[InTheZone]

Nothing new, but footballscoop.com is posting that Winters will get the Akron job following Wayne State's last game.

Wow, that was some extensive search, good thing they brought Tressel and everybody else in.

How long does it take to type in z-i-p-s-n-a-t-i-o-n-.-o-r-g? End of search. No wonder he has time to answer emails.

The right hire is the right hire. Props to TW.

[Dr Z]

The right hire is the right hire. Props to TW.

I hope your right. I can't go through two more years of what I just went through, or it might be the end for me.

Coach Winters will get my support....

PS My first question from the media to YouTube would be, "why didn't you hire him last time?", first question to PW, "Are you bringing Lee in as your OC?"

[Captain Kangaroo]

Nothing new, but footballscoop.com is posting that Winters will get the Akron job following Wayne State's last game.

Wow, that was some extensive search, good thing they brought Tressel and everybody else in.

How long does it take to type in z-i-p-s-n-a-t-i-o-n-.-o-r-g? End of search. No wonder he has time to answer emails.

The right hire is the right hire. Props to TW.

As Lee Corso would say: "No so f@*king fast, my friend."

Props for what? I will save my props, if any, for the hire.

And I also will want to be certain he actually had something to do with the hire. I have a feeling Proenza is only letting him do YouTube Videos (granted, his specialty) and answer fan email. And cut paper snowflakes with round-tip scissors.

[Dave in Green]

I don't know as much about Winters as some of you. I've tried to research him as best I could. By all accounts he appears to be a good and decent man who has toiled long and hard to reach where he is this season. His connections to UA are undeniable. In many ways he makes an almost perfect candidate for those who have longed for a qualified head coach with strong UA ties.

From all I'm able to gather, I believe that he would make a good head coach for UA in that he could probably make UA competitive in the MAC within a couple of years.

My only concern is that I haven't seen anything to convince me that he would be likely to turn UA into a big winner in the MAC, or in a more competitive conference in the event that UA should ever make such a move.

I guess I look at Winters as the comfortable choice -- the guy who is likely to draw the least criticism on ZN.o if he's selected, and someone who could probably navigate the MAC well enough to keep the Zips from being an embarassment.

I just don't see the flash of potential greatness that I do in someone like Matt Campbell, who has risen quickly to prominence at a young age.

If Winters ends up being the choice, I hope I'm wrong and that all of the optimism from others is well-founded.

[johnnyzip84]

I don't know as much about Winters as some of you. I've tried to research him as best I could. By all accounts he appears to be a good and decent man who has toiled long and hard to reach where he is this season. His connections to UA are undeniable. In many ways he makes an almost perfect candidate for those who have longed for a qualified head coach with strong UA ties.

From all I'm able to gather, I believe that he would make a good head coach for UA in that he could probably make UA competitive in the MAC within a couple of years.

My only concern is that I haven't seen anything to convince me that he would be likely to turn UA into a big winner in the MAC, or in a more competitive conference in the event that UA should ever make such a move.

I guess I look at Winters as the comfortable choice -- the guy who is likely to draw the least criticism on ZN.o if he's selected, and someone who could probably navigate the MAC well enough to keep the Zips from being an embarassment.

I just don't see the flash of potential greatness that I do in someone like Matt Campbell, who has risen quickly to prominence at a young age.

If Winters ends up being the choice, I hope I'm wrong and that all of the optimism from others is well-founded.

I'm inclined to agree with you, Dave. In fact, I think I already did

[Dave in Green]

I'm inclined to agree with you, Dave. In fact, I think I already did

Honest, I wasn't plagiarizing! Now that I go back and read your post, I see where we've processed much of the same data and independently come to virtually the same conclusion.

I've always thought you were one of the smartest posters on ZN.o, and this confirms it.

[GP1]

My only concern is that I haven't seen anything to convince me that he would be likely to turn UA into a big winner in the MAC, or in a more competitive conference in the event that UA should ever make such a move.

Terry Hoeppner, Joe Novak and Toledo Tom are people who come to mind when I think of successful mac coaches. Neither had a great resume prior to Akron. Neither had head coach experience. Novak and Toledo Tom were never coordinators (not sure about Hoeppner). Paul has just as much going for him as they did coming into their jobs.

Also, the last thing we need to take into consideration when hiring this position is what conference Akron might be in five years from now. We need to worry about winning in the mac and deal with whatever happens when it happens. The priority is today, as it should be for all sports decisions. People buy tickets for today. Players play to win today. My prediction is we will still be in the mac fifteen years from now. I'm sure Paul will be long retired by then.

Paul is one of many guys who can win at Akron.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I don't know as much about Winters as some of you. I've tried to research him as best I could. By all accounts he appears to be a good and decent man who has toiled long and hard to reach where he is this season. His connections to UA are undeniable. In many ways he makes an almost perfect candidate for those who have longed for a qualified head coach with strong UA ties.

From all I'm able to gather, I believe that he would make a good head coach for UA in that he could probably make UA competitive in the MAC within a couple of years.

My only concern is that I haven't seen anything to convince me that he would be likely to turn UA into a big winner in the MAC, or in a more competitive conference in the event that UA should ever make such a move.

I guess I look at Winters as the comfortable choice -- the guy who is likely to draw the least criticism on ZN.o if he's selected, and someone who could probably navigate the MAC well enough to keep the Zips from being an embarassment.

I just don't see the flash of potential greatness that I do in someone like Matt Campbell, who has risen quickly to prominence at a young age.

If Winters ends up being the choice, I hope I'm wrong and that all of the optimism from others is well-founded.

I'm inclined to agree with you, Dave. In fact, I think I already did

FYI - I deleted Dave's post today where he reminisced about Hipsher.

[eguins]

TIP: Paul Winters is NOT number one on the radar screen.

Someone else is. I know who. Do you?

FootballScoop.com, a much better source, says otherwise.

[Lee Adams]

I have never been a TW supporter, but I will give him credit for this.... I and every other alumni football player that I've heard from that has emailed him about this coaching search has recieved a quick and personal response from him addressing all of the points in our emails, answering all of our questions, and stating that he really wants the football alumni to be part of this process. Tons of guys are making themselves part of the process and our choice is unanimous.

Getting alumni involved in the program is great and has been a long time coming at Akron. Friends of mine that played at other 1-A schools have great alumni associations that are very involved in their programs and made to feel like they should be. There are strong connections between the past and present, and that creates a sense of pride. That has never happened here at Akron, and that's why you see all of our higher profile alumni completely absent in promoting the program (JT, Vic Green, Charlie, Chase, Hix, Jamie Reader, D Smith, etc etc). Whether he takes our advice on the best man to lead this program is up to him, but we may finally have an AD that understands the importance and benefits of alumni involvement.

Now that doesn't excuse him for some of the bs decisions and policies he implemented in his first two years here, but its certainly a step in the right direction.

Just like everything else here some speculation. Maybe Wistrcill has 'some guidance from above' on this one. Maybe some folks who sign his checks and pay the bills are guiding this search more than the last. Don't look behind the curtain.