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Marla Ridenour on the Hiring of Terry Bowden


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Thanks for posting this. She is spot-on with her assessment IMO.

No problem! Marla Ridenour is an excellent writer and I'm always happy when she focuses on Akron. Hopefully with our new rockstar HC she'll be writing about the Zips more often.

She mentions how it seems as though TB reached out to UA, and not the other way around. Interesting. Troubling? Does Tom Wistrcill get any credit for this hire? Does he deserve any? She says we'll find out more next Wednesday at Terry's introductory presser.

If Wistrcill didn't have T-Bow on his short list of potential candidates, I just don't get it. TB's created a buzz that only Jim Tressel could have equalled. I love Paul Winters, I really do. What a sincerely good coach and class individual PW is. But Terry Bowden created more buzz in one hour than PW would have created in two years @ UA. What a wild, strange & twisting story this coaching search has been.

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One of the things that struck me and made me laugh a little as I've read through all the articles about Bowden is what a completely polar opposite he is from our previous coach. Can you imagine iCoach as a television personality, motivational speaker or hosting a radio program. I think about the videos of his press conferences and then I see Bowden's video about coming to Akron and the contrast is 180 degrees. Bowden showed more enthusiasm in his first 30 seconds than iCoach showed in his entire career. Think about what life must have been like for Akron development officers who had to take iCoach to meet with potential donors versus bringing Bowden to the conversation. This hire has potential to impact so much more than the product on the field.....it is going to be fun to watch.

How soon until we get our season ticket renewals in the mail....if you were Akron wouldn't you send them out first thing January?

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I don't care how we got him, but I'm glad we did. IMO, this point made by Marla really sums it up......

"Unless UA had picked a battle with the NCAA and hired former OSU coach Tressel, who has a five-year show cause penalty around his neck, it could not have brought in a bigger name than Bowden."

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As good as this article was by Marla, the corresponding article in the PD was just as bad. The guy is still spending time talking about Withers or someone. Unbelievable.

I was going to post a topic about this, but I didn't want to start a topic filled with a stupid article, but thanks for bring it up because it is worth addressing.

Pluto Article

Pluto is a porn loving jackass....I can respect that. However, this article is terrible. He is almost mad that Akron is daring to get good with a big name coach when we "tried something different". No crap pornboy. We are sick and tired of being something Pluto never gets sick and tired of, UofA and Can't for that matter being the little engine who could. We are trying to get good. He loves Winters and so do we. Winters would have done just fine at Akron, but he isn't Bowden. Winters isn't the quick turnaround guy we need.

Pluto also thinks it would be a good idea to have Lee Owens on staff. He can't be serious. Owens took a crap on UofA on his way out the door. He shouldn't be allowed in the City, let alone on campus. That paragraph is so stupid it is shocking to read.

Attention Terry Pluto. Try a Google search. Akron went 7-6 in 2005, not 7-5. The extra game was a bowl they had the nerve to make so you probably wanted to ignore that.

In closing, Terry Pluto can suck it.

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Boy, that WAS an irritating article by Pluto. Did he really, truly say it would've been "better news" for UA to have persuaded Withers to "come home?" Poor guy. He's just losing it. Good thing he moved to Cleveland.

Lee Owens on staff? Uh, no. UA didn't like his after-practice hang-outs then, and I'm sure they haven't changed their minds.

Now, one former guy I *would* take advantage of, if I were Bowden, is Gerry Faust. The two are friends, and no one can sell a popsicle to an eskimo like Gerry. He's a nice guy, and could most definitely help with recruiting, especially the parochial kids statewide. He can be a very valuable tool for Bowden.

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Sometimes my ability to see the future is just plain scary.

Then again, predicting Terry Pluto's column storylines is like shooting fish in a barrel.

Dadgum you were right on the money. Pluto is as mad as the year Tom O'Neil took the lowly North High Vikings to a 5-5 season because he couldn't right his post season wrap up article about how "this is what sports is about, not winning but being brothers and putting forth an effort" blech.

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Heh heh.....who on here wrote this?

Common...Sense! December 23, 2011 at 9:44AM Follow

Terry, I'd like to say worse...but I'll be "respectful" regarding your insane comments that "it would've been better news" to persuade P. Withers--as he is now affectionately known--to come home.

You worked in Akron long enough to know that P. Withers would NEVER have excited and unified a fanbase and community in the way that T-Bow will (and is already doing). Good heavens, get on board and realize that this is the biggest sports hiring in UA history. Fans on ZipNation are calling you out, bud.

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As good as this article was by Marla, the corresponding article in the PD was just as bad. The guy is still spending time talking about Withers or someone. Unbelievable.

Go Zips!

+1

PD Link

The part about seeking out LO to join his staff will raise a few ZNO members' blood pressures!

Hiring Lee Owens would not bother me at all, but I seriously doubt he would ever consider coming back. Since Bowden is an offensive coach, his biggest challenge is going to be finding a good defensive coordinator. Hopefully we don't get snubbed by DC's the way we were snubbed by most of the HC candidates.

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As good as this article was by Marla, the corresponding article in the PD was just as bad. The guy is still spending time talking about Withers or someone. Unbelievable.

Go Zips!

+1

PD Link

The part about seeking out LO to join his staff will raise a few ZNO members' blood pressures!

Hiring Lee Owens would not bother me at all, but I seriously doubt he would ever consider coming back. Since Bowden is an offensive coach, his biggest challenge is going to be finding a good defensive coordinator. Hopefully we don't get snubbed by DC's the way we were snubbed by most of the HC candidates.

Having the Bowden name immediately makes UA a more attractive destination for coaches in many ways. Plus, ambitious coaches might be thinking that they could work for him at Akron and move up with Bowden if he moves on, or that the Bowden family connections can help them in future career ambitions.

Between Terry and the rest of his family, they must have a nice network from which to recruit assistants for an Akron staff too.

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I'm very interested in seeing how Terry fills out his staff. His brother was not just WR coach at UNA with him, but he was Associate Head Coach. His brother was offensive coordinator under Bobby at FSU awhile back and I'm wondering if he would follow Terry here in the same capacity. I'm more interested in seeing who coaches defense.

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I'm very interested in seeing how Terry fills out his staff. His brother was not just WR coach at UNA with him, but he was Associate Head Coach. His brother was offensive coordinator under Bobby at FSU awhile back and I'm wondering if he would follow Terry here in the same capacity. I'm more interested in seeing who coaches defense.

I hope Jeff Bowden isn't the offensive coordinator. He got run out of Florida State because his offenses were terrible.

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