New Head Coach Search - 2021 Edition

[dirtyolcrowe]

Maybe we should reset the search.  That was a horrible performance.  No energy.  

[mes.102]

Since it's been years since I've been able to log in to my account(mes102) on here (I think it was the off season when Dambrot left and Groce was hired). I've been just reading the site but decided to make a new one since I can't even get into my email for that account. (facepalm to myself)

Here are my thoughts:

Ever since Moorhead was mentioned to be the hire, I've been looking at candidates for his staff. I've based it off of places where he's been since being the head coach at Fordham with stops at Penn State, Mississippi State, and Oregon. 

I will start with Oregon because I don't think he will bring anyone with him from Oregon. If you pay close attention to the offensive coaching staff at Oregon, most (if not all) of them have worked previously with Cristobal instead of Moorhead. Could be one of the reasons why he's looking to get out of there. Only one that I could see coming with Moorhead to Akron is Bryan McClendon but I highly doubt it. 

As for his stop at Penn State as offensive coordinator, I only see one possible addition to the staff from his time there. Matt Limegrover is currently the offensive line coach at Arkansas State. The current Michigan offensive coordinator, Josh Gattis, was on his Penn State offensive staff so I don't think that's a coincidence for how Oregon and Michigan had similar game plans against Ohio State's defense. 

As for his time as head coach, below are some names I would look at that might join his staff that he had at either Fordham or Mississippi State (most from his time at Fordham). 

Andrew Breiner - Current offensive coordinator with Florida International
Michael Johnson - Current offensive coordinator with Floriday Atlantic
Joel Rodriguez - Offensive Line coach with Florida International
Tim Zetts - Offensive Assistant Coach with Green Bay Packers
Shane Fogarty - Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator with Fordham
Ian Pace - Offensive Coordinator with St. John Fisher College
Mark Dupuis - Wide Receiver Coach with Old Dominion
Tyler Bowen - Tight End Coach with Jacksonville Jaguars

As for defensive coordinator, I think the no-brainer here would be Bob Shoop. He's currently the off-field defensive analyst for University of Miami and was the former defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, Tennessee, Penn State, and Vanderbilt. 

David Blackwell is currently the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech and wouldn't be shocked if his name pops up at some point. Another name that might come up would be Chris Marve, currently the Linebackers coach at Florida State. 

A couple other names that might be content with their high school head coaching positions but has had coaching experience with Moorhead. At the very least, might see a recruit or two from these schools from time to time. 

Tim Cary - Current Head Coach at Trinity-Pawling (NY) college prep school
Jon Wholley - Current Head Coach at Avon Old Farms (CT) prep school


I hope Shoop will become the defensive coordinator and I expect either Breiner or Johnson to become Moorhead's  offensive coordinator and associate head coach. I expect Shane Fogarty to come on as special teams coordinator. Again, no knowledge or inside information on what Moorhead would do but this is my educated guesses. 

Edited December 4, 2021 by mes.102

[bigjim]

11 hours ago, bigjim said:

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve in total excitement waiting for a huge present and the best day of the year.  I just do not know if Christmas morning is coming tonight, Saturday, or Sunday (like I read in one report that he will sign on Sunday).  As Charles Dickens said, 'God bless us, every one'

 

Let's all shout        'ZI....

                                'PS....

repeat 1000 times

After watching the Utah Oregon game tonight and the blowout two weeks ago, I am doubting that the huge Christmas presents are coming.  The offensive game plan and QB play tonight was so terrible, that I would never want to see it again.  Now, I feel like the kid whose parents said on Christmas Eve that there is no Santa and there will be no gifts come Christmas morning.  Please tell me I am wrong.  I still want to shout!

               ZI

               PS

repeat all weekend.  

Will always love my school and being an alumnus!!!!

[LoyalZIP]

2 hours ago, Football grandma said:

I'm a life-long learner. I really want to read your answer LoyalZIP.

 

Goodness gracious, relax. I just want the John Carroll players to go to John Carroll. I don't give a flying you know what about scholly numbers and all that crap. If the roster isn't unrecognizable from what it currently is in two years, I would be absolutely shocked. This roster is currently one of the worst to ever play 1A football for Akron. Be gone. 

[Zipmeister]

I think Akron should hire the guy who coached Oregon to a win over THE osu.

Not so sure about the guy who coached Oregon against the Utes.

[GJGood]

The college football world knows Moorhead as one of its premier offensive minds as a coordinator. That said, how he performs as a coordinator is how you get your foot in the door to being a head coach but being a head coach is quite different.

The key to winning and success at Akron will be the ability to recruit and keep local talent at home and not just on the offensive side of the ball. If he can do that and provide a potent offense in the MAC then he will be successful as the Zips head man.

 

The thing that excites me the most about Moorhead is that he was able to recruit top talent to places like Starkville, Mississippi and Eugene, Oregon. While those are “big jobs” they are not Ohio State or Notre Dame where the name really recruits itself to a large degree. He has had to recruit to places that have to compete with programs like Alabama, LSU, Washington, and USC for talent. If he can be successful recruiting where he has been then he should be able to get talent to come to Akron over the likes of Toledo, Ohio, and Buffalo and that is the first step this program needs to take. 
 

One other thing that will be interesting to see once he is officially named is who gets hired to run the defense. While there is reason to be excited about what can be done offensively with Moorhead as head coach the ability to couple it with strong play on the other side of the ball could really be key to future success. 

[clarkwgriswold]

Interesting article here.  You get a sense from the article as to how Moorhead's perspective has changed and why he might have wanted a change like coming to UA.

 

https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2021/12/oregon-offensive-coordinator-joe-moorhead-returns-to-sideline-during-pregame-continues-recovery-from-emergency-surgery-2-months-ago.html?outputType=amp

[Let'sGoZips94]

6 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

I think Akron should hire the guy who coached Oregon to a win over THE osu.

Not so sure about the guy who coached Oregon against the Utes.

 

From what I've read, Moorhead was given credit for the OSUcks win, and Cristobal was given credit for the lame-duck (pun intended) performances against Utah in recent weeks. 

[zippy5]

14 hours ago, LZIp said:

 

 

14 hours ago, LZIp said:

 

Was going to quote lzip and decided not to but can't remove the quote boxes from mobile 😂

[Cykron]

17 hours ago, akzipper said:

 

I love response on twitter. So many "Why Akron?" "Akron sucks, he can do better!" "Should have waited for a better job!" "Am I missing something?!"

 

Yeah you are missing something. Akron is a nice f'n school. We have a great stadium and fans that deserve to watch winning football.

 

Even one Oregon fan chimed in with:

 

If Moorhead was that bad shouldn't he be taking a "step down"? There are just so many angry people on social media that rant to their 30 followers, while hiding behind a keyboard.

 

Just because a school's football team has been bad, doesn't mean they deserve to suck forever. There's always been an arrogance to fans of "big" schools. They love to make fun of schools like Akron and when something goes well for the underdogs, they get mad.

 

 

 

I asked a lot of those questions at first.  Then I listened to some of his answers.  Conclusion.  This looks like  a great fit.  Good for Moorhead.  Good for the Zips.  

[zippy5]

Anyway, Zip Nation is feeling good and we aren't even getting AJ Milwee to call plays!

[johnnyzip84]

It's no doubt a small town news outlet jumping the gun, but I still like the sound of it.

 

https://www.wccsradio.com/2021/12/03/pittsburgh-native-named-head-coach-at-akron/

[zipsoutsider]

I don't agree that local talent is what produces a winner at Akron. When you look at other G5 programs that are successful, it isn't via local talent, it's by getting talent, period. Every G5 fan board thinks their area is a hotbed of talent and are upset when a new coach doesn't grab the local guys.

 

In this age, the ability to recruit from the portal is what makes you successful. 

[GJGood]

9 hours ago, mes.102 said:

Since it's been years since I've been able to log in to my account(mes102) on here (I think it was the off season when Dambrot left and Groce was hired). I've been just reading the site but decided to make a new one since I can't even get into my email for that account. (facepalm to myself)

Here are my thoughts:

Ever since Moorhead was mentioned to be the hire, I've been looking at candidates for his staff. I've based it off of places where he's been since being the head coach at Fordham with stops at Penn State, Mississippi State, and Oregon. 

I will start with Oregon because I don't think he will bring anyone with him from Oregon. If you pay close attention to the offensive coaching staff at Oregon, most (if not all) of them have worked previously with Cristobal instead of Moorhead. Could be one of the reasons why he's looking to get out of there. Only one that I could see coming with Moorhead to Akron is Bryan McClendon but I highly doubt it. 

As for his stop at Penn State as offensive coordinator, I only see one possible addition to the staff from his time there. Matt Limegrover is currently the offensive line coach at Arkansas State. The current Michigan offensive coordinator, Josh Gattis, was on his Penn State offensive staff so I don't think that's a coincidence for how Oregon and Michigan had similar game plans against Ohio State's defense. 

As for his time as head coach, below are some names I would look at that might join his staff that he had at either Fordham or Mississippi State (most from his time at Fordham). 

Andrew Breiner - Current offensive coordinator with Florida International
Michael Johnson - Current offensive coordinator with Floriday Atlantic
Joel Rodriguez - Offensive Line coach with Florida International
Tim Zetts - Offensive Assistant Coach with Green Bay Packers
Shane Fogarty - Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator with Fordham
Ian Pace - Offensive Coordinator with St. John Fisher College
Mark Dupuis - Wide Receiver Coach with Old Dominion
Tyler Bowen - Tight End Coach with Jacksonville Jaguars

As for defensive coordinator, I think the no-brainer here would be Bob Shoop. He's currently the off-field defensive analyst for University of Miami and was the former defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, Tennessee, Penn State, and Vanderbilt. 

David Blackwell is currently the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech and wouldn't be shocked if his name pops up at some point. Another name that might come up would be Chris Marve, currently the Linebackers coach at Florida State. 

A couple other names that might be content with their high school head coaching positions but has had coaching experience with Moorhead. At the very least, might see a recruit or two from these schools from time to time. 

Tim Cary - Current Head Coach at Trinity-Pawling (NY) college prep school
Jon Wholley - Current Head Coach at Avon Old Farms (CT) prep school


I hope Shoop will become the defensive coordinator and I expect either Breiner or Johnson to become Moorhead's  offensive coordinator and associate head coach. I expect Shane Fogarty to come on as special teams coordinator. Again, no knowledge or inside information on what Moorhead would do but this is my educated guesses. 

Great post.. the one thing you didn’t mention though.. are there any connections from his time at Akron that he would maybe want to reconnect with?

[Sergeant Zip]

Apparently minutes away:

 

 

[GJGood]

29 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

I don't agree that local talent is what produces a winner at Akron. When you look at other G5 programs that are successful, it isn't via local talent, it's by getting talent, period. Every G5 fan board thinks their area is a hotbed of talent and are upset when a new coach doesn't grab the local guys.

 

In this age, the ability to recruit from the portal is what makes you successful. 

I don’t disagree but you want the local talent to have interest in you as well, whether it be high school recruits or guys who played elsewhere then decide to transfer home. I want Akron to be the school they consider “home” and not any of our rivals.
 

[Blue & Gold]

4 minutes ago, Sergeant Zip said:

Apparently minutes away:

 

 

[Blue & Gold]

[GoZips88]

Sign me up for some "talent, period" whether that's local(LOVE it when they stay home ... in Akron, not Kent) or from the far reaches. Wouldn't mind having one or two Hawaiians or Samoans as defenses are usually bad-ass for some reason (they bring it?) when they're in the mix. Love the names too. Also agree with CK - focus first on controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Skill positions are screwed when a plan isn't able to develop. 

 

Feeling fine on a Saturday morning. Looking forward to the announcement. What I saw last night was not unlike some of our Akron/Kent games (even some of the recent soccer games) where one side showed up jacked, wanting it and ready to play and the other looked like they had no idea it was their rival or what was on the line. Saw RPO and could have sworn I saw Kato in there early. Glad I dozed off for the vast majority of the game.

 

Go Zips!

[NWAkron]

It's official.

https://gozips.com/news/2021/12/4/football-joe-moorhead-named-university-of-akron-head-football-coach.aspx

 

Who gets honor of the welcome coach moorhead thread?

Edited December 4, 2021 by NWAkron

[94zipgrad]

 

[GP1]

12 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Maybe Oregon with their contract extension for Cristobal. The whole team looks flat. 

Every player on Oregon's team was at least smart enough to get in college. They looked like a team that knew they were not as good as Utah coming into the game (Utah destroyed them less than a month ago).  They tried hard at first then realized there was no hope. 

 

Players at that level know at some point during a game like that their cannot win. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

[94zipgrad]

 

[zippy5]

LFG