New Head Coach Search - 2021 Edition

[LoyalZIP]

Well said by both. I have heard this from numerous people at Akron over the years and if there was ever a time, it’s now. Other than Alford, I’m curious if Stan Drayton will get another look at it. Perhaps the WR coach at Pitt. I’m skeptical about his resume, but I did see an article that mentioned him. 

[94zipgrad]

I want the best person we can find to run the program.  A lot goes into this decision, a lot.  I don’t care what their race is.  Whoever the best we can get is what I want.  I’m open to any race, let’s just get someone who can fix this.  But keep in mind no one hires someone to fail but it happens regularly.  Being right on these decisions aren’t easy but I’m praying 🙏🏻 Guthrie gets it right or gets lucky.  I just want to see Akron win football games

 

Game Day is in Cincinnati today, wouldn’t it be awesome to see it in Akron some day?

Edited November 6, 2021 by 94zipgrad

[LoyalZIP]

5 minutes ago, 94zipgrad said:

I want the best person we can find to run the program.  A lot goes into this decision, a lot.  I don’t care what their race is.  Whoever the best we can get is what I want.  I’m open to any race, let’s just get someone who can fix this.  But keep in mind no one hires someone to fail but it happens regularly.  Being right on these decisions aren’t easy but I’m praying 🙏🏻 Guthrie gets it right or gets lucky.  I just want to see Akron win football games

 

Game Day is in Cincinnati today, wouldn’t it be awesome to see it in Akron some day?

 
You forgot to mention that Game Day is in Cincinnati with a head coach that Tom Wistercill didn’t think was as good of a candidate to coach at Akron as Rob Ianello. He said no thanks, Luke. 

[LZIp]

2 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

 
You forgot to mention that Game Day is in Cincinnati with a head coach that Tom Wistercill didn’t think was as good of a candidate to coach at Akron as Rob Ianello. He said no thanks, Luke. 

Speaking of him, I noticed he’s the Big Sky commissioner not too long ago.

[94zipgrad]

3 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

 
You forgot to mention that Game Day is in Cincinnati with a head coach that Tom Wistercill didn’t think was as good of a candidate to coach at Akron as Rob Ianello. He said no thanks, Luke. 

Lol, he must be an idiot.  Again, I’m praying whoever Guthrie hires is finally the one.  I don’t care if that means we have the perfect season and they leave us for a P5.

[GP1]

33 minutes ago, zippy-claws said:

 

i believe the next HC will be a minority, but not because he is a minority, but it will be an added feature, 

I'd like to replace the word feature with dynamic. 

 

For instance, maybe a black head coach has a different type of dynamic with a player like Dollard and is able to guide the kid better. We have failed at guiding at risk kids down the right path too many times to count and we immediately run down an unproductive path that leads to the likes of Ianello or Arth. Maybe we should stop trying to change the players and start changing how coaches interact with the kids.  At risk kids want discipline and order. We just need someone better capable of providing it in a way the kids can relate or well end up with another DIII team. 

 

I could go on all day about the recruiting benefits of a black coach at Akron so I won't. 

 

Want the University to be a center piece in a Midwest city that is over 30% black?  Make one of the most visible employees more relatable to the overall community. Everything has to work together. 

[GP1]

27 minutes ago, 94zipgrad said:

Game Day is in Cincinnati today, wouldn’t it be awesome to see it in Akron some day?

Yes, but in reality I could care less about ESPN events. 

[94zipgrad]

4 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Yes, but in reality I could care less about ESPN events. 

I agree, not about ESPN,  just means we’re having that season we’ve dreamed about 

[NWAkron]

I don't know how Miller and Guthrie are going to do it, but they need to make a splash with this hire.  Someone who immediately draws attention from the community.  And they don't need a search firm to do that.  Figuring how tight Miller and Guthrie are with the dollar, I would think/hope they would bypass the search firm.  As many said on here, they surely didn't need one to find John Groce.  They picked him up in Phoenix during the Final Four.  They knew where to find him

[Zipmeister]

1 hour ago, zippy-claws said:

GP1, you treaded where I wanted to go, but was afraid to be accused of, well, you know...

i believe the next HC will be a minority, but not because he is a minority, but it will be an added feature, if you will.  I thing AD Charles and CFO Marcus will pursue this avenue, as there are no minorities (other than women) at the helm of any of the Zips  14 or 15 programs.  I don’t believe it will be a priority, but I think it will be a “tie-breaker” if you will...

 

If you want the maximize the feature of the next coach hire a one-armed, Asian, female.

[GP1]

29 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Someone who immediately draws attention from the community.

Change community to recruits. 

[dre22era]

2 hours ago, 94zipgrad said:

 

 

Game Day is in Cincinnati today, wouldn’t it be awesome to see it in Akron some day?

Would Love to see that happen but too bad our fanbase thinks small 

They only care about the MAC and don't EVER see us as contenders vs anyone else 

Hell folks literally have temper tantrums when we schedule Power 5s 

Edited November 6, 2021 by dre22era

[zipsoutsider]

2 hours ago, GP1 said:

I'd like to replace the word feature with dynamic. 

 

For instance, maybe a black head coach has a different type of dynamic with a player like Dollard and is able to guide the kid better. We have failed at guiding at risk kids down the right path too many times to count and we immediately run down an unproductive path that leads to the likes of Ianello or Arth. Maybe we should stop trying to change the players and start changing how coaches interact with the kids.  At risk kids want discipline and order. We just need someone better capable of providing it in a way the kids can relate or well end up with another DIII team. 

 

I could go on all day about the recruiting benefits of a black coach at Akron so I won't. 

 

Want the University to be a center piece in a Midwest city that is over 30% black?  Make one of the most visible employees more relatable to the overall community. Everything has to work together. 

Some really good thoughts in here. I don't see how we are pursuing the best possible candidates if we are not including some quality black coaches. And by some, I mean more than one.

 

If Dino Babers gets let go by 'Cuse, I would love to see him run the program.

[clarkwgriswold]

2 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

If you want the maximize the feature of the next coach hire a one-armed, Asian, female.

 

...in a wheelchair.

[Blue & Gold]

57 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

If Dino Babers gets let go by 'Cuse, I would love to see him run the program.

+1

[NWAkron]

4 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

+1

joking?  right?

 

2016Syracuse4–8.  2–6. T–6th (Atlantic)

2017Syracuse4–8.  2–6. 7th (Atlantic)

2018Syracuse10–3. 6–2. 2nd (Atlantic)W Camping World1515

2019Syracuse5–72–66th (Atlantic)

2020Syracuse1–10.  1–9T–14th

2021Syracuse5–4. 2–3

 

Syracuse:29–40. 15–32

[LZIp]

10 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

joking?  right?

 

2016Syracuse4–8.  2–6. T–6th (Atlantic)

2017Syracuse4–8.  2–6. 7th (Atlantic)

2018Syracuse10–3. 6–2. 2nd (Atlantic)W Camping World1515

2019Syracuse5–72–66th (Atlantic)

2020Syracuse1–10.  1–9T–14th

2021Syracuse5–4. 2–3

 

Syracuse:29–40. 15–32

Outside of 2018, Syracuse has been a failure..but it’s also Syracuse. He showed how good he could be in the MAC at BG, and his disciple (Sean Lewis) is doing well at Kent. I could go either way on him, but he’s a known commodity whose had success in our conference. The more I think about it, it might be our best low risk, high reward type of hire.

 

plus. If he’s fired, he can likely bring at least a handful of his 2022 recruits and players with him, which should be a nice foundation to start with.

Edited November 6, 2021 by LZIp

[Blue & Gold]

Yeah, he never got things going at 'Cuse, did he. Lol.  I just dream about him doing for us what he did at BUGS.

[NWAkron]

20 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Yeah, he never got things going at 'Cuse, did he. Lol.  I just dream about him doing for us what he did at BUGS.

and he's from Hawaii.  That should make Z. I. P. (?) happy.

[Hilltopper]

5 hours ago, GP1 said:

I'd like to replace the word feature with dynamic. 

 

For instance, maybe a black head coach has a different type of dynamic with a player like Dollard and is able to guide the kid better. We have failed at guiding at risk kids down the right path too many times to count and we immediately run down an unproductive path that leads to the likes of Ianello or Arth. Maybe we should stop trying to change the players and start changing how coaches interact with the kids.  At risk kids want discipline and order. We just need someone better capable of providing it in a way the kids can relate or well end up with another DIII team. 

 

I could go on all day about the recruiting benefits of a black coach at Akron so I won't. 

 

Want the University to be a center piece in a Midwest city that is over 30% black?  Make one of the most visible employees more relatable to the overall community. Everything has to work together. 

Dollard was a lost cause. It was only a matter of time before he got himself kicked out of the university. I know you don't like Polian, but what he wrote on his book is exactly the type of dynamic you are talking about. Just so long as we get a coach that understands that dynamic we will be in good shape. If that person happens to be black that's fine too.

[ZippyRulz]

What about Rusty Wright? Winning conference record in 2 seasons as HC, former MAC assistant at Miami...

 

 

[NWAkron]

13 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said:

What about Rusty Wright? Winning conference record in 2 seasons as HC, former MAC assistant at Miami...

 

 

NOT FUNNY!!  (i hope that was a joke)

[GP1]

51 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

Dollard was a lost cause. It was only a matter of time before he got himself kicked out of the university. I know you don't like Polian, but what he wrote on his book is exactly the type of dynamic you are talking about. Just so long as we get a coach that understands that dynamic we will be in good shape. If that person happens to be black that's fine too.

Polian is a private school guy from his college days and almost entirely his coaching career.  This guy and guys like him simply are not a cultural fit for Akron. It's time for people to snap out of the fantasy that a guy like him can be successful at Akron. He failed in 3 years at a school like Akron in Nevada. I don't care what his philosophy is in a book. He simply isn't the right guy. He's another Notre Dame retread. 

 

Everyone, snap out of it. We need the right guy for AKRON. 

[NWAkron]

27 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Polian is a private school guy from his college days and almost entirely his coaching career.  This guy and guys like him simply are not a cultural fit for Akron. It's time for people to snap out of the fantasy that a guy like him can be successful at Akron. He failed in 3 years at a school like Akron in Nevada. I don't care what his philosophy is in a book. He simply isn't the right guy. He's another Notre Dame retread. 

 

Everyone, snap out of it. We need the right guy for AKRON. 

I've never been in it to "snap out of it."  No Notre Dame!  I don't what occurred in the Arth hire, but we had an interim president at the time who hated sports.  We also had people on the search committee with no football knowledge.  It's like they sent an email to "central casting" and asked them to send up a "football coach."

[LZIp]

2 hours ago, GP1 said:

Polian is a private school guy from his college days and almost entirely his coaching career.  This guy and guys like him simply are not a cultural fit for Akron. It's time for people to snap out of the fantasy that a guy like him can be successful at Akron. He failed in 3 years at a school like Akron in Nevada. I don't care what his philosophy is in a book. He simply isn't the right guy. He's another Notre Dame retread. 

 

Everyone, snap out of it. We need the right guy for AKRON. 

The more I think about it, the more I think you have a point. Akron isn’t some preppy Catholic school…Notre Dame, John Carroll, or whatever it may be thats similar. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by LZIp