Football
You don't see good turn to bad so quickly unless you read the Bible's book of Job or (for the agnostics out there) Ron Burgundy in Anchorman.
Within 10 days, coach J.D. Brookhart saw the biggest donor in the history of the program suffer a serious heart ailment at a relatively young age. He learned the buzz of a new stadium would not keep people's attention, even when a Big Ten team visits. He kicked his starting quarterback off the team. He suspended a second player, who allegedly slugged a man in the face until the man stopped moving. He became embroiled in a possible NCAA recruiting violation.
Brookhart was serious when he said it's been the hardest time in his career.
Since 5 p.m., almost half of the visitors to this blog have said this season is a lost cause. They have given up. To pour gasoline on the fire, on Saturday the team faces the steepest challenge in the conference: Central Michigan.
For the first time since I started covering the team, I think it's more likely than not that the head coach of one of the major teams will be fired. Brookhart cannot always directly control the shenanigans of his players and coaches or the apathy of the fans, but this sort of thing tends to reflect back on the man who runs the program. His seat is scalding.
In times like these, teams often flop. They come out of the locker room with an "us against the world" attitude, but that adrenaline wears off. The team becomes demoralized after the first mistake, and then the wheels come off. Penalties. Blown assignments. Careless mistakes. Blowout score. You see it a lot at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
If that happens on Saturday, Tom Wistrcill should tap Walt Harris to take over. Harris will have a bye week to become acclimated and reverse the team's momentum. There will still be an opportunity to compete for a MAC title.
But! Some teams are vulcanized by these tribulations. Sure, they have the usual adrenaline boost; however, they sustain it because the team was built on discipline and teamwork, not inconsistency and big egos. Severe turbulence will show what sort of athletes Brookhart recruited and what impact his coaching has made.
If that happens on Saturday, Brookhart has earned an opportunity to at least finish the season. The Zips don't have to win, but they must play with dignity. They must play football with unrelenting passion and discipline.
That will be the test. And I think the Zips and Brookhart will pass.
Count me as one of the fans who believes the season is NOT over.
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Good luck against CMU this weekend. Diversity can either bring a team together or completely derail the weak-minded. Let's hope for the former. The Zips have a boxing Kangaroo's chance at salvaging the season at this point.
Ill apologize for being a diehard but damn it Ive waited too long for this season to cast it aside so soon. Maybe JD doesnt deserve to be fired but we do have options(Walt Harris) and with a new AD in town who wants his own hire in the coaching box it might be just a matter of time till change is made. I reserve judgement on some of this. Reno especially deserves the benefit of a doubt. Certainly if Coach Martin can guarentee a winning season and a bowl game we can hang in and support our Zips.
Good article, Mike.
…but the Zips are toast. Since JDB has been here, the team's emotions have been uncontrollable at best. He has never displayed control over the team. At it's worst, why should we expect anything different?
I hope I'm wrong.
To throw in the towel and fire the coach after a 1-3 start would be asinine.
Gee…the guy would have lost to Penn State, a 2nd undefeated Big 10 team in Indiana, who's better than people give them credit for…and a road loss to CMU, the MAC favorite with the league MVP at QB. Are you serious?
And can people shut the hell up regarding the Indiana attendance. The Zips football program hadn't attracted 18k REAL customers in decades. Throw out the 3k students and 15,000 fans paid $15, up to "loge prices," last Saturday.
18k paying customers is a banner day for UA football. Winning will take care of the other 9k.
18k spent a beautiful Saturday watching 2008 celler-dweller Indiana in Akron, while OSU is playing 40 mile up RT77, and people act like it was a crime. People are stupid.
And one more thing – I hope Reno Ferri gets a fair shake. The guy bleeds blue and gold, and has for over 5 seasons. He deserves the support of Zips fans everywhere.
Could we even bring in Harris, being that he was hired by his former assistant and likely are somewhat close? I think time here with Harris would be short, but he may be able to take us to some success before he leaves for another job.
If it came to it, Harris could become the interim coach. But I think he was only going to be here for this year under any circumstances.
Honestly, Vince Okruch would be my choice. He seems to be getting the very best out of his players, while other positions are under-performing.
If JD has never coached with self control & discipline (see end of half @ UConn), how do we expect his teams to play with self control & discipline?
She might not be singing, but I think she's warming up.
Go Zips!!!!
I have to say that I'm a big fan of JD. It's way to early to start bringing up Walt Harris as coach. We're just about to start the MAC schedule and JD knows the importance of this year. Let's give the coach some support.
Ned – I agree that there was a pretty good crowd at the Indiana game. I know it wasn't a sellout, but I also wasn't embarrased like games at the Rubberbowl.
Walt Harris?!? Well, I'm not feeling too good about what he did at Standford (5-6, 1-11 – fired!), but his record at Pitt was very solid. Akron could do worse. Still, what can an mid-season, interim coach do? Really, not much. In Akron's case, the problems go beyound CJ and the other 'issues" that came up this week. The Zips have been consistently bad on defense, and the remedy to this is sh-t-canning the 3-3-5. Not something you'd like to do mid-season.
If you want Harris as your interim coach, fine. Don't expect much, though. I'd give him a 3-year contract, a chance to recruit and make major systemic changes. Whatever happens, 2009 is a disaster already.
Inidana is 3-0….and by season's end the Hoosiers will likley be 4-8. Let's not get carried away trying to salvage a bad loss to a bad team.
Let me clarify: I'm a fan of J.D., too. But if his team comes out and embarrasses itself on Saturday, it's time to make a change before the season goes down the tubes. I don't think that will happen.
While I empathize with the JD supporters, I am a fan of solid, entertaining, winning football. And I just haven't seen much of that over the last six years. A school that's invested what UA has in its facilities shouldn't have to play second-fiddle to anyone in terms of recruiting or winning MAC games…and being very competitive vs. bigger non-conference schools. Are the athletes on this roster "playmakers?" Near as I can tell, only Bowser is.
So it's either a lack of recruiting star athletes, a lack of good coaching, or a combo of both. Otherwise, we're not looking a 14-27 record over our last 41 games.
Think about that: if we lose at CMU on Saturday, we will have a .333 percentage mark over the last 3-1/2 seasons….following a BOWL season. Is THAT how we've capitalized on that landmark achievement?? Staggering.
Mike -
I agree that if the wheels come off against CMU, then JD should be let go in favor of an interim coach, but only if Walt Harris will do it. I've looked through the football media guide, and don't understand why you or anyone is such a JD fan. His records are no better than Faust's or Owens'. He was very lucky that the tie breakers worked in his favor in 2005 to get to the MACC. Faust & Owens also had a number of MAC 5-3 seasons, but weren't lucky like JD.
Personally, I would prefer that if the Zips' replace JD after this season that they follow the current example of Mens Basketball, and get an Akron guy at the helm Why not try to get the Case head coach to take over at Akron? He's an Akron guy, I believe, and he's done a good job at Case. I would like to see a young, energetic guy like that who is driven to prove something (like Bob Huggins when he came to Akron).
Go Zips! (I'll be there for every game no matter what. It's my alma mater.)
One name to consider might be Terry Bowden. He coached at Akron under Gerry Faust, has had success everywhere he's gone, and is now toiling at North Alabama. A new stadium & indoor facility, combined with his familiarity on campus, might at least warrant an interview.
I'd like to add that I will be there every game because I support this team and want them to know it. They work hard, and I'll be there for them. This season is not a lost cause.
Go Zips!
If you want recent proof that this kind of situation can make a team pull together for a title run, just look at the 2006 Ohio Bobcats. The day of the BG game (MAC opener), the Dispatch ran a Page One, above the fold, story about a rash of football player arrests (mostly just underage stuff, but an assault or two), then the team flopped at home to BG. Total flop. After that, they ran off 7 wins in a row to take the MAC East. It can be done; it's mostly mental.
The bigger the challenge, the greater the opportunity. These young men need our support now more than ever! Go ZIPS!!
Ned,
This is not because Akron ends up 1-3. As Rasor said the possibility exist that the team will play a good game against the Chips, but if the wheels come completely off (say dropping to cmu by 30 or so points) look at J.D's entire body of work:
6-5 Starters from the previous coach
7-6 Starters from the previous coach
5-7 He is begining to own the starters
4-8 His team, for the most part
5-7 His team collapsed after losing to Buffalo (they still could have made a bowl)
1-2 win over Morgan State
Career Record: 28-35 and moving backwards..
Add to this three player out, and *potential* recruiting problems (innocence before guilt…), and a coach who for all purposes looks to have lost control of the team. JD has pole vaulted himself into the most untenable coaching situation in the MAC, more so than Doug Martin.
Bull Run,
Don't forget to factor in, a couple of those wins were complete miracles, as certain defeat was at hand. I can recall the last-second Western Michigan runback, the how-did-that-happen bomb catch in the endzone during the MAC title game, the highly-suspect "touchdown" sneak at NC State, and Bowser's unbelievable catch at KSU. Yes, we've stolen our share of "wins," and certainly given plenty of games away in the final moments, as well.
Hey Matt — How many games did the Zips lose in the last seconds? Just as many as they won. Over the course of 6 season, they all even out. That's a weak, weak argument.
Losing in the final seconds—especially when the Zips had, for example, 14-point leads—shows that UA just cannot close out a game and victory. And that's happened more times than I can remember in 6 years.
Stealing a win that a certain loss is more luck than anything. There is a difference. We had potential control of the situations (i.e. Cincinnati game last year) in which we just fell apart and lost. We needed help from inept opponents, or chance/luck, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on several occasions.
It might be splitting hairs, but when you've only won 28 games in 6 seasons, somethin' ain't right.
As much as I like JD (seems to be a good family man and person), I'm now one of those who believes it is probably time for a change. I haven't seen much improvement over the years and this past week did nothing to boost my confidence that things will improve much anytime soon.
Let's see how the season plays out but new AD Tom Wistrcil should be putting together a short list of successful FCS and Division II coaches in the hopes that we can land the next Brian Kelly or Jim Tressel – guys who have been successful wherever they happen to be. I believe our next coach needs to be one with prior head coaching experience, not an assistant.
Good luck Zips against the Chipps!
@NIU Mike:
"Diversity can either bring a team together or completely derail the weak-minded. "
Never heard that before, but I'm thinking adversity can do the same thing and we have had plenty of that lately.
I agree completely , let's see what happens saturday…GO ZIPS
I can't say the Zips season is lost, but it is looking bleak. I haven't even had a chance to go to the stadium due to military commitments and the first time I will have a chance of going is October 10 vs Ohio and I don't want it to be a meaningless game for my first visit. I do agree JD is on the hot seat. I was talking to my friend a few months ago and he said Brookhart needed to at least have a winning record to keep his job. These days a fluke MAC Championship can't cut it anymore.
Being one ofthe harshest critics of the program since '06, I have season tickets and go to some away games, I have seen this team and coaching staff devolve. There is nothing personal to what those of us who thought Brookhart should have been let go last year. Bull Run said what I have been saying. The record does not justify a continuation of this regime. We could go into all the individual coaching decisions over the years again. No point. Brookhart is what he has always been and that is not going to change. The off the field stuff is just more distraction from the lack of production on the field over the last few years. The new AD did not come here to support a losing coaching staff. He has no allegiance. If he is going to go down it will be with HIS people. I do not believe this season will be salvaged. The coaches in place particularly on defense aren't going to magically transform this team. The team was a veteran group coming into the year. They should have been competetive against QUALITY opposition. They weren't. Whether they 'play well' against CMU is immaterial. This team should have been competing for the East Division championship. Maybe they will.
Brookhart's neighbor told me Brookhart was real nervous about this season BEFORE it started. He apparently did not have the confidence in his own team to know what to expect.
The really sad thing is that we will now likely have to start all over again next year and wait 3 or 4 more years to be competetive with the BEST teams in the MAC.
Just a question for Ned. I am a season ticket holder,go to away games,have for years. How many real people do you think will show up for the OU game much less those games in November. They didn't build a 27,000 seat statdium to draw 10,000-15,000/yr.
I'll answer for Ned –
The OU game attendance will be directly affected by two factors:
1.) The weather
2.) The team's performance vs. CMU
Decent weather + a CMU win = 20k
Bad weather + a CMU win = 14k
Decent weather + a CMU loss = 14 k
Bad weather + a CMU loss = 10k
Regarding November game attendance – The Kent game will get 20k. The others will depend upon the team's performance.
Regarding the stadium size – You don't design the capacity of a stadium based upon each game's attendance. It is not like a bunch of folding chairs that you can simply pack up or set up based upon the team's performance, the weather, the competition, importance of the game, etc. You build it based upon the team's ability to draw a crowd when the team is successful.
They built a 27k stadium because a 27k stadium is the perfect size for the Zips. That's why we had 27k+ people attend the opener.
Anyone thinking a 27k stadium will fill up regardless of the team's record, history, caliber of opponent, weather, etc. is stupid.
Anyone thinking a stadium design was overdone because they only got 18,000 paying customers for given game when the capacity was 27k, is stupid.
There are apparently a lot of stupid people out there. And they have internet access. That's why blogs get a bad rap.
Out.
Let the record show that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, I've said about Akron fans, Brookhart, and the new stadium has been dead on.
Brookhart: you lack discipline. You'll do anything to win. You teach no morals. This will eventually only get you a pink slip.
Akron: You can't build a $60 million stadium in a crappy downtown area of a school where 90% of students are commuters, take away tailgating, charge students for parking and shut down the expressway exit ramps, yet expect to lure 30k per game with a team that nearly always fails to play .500 football.
Fans: I continuously discussed pre-season how the difference between a Kent and Akron fan is Kent fans know their team is bad. Akron fans have just as bad of a team, but think every season they'll be phenomenal. Akron fans act like the season before was a success, despite the fact you finished 5-7 with one more win than Kent, only because you beat Kent, only because Kent missed two field goals within 30 yards, missed an extra point and fumbled a punt that a gerbil would have known to have let go. The game wasn't just gift-wrapped to you…it was addressed with extra postage and a personalized card (and you still weren't even close to the better team).
Fans: You've spent the past three years doing nothing but calling Kent a "bunch of thugs" and claiming that because of one basketball player's DUI, the entire campus is a full of criminals while Akron only recruits ethical students. You've ignored and made excuses for Rydell Brooks. You don't even know who John Hollingsworth and Derrick Tarver are. And you turn your head to every ridiculous act by Nick Dials, Nate Linhart and Nikola Cvetinovic.
Maybe, at this point, you should start waking up.