Terry Bowden's Resume Gives Akron Football Hope Terry Pluto
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Terry Bowden’s resume gives Akron football hope: Terry Pluto http://blog.cleveland.com/plutoblog_impact/print.html?entry=/201... Terry Bowden's resume gives Akron football hope: Terry Pluto Published: Thursday, December 22, 2011, 8:50 PM Updated: Friday, December 23, 2011, 1:09 AM Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer By Terry Bowden and Akron? Bowden coaching games in the snow? Bowden recruiting in the Midwest? Bowden as the new head coach of the Akron Zips? It's hard to imagine the 54-year-old Bowden -- son of legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden -- coaching in the Mid-American Conference. That's especially true since other than a brief stop at Salem College in West Virginia (1983-85), all of Bowden's head coaching experience has been in the state of Alabama. But once my choice for the job -- Wayne State coach Paul Winters -- turned down the Zips, I was worried they'd take the same road as the recent past. The minefield was hiring a young assistant who has never been a head coach in high school or a small college. He comes from a major program such as Notre Dame (Rob Ianello) and Pittsburgh (J.D. Brookhart). He seems kind of clueless about the MAC and overwhelmed by the challenge of making the Zips respectable. Wait a minute, didn't Brookhart take the Zips to their only Division I bowl game? View full size Matt McKean, The Times Daily via AP Terry Bowden's biggest obstacle at Akron will be selling himself to high 1 of 3 12/23/11 8:42 AM Terry Bowden’s resume gives Akron football hope: Terry Pluto http://blog.cleveland.com/plutoblog_impact/print.html?entry=/201... school coaches in the Midwest. Indeed he did in 2005, when he was 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the MAC. It happened primarily with players recruited by former coach Lee Owens and Winters (his top assistant), along with some transfers from Pitt who followed Brookhart to Akron. He was 13-11 (11-5 in the MAC) in his first two seasons, but couldn't build on it. In the next four years, he was 17-31 (11-21 in the MAC). He often had highly rated recruiting classes, but too many players failed to make the grade in the classroom or on the field. Terry Bowden file Brookhart is now the special teams coach at Colorado State. Born: 1956, Douglas, Ga. Next came Ianello, a disaster with a 2-22 College: West Virginia. record and one victory in the MAC. He was recently bought out for $250,000. Head coaching record: 140–62–2. Missing out on Winters Coaching history: Salem 19–13 (1983-85); Samford 45-23-1 (1987–92); Auburn 47-17-1 (1993-98); North It's not a good sign that Winters turned down Alabama 29-9 (2009-11). his alma mater. He obviously believes it a major challenge with little talent available. He Akron head coaches: Frank Cook (1892); John Heisman is close to Wayne State Athletic Director Rob (1893–94); No coach (1895); Harry Wilson (1896); No team Fournier. Both have Akron roots. He received (1897–98); Archie Eves (1899); No coach (1900); No team a five-year extension from Wayne State (1901); Forest Firestone (1902); Alfred W. Place (1903); No supposedly worth what some lower level team (1904–07); Dwight Bradley (1908); Clarence Weed Division I coaches are paid. (1909); Frank Haggerty (1910–14); Fred Sefton (1915–23); James W. Coleman (1924–25); George Babcock (1926); Red While it would have been better news if Akron Blair (1927–35); Jim Aiken (1936–38); Thomas Dowler could have persuaded Winters to come home, (1939–40); Otis Douglas (1941–42); No team (1943–45); at least the Zips tried something different. Paul Baldacci (1946–47); William Houghton (1948–51); Bowden has been a coach for 18 years at all Kenneth Cochrane (1952–53); Joe McMullen (1954–60); three levels -- from Division III to Auburn in Gordon K. Larson (1961–72); Jim Dennison (1973–85); Gerry the SEC. He most recent stop was Division II Faust (1986–94); Lee Owens (1995–2003); J. D. Brookhart North Alabama. (2004–09); Rob Ianello (2010–11); Terry Bowden (2012). It is curious that despite a 29-9 record and -- Elton Alexander three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, North Alabama waited until the end of the season to offer him a Related content contract extension -- it was for only one year. Terry Bowden named head football coach of Akron He had worked on his original three-year Zips 2 of 3 12/23/11 8:42 AM Terry Bowden’s resume gives Akron football hope: Terry Pluto http://blog.cleveland.com/plutoblog_impact/print.html?entry=/201... deal. North Alabama is a traditional Division II power. The Lions had been to the playoffs in each of the past seven years, and won three Division II national titles in the 1990s. The fans of the Florence, Ala., school were upset with three consecutive second-round playoff exits. But the bottom line is Bowden certainly didn't mess up the situation. He has experience as a head coach at levels below Division I, so he won't show up at Akron and wonder why it's not the Big Ten. Bowden's challenge When Bowden takes over, his biggest obstacle will be selling himself to high school coaches in the Midwest -- which has to be the heart of his recruiting base. Yes, he can use his southern contacts to recruit from those warm-weather, talent-rich states. But the best MAC teams are packed with players from the Midwest. He must hire assistants who don't have the last name of Bowden. brothers Tommy and Jeff also are coaches. He should reach out to someone deeply connected with Ohio coaches. Now the head coach at Ashland University, Owens would be a wise choice for a key spot on his staff. Bowden was a Zips assistant under Gerry Faust at Akron in 1986, so he will remember the days of the Rubber Bowl. He also will appreciate how the campus has changed. Akron may have the best combination of a new stadium and fieldhouse in the MAC. But the Zips are 3-13 at home since the stadium opened. They announced an average crowd of 15,734 -- which is optimistic as empty seats harshly conflicted with the total of tickets sold. Bowden has a high national profile after his sometimes stormy tenure at Auburn, which also included a 20-game winning streak. He also did college football for ABC and wrote about it for Yahoo. He should create a buzz with fans because he is an experienced public speaker and media savvy. Bowden may not be a long-term answer at Akron. He could be looking for a bigger job. But to get it, he has to win. If not, he's done as a Division I coach. Or perhaps, he will be like Frank Solich, the former Nebraska coach and Cleveland native who has been successful at Ohio and seems content to stay in Athens and in the MAC. Either way, it should help Akron. At this point, Bowden is a better bet for Akron than some of its other options. © 2011 cleveland.com. All rights reserved. 3 of 3 12/23/11 8:42 AM.