On Monday, when native son Paul Winters turned down his college alma mater to remain at Division II Wayne State, the University of Akron football program inched closer to the black hole of irrelevance.
The Zips appeared to be getting snubbed on all fronts. Searching for a successor to Rob Ianello, it looked as if they would land no better than their fifth or sixth choice — if they even had a fifth or sixth choice — although UA boasts arguably the best facilities in the Mid-American Conference.
Then, according to a report on cantonrep.com, Terry Bowden called.
Whether it was a tip from UA consultant Jim Tressel or a message that took far too long moving through the coaching grapevine that sparked the contact, we won’t know until Bowden’s introductory press conference at InfoCision Stadium on Wednesday.
But in announcing the hiring of North Alabama’s Bowden on Thursday, the Zips turned disaster into triumph. They found the perfect candidate, even if it turns out it was more a case of him finding them.
UA needed a salesman. And if the endorsements from salesmen whom Bowden has addressed during his public speaking days are any indication, the Zips found the master.
“Enthusiastic. Motivational. Funny. Inspiring,” one wrote on Bowden’s website. “Our agents were tired, bored and their only thought was ending the meeting and going home. It only took Terry 30 seconds to wake them and get them excited.”
Imagine the stories Bowden can tell in the living rooms of Ohio athletes, especially with the careers of his legendary father, Bobby Bowden, and coaching brothers Tommy and Jeff as fodder.
Heck, Bowden should be able to captivate recruits’ parents on his own with tales from his undefeated season at Auburn in 1993, when he was named national coach of the year.
For those who don’t want to talk football, Bowden has a law degree from Florida State. He did post-graduate work at Oxford. He’s worked for ABC Sports, Westwood One Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio and written a college football column for Yahoo!Sports.
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. It seems almost incomprehensible that UA could have lured a coach who went 47-17-1 at Auburn from 1993-98, including a string of 20 consecutive victories. A winning percentage of .734 might be unacceptable in the Southeastern Conference, but would be statue-worthy in the MAC.
Bowden had a connection with UA, coaching quarterbacks in 1986 under Gerry Faust.
He knows how to build a program from scratch, doing that at Salem College (W.Va.) and Samford University (Ala.), and might find the task at Akron similar, especially on the heels of 1-11 seasons in Ianello’s two years.
After working three years in Division II, Bowden, 54, wanted back into the ranks of the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Zips were more than eager to comply, even if he sees the job as merely a stepping stone. Especially when just days ago, coaching candidates seemed to regard UA as a dead end.
Bowden can use the Zips’ program to boost his return to the big-time and build UA a bridge to football respectability in the process. Fans and administrators should be giddy with delight.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://marla.ohio.com/. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MarlaRidenour. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
