I think we all half-expected Wayne State coach Paul Winters to turn a Division II Championship appearance into a homecoming to his alma mater, Akron. And now we know that won't happen as Winters signed a five-year extension with WSU to upkeep a football dynasty never before seen in the city of Detroit.
Over the weekend Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi took his name out of the running as well. That basically leaves Mike Johnson, who kept the UCLA head coaching office warm until Jim Mora was hired, and we know that Johnson won't be on the UCLA staff next year. I have to believe Johnson, a former Zips player, has to be the new front-runner. But there've been more front-runners for the Akron job than the GOP presidential primaries.
Maybe Akron athletic director Tom Wistrcill has a plan, but his camp isn't sharing a single thing about what direction they're headed. All we know is that they plan on announcing the coach formally on @FollowTheRoo as well as Facebook and YouTube. It could very well be announced in the dead of night, and it might even be somebody we've never heard of before.
If it's a name-brand coach, the best speculation we can muster is anybody who was recently fired and still available. I'd still maintain someone like Randy Shannon would be a solid fit for the program, or they might just give the job to interim coach Vince Okruch if they're plum out of ideas. Or maybe it'll suddenly out of nowhere be Rob Ianello with a fake mustache. (And hey, why not keep Ianello on as your offensive coordinator? You never see "demotions" in football.
Or have they considered going a year without a coach? Who knows, maybe the team can go with a crazy experiment where they figure it all out on their own, overseen by graduate assistants who can write a thesis about it. Akron could be viewed as revolutionaries in the game. And think of all the money they'd save!