Five football coaches the Akron Zips should consider after firing Tom Arth
The University of Akron is once again on the hunt for a new head football coach.
The team on Thursday fired Tom Arth after he compiled a 3-24 record with the Zips. Oscar Rodriguez Jr. has been named the interim head coach.
More: Here's what we know about Akron Zips interim football coach Oscar Rodriguez Jr.
This all begs the question of who Akron should hire this time around.
Before you get to coaches Akron should consider, you have to have an understanding of who might just flatly turn them down.
While we’re having fun here, it wouldn’t make sense to include someone like Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, for instance. The University of Oregon is paying Moorhead $900,000 this year, which is more than twice what Akron was paying Arth to be head coach.
Zips football coaching history: Akron has fired all their head coaches since 1995. Here's who have led the Zips this century
With that in mind, we had some fun thinking up five coaches the Akron Zips should hire as their next football coach:
Tony Alford, running backs coach, Ohio State
If Akron can't beat Ohio State on the field, maybe they can at least steal one of their coaches. Alford has been a coach at several schools since the mid 1990s, including at Kent State as running backs coach in 1996. He’s been on the Ohio State staff since 2015, and is the associate head coach in addition to coaching the running backs. Better yet? Alford is from Akron.
Charlie Frye, Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach
Frye is arguably the best quarterback in Akron's history. A four-year starter at Akron from 2001 to 2004, Frye finished his Akron career with 11,049 passing yards. As a coach, Frye is currently the quarterbacks coach of the Miami Dolphins. He’s held that position since 2020. Prior to that, Frye was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Central Michigan.
Luke Getsy, Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach
Getsy was Frye's successor at Akron and took the Zips to the program's first bowl game (the 2005 Motor City Bowl). In two years at Akron, Getsy threw for more than 6,000 yards and 41 touchdowns. Getsy has been the quarterbacks coach with the Green Bay Packers since 2019. Surely if Getsy can work with star quarterback Aaron Rodgers he can handle a college head coaching job. Before joining Green Bay, Getsy was the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State.
Vince Kehres, Toledo defensive coordinator
Toledo hired Kehres in January of 2020 to be the defensive coordinator under head coach Jason Candle. Before that, Kehres succeeded his father Larry Kehres as the head coach at Mount Union. In seven years as the head coach for the Purple Raiders, Vince Kehres compiled a 95-6 record and won two Division III national championships.
Tim Tyrrell, Archbishop Hoban head coach
If Akron wants to be unique and dip into the high school ranks, the school wouldn't have to go far. Tyrrell's Hoban teams have been among the best in Ohio. He's compiled a 98-17 record for the Knights, and should know the area and its players better than any coach the Zips could hire.
'This is entertaining and fun': Tim Tyrrell continues to enjoy time as Hoban football coach
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: University of Akron football needs a head coach: 5 candidates
