Hiring Joe Moorhead as head coach made a ton of sense for Akron a couple years ago.
Moorhead had head coaching experience. He also had coached at Akron before as an offensive coordinator. He was a successful OC elsewhere as well, including at Oregon before taking over at Akron.
The Zips hoped they could be one of the better programs in the MAC. Instead, they’ve gone 2-10 each of the past two years. And there’s little sign of things turning around this season. Akron is 2-7 overall, though the Zips did recently defeat Eastern Michigan.
If the Zips decide to move on from Moorhead, either during this year or after the season is over, here are some names they could consider to hire as their next head coach.
Syracuse Offensive Coordinator Jeff Nixon
Nixon has a plethora of experience coaching for NFL and college teams and has worked with plenty of star players.
Nixon is in his first season as the Orange’s OC, and they are 24th in the country in total offense (442.8 yards per game) and are tied for 38th in scoring offense (31.7 points per game) going into Week 12 of this year. Before coaching at Syracuse, Nixon was a running backs coach with the New York Giants and worked with Saquon Barkley. He also was a coach for the Carolina Panthers before that and was briefly their interim OC while also coaching running backs.
Before that, Nixon called plays as a co-offensive coordinator for Baylor, which ranked 17th in the FBS with 35.2 points per game in 2019. He was in the NFL before that, coaching tight ends for the San Francisco 49ers (2016), running backs for the Miami Dolphins (2011-15), and offense and special teams for the Philadelphia Eagles (2007-10). He also coached running backs at Temple (2006), Chattanooga (2003-05), Shippensburg (1999-02), and Princeton (1998). The former West Virginia and Penn State running back began his coaching career as a student assistant at Penn State in 1997.
Nixon’s offensive knowledge and resume would make him a good choice.
FAU Offensive Coordinator Charlie Frye
Frye has a good resume and connections to Akron.
Frye was a successful quarterback at Akron, where he was a four-year starter and broke numerous records. He was picked in the third round of the NFL Draft in 2005 by the Cleveland Browns and spent half a decade in the league.
He began his coaching career at the high school level and eventually worked as a consultant/director of player development at Florida from 2015-17. He was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the collegiate level for the first time at Central Michigan from 2019-20. He then coached quarterbacks with the Miami Dolphins in 2021 before being an offensive analyst and analytics coordinator at Penn State in 2022. He’s been at FAU, where he’s an OC and QBs coach, since 2023.
Frye could be motivated to make Akron a solid program.
Las Vegas Raiders Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy
Maybe getting Getsy to leave the NFL would be tough. But considering things aren’t going smoothly with the Raiders at the moment, maybe now is a good time for him to think about returning to his alma mater.
Getsy played at Akron when Moorhead was a coach there. Getsy also set some Zips program records and even led the MAC with 3,455 passing yards in 2005, a season in which he led Akron to a conference championship and its first bowl game appearance. He also was first in the MAC with 2,665 passing yards the following year.
Getsy was a graduate assistant at Akron from 2007-08 and at Pitt in 2010. He coached with the Green Bay Packers from 2014-17 before being an offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Mississippi State when Moorhead was the head coach there. He returned to the Packers for a few years, then was the offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears from 2022-23 and is in his first season with the Raiders.
If Getsy ends up leaving Las Vegas and wants to coach at the collegiate level again, Akron would be a good fit.
Indiana Defensive Coordinator Bryant Haines
Haines followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana, and he has been stellar as the Hoosiers’ DC thus far.
Going into Week 10, Indiana is in the top 10 in the FBS in terms of scoring defense (14.12 points allowed per game) and total defense (269.5 yards per game allowed).
Before his current job, he was instrumental in JMU’s transition to the Sun Belt. He was promoted to DC and linebackers coach after three years as a co-defensive coordinator there.
In just their first season as an FBS program, the Dukes allowed the eighth-fewest yards per game in the country with 290.2 while allowing just 20.9 points per game. They were also top 10 in rushing defense, tackles for loss per game, first downs allowed, sacks per game, third down defense, and fumble recoveries.
In 2023, JMU was in the top 20 in the FBS with 19.5 points per game allowed and the top 30 in the country with 333.8 yards per game allowed.
Before JMU, Haines worked with linebackers under Cignetti at Elon and was a linebackers coach at UC Davis before that in 2016.
Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock
Denbrock would make a ton of sense for Akron if he were interested.
Denbrock has coached in the area for years. He’s worked with offensive linemen, tight ends, and wide receivers over the years at Notre Dame, but he’s also coached at a variety of other schools as well. He was LSU’s OC and tight ends coach before this from 2022-23, and was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Cincinnati from 2017-21.
Denbrock hasn’t been a head coach at the collegiate level, but he has been an associate head coach, including at Notre Dame from 2015-16 and at Indiana State in 2009.
Denbrock’s name has come up plenty of times when it comes to college football hot seats and potential head coaching hires this season. If he’s open to taking a G5 head coaching job, Akron would be a good fit.
Washington State Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle
Arbuckle is only in his second season as Washington State’s OC and quarterbacks coach. But he’s made an impact quickly.
This year, WSU is top 25 in the country with 448.4 yards per game and 38.1 points per game. A season ago, the Cougars were in the top 40 in the country in terms of scoring offense with 31.7 points per game and total offense with 421.7 yards per game. Cameron Ward, WSU’s QB in 2023, was in the top 10 in the FBS with 3,735 passing yards and top 20 with 25 touchdowns.
Arbuckle has coached in the area. Before WSU, he was a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Western Kentucky. In 2022, the Hilltoppers were in the top 15 in the nation with yards per game (497.3) and points per game (36.4) as quarterback Austin Reed led the country with 4,746 yards and was third with 40 touchdowns.
Arbuckle hasn’t been coaching at the collegiate level long, but he was at one point on 247Sports’ 30-Under-30 list, which recognizes up-and-coming college football coaches. Considering he’s shown great expertise on the offensive side of the ball, maybe Akron should consider him.
