WATCH: The Sad Reality Of Becoming Akron's New Football Coach

Brian Kelly, Lincoln Riley, Mario Cristobal, Joe Moorhead...

One of these is not like the others. Moorhead was named the University of Akron's newest head football coach late last week and not surprisingly, his "Welcome to Akron" moment drew considerably less fanfare than similar introductions in Baton Rouge, Southern California and Miami.

In Akron, there was no private jet, fancy limo or deep-pocketed boosters awaiting Moorhead. Instead, there was the sad reality of drub Ohio skies, a handful of jean-clad band members and enough media members to fill a phone booth.

This is Akron football. Breathe it in. (But not really -- it kinda stinks).

All that was missing from Moorhead's homecoming -- he previously worked at Akron as an assistant from 2004-2008 -- was the Akron-based Goodyear Blimp.

Though there were no celebratory balloons in the sky on or on the ground, Moorhead's return to campus did feature Zippy, the university's mascot, and close to a dozen enthusiastic fist bumps between band members and coach. After making his way inside and fending off autograph hounds and selfie seekers, Moorhead was introduced and presented with a personalized Zips jersey.

Something tells me that a Zips jerseys featuring a Moorhead nameplate will sell considerably more than those featuring the last name of Akron's previous coach, Tom Arth.

The Zips have had just three wins since the fall of 2019. Despite the quiet showing at his introduction, Akron's hoping Moorhead can release a winner.

 

Follow along on Twitter: @OhioAF