Well, not exactly a send-off.  More like a bystander that got caught in the crossfire. 

Charlie Weis got fired because he was a bad head football coach, not because he ran a bad offense.  Chuck promoted Ianello to his right hand man on the offensive side of things before the 2009 season as he still kept incumbent duties of WRs coach and recruiting coordinator.

WRs coach...Hmmm I do believe I just saw Golden Tate win the Biletnikoff Award tonight.  Check.

The MAC seems to be a perfect palette for the picture that Ianello would like to paint.  He'll fit right in with the powerful offenses that seem to have been winning the conference lately.  Ironically, Brian Kelly started this trend with his 2006 Central Michigan outfit that managed to win the MAC the year after Akron won it in '05.

Now to the most important aspect of Ianello's tenure and skill: Recruiting. 

He's been touted as one of the best recruiters in the country, bringing in 3 straight top-10 classes to Notre Dame the past 3 years.  That was not just off of the appeal of playing for the Golden Domers.  He was also recruiting coordinator for Wisconsin & Arizona in the 1990's, when those teams totally didn't suck.  Even back then he was getting some solid recognition.

Any limits (or non-limits) that Notre Dame had about academics can be thrown out the window at Akron.  J.D. Brookhart drove that program into the ground taking borderline academically eligible players, guys from prep schools, JUCO's and transfers from big-time programs.  It all just blew up in his face this season.

Ianello's job will be to take out whatever garbage is left on Akron's squad and influx that program with new talent.  Akron, OH is a hotbed for high school football and given his pedigree, Ianello can probably steal a couple from the big boys recruiting that area.  It starts ground up with a recruiting focus on high school seniors.

The new head ball coach has everything in his favor.  Top-notch facilities, a brand new InfoCision Stadium that has barely been used and all of Ohio to recruit.  Plus a stud true sophomore QB in Patrick Nicely that got thrown to the flames this year.  Maybe he'll learn something from Weis' demise and hire a competent defensive coordinator.  Or not.  Remember, he's coaching in the MAC now.

The next MAC coaches to leave the conference: CMU's Butch Jones and Buffalo's Turner Gill both are looking to move up in the world.

COACH KILL-ER  In 2008, Jerry Kill's first wins over Eastern Michigan, Miami OH, Toledo & Bowling Green all resulted in their respective head coach being fired.  This season it was Akron's coach that got the axe after we swiftly beat them 27-10 in Dekalb.  Who will it be next year?