Paul Winters will not be Akron Zips' football coach, will stay at Wayne State, sources tell Plain Dealer

Division II school in Detroit will rework Winters' five-year deal to retain former Zips player.

Mark Hicks/WestSide Photographic, courtesy of WSUPaul Winters has turned down Akron to stay at Division II Wayne State, The Plain Dealer has learned.

Akron, Ohio - Former Akron Zips football player Paul Winters will not be the new head coach at his alma mater, and instead will sign a reworked contract to stay at Division II Wayne State in Detroit, sources have told The Plain Dealer.

Winters has been at Wayne State since 2004. His team went 12-4 this season and lost the NCAA Division II championship Saturday to Pittsburg State of Kansas. His reworked five-year deal will run through the 2016 season.

Rob Fournier, WSU's athletic director, had previously granted Akron athletic director Tom Wistrcill permission to speak with Winters about the UA post.

Wistrcill has shut down media communication since firing Rob Ianello after two seasons with a 2-22 record.

Other candidates believed to be on Wistrcill's short list include UCLA interim head coach Mike Johnson, another former Zip; and Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi.

Winters led his team to four straight road wins in the D-II playoffs, defeating the defending national champions, Minnesota-Duluth, and then undefeated Winston-Salem to advance to the title game.

Winters is 48-43 in his career at Wayne State, including 36-14 over the past four winning seasons.

His first season as a player at Akron was 1977. He returned to Akron as its offensive coordinator from 1994 to 2003, in the early years of the Zips' move up from Division I-AA to Division I-A. He took the WSU post when Akron dismissed head coach Lee Owens and his staff after a 7-5 season in 2003.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2011/12/paul_winters_will_not_be_akron.html

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