The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Football Hires Shane Montgomery & Walt Harris
February 18 | Football
University of Akron head football coach J.D.
Brookhart announced today the addition of two outstanding
offensive minds with the hiring of Shane
Montgomery as offensive coordinator/tight ends coach and Walt
Harris as quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator.
"Between having Walt working the passing game and quarterbacks and
allowing Shane room to oversee the offense as a whole, in addition
to working with the tight ends, we have two powerful coaches."
Brookhart said. "You couple that with the three guys also on the
offensive side of the ball (Brian
Callahan, Reno
Ferri and Mauro
Monz), we have a group that really knows the game, but more
importantly, really mesh well together."
Montgomery, the head football coach at Miami (Ohio) for the past
four years, has a legacy of overseeing some of the top offenses in
the NCAA as a coordinator and Harris, who was head coach at
Pacific, Pittsburgh and Stanford, is widely recognized for his
ability to mold quarterbacks, producing 14 NFL-bound signal callers
in his career.
Between the two, Montgomery and Harris worked with some of the most
productive players in the NFL today with the likes Ben
Roethlisberger, Terrell Owens and Larry Fitzgerald.
"Shane and Walt bring so much offensive experience, which is
invaluable, and they are two highly respected offensive minds that
have been through the battles and very tested," Brookhart said.
"They bring a wealth of knowledge to the whole group. They also
understand as head coaches themselves, the things you have to go
through and they are a good sounding board, having that unique
experience. Most importantly with these two guys, they do not have
egos. As good as they are coaches; they are good people. That is
important as one of the things we needed to keep going is the
chemistry. Their football knowledge and experience is obviously
important; they are above and beyond with that piece.
"Walt is someone with whom I have worked with for a long time and
have great respect for his abilities. Shane is someone I coached
against but got to know through working camps and he earned my
respect immediately. I feel very blessed to have them both."
Montgomery, who was 17-31 in his time at Miami, led the RedHawks to
a share of the Mid-American East Division title in 2005 and led the
program to the MAC Championship game in 2007, going 5-2 in league
play. He additionally served as offensive coordinator for Miami and
held several positions at Tennessee-Chattanooga.
"I always had great respect for Shane's offenses," Brookhart said.
"His teams have been extremely explosive and he is exciting to
watch running the show. He really manipulates the game really well
and I look forward to him calling the shots.
Harris had a 13-year head coaching record of 69-85, including a
52-44 mark in resurrecting the Pittsburgh program as he took the
Panthers to six bowl games in eight years. He additionally had
stops as an assistant at California, Air Force, Michigan State,
Illinois, Tennessee, New York Jets and Ohio State. Highlights on
his impressive resume include coaching 11 NFL first-round
selections and three Biletnikoff Award winners.
"Walt is the most detail-oriented and best prepared coaches with
whom I have ever been associated," Brookhart said. "In terms of
coaching the quarterback position, I do not know anyone better. We
are very fortunate to have him come in a mentor those guys and
refine our passing game.
"He gave me my first opportunity and I believe there is mutual
respect between the two of us. We have always enjoyed working
together and his background speaks for itself."
Akron will begin spring practice on Mar. 3 and hold sessions for
two weeks prior to the University's spring break period. After
spring break, the squad will practice an additional two weeks,
wrapping the drills with the annual Blue-Gold Game on April 4 at
Noon in the Stile Athletics Field House.
