The coaching carousel hit the University of North Alabama hard on Dec. 22.
Head football coach Terry Bowden resigned his post after three seasons with the Lions to take a job as the head coach at Akron.
In case you don’t know much about his new school, here are a few bullet points:
— Akron plays in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference, or MAC for short
— Akron is indeed in Akron, Ohio
— The university’s mascot is Zippy the Kangaroo
— The school’s nickname is the Zips, apparently because kangaroos hop very fast
— The school is best known for its partnerships in the tire and rubber industry because of its polymer science courses
— Akron’s football team has won the MAC title only once, in 2005
— Akron’s biggest rival is the Kent State Golden Flashes
—They play for the Wagon Wheel, and for bragging rights on which school has the best nickname based on a verb for motion
The departure of Bowden from UNA must have come as a shock to everyone at the school. Bowden had just signed a one-year contract extension with the Lions.
This must have been a backup plan, because he definitely would have known about Akron’s interest well before last Thursday.
I knew Coach Bowden at UNA when I was the sports editor of the student-run newspaper there, The Flor-Ala.
I interviewed him five times, and he was more than gracious to me each time.
He was in the field of journalism for 10 years, so he knew what I was going through.
I wish someone had taken a picture of me interviewing him just once. I’m 6’6”. Coach Bowden is not a very tall man.
He actually stretched out his arm and propped it on my shoulder in order to lean on me once or twice during a post-game interview at Braly Stadium.
I heard grumblings at UNA from some who wanted to see him go, but a combined 29-9 record is not too   shabby.

J.R. Tidwell is sports editor for The Franklin County Times. He can be reached at (256) 332-1881, ext. 31.