“I couldn’t want it more than anything in my life besides my family".

[rich1122]

I thought that we gradually got better as time went on in all phases. Was finding Cochran this late in e season just a stroke of luck or mismanagement. Reminds me of Edsall and Marcus Easely. Where he heck has he been? Maybe the kid is going to transfer to an FSC school and suddenly he is light out. I would want to know the answer to that. Certainly TJ wants to be here and was able to right the ship, that really looked bad after the Buffalo game.

 

[huskysupporter]

So, some questions for TJ, How the heck did we look so bad in the first half against Temple, why were we so uncompetative against UCF, UL and Cincy where other teams (USF, SMU) played them a lot closer? What are your plans to improve the running game, pass coverage, pass rush, LB play, and special teams? Who would you have on your staff next season? What do you expect our record to be next year? What will be your recruiting focus? When you where first named HC, what was your thinking in starting Boyle over Cochrane, you were the OC? What is your plan for the position next year? What is your off season focus, how will we get better?

Dwelling on beating RU, Temple, and Memphis (three of the worst programs of all time) is a recipe for disaster.

I don't think any competent AD is going to look at the last 3 victories in a vacuum.

The questions that need to be asked of all coaches:

1. What is your recruiting philosophy? I want to know where the coach is going to focus on recruiting. I want to know why he is focusing on those areas, and why he believes he will be successful recruiting in those areas. This is a huge area for me. I expect the coach the explain his complete process for recruiting, how he identifies targets, and how he recruits them. I want him to mention staff here. What does the coach look for? For this program, recruiting is absolutely huge. And not recruiting in the sense of "stars". Recruiting in the sense that the staff can identify solid BCS players that can be coached into great BCS players. Recruiting at UCONN will be tough. But not impossible at all, if the right coach is hired. Not a used car salesman coach, a coach who can identify (and whose staff can identify) talent.

2. How do you plan on constructing your staff? Here is where I want to know his offensive and defensive philosophy, and how he is going to assemble and structure his coaching staff. This is also huge for me. I want him to mention how he plans on scouting opponents, how a practice will be structured, and how the offseason will be structured. I really want a thorough, organized coach.

3. Academics: What structure will there be to ensure that the student athletes succeed?
The new coach needs to have a vision, and an action plan to see the plan to fruition. If that is TJ Weist, awesome. If it is Narduzzi, awesome. If it is some coach who currently leads a little known Division II school, awesome. I don't care. I want a passionate leader who is going to get this program back to an upward trajectory.

 

[gars44]

THIS x 1000.

Honestly, if virtually anyone else on this board had posted this, it would gain traction as the most rationale, if not, majority view once the buzz of defeating 3 pathetic college football programs burns off a bit.

But because you play the role of arse-hole so well as you alluded to in another thread, the sentimental and shortsighted amongst us will have some fun mocking it...

It's not that we defeated 3 pathetic college football programs. It's not that at all. It is that our own program was beneath those three pathetic programs and trending in the wrong direction. What I was watching under PP/GDL gave me every reason to believe that we would not win a game in 2013. I watched the Buffalo game on ESPN3. It was absolutely unbelievable the way the team just bailed out on PP/GDL. They quit. And I hoped against hope that Warde would do something right then and there - even emailed him - but my belief system told me that WM was too much of a gentleman to perform the unseemly task of firing a head coach mid season. And when he did it, I was shocked.

So, this is not about beating 3 pathetic teams. This has been a complete organizational metamorphosis. We remember that this team, for the past couple of years, seemed less and less capable of getting a first down. It got worse and worse as time went on to the point where this year, we couldn't even move the ball against Towson and the Buffs. With any type of offense at all we would have beat Michigan - the way they shot themselves in the foot that night. But we couldn't move the ball. Interview away, but I would be thrilled if TJW got the job.

 

[CL82]

I don't think any competent AD is going to look at the last 3 victories in a vacuum.

The questions that need to be asked of all coaches:

1. What is your recruiting philosophy? I want to know where the coach is going to focus on recruiting. I want to know why he is focusing on those areas, and why he believes he will be successful recruiting in those areas. This is a huge area for me. I expect the coach the explain his complete process for recruiting, how he identifies targets, and how he recruits them. I want him to mention staff here. What does the coach look for? For this program, recruiting is absolutely huge. And not recruiting in the sense of "stars". Recruiting in the sense that the staff can identify solid BCS players that can be coached into great BCS players. Recruiting at UCONN will be tough. But not impossible at all, if the right coach is hired. Not a used car salesman coach, a coach who can identify (and whose staff can identify) talent.

2. How do you plan on constructing your staff? Here is where I want to know his offensive and defensive philosophy, and how he is going to assemble and structure his coaching staff. This is also huge for me. I want him to mention how he plans on scouting opponents, how a practice will be structured, and how the offseason will be structured. I really want a thorough, organized coach.

3. Academics: What structure will there be to ensure that the student athletes succeed?
The new coach needs to have a vision, and an action plan to see the plan to fruition. If that is TJ Weist, awesome. If it is Narduzzi, awesome. If it is some coach who currently leads a little known Division II school, awesome. I don't care. I want a passionate leader who is going to get this program back to an upward trajectory.

I agree with everything except the highlighted statement. As others have noted, this is a huge hire. At this point, I like TJ vs. taking a flier on a Div. II coach.

 

[SubbaBub]

Basing a decision like this isn't as simple as looking at a record, whether his first 5, or his last 3! I know what Warde said, that TJ has to win. We all have different definitions of what that means, and I don't know Warde's. I really like TJ, I think he has the stuff to be an excellent head coach, but I wouldn't hand him anything based off the last 3 games. I would look at it as : he inherited about as a situation as possible and made it a lot less . That's not easy, and that deserves credit and consideration despite folks knocking the opponents he won against. But then you need everything else that goes in to his qualificaitons as a coach, and there's a ton more than just 3-5. About all 3-5 tells me is that he didn't go 0-8 and totally exclude himself.

In the back of my mind, I suspect WM hired TJ with a view that he might be a potential replacement for PP at the end of his contract/tenure. From what I've heard from WM this season I believe his intention was to give PP every opportunity and respect his long term process. PP/GDL's suckitude torpedoed that idea and TJ is interviewing for this job 2-3 years too soon, likely to his detriment.

 

[rich1122]

It's not that we defeated 3 pathetic college football programs. It's not that at all. It is that our own program was beneath those three pathetic programs and trending in the wrong direction. What I was watching under PP/GDL gave me every reason to believe that we would not win a game in 2013. I watched the Buffalo game on ESPN3. It was absolutely unbelievable the way the team just bailed out on PP/GDL. They quit. And I hoped against hope that Warde would do something right then and there - even emailed him - but my belief system told me that WM was too much of a gentleman to perform the unseemly task of firing a head coach mid season. And when he did it, I was shocked.

So, this is not about beating 3 pathetic teams. This has been a complete organizational metamorphosis. We remember that this team, for the past couple of years, seemed less and less capable of getting a first down. It got worse and worse as time went on to the point where this year, we couldn't even move the ball against Towson and the Buffs. With any type of offense at all we would have beat Michigan - the way they shot themselves in the foot that night. But we couldn't move the ball. Interview away, but I would be thrilled if TJW got the job.

We were not even close against either Buffalo or Towson. It depends on whether he wants to pick a good coach or wants to pick a good coach AND change the image of UCONN football. IMHO recruiting breaks all ties

 

[Adios]

Isn't that what all coaches say? This is a high paying job. Do you want it more than any other school?

 

[gars44]

Why are folks dismissing the first five games, interim coaches do come in and win right away, just look to USC this year. That was a s#it show with Kiffin, Ed O got wins right away. I'm not suggesting the talent on this teams is like the talent in that team, but to ignore the similarities of the situations would be foolish.

I have no idea if TJ is the right man for the job, I do know that falling in love after three wins isn't the best thing to do. Interview him, see his vision for the program and see what is plan is for achieving his vision and do a comparative to the other candidates.

I like USC and the job Ed O did as well. Like you say, there's a huge talent gap between us and the Trojans, but the point is well taken. Orgeron did a great job. That being said, USC had a very weak schedule going forward after Kiff was fired. They lost to their two biggest rivals, ND and UCLA. Except for Stanford, which was a huge upset win, the rest of the teams they beat all had sub .500 conference records and are teams that USC is absolutely expected to beat, no matter what: AZ 4-5; UT 2-7; OSU 4-5; CAL 0-9, CO 1-8. I mean, this was a very easy schedule for a program like USC. TJW had a much more difficult task in UCF, LV, and CINN. I think comparable performances by both coaches (although it got Orgeron canned).

 

[J187Money]

I can't shake my head hard enough at this. Let me try to explain again. Any coach we would bother considering, would have won these last three games. They were bottom quartile teams. Two of them were at home. They had a combined 5 -19 conference record. It is such low hanging fruit that it is resting on the ground. So from an on-the-field viewpoint, it is worth zero.

Now, off the field, he was able to motivate this team (after the horrible first half vs. Temple) and get them to play much better the last 4 games (I'll throw SMU in there) He presumably has been well organized, managed a staff that was surely keeping one eye on an exit strategy, and shown an ability to develop game plans and make adjustments. All this gets him into the discussion and an interview, but no more.

So, some questions for TJ, How the heck did we look so bad in the first half against Temple, why were we so uncompetative against UCF, UL and Cincy where other teams (USF, SMU) played them a lot closer? What are your plans to improve the running game, pass coverage, pass rush, LB play, and special teams? Who would you have on your staff next season? What do you expect our record to be next year? What will be your recruiting focus? When you where first named HC, what was your thinking in starting Boyle over Cochrane, you were the OC? What is your plan for the position next year? What is your off season focus, how will we get better?

Dwelling on beating RU, Temple, and Memphis (three of the worst programs of all time) is a recipe for disaster.

So Lembo beat Central Michigan (6-6) and Miami (OH) (0-12) and got killed by NI in his last 3 games. And he is the second coming of Christ?

Find out where I said that TJW should be handed this job. I said that the last 3 games earned the right for him to be considered. And you are shaking your head. And then you say he should be interviewed. Not sure how we aren't saying the same thing, other than that you THINK that had any of these guys taken over at 0-4 they would have done better than TJW. But you will never know. And I'm pretty sure that most people think that PP/GDL would have lost these three games, so TJW should get some credit. My point was that WM has probably already had a lot of these conversations with TJW - meaning why it didn't get fixed earlier, how we came back at Temple, etc. You don't think WM talks to TJW after every game? So something in the process of the team coming together had to impress WM to get an interview, otherwise he would have taken your approach - that any village idiot could have coached the team to 3 meaningless wins so let's pretend they didn't happen.

I freely admit that I have no idea if any of these MAC coaches are any good or not. I'm certain that 80% of the people that are touting these guys couldn't name the school colors of the teams they coach and haven't seen more than 2 MAC games on TV in their lives if UCONN wasn't involved. People like to read what other people write and then repeat it to look smart. Could be that the only difference between Lembo and TJW is opportunity and circumstances. At this stage, the only thing I can criticize TJW for in retrospect is that Cochran should have been playing from the outset, and maybe if he had been we would have been 5-3 at least 4-4. I never expected him to beat the top 3 teams in the conference. He should have beat USF (and would have if the receivers didn't choke). SMU was mostly on Hughes IMO.

Again - I'm not saying he should get the job, but for every Brian Kelly there are guys that jump up and aren't Brian Kelly. People love shiny new objects, and for people to say emphatically that TJW couldn't be better than Lembo or his equivalent, great - but it is just an opinion. Narduzzi might be great also, but he might be only as good as Don Brown and could end up being a terrible HC (or like Edsall and hamstring an offense). I trust WM to make the right decision. Most of the bluster I hear here is just that...bluster.

 

[gars44]

And I'm pretty sure that most people think that PP/GDL would have lost these three games . . .

I sure do. If PGDL were coaching those games you can put 3 more Ws in the loss column. Because the team quit on them. Walked out. The OLine was hopelessly confused. Do people remember what our Oline was like? Last year? The year before? Against Towson? Against everyone? The ball would get hiked and the D would just come crashing through? Did this team look anything like that under TJW? I'm bullish on TJW, a buyer.

 

[SubbaBub]

So Lembo beat Central Michigan (6-6) and Miami (OH) (0-12) and got killed by NI in his last 3 games. And he is the second coming of Christ?

Find out where I said that TJW should be handed this job. I said that the last 3 games earned the right for him to be considered. And you are shaking your head. And then you say he should be interviewed. Not sure how we aren't saying the same thing, other than that you THINK that had any of these guys taken over at 0-4 they would have done better than TJW. But you will never know. And I'm pretty sure that most people think that PP/GDL would have lost these three games, so TJW should get some credit. My point was that WM has probably already had a lot of these conversations with TJW - meaning why it didn't get fixed earlier, how we came back at Temple, etc. You don't think WM talks to TJW after every game? So something in the process of the team coming together had to impress WM to get an interview, otherwise he would have taken your approach - that any village idiot could have coached the team to 3 meaningless wins so let's pretend they didn't happen.

I freely admit that I have no idea if any of these MAC coaches are any good or not. I'm certain that 80% of the people that are touting these guys couldn't name the school colors of the teams they coach and haven't seen more than 2 MAC games on TV in their lives if UCONN wasn't involved. People like to read what other people write and then repeat it to look smart. Could be that the only difference between Lembo and TJW is opportunity and circumstances. At this stage, the only thing I can criticize TJW for in retrospect is that Cochran should have been playing from the outset, and maybe if he had been we would have been 5-3 at least 4-4. I never expected him to beat the top 3 teams in the conference. He should have beat USF (and would have if the receivers didn't choke). SMU was mostly on Hughes IMO.

Again - I'm not saying he should get the job, but for every Brian Kelly there are guys that jump up and aren't Brian Kelly. People love shiny new objects, and for people to say emphatically that TJW couldn't be better than Lembo or his equivalent, great - but it is just an opinion. Narduzzi might be great also, but he might be only as good as Don Brown and could end up being a terrible HC (or like Edsall and hamstring an offense). I trust WM to make the right decision. Most of the bluster I hear here is just that...bluster.

I was shaking my head on your belief that the last 3 games (2-1/2 actually) are significant in the decision making process. I am not sold on anyone, because I'm not the one performing the due diligence. I do like Narduzzi's resume above the others floated, but the guy could be a bad fit or have the personality of junkyard dog. I put the unknown field on par with Clawson and Lembo, so my opinion on who should be hired is worth less than the results of he RU game. But, I know bad judgement and poor assumptions when I see them. Assuming TJ is a top candidate because he was OC for four games and HC for 8. If he's considered, it will be because of the man and leader he his and not how many games he won as interim head coach.

But, to your credit, Notre Dame would have probably offered TJ a 10-yr extension. (Bwahahahahaha)

 

[J187Money]

I was shaking my head on your belief that the last 3 games (2-1/2 actually) are significant in the decision making process. I am not sold on anyone, because I'm not the one performing the due diligence. I do like Narduzzi's resume above the others floated, but the guy could be a bad fit or have the personality of junkyard dog. I put the unknown field on par with Clawson and Lembo, so my opinion on who should be hired is worth less than the results of he RU game. But, I know bad judgement and poor assumptions when I see them. Assuming TJ is a top candidate because he was OC for four games and HC for 8. If he's considered, it will be because of the man and leader he his and not how many games he won as interim head coach.

But, to your credit, Notre Dame would have probably offered TJ a 10-yr extension. (Bwahahahahaha)

They were significant only because he lost the other 5. Just like the job all of the sudden probably looks a lot better because of what happened yesterday (regardless of the opponent) - there is a real offense here. Had he gone 4-4 and won every other game and laid a turd down yesterday that would have been worse. He went from a nice guy that was trying really hard to someone who should be strongly considered, because of the last 3 games.

 

[J187Money]

I'm bullish on TJW, a buyer.

This sums it up for me. Now TJW might be worth $10 and Narduzzi (or Lembo or Clawson) worth $15 or whatever, but 3 weeks ago TJW was a penny stock.

 

[stephen Henry]

I am supporting TJW also. There maybe better options available, but I really don't want a coach who sees UConn as a place to may a quick but important update to their resume. TJW alone has proven he can win here and if successful, I think he would be here for awhile.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Rutgers is our arch rival. That was a big win even though you are trying to crap on it, and Temple was playing better after they switched to their freshman QB, they were incredibly close to beating UCF.

and we didn't just win today, it was a win with all kinds of records being broken.

But thanks for your opinion Debbie Downer.

Rutgers is our arch rival?? When is the next time we will be playing them??

 

[ktuck911]

If TJW ends up being our guy, he'll need to make some changes with his assistant coaches. Don't think Hughes is the right guy at DC for one.

 

[Colt house75]

I like USC and the job Ed O did as well. Like you say, there's a huge talent gap between us and the Trojans, but the point is well taken. Orgeron did a great job. That being said, USC had a very weak schedule going forward after Kiff was fired. They lost to their two biggest rivals, ND and UCLA. Except for Stanford, which was a huge upset win, the rest of the teams they beat all had sub .500 conference records and are teams that USC is absolutely expected to beat, no matter what: AZ 4-5; UT 2-7; OSU 4-5; CAL 0-9, CO 1-8. I mean, this was a very easy schedule for a program like USC. TJW had a much more difficult task in UCF, LV, and CINN. I think comparable performances by both coaches (although it got Orgeron canned).

Gars, Agree with you on Schedule but Orgeron was offered any position he wanted EXCEPT H.C...he was not canned.. He was at USC for 7 years. ...not half season like TJ
Of note here: Luke Fickell at Ohio Sate when Urban Meyer took over. He went back to D.C./Linebackers /Recruiting and is still at OSU building up resume.

 

[Colt house75]

I sure do. If PGDL were coaching those games you can put 3 more Ws in the loss column. Because the team quit on them. Walked out. The OLine was hopelessly confused. Do people remember what our Oline was like? Last year? The year before? Against Towson? Against everyone? The ball would get hiked and the D would just come crashing through? Did this team look anything like that under TJW? I'm bullish on TJW, a buyer.

Keep TJ in any post he wants if someone else is HC///

 

[Sean]

Here's a question, for you all.

If Warde had not fired Paul Pasqualoni, and the season had gone EXACTLY THE SAME...would you want to bring Coach P back?

I mean, in the end, maybe you'd say (we know srqhusky and mets would) "He just had to find a good QB, Cochran". Or you'd say "It took awhile, but now PP has UConn firing on all cylinders!"

No - You wouldn't (other than srq). It would be completely, utterly ridiculous.

So why won't you hold Weist to a similar standard? He's completely unproven as a HC, and we're apparently willing to overlook that because he went 3-0 against 3 bottom 20 programs. That's great, if we move to the Sun Belt conference...maybe good enough to make a bowl once in awhile.

 

[J187Money]

I think that's a strange way to look at it. I'm sure many of us have taken over jobs from incompetent people. You can't fix most things overnight.

As I've said before - most of the BY has stated that the program was irreversibly destroyed. But also apparently fixable in two weeks.

 

[stephen Henry]

Here's a question, for you all.

If Warde had not fired Paul Pasqualoni, and the season had gone EXACTLY THE SAME...would you want to bring Coach P back?

I mean, in the end, maybe you'd say (we know srqhusky and mets would) "He just had to find a good QB, Cochran". Or you'd say "It took awhile, but now PP has UConn firing on all cylinders!"

No - You wouldn't (other than srq). It would be completely, utterly ridiculous.

So why won't you hold Weist to a similar standard? He's completely unproven as a HC, and we're apparently willing to overlook that because he went 3-0 against 3 bottom 20 programs. That's great, if we move to the Sun Belt conference...maybe good enough to make a bowl once in awhile.

A interesting point but maybe an irrelevant argument since under PP the season would never have gone the same, afterall Paul Pasqualoni was Paul Pasqualoni. Having said that, nobody (except reporters) would want PP back because he owned the failure of the previous 2.5 seasons. TJW does not. He is 3-5, but most importantly he won 3 games with a PP/GDL constructed team.

TJW allowed CC the opportunity to play - probably something that PP would not have done
TJW made 2nd half adjustments - something that PP would never have done
TJW made Foley the offensive line coach - something that PP would never consider with BFF GDL around
TJW won - something that PP could only talk about.

 

[businesslawyer]

and the other 5 games were barn burners? You can consider Weist, I like the emotion he brought, but he is 3-5. I'm happy that he and the kids didn't give up and kudos to them, but it's time for a change. Lets not forget his first 5 games.

it will never cease to amaze me how many people don't see the difference between taking over a football team in a video game and taking over a football team in real life.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

it will never cease to amaze me how many people don't see the difference between taking over a football team in a video game and taking over a football team in real life.

Agreed to an extent.

TJW gets credit for finishing strong and improving this team.

Not wanting him to get the head coaching gig isn't an indictment to the job he did. We can absolutely not afford to miss on this hire and while no coach is a sure thing, it seems like Narduzzi and co. are more proven commodities.

 

[minidarren]

Here's a question, for you all.

If Warde had not fired Paul Pasqualoni, and the season had gone EXACTLY THE SAME...would you want to bring Coach P back?

I mean, in the end, maybe you'd say (we know srqhusky and mets would) "He just had to find a good QB, Cochran". Or you'd say "It took awhile, but now PP has UConn firing on all cylinders!"

No - You wouldn't (other than srq). It would be completely, utterly ridiculous.

So why won't you hold Weist to a similar standard? He's completely unproven as a HC, and we're apparently willing to overlook that because he went 3-0 against 3 bottom 20 programs. That's great, if we move to the Sun Belt conference...maybe good enough to make a bowl once in awhile.

Ya, he's completely unproven as a HC. But we should suck off Narduzzi, who is well, also unproven as a head coach. Good thinking.

 

[SubbaBub]

Ya, he's completely unproven as a HC. But we should suck off Narduzzi, who is well, also unproven as a head coach. Good thinking.

I can't believe you guys overvalue these 3 wins. Comparing resumes of a guy who ran a top level defense for B1G champion vs. a guy who ran a bottom 20 offense for 3-9 team and picking the offensive guy because he's local and spent 8 games as interim HC, how homer can it get?

It's like signing a September call-up to a long term deal because he hit .350 for a team that's been out of the race since July.

TJ is getting to take his shot, what more is there to fairly ask?

Whatever TJ's case for the job may be, I assure you it isn't the last 3 games.