A “Rational” Argument Against the Edsall Hire

[Marty Jackson]

Who would have made UCONN "sexy"? Moorhead? Orlando? Fleck? No, even if they would be great, nobody outside of CFB wonks have any idea who they are. Sexy is Les Miles, or a "name" that a) we couldn't afford and b) wouldn't come here anyway.

This isn't what I would have done, but this might have been the price to get rid of Diaco, in which case hard to argue against. 100% I believe we will be better with HCRE, and if he has a ceiling, we can decide who should be next, after going to bowl games every year and having a winning home record with 30K+ people in the stands.

Worrying that we can't get to 10 games with Edsall given that UCONN has NEVER won 10 games as a D1 school is a bit silly. Since he left we only got to 6 once, and we lost a bad bowl game to a very mediocre Marshall team.

Let's put the train back on the tracks. And have some faith in DB that he is going to force the issue on offense, since pretty much all of us were resigned to having another year of Diaco before DB pulled a $3.4M rabbit out of a hat.

I think Moorehead would have been viewed as a sexy hire. Guy helped PSU win the Big10. Fleck is a hot commodity... Houston hired Herman, that was sexy.

I think the media knows who Tom Moorehead or PJ Fleck are.

At the end of the day, these types could be expensive with any success otherwise they bolt. I dont see RE doing the same thing to Uconn again. But if he does, it's because he got Uconn to the playoff.

 

[Marty Jackson]

When DanO was a senior I reached out to his dad, who was DanO on the Boneyard, and invited them to a Boneyard Tailgate. They came and enjoyed our bounty. THAT is why he came to UCONN. As long as the Yard is strong great players will come.

(He was the only QB ever invited)

Curious.... Did you invent the Internet as well?

 

[Sea Goat]

I don't know - in a way it feels like getting back together again with an old girl friend. It's familiar and you don't have cover a lot of basics again; but in the end you may start reinforcing the reasons for why you left in the first place.
On the other hand, trying to save Husky football at this point reminds me of the movie "Hacksaw Ridge". We need a HOF medic who get everybody off the ridge (fans included!) so we can live to fight another day.

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't know - in a way it feels like getting back together again with an old girl friend. It's familiar and you don't have cover a lot of basics again; but in the end you may start reinforcing the reasons for why you left in the first place.
On the other hand, trying to save Husky football at this point reminds me of the movie "Hacksaw Ridge". We need a HOF medic who get everybody off the ridge (fans included!) so we can live to fight another day.

After 12 years, which is a lifetime in college football, he left for what (despite our whining) was a better job. More money, more history, better conference, better recruiting area. A better job. That was his one chance to climb the ladder. He failed so badly that by the time he would get another chance, which would require multiple years at UConn, he will be too old to be attractive.

There are other folks who we might have been able to get who might have done well here. The JMU coach may have been the one we could have gotten for this salary. Maybe Schiano would have taken it because he has enough banked and wants to be back on the head coaching track. But there is no one who we could have gotten in this salary range who would have both (i) had a better chance of restoring us to a consistent 8 wins, and (ii) wouldn't have been out of here the moment the first media buzz appeared about him.

Very few Boneyarders -- even those like me who thought he did an outstanding job the first time -- were campaigning for him as their no. 1 choice. But it's not a stupid hire by any means, and now all we can do is support him and give him time to fix this mess.

 

[CTHUSKY74]

I really agree with this. I didn't think Randy was going to be considered given some of the animosity regarding the departure. He wouldn't have been my first choice either. But with the constraints we find ourselves under and not knowing where buyout cash is coming from (possibly booster help), he may have been much more attractive as a candidate. We have speculated greatly over the last few years about how well RE did with the players he brought in and developed and how poorly his successors did with both RE's players and their own recruits. I have believed that RE was someone who could evaluate talent well and could develop players to pro level if they had the work ethic and raw athletic talent. He also was someone who could take a team with deficits and play to their strengths. This is where he was much better than PP and BD. They seemed only able to implement what systems they knew and thought worked best. They couldn't adjust to the team they had or adjust to the team they were facing. Particularly with BD I felt we lost games we should have won simply because our coaching staff was not competent. It will be interesting to see how our players look with a different coaching staff. Although I don't expect we will all of sudden blow people away, if we get a good to great coaching staff I expect we will be competitive again and look like we know how to play football. I don't feel we will be embarrassed by the product on the field or the staff that supports them. I hope that in addition to this hire a solid OC and DC can be found and staff who can recruit players we can be successful with. Randy has been given a gift since three of the best head coaches in the league this year have moved on so there will be some transition. I believe he is more 'able' to do the job this time around than when he originally took over. I think he can be the right guy for us at this juncture, even if he is not the absolute best head coach we could get.

 

[Pudge]

According to the pro-Edsall crowd, hiring Randy is the correct choice mainly because that means we will average 8 wins a season, we will recruit NFL talent, we will have a competent offensive line and we will have a “grown up” in charge of the team. Pasqualoni was a grown up as well, still nationally respected and even more successful than Edsall as a head coach (numbers speak for themselves). How did that work out?

As for averaging 8 wins a season, while there is no question that going 7-5 and 8-4 beats the heck out of going 2-10 and 3-9, you know what a 7-5 and an 8-4 record gets us now a days? An invite to the Cure Bowl against Louisiana Lafayette on December 16th on the CBS Sports Network. After two or three years potentially invited to those kind of bowls against teams nobody is interested in playing, how many of you will continue to attend bowl games and be satisfied with those records?

If Edsall has never had a 10-win season before, why would he have one now? And even a 10 or 11-win season might not be enough to be the top-ranked Group of 5 team.

Sure Randy usually beats the teams he was supposed to beat, but he has the worst record against ranked teams in college football history. Even if you take away all of the losses against ranked teams that happened during the transitional and early BE days, his record against ranked teams is still pathetic.

With regards to recruiting, I seriously doubt Edsall will be able to recruit as well as before. We are no longer in a BCS conference. We are no longer an “up-and-comer”. And we have been horrible for the last six years. Current recruits probably have little to no recollection of UConn being good in football.

I do think we will have a better offensive line, but that will certainly not be enough to make us relevant again.

In all his life as a head coach Randy was only able to recruit one top-notch QB. And let’s face it, if Orlovsky would have grown up 100 miles south or west, there is no way he would have come to UConn. We were extremely lucky he wanted to stay home.

Will Edsall be better than Diaco? Without question. Will he be better than Pasqualoni? I am betting he will. Will UConn ever finish as the top-ranked G5 team or have consecutive double-digit win seasons with Edsall as head coach? Not even the biggest apologistas believe this and that is what it is all about now.

So where does that leave us? With a coach who at best will win 9 games and at worst will be another disaster because the game has simply passed him by. I would have much rather taken a chance on a successful coordinator or a FCS/MAC/CUSA head coach with the potential of ending up being the next Herman or Rhule. After all, no 8-4 team will ever play in a bowl the caliber of the Fiesta Bowl ever again.

Notwithstanding the above, I do hope I am wrong. Otherwise, UConn football will finally die for good.

Go Huskies!

Again ....For a $1m or 2 ... you can have your say. In this instance, WE needed to get a change in direction AT a solid price paid for by someone who wanted some Edsall character directly. That's the truth. And ... I applaud this week. We are in a better place.

 

[Sea Goat]

After 12 years, which is a lifetime in college football, he left for what (despite our whining) was a better job. More money, more history, better conference, better recruiting area. A better job. That was his one chance to climb the ladder. He failed so badly that by the time he would get another chance, which would require multiple years at UConn, he will be too old to be attractive.

There are other folks who we might have been able to get who might have done well here. The JMU coach may have been the one we could have gotten for this salary. Maybe Schiano would have taken it because he has enough banked and wants to be back on the head coaching track. But there is no one who we could have gotten in this salary range who would have both (i) had a better chance of restoring us to a consistent 8 wins, and (ii) wouldn't have been out of here the moment the first media buzz appeared about him.

Very few Boneyarders -- even those like me who thought he did an outstanding job the first time -- were campaigning for him as their no. 1 choice. But it's not a stupid hire by any means, and now all we can do is support him and give him time to fix this mess.

I agree he wasn't outstanding, or even close to it last time. But from where we sit now he looks like Walter Camp compared to PP and BD. PP was a retread "box of rocks" and BD could be a ringer for Billy Bibbit in "Cuckoo's Nest Redux". A little stability is all I want for the short term.

 

[History Geek]

I hope that what helped him (and the program) achieve the level of success it did during RE 1.0 remains. I hope his experiences the past six years has helped him grow in ways that will make RE 2.0 even better.

I hope.

 

[Padutch5]

According to the pro-Edsall crowd, hiring Randy is the correct choice mainly because that means we will average 8 wins a season, we will recruit NFL talent, we will have a competent offensive line and we will have a “grown up” in charge of the team. Pasqualoni was a grown up as well, still nationally respected and even more successful than Edsall as a head coach (numbers speak for themselves). How did that work out?

As for averaging 8 wins a season, while there is no question that going 7-5 and 8-4 beats the heck out of going 2-10 and 3-9, you know what a 7-5 and an 8-4 record gets us now a days? An invite to the Cure Bowl against Louisiana Lafayette on December 16th on the CBS Sports Network. After two or three years potentially invited to those kind of bowls against teams nobody is interested in playing, how many of you will continue to attend bowl games and be satisfied with those records?

If Edsall has never had a 10-win season before, why would he have one now? And even a 10 or 11-win season might not be enough to be the top-ranked Group of 5 team.

Sure Randy usually beats the teams he was supposed to beat, but he has the worst record against ranked teams in college football history. Even if you take away all of the losses against ranked teams that happened during the transitional and early BE days, his record against ranked teams is still pathetic.

With regards to recruiting, I seriously doubt Edsall will be able to recruit as well as before. We are no longer in a BCS conference. We are no longer an “up-and-comer”. And we have been horrible for the last six years. Current recruits probably have little to no recollection of UConn being good in football.

I do think we will have a better offensive line, but that will certainly not be enough to make us relevant again.

In all his life as a head coach Randy was only able to recruit one top-notch QB. And let’s face it, if Orlovsky would have grown up 100 miles south or west, there is no way he would have come to UConn. We were extremely lucky he wanted to stay home.

Will Edsall be better than Diaco? Without question. Will he be better than Pasqualoni? I am betting he will. Will UConn ever finish as the top-ranked G5 team or have consecutive double-digit win seasons with Edsall as head coach? Not even the biggest apologistas believe this and that is what it is all about now.

So where does that leave us? With a coach who at best will win 9 games and at worst will be another disaster because the game has simply passed him by. I would have much rather taken a chance on a successful coordinator or a FCS/MAC/CUSA head coach with the potential of ending up being the next Herman or Rhule. After all, no 8-4 team will ever play in a bowl the caliber of the Fiesta Bowl ever again.

Notwithstanding the above, I do hope I am wrong. Otherwise, UConn football will finally die for good.

Go Huskies!

I think your analysis is pretty solid. You just committed the ultimate crime on the Boneyard. The majority of posters have decided that criticism of the Edsall hiring is somehow creating a negative environment. Rational critique is forbidden.

 

[tzznandrew]

and (ii) wouldn't have been out of here the moment the first media buzz appeared about him.

While I largely agree with your analysis of this, and I've warmed to the hire after being unhappy with it initially, I don't love this logic. It does feel like the same logic that brought us PP.

 

[businesslawyer]

I think your analysis is pretty solid. You just committed the ultimate crime on the Boneyard. The majority of posters have decided that criticism of the Edsall hiring is somehow creating a negative environment. Rational critique is forbidden.

No. I think folks are tolerating rational critique fine. What people aren't tolerating is the kind of lunacy that talks about how he wasn't accomplishing anything good the first time around, or how f&&&ed we're going to be when instead of averaging 4 wins a year we get stuck on 8 win seasons.

 

[Dove]

Curious.... Did you invent the Internet as well?

The idea was mine. I just toyed with it in my head too long. But it was Al Gore who brought it to the masses. Just AskJeeves it.

 

[EJHarrington]

Will UConn ever finish as the top-ranked G5 team or have consecutive double-digit win seasons with Edsall as head coach? Not even the biggest apologistas believe this and that is what it is all about now.

I disagree with this comment within the OP; a lot of us think this is possible and this should be the goal every year.

 

[PRHusky]

No. I think folks are tolerating rational critique fine. What people aren't tolerating is the kind of lunacy that talks about how he wasn't accomplishing anything good the first time around, or how f&&&ed we're going to be when instead of averaging 4 wins a year we get stuck on 8 win seasons.

Might it be because in a BCS conference a decade ago 8 wins a year were good enough but now that would not really get you much?

 

[UConnDan97]

Might it be because in a BCS conference a decade ago 8 wins a year were good enough but now that would not really get you much?

You still haven't offered up a name and a reasonable contract for that name. I'm pretty sure I know why you are avoiding doing so. But it's hard to sit here watching you moan about prospective numbers of victories with Edsall and not offer up anow alternative. Moan away, I guess...

 

[J187Money]

Might it be because in a BCS conference a decade ago 8 wins a year were good enough but now that would not really get you much?

8 wins gets you:

• A bowl game every year
• An extra month of practice every year, because of the bowl game
• Assume that you have to have a winning home record to get to 8, meaning you have better attendance
• Respectability, which brings with it a whole bunch of benefits

I suppose if you don't want those things, great. And I know that you do. But assuming that's what HCRE brings us, let's not act like he is making us drink kerosene.

 

[PRHusky]

You still haven't offered up a name and a reasonable contract for that name. I'm pretty sure I know why you are avoiding doing so. But it's hard to sit here watching you moan about prospective numbers of victories with Edsall and not offer up anow alternative. Moan away, I guess...

Lombardi, Belichick, Walsh or Landry.

 

[J187Money]

Lombardi, Belichick, Walsh or Landry.

At least one of them is alive.

 

[UConnDan97]

Lombardi, Belichick, Walsh or Landry.

Oh good. For a second there, I thought your criticisms might not have been serious...

 

[DefCONNOne]

You still haven't offered up a name and a reasonable contract for that name. I'm pretty sure I know why you are avoiding doing so. But it's hard to sit here watching you moan about prospective numbers of victories with Edsall and not offer up anow alternative. Moan away, I guess...

Have you produced the list by which DB was working off of, making phone calls, e-mailing, etc...? I'm pretty sure why you're avoiding doing so, but you could always produce the list and shut people up. Or continue on the path of obtusness you're currently on.

 

[Colt house75]

No. I think folks are tolerating rational critique fine. What people aren't tolerating is the kind of lunacy that talks about how he wasn't accomplishing anything good the first time around, or how f&&&ed we're going to be when instead of averaging 4 wins a year we get stuck on 8 win seasons.

Totally agree, IMO if we returned to being competitive, did not have horrible in game management, never again lost to SMU or Tulane at home, blew out FCS schools this thread disappears and the few lunatics that talk of National FBS championships can go back in hibernation or move to Ala freakin Bama. Being competitive, regularly being near or over .500 and not embarrassing ourselves as we did this past year
is all I ask for in the next 4 years. Given several candidates whose names have repeatedly surfaced here in the likes of Schiano, Golden and Coach Edsel, it was a sensible hire of someone who knows the terrain.
If we ever did get to the aforementioned 8 win season Biz law referred to in the current world of FBS athletics by year 5, we could be assured our coach would not be moving on. Getting 2.0 back, when we get to respectability, would place the program on a path to Coaching stability & consistency similar to Navy and Niamutolo. if THE SAME ON FIELD RESULTS WERE TO OCCUR, 2.0 CEMENTS HIS LEGACY.

The reality is that WE ranked LAST in offensive measurables in 2016. Our offensive line and OC turnover and decision making for 3 years, (make that 6, with the exception of TJ), were horrendous. This is going to be a hard climb but we have a good coach and better person than is being scorned by some but this is a rational hire & HCRE built us once. We all need to give him the support to make HCRE 2.0 memorable.

 

[Padutch5]

No. I think folks are tolerating rational critique fine. What people aren't tolerating is the kind of lunacy that talks about how he wasn't accomplishing anything good the first time around, or how f&&&ed we're going to be when instead of averaging 4 wins a year we get stuck on 8 win seasons.

And your rant is meant to represent rational discourse? How sad.
If you are worried that the anti Randy view is being repeated too often, you can go to a different thread. There are still a few of us who believe UCONN screwed up with this rehire. Time will tell who is right, but i think Our situation is so dire that we don't get a do over.

 

[sportsart]

And your rant is meant to represent rational discourse? How sad.
If you are worried that the anti Randy view is being repeated too often, you can go to a different thread. There are still a few of us who believe UCONN screwed up with this rehire. Time will tell who is right, but i think Our situation is so dire that we don't get a do over.

Why would you even care to discuss this if it's so dire?

Maybe the women's BB board is more your speed. They never lose.

By the way you are not a representation of rational discourse. Just your comment of it being so dire has no rational backing.

 

[Padutch5]

Why would you even care to discuss this if it's so dire?

Maybe the women's BB board is more your speed. They never lose.

By the way you are not a representation of rational discourse. Just your comment of it being so dire has no rational backing.

If there continue to be new threads saying how great it is that hiring Edsall will bring us back to mediocrity then I and others will continue to interject what a poor decision it was. By the way, I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone mention Colin McEnroe's editorial in this mornings Courant.

 

[Stainmaster]

If there continue to be new threads saying how great it is that hiring Edsall will bring us back to mediocrity then I and others will continue to interject what a poor decision it was. By the way, I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone mention Colin McEnroe's editorial in this mornings Courant.

Do you honestly believe a straight shot between bottom-of-the-toilet-bowl Diaco and steamrolling the conference à la Tom Herman last year was feasible?

 

[Colt house75]

No. I think folks are tolerating rational critique fine. What people aren't tolerating is the kind of lunacy that talks about how he wasn't accomplishing anything good the first time around, or how f&&&ed we're going to be when instead of averaging 4 wins a year we get stuck on 8 win seasons.

And your rant is meant to represent rational discourse? How sad.
If you are worried that the anti Randy view is being repeated too often, you can go to a different thread. There are still a few of us who believe UCONN screwed up with this rehire. Time will tell who is right, but i think Our situation is so dire that we don't get a do over.

Pdutch 5, I don't think Bizlaw is worried that the anti Randy view is being repeated too often. He is merely stating a rational position. you are entitled to your view and he is expressing his view and the view of many of us. There are some people on this BY who can dish it out hiding behind a screen but God forbid if someone expresses a different view, then you tell him to go to another thread.

HCRE 1.0 accomplished great strides for us and the lunacy that an 8 win season is not good enough for some of you. Many of us were in Chestnut Hill, or at ECU, Tulane at home and at Annapolis for the seventeen second fiasco, energy vamps and kumbaya by the campfire, .....my advice is to you Padutch is to sit back and enjoy the ride back up the next 5 years and enjoy. I will take being competitive again
fielding a respectable, hard playing team team any day of the week. Maybe you need to go over to the WBB for awhile.

 

[sportsart]

If there continue to be new threads saying how great it is that hiring Edsall will bring us back to mediocrity then I and others will continue to interject what a poor decision it was. By the way, I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone mention Colin McEnroe's editorial in this mornings Courant.

I don't consider 2 conference championships and a BCS Bowl game mediocre. Pretty sure BCU and Rutgers can't lay claim to that.

Serious question. Why are you here? If it's so bad go find another sport. I'd never follow something I had so much disdain for.

 

[FDNY99]

If there continue to be new threads saying how great it is that hiring Edsall will bring us back to mediocrity then I and others will continue to interject what a poor decision it was. By the way, I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone mention Colin McEnroe's editorial in this mornings Courant.

Look I'm not a complete fan of the hire either...but it is what it is. This certainly isn't the job it was when he left and it isn't the job it was when Pasqualoni was fired. Has the hire grown on me: yes...I'm a UConn fan and all I want to see if the Rent filled again. And I complete sold on it..no I won't pass final judgement until he announces his complete staff S&C guy included. But at the end of the day it's who we have, and as my wife who is a rational person to my irrational person said to me it's about supporting the program and the kids because that's what we do as FANS. I trust Benedict...I can't put my finger on why...I just do. And he needed to right and stabilize the ship before he could sail it straight at full speed again. Edsall knows this program..this fan base and this school better than anyone.

 

[huskymedic]

By the way, I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone mention Colin McEnroe's editorial in this mornings Courant.

That's because it was posted in another thread last Thursday when it came out.

LOL... Colin McEnroe: Randy Edsall? Is UConn Kidding?

It's done, there are no confirmation hearings. He will be the coach for 2017. People stamping their feet isn't going to change it.

 

[UConnDan97]

Have you produced the list by which DB was working off of, making phone calls, e-mailing, etc...? I'm pretty sure why you're avoiding doing so, but you could always produce the list and shut people up. Or continue on the path of obtusness you're currently on.

I'm not the one claiming to have a "rational" argument against what has already happened. I'll take the refusal to mean that the argument he posed is otherwise irrational...