Apologista Roll Call

[Waquoit]

I have zero problem with his approach to players. I follow Maryland closely (went there for 2 years). Coach Edsall entered a tough situation there. Friedgen let players do what they wanted. Locker room didn't like being held accountable. Enter Coach Edsall. Players whined, many left, some kicked off team, and others, led by QB Danny O'Brien were very vocal. (He transferred to Wisconsin and played horrendously). We need him to have same tough approach holding players accountable on and off the field.

He took a winning team and made them mediocre. He ran talent off the team. That tough approach worked wonders.

 

[uconnell]

Sorry. Count me an ex long time season ticket holder. I think there will be more than a few of us in that category. This goes against all of the hoopla re making UCONN football exciting again
We are officially confirmed as the laughing stock of college football.

like we weren't under Diaco, really?

 

[CL82]

I have no doubt he regretted every second he was away from UConn and it pained him more than anyone to see his baby abused the way it was.

I doubt he gave two [excrement(s)] about it. He [excrement] the bed at Maryland and realized he had it good here. He can come back in and be a hero. He's attractive because we are paying him next to nothing (which he can do because of his Maryland buyout) and because he is competent. He probably still has the same ceiling so he's not the guy to get us to the next level (from our best seasons) but he hopefully is the guy to get us back to being a bowl team consistently.

Mark me down as cautiously optimistic. If he gets us back on the road to winning, all is forgiven.

 

[CTBasketball]

I will not be getting on board the Edsall train. Benedict can't hire a defensive coach when he promised us offense.

His hands were tied.

 

[Pudge]

I AM ... a EDSALL Apologista


Bring back Terry Richardson, Mike Foley ...

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Ugh

Haven't seen your thoughts anywhere else? Care to elaborate? Figured you'd be cautiously optimistic with regards to Randy.

 

[Bonehead]

All in.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Rebuilding job will be the new "trailers".

How long will Edsall be blaming his losses in some way, shape or form, on Diaco? 3 years? 5 years?

 

[businesslawyer]

I have zero problem with his approach to players. I follow Maryland closely (went there for 2 years). Coach Edsall entered a tough situation there. Friedgen let players do what they wanted. Locker room didn't like being held accountable. Enter Coach Edsall. Players whined, many left, some kicked off team, and others, led by QB Danny O'Brien were very vocal. (He transferred to Wisconsin and played horrendously). We need him to have same tough approach holding players accountable on and off the field.

What I am hoping for is a kinder and gentler Randy to media and local coaches.

I think the valid question about Edsall's cieling is whether the control he wants over every second of his players lives is doable when you have a roster of kids who could have gone anywhere, as opposed to an old UConn roster where for at least half the kids we were the best school to offer them. Having said that, however, this "cieling" doing it almost all with un or under recruited kids is so many light years above where we are now that no sane person can be worrying about it.

 

[businesslawyer]

Rebuilding job will be the new "trailers".

How long will Edsall be blaming his losses in some way, shape or form, on Diaco? 3 years? 5 years?

Rebuilding job will be the new "trailers".

How long will Edsall be blaming his losses in some way, shape or form, on Diaco? 3 years? 5 years?

Just like on the Cesspool, it's good to know that you don't feel the need to wait for someone to actually do something before you are whining about what you think they will do. At least we can count on your consistency.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Just like on the Cesspool, it's good to know that you don't feel the need to wait for someone to actually do something before you are whining about what you think they will do. At least we can count on your consistency.

Good thing about the Internet is that we have a record of which posters were early critics of Diaco, and which ones weren't.

 

[businesslawyer]

Good thing about the Internet is that we have a record of which posters were early critics of Diaco, and which ones weren't.

I absolutely wanted to give Diaco a chance. Your theory is criticizing everyone before they do anything makes you smart every time someone, after doing something, fails? Got it. Interesting strategy.

 

[sdhusky]

light years above where we are now that no sane person can be worrying about it.

Yeah, but can we do better than 9-3 and winning the AAC?

 

[Bonehead]

I absolutely wanted to give Diaco a chance. Your theory is criticizing everyone before they do anything makes you smart every time someone, after doing something, fails? Got it. Interesting strategy.

His prediction business went bankrupt in Novemeber.
And his clients are hurting.

I would say he will probably blame Diaco until every FCS recruit has graduated or transferred out. Nelson would if he was in RE's position.

 

[gopher2]

UConn FB a high-risk career move for a quality coach whose stock is on the rise. Why take that chance if you are Joe Moorhead or someone like that? Crazy. Edsall is probably the best available coach willing to take the job.

I will thoroughly enjoy watching our Huskies cruise to a 4 TD victory over our FCS opponent in next year's opener. We'll see what happens after that, but whatever does happen, it will better than what would have happened under Diaco Bob 2017. RE was likely the best option available to DB and he made the right call.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I absolutely wanted to give Diaco a chance. Your theory is criticizing everyone before they do anything makes you smart every time someone, after doing something, fails? Got it. Interesting strategy.

My theory is criticizing obviously bad decisions as soon as they become obvious. Pointing out that Diaco was in way over his head did not take a crystal ball. You just had to look at his first staff.

I was also an early Ollie backer, while most of that board was defending Manuel's stupid interim designation.

This is a dud hire of a retread that was never really that successful in the first place. Now he doesn't even have a BCS conference to recruit with, and the game appears to have passed him by. Edsall may be modestly successful at UConn, but this is a much riskier hire than people think.

 

[businesslawyer]

UConn FB a high-risk career move for a quality coach whose stock is on the rise. Why take that chance if you are Joe Moorhead or someone like that? Crazy. Edsall is probably the best available coach willing to take the job.

I will thoroughly enjoy watching our Huskies cruise to a 4 TD victory over our FCS opponent in next year's opener. We'll see what happens after that, but whatever does happen, it will better than what would have happened under Diaco Bob 2017. RE was likely the best option available to DB and he made the right call.

We haven't cruised to a victory over our FBS opponent since -- I'm struggling to remember. P's first year maybe?

 

[06029]

Randy is a good coach and a better person. I was shocked when I popped open this board after my meetings this morning and saw that he is coming back. I thought it was all a smoke screen.

Positives - light years ahead of BD on running a program; high character; known commodity; casual fan base associates him with winning FB at Uconn; current AAC schools are no better than when he had Uconn winning in the BE; at Uconn could coach up and motivate under the radar kids into stars

Negatives - he royally messed up at MD and had a staff that could not produce winning game plans on both sides of the ball; if MD was his dream job/trophy wife, what is Uconn except a chance to get back in the game again; 8 win ceiling; not a dynamic recruiter; builder, not an instantaneous charge type of coach

My biggest concern is if he still has the fire in his belly and if the success is not there by the end of season 2, what happens in season 3?

Bottom line, Randy knows every game counts, that you need to prepare and coach to win every game and that your opponents are never, ever your partners. Players will run thru walls for him. And he leaves making cakes to pastry chefs.

 

[Pudge]

Randy is a good coach and a better person. I was shocked when I popped open this board after my meetings this morning and saw that he is coming back. I thought it was all a smoke screen.

Positives - light years ahead of BD on running a program; high character; known commodity; casual fan base associates him with winning FB at Uconn; current AAC schools are no better than when he had Uconn winning in the BE; at Uconn could coach up and motivate under the radar kids into stars

Negatives - he royally messed up at MD and had a staff that could not produce winning game plans on both sides of the ball; if MD was his dream job/trophy wife, what is Uconn except a chance to get back in the game again; 8 win ceiling; not a dynamic recruiter; builder, not an instantaneous charge type of coach

My biggest concern is if he still has the fire in his belly and if the success is not there by the end of season 2, what happens in season 3?

Bottom line, Randy knows every game counts, that you need to prepare and coach to win every game and that your opponents are never, ever your partners. Players will run thru walls for him. And he leaves making cakes to pastry chefs.

Given what you posted the other day on David Benedict having "someone" special as the target ...

I am going to assume that he tried and did not get too far. The $$ that he raised on the buyout specified that route and/or Edsall ... and our budget/resources made Edsall the logic.

 

[whaler11]

Haven't seen your thoughts anywhere else? Care to elaborate? Figured you'd be cautiously optimistic with regards to Randy.

I loved Randy round 1.

I think the circumstances are a lot different this go around.

Since DB was so bold with Diaco I thought he might be making a surprise splash.

I see how we got here though and I'm ok with it. There is just risk here and I don't see how this energizes the casual fan.

 

[UCFBfan]

We are officially confirmed as the laughing stock of college football.

So we bring back a coach who pit this program on the map and that makes us a laughingstock? Really?

Look, I'm not sold and as others have said, I'm cautiously optomistic. However, I can't buy in to the thought that bringing back Randy is a laughingstock moment for this program after the last 6 years of ineptitude.

 

[06029]

Given what you posted the other day on David Benedict having "someone" special as the target ...

I am going to assume that he tried and did not get too far. The $$ that he raised on the buyout specified that route and/or Edsall ... and our budget/resources made Edsall the logic.

Solely my personal speculation on this -

He knew Edsall was 100% available on would take the gig when Diaco was fired. But I think he had someone else as a first choice. That name will probably never become public but I believe it was one of the big names mentioned on this board.

Edsall will produce a bowl team next year and every year thereafter. Not sure if he gets Uconn back to division contender. His BE championship season had everything break his way.

 

[Bonehead]

I loved Randy round 1.

I think the circumstances are a lot different this go around.

Since DB was so bold with Diaco I thought he might be making a surprise splash.

I see how we got here though and I'm ok with it. There is just risk here and I don't see how this energizes the casual fan.

The hire doesn't. The W's will.

this is about money I think. Fleck or Miles aren't coming here, and not for a mil either. I think Randy wants to show he is contrite and wants UConn be winners. We used to be winners. Stadium looked full. I would go to every game thinking we could win, except vs WVA. Last few years I went to the games thinking can we be close, and the answer was no.

I can't wait for the posts about traffic getting out of games next year.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I loved Randy round 1.

I think the circumstances are a lot different this go around.

Since DB was so bold with Diaco I thought he might be making a surprise splash.

I see how we got here though and I'm ok with it. There is just risk here and I don't see how this energizes the casual fan.

Randy certainly isn't the rah rah type to give a jolt to the fanbase, but as we found out with Diaco, that wears thin very quickly.

I think a lot of us were clamoring for Moorhead (insert joke) but that didn't seem to be in the cards.

I also don't think Fleck or Miles were realistic candidates either.

That either leaves you with the up and comers (JMU, ODU) or the "retreads" Schiano, Golden, and Randy.

At that point, it makes sense that they went with the guy who built the program and you know can build a foundation. The unknowns may have a better ceiling but if they crash and burn you may as well shut the whole thing down.

I don't know how quickly Randy will win here again to the extent he did in the Big East but I feel confident that we'll play hard, be coached well, return kicks and punts and not screw up the clock and timeouts this fall. By year 3 though, I'm confident we will be contending for the AAC Eastern division.

 

[BugsyCT]

We haven't cruised to a victory over our FBS opponent since -- I'm struggling to remember. P's first year maybe?

UCF last year, but that was an 0-12 team. Guess that still technically counts.

So we bring back a coach who pit this program on the map and that makes us a laughingstock? Really?

Look, I'm not sold and as others have said, I'm cautiously optimistic. However, I can't buy in to the thought that bringing back Randy is a laughingstock moment for this program after the last 6 years of ineptitude.

This is about where I'm at too. Bringing him back could be what the program needs now - someone who had some proven success here. Get us back to respectability. Maybe we'll even see him bring in former players as assistants a la Calhoun & KO.