Assistant Coach Search

[tower1]

One would have to believe in conspiracy theories to think Mora’s interest in UConn, or vice versa, wasn’t helped along by Spanos being in the middle. And unless Spanos is going from coaching to the priesthood, he didn’t get that ball rolling without thinking it was going to lead to him keeping his job. Res ipso loquitor is applicable here.

Don’t know what Mazzone is ready for at this point and what Mora thinks he needs, but certainly the fan base won’t have a problem with him being brought here in some capacity. Is it an OC or a non-coaching analyst, like he did this year? No idea.

Given the number of new hires Mora has to make, and the fact that he’s been out of coaching for four years, I don’t see why he wouldn’t keep Corey for one year and see if he’s a good fit for him or not. It would be a huge help in keeping this year’s recruits here, he demonstrated good recruiting skills and to me the benefits of his ties to this year’s class are worth the risk that Mora will determine he’s not a good fit to be the junior guy on the staff. And if he’s not a good fit, you replace him after next year.

This team was horrible! Players and coaching. So get rid of the whole staff and start fresh !!

 

[giddyup]

If we assume Spanos is staying, the only other guy worth keeping i think is Dottin-Carter.

None should stay. Not a single molecule of failure should remain. That includes Spanos. Losing is a virus that infects minds and carries on.

 

[metsfan2323]

None should stay. Not a single molecule of failure should remain. That includes Spanos. Losing is a virus that infects minds and carries on.

In defense of Spanos I will say:

- it is impossible for a defense to keep its emotional edge when the offense is a horror show.

- Mora has a defensive background so even if Spanos stayed at DC it would be expected that Mora put his stamp on the defense.

- Mora, Spanos, Mazzone were very successful working together at UCLA.

- Some continuity during times of organizational transition is generally a good thing.

- Maybe we should all just relax and let Mora decide. Have some faith in our new head coach. Thankfully this season is almost over.

 

[dvegas]

Steve Sarkasian & Dan Mullen will both be available...

 

[Buffett10]

In defense of Spanos I will say:

- it is impossible for a defense to keep its emotional edge when the offense is a horror show.

- Mora has a defensive background so even if Spanos stayed at DC it would be expected that Mora put his stamp on the defense.

- Mora, Spanos, Mazzone were very successful working together at UCLA.

- Some continuity during times of organizational transition is generally a good thing.

- Maybe we should all just relax and let Mora decide. Have some faith in our new head coach. Thankfully this season is almost over.

Who cares about continuity when the on field product for that side of the ball is trash?

 

[metsfan2323]

Who cares about continuity when the on field product for that side of the ball is trash?

People who are interested in recruiting and roster management (who stays/who goes)

 

[Rich]

Manny Diaz-DC
Dan Mullen-OC

 

[Northbound]

Why do people want to keep Corey and Dottin? Recruiting here has been lackluster since CE got here. Dottin has had talent at DL but has nothing to show for it. The DL is better than they’ve played all season. We get destroyed by the run every Saturday and have virtually no pass rush. The staff needs to be gutted. This cycle is much more reliant on the portal than it is recruiting.

Sometimes I think it’s because CE knows how to tweet.

CE is not going to pull the talent needed. He’s not going to he able to get kids the teams needs to be successful.

Plus why the hell would you keep Edsall’s kid around.

He needs to go. The less Edsall stink on the program the better.

 

[uconnbill]

I like Mazzone and wouldn't be upset if Spanos stayed.

UConn needs recruiters for the MD, PA, NJ, FL, TX, GA and then the local areas like New England, Long Island and parts of NY.

 

[Buffett10]

People who are interested in recruiting and roster management (who stays/who goes)

So keep inferior coaching to keep kids around. Sounds like a great plan

 

[nycscooby]

The people that want to keep spanos and his crap defense for continuity or because the kids like him are idiots. His defense is giving up 38 ppg but hey the kids like him so we gotta keep him. Give me a break

Couldn’t agree more. Other than maybe Allen, let’s
move on from all of them.

 

[CCSUblue]

Anyone have any sort of speculation outside of Spanos and Mazzone, who by the way I would prefer as LB and QB coach respectively instead of coordinator spots. Maybe give Spanos associate HC or something out of respect. But need new eyes on things at the coordinator spots.

 

[Nostical]

Call me crazy but I don’t believe Mora will simply reward old friendships with his key coaching coordinator spots. I’ll be surprised if either Spanos or Mazzone are hired as DC or OC. They may have ancillary roles on the staff but not the key positions.

 

[Bongo Fury]

We shall see. Seems like keeping Spanos around for continuity seems reasonable but he knows these people better than we do.

 

[Hoophound]

I just don’t see how he doesn’t hire Mazzone. We’ve seen his work and loved it, Mora’s best days at UCLA were the ones with Mazzone and Mazzone and Spanos are obviously close. It just makes sense.

 

[noeynox]

Call me crazy but I don’t believe Mora will simply reward old friendships with his key coaching coordinator spots. I’ll be surprised if either Spanos or Mazzone are hired as DC or OC. They may have ancillary roles on the staff but not the key positions.

Umm why? He had success with those guys, and they have both been around this program.

 

[Rich]

Manny Diaz-DC
Dan Mullen-OC

And Orgeron as D-Line coach & Southern Region Recruiting Coordinator.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Disagree on Canada - there are literally twice as many kids from Canada playing in the NFL as there are from CT. If you concentrate on the Grater Toronto and Montreal areas and make/keep relationships with a dozen or so high school programs you can fairly easily elbow your way to some good talent on a regular basis. It might not be 5-star talent, but it can be 3/4-star talent that will work hard (i.e. less ego and more appreciation to play the game in the States). It makes no sense to turn your back on Canada as a recruiting area.

2x the players on a country with 10x the population spread across a landmass 1000x as big. Sounds like a great investment of time and energy…

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Something I found quite interesting is that on his UCLA staff, Tom Bradley was DC and Sal Alosi was S&C coach.

 

[Pudge]

I guess we are gonna find out how much these largely California + national resume's like Connecticut (and their wives).

The criticism of Mora is true: He switched coordinators often at UCLA and we don't know why. Did these guys just get paid better in the pros or next spot? That is a little unusual for a UCLA and Nationally. I want youthful talent ... but that is where we probably take a little hit with Mora's last 5 years: he didn't see any of the up & comers personally. I think Spanos and Mazzone make sense as a start; and maybe the network is full of guys that they brought along through Alabama, UCLA, Arizona, etc. Like Horton.

 

[Hhoops19]

Anyone have any sort of speculation outside of Spanos and Mazzone, who by the way I would prefer as LB and QB coach respectively instead of coordinator spots. Maybe give Spanos associate HC or something out of respect. But need new eyes on things at the coordinator spots.

100% agree with this. Having Mazzone at QB and Spanos at LB/AHC would be great. Need to get some younger / more inspiring guys at OC/DC for both on the field coaching and recruiting. With an older HC, can’t an old staff too..

 

[Waquoit]

The criticism of Mora is true: He switched coordinators often at UCLA and we don't know why. Did these guys just get paid better in the pros or next spot? That is a little unusual for a UCLA and Nationally. I want youthful talent ... but that is where we probably take a little hit with Mora's last 5 years...

This is where the importance AD Dave-Mora relationship comes in. I'm sure Benedict has potential up-and-coming coaches identified. And I'm thinking Mora is mature enough to use the AD as a resource without ego getting involved. If this thing turns around there will be plenty of credit to go around.

 

[gioff2323]

I will be interested in s&c hire. I like energy of current team. It’ll be critical for our development. I’m guessing their is some connection based on U-dub.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I will be interested in s&c hire. I like energy of current team. It’ll be critical for our development. I’m guessing their is some connection based on U-dub.

You like this team's energy??

Oof.

 

[Pudge]

I don't know how some of you have gotten off kilter on our Canada recruiting. We literally have about 15 kids that played at a very high-quality level. It is far more than Moe Petrus. We can scour rosters and get a list together. But I want to know if you feel the same way about Central Pennsylvania or something ... (where we haven't been all that successful in HCRE 2.0) ... is it just some weird Xenophobia?

You knew I would do this - Carabins of the Université de Montréal Jonathan Senecal had a good year. Yup: Zergiotis didn't have the best rating nor most acclaim of Quarterbacks on our roster; Senecal left as we looked at the completely no play 2020.

Let's say we keep getting Canadians - particularly Line guys. And Buffalo + both Michigan/Michigan State and others have gotten hands full in last 5 years.