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The staff that he puts in place and the early recruiting results will make or break the hiring of Jim Mora. Does Spanos stay as DC? Mazzone comes on as OC? Does Corey, our best recruiter, stay? Who else makes sense? I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
 
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The staff that he puts in place and the early recruiting results will make or break the hiring of Jim Mora. Does Spanos stay as DC? Mazzone comes on as OC? Does Corey, our best recruiter, stay? Who else makes sense? I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
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.
 
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If we assume Spanos is staying, the only other guy worth keeping i think is Dottin-Carter.
 
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So we know Mora has ties to Mazzone and Spanos, I think it’s a given both are on the staff next year.

Now Mazzone has ties with John Marinelli, former Greenwich High head coach. Marinelli was assistant qb coach at Arizona under Kevin Sumlin and now is an analyst with Illinois. He needs to be brought back to CT - he can be the qb coach. He knows Fairfield County and can be the lead CT recruiter.
 
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Next up we need coaches with strong recruiting ties to Florida (at least 2), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia.
 
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So we know Mora has ties to Mazzone and Spanos, I think it’s a given both are on the staff next year.

Now Mazzone has ties with John Marinelli, former Greenwich High head coach. Marinelli was assistant qb coach at Arizona under Kevin Sumlin and now is an analyst with Illinois. He needs to be brought back to CT - he can be the qb coach. He knows Fairfield County and can be the lead CT recruiter.
Love the Marinelli idea.. I think he can kill it recruiting in CT
 
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I do think Spanos remains, it would behoove Mora to let the players know he is staying sooner rather than later.
 
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-> “With regards to coaching staff, I would tell you this,” Mora said. “Men of integrity. I’m a dad. I have four kids. When I interviewed coaches, the last question I ever asked myself before deciding if I’d hire them is, would I send my child to play for this person? Would I think my child was going to be cared for, pushed, in a safe environment? That’s very important. I want dynamic coaches. I want dynamic, motivated recruiters that have connections to the regions in which we will recruit hard. I want individuals that are team-first men that want to be as good as they can in the job they are doing right now, but are inspired maybe to attain more in their career but aren’t lifting up their head and looking for the next job, either. They’re committed to our program and committed to the players they are coaching.” <-

-> “Dave and I have had extensive discussions about this,” Mora said of hiring assistants. “We’re going to evaluate everything. Naming me early gives us a chance to be very deliberate in how we move forward with filling our staff. We want to fill our staff with men of integrity, men that are dynamic, that the players trust and they gravitate towards, that are great recruiters. We’re going to hire people to our staff that parents are going to feel comfortable sending their sons to. I want to make sure I create an environment there for our players that is similar to where I would want my kids to be.” <-

-> “We’re going to hire a great offensive coordinator that’s progressive in his thought process, is not stubborn in the way that he approaches the game and is intent on putting our players in the best position to have success and score points,” Mora said. <-
 
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I do think Spanos remains, it would behoove Mora to let the players know he is staying sooner rather than later.
I am cool with Spanos remaining, he has good rapport with Coach Mora and players like him - but not as d coordinator. Linebackers coach would be great.

Need to get a d-coordinator who kills it as a recruiter.
 
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I am cool with Spanos remaining, he has good rapport with Coach Mora and players like him - but not as d coordinator. Linebackers coach would be great.

Need to get a d-coordinator who kills it as a recruiter.
Couldn’t agree more.. doubt it will happen that way, but definitely the best move for Spanos.
 
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I am cool with Spanos remaining, he has good rapport with Coach Mora and players like him - but not as d coordinator. Linebackers coach would be great.

Need to get a d-coordinator who kills it as a recruiter.
not for nothing but the kids spanos have brought in on defense the last few years havent been terrible. Honestly comes down to retaining players
 
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In my opinion, Mora needs to:

1) Hire good assistant coaches, especially the OC.

2) Retain most of the current roster.

3) Upgrade HS recruiting.

4) Evaluate the current roster and use the transfer portal to improve and fill roster holes.

I do think to keep most of the current roster, Mora will need to retain some assistant coaches. I think Spanos and Dottin-Carter are the two prime candidates to stay. Maybe Corey Edsall as well as he seems to have built some solid recruiting ties.
 
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In my opinion, Mora needs to:

1) Hire good assistant coaches, especially the OC.

2) Retain most of the current roster.

3) Upgrade HS recruiting.

4) Evaluate the current roster and use the transfer portal to improve and fill roster holes.

I do think to keep most of the current roster, Mora will need to retain some assistant coaches. I think Spanos and Dottin-Carter are the two prime candidates to stay. Maybe Corey Edsall as well as he seems to have built some solid recruiting ties.
I would disagree with 2: He needs to evaluate players and have honest conversations with those who likely won’t see the field. There is a serious lack of talent on this team. He should honor all scholarships if players want to stay but they need to understand situation.

He does immediately need to begin identifying and working on keeping core players.
 
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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.
 
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Next up we need coaches with strong recruiting ties to Florida (at least 2), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia.
I throw in Texas and Georgia as well. And UConn has had a lot of luck in Canada so it would be worth to continue to look up north as well.
 
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No thank you... For what should be obvious reasons
Agreed - from Mora’s quotes he wants staff that players and parents will feel comfortable with. Hard pass on Bradley.
 
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I throw in Texas and Georgia as well. And UConn has had a lot of luck in Canada so it would be worth to continue to look up north as well.
All states would be great but they need to focus on states within a certain area. Texas would be awesome but time and expenses would be better spent in the states I mentioned. Georgia and Canada are cool.
 
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Agreed - from Mora’s quotes he wants staff that players and parents will feel comfortable with. Hard pass on Bradley.
Mora didn't want the same thing for UCLA when he vetted and hired Bradley there? Never heard anything that would lead to his character being questioned other than that he worked at the same place as someone who was a scumbag. In fact, seems to be beloved by his players in everything I've ever heard.
 
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All states would be great but they need to focus on states within a certain area. Texas would be awesome but time and expenses would be better spent in the states I mentioned. Georgia and Canada are cool.
Good point. PA and OH are definitely a must as they usually produce some really good lineman on both sides of the ball. Florida is great cuz of the plethora of talent. And we've always had a lot of luck in NJ, gotta keep that pipeline going. Honestly, I have complete faith Mora is going to crush it on the recruiting trail. Sure I don't expect us to have classes comparable to UCLA, but I think we'll see a lot higher ranked classes moving forward. I think if we can consistently be on 30-50 (I Know that's a bit of stretch) we will be winning a lot of games.
 

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