Changes To the Offensive Staff Coming

[Excalibur]

Yeah, I get the feeling we're moving towards a read-option style of attack.

I'd be fine with that, and in the last 5 games it certainly looked that way, but everything he is quoted as saying in the article points in the exact opposite direction.

 

[Perfect Hair]

He made me into the negative Nancy I am.

Foley was one of the best position coaches we've had. Maybe it was just time for a split, I don't know, but I don't view losing good coaches as a good thing.

I gave Diaco all the credit in the world until he treated the first few games of the season as an exhibition season, and made some mind boggling decisions. They've been discussed ad naseum, no need to rehash. He's not an idiot. He knows far better than I ever will. But he burned through all his credit with me. You can assume whatever you want, but a difference of opinion doesn't make me less level headed, just less optimistic. But virtually everything he's done since his opening press conference has chipped away at my optimism.

First off, who says he knows far better than you? He hasn't proved it as a head coach. Second, that's not the bar he has to clear. He needs to know far better than the coaches he is facing, he needs to know far batter than other coaches we could have hired. I hate, hate, hate when fans fall back on "he knows more than me so he must know what he is doing" Neither side of that argument has to be true and in a lot of bad coaching cases neither side IS true.

 

[UConnJim]

For most of us, Foley is a known, and successful, coach. Based on his success at UConn, he should not have a problem finding a new position and I wish him luck.

Unfortunately, the other offensive coaches are not well known to us and their past histories do not point to wild success. This past year can not give anybody confidence that we are going to have a competent offense and Diaco just got rid of one of UConn's most successful offensive coach, which is a concern.

Cummings is a long time offensive line coach and probably he and Foley didn't work well together.

 

[BlueMAB]

First off, who says he knows far better than you? He hasn't proved it as a head coach. Second, that's not the bar he has to clear. He needs to know far better than the coaches he is facing, he needs to know far batter than other coaches we could have hired. I hate, hate, hate when fans fall back on "he knows more than me so he must know what he is doing" Neither side of that argument has to be true and in a lot of bad coaching cases neither side IS true.

I say he knows better than me. I've never even coached a peewee team. He knows better than me. That doesn't mean his decision are correct.

I didn't say "he knows more than me so he must know what he is doing", I was responding to the post that said posters like me think we know better. I don't know better, but we can all analyze results, and they speak for themselves. He's got another year or two at the most to produce results.

You're right, he needs to know far better than other coaches, or surround himself with people that do. I think he just got rid of one that does. Which is why i'm not happy with this move, BUT, I don't know how the relationship is. If Foley isn't on the same page, he should go. Everyone needs to be on the same page, rowing in the same direction. There is no right or wrong way to win. There are many ways to win. A brilliant plan, that isn't executed for lack of buy-in, is rendered worthless.

 

[Carl Spackler]

The most important piece of information in that blog piece IMNSHO, is that we are January 8, 2015, and have 60 scholarship athletes with eligibility remaining. He talks about a goal of 100% success when it comes to retaining players and avoiding attrition. That's an admirable goal for sure, unrealistic for sure too, but anyone we lose, is a huge loss right now and keeping as many as possible is necessity. Got to work on keeping them academically eligible, developing in all phases of player development, physically ready to play and get them to start being a team on top of it, rather than a group of individuals.

From a basic building block standpoint, as long as Diaco continues along the same path of recruiting that he aggressively has been on through year 1, and is successful in getting the kind of profile of athlete that can both compete on the field with our level of competition in the AAC conference, and can compete in the classroom at UCONN, then in another year from now, we will be HUGELY improved as a program and back up to adequate NLI recruiting cycle scholarship players going into next fall, and then continuing on through the yearly cycles. It seems from the true freshmen that he recruited through 2014, that he is able to hit on players that can compete on the field individually and in the classroom individually. They just need to get assembled as a team.

I've harped this ad nauseum, this is an uphill battle we've had going on for essentially 5 consecutive seasons now, which started with the recruiting decline under Edsall before he left. Pasqualoni started addressing it, but we had another fall off when he got canned. By the 6th recruiting cycle post 2008-2009 cycle, we should be back to a regular roster of 80+ NLI cycle recruits for every fall season horizontally, with a decent upperclassmen to underclassmen ration vertically in the roster.

Anything about the actual game planning and game time play that Diaco says, I'm not paying attention to anymore. I'll let my eyes tell me what's up once we take the field for opening day against Villanova in September for that.

 

[SubbaBub]

A positive step in the right direction would be to do one thing well on offense. Just one thing to hang your hat on.

I'd like it to be power running, but I'll take not turning the ball over if that is the best we can do.

Foley was a transitional holdover as the most respected coach under the old regime. Likely kept around for background insight into the workings of the program. Not surprised he's gone and it probably has nothing to do with his ability as a coach. More like a different take on offense.

BD can have his own guy if we want him to own the results.

 

[CTMike]

While I'm not anxious for blood here, it's very puzzling if Foley is the only change. I can't imagine that he's the only one holding Diaco back from the offense he envisions.

 

[UCFBfan]

Maybe I'm not seeing it but generally we don't recruit like Stanford and Alabama. I don't see any Amari Cooper types or Andrew Lucks picking us. I'm resigned to just having blind trust that things are headed in the right direction.

This is spot on with why this type of offense is not going to work well for many G5 schools. We just don't get the caliber athletes needed to run a standard, pro-style offense that Diaco is looking for. He does realize this isn't ND or a school with fertile recruiting grounds, right? I don't wanna doubt the guy but sometimes you need to get innovative in order to succeed. Having a spread, high octane offense, is a way to win, IMO. Ground and pound with a weak O-Line is not gonna cut it, a la last season. Granted, we need to find a QB that can run a high-octane offense but that's another thing.

I just get a terrible feeling when a coach says they wanna run a standard style offense at UConn. We just don't get the talent to do so. We're not the P5's of the world who can pull in the talent to successfully run these types of offenses like I feel Diaco envisions.

I very well could be wrong and I sure as heck hope I'm proved wrong. However, last season didn't provide much optimism.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Diaco made some mistakes last year that were puzzling, but I like to think that it was just due to him being a rookie head coach. I think that him make some changes on offense whether is be scheming, coaching or both, is a step in the right direction of him becoming a truly good head coach.

 

[weyuo]

I had a gut feeling after the first few games(and mentioned as much early in the fall) that Foley would be out. As Diaco seems to have upgraded the strength and conditioning from what was, hopefully he'll follow suit with the teaching of how, who and when to block..... not only from the offensive line perspective but also the FB, TB and TE positions. I'm anxious to see who gets hired.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Expect more press conferences of " were just not good enough" and when I got here it was a "huge mess, now were a small mess, but we are still a mess".

Maybe I'm not seeing it but generally we don't recruit like Stanford and Alabama. I don't see any Amari Cooper types or Andrew Lucks picking us. I'm resigned to just having blind trust that things are headed in the right direction.

There is a difference between playing like a Stanford or Alabama, and recruiting like a Stanford or Alabama. We don't have to recruit like Stanford or Alabama, as UCONN playing in the AAC conference, to be able to play the game against our schedule with the type of offense emulating those offenses.

What Stanford did to Maryland in their bowl game, with the multiple TE sets, that' a fine offense to execute I think, and I don't see any reason why UCONN could not recruit to play offense like that, against the likes of a Maryland. One profile of athlete that we can find regularly in teh basketball rich northeast, is the tall, big and fast TE types. We just need to develop them, and hopefully we've got a couple already on teh roster, although Tommy Myers needs to learn to keep his ass down when he lines up at scrimmage, or he's useless. We did manage to accumulate wins against Maryland, Louisville, Pittsburgh - only 2 seasons ago.

Offense always starts with the OL though. We'll see if they can improve. Hopefully we are over that hump with recruiting and development going into 2015.

 

[Dogged]

I just agree with Carl that a simple "heads up, asses down" approach to the O-line is critical. It has been our weak point but it's getting better. I can't argue with the change as much as I like Foley. We've been begging for something different and Bob Diaco is the only one who can do that. Now that it's happening, STFU and see how it works out.

Coach Foley will move on and do well. I wish him the best.

Bob Diaco has gone pretty far out on a limb but we need change here. I wish him the best as well.

He wants the best for his players and for UConn Football. We shall see how it works out. If it does not--- Ouch!

In the meantime, believe! Hope in all things! Love your fellow Boneyarders, even if they have Perfect Hair and irritate the double hockey sticks out of you!

 

[ktuck911]

This is good news if Diaco goes through with it. UConn needs a new OC to open things up and make the games more enjoyable/marketable. Of course, to state the obvious, it may take time for UConn to develop. The Huskies appear to have stud receiver in Thomas coming back, has a pair of potential good backs in Johnson and Newsome, and has been recruiting TE's; but, the OL still needs improvement and the QB situation is a big question mark right now.

I didn't get new OC from that read at all... I'm hoping for one but I didn't g

Dez reporting that Foley is out

Desmond Conner ‏@desmondconner 2m2 minutes ago
Hearing long time #UConnFootball assistant Mike Foley won't be back next season ...

This makes corporate sense... When you change up everything they always hold on to a few short term while immediately getting rid of the rest... short term as in a year tops...

 

[BHusky]

Beyond that, we can all now safely call "bullsh!t" on "having a plan" this year. If this was the plan all along, why on earth would he move to something completely different 7 games in this year?

"everyone has a plan 'till you get punched in the mouth" - Mike Tyson

Also used as a saying for Diaco in 2014

 

[gioff23]

A few observations:

1. if, after Chip's breaking news today, you looked at the O staff, the 2 guys on the watch-out list had to be Foley and Corley. Were you thinking he was firing the OC? His mentor, the QB coach? Once he hinted at staff changes, there was not a lot to read into. Foley was a good coach, but it has been a long time since we had an OL that dominated games or a player on the line who could perform at the next level. Oh, and if you
2. how does one get from "I want have an O like Stanford or Bama" to read option? I must be missing something, but neither runs a read option O? I'm unclear what the LT O philosophy here will be, and the QB can dictate minor wrinkles as Bama saw this year, but if I were thinking read option, I would not look at Stanford and Bama.

 

[Fishy]

Getting rid of the offensive line coach is "changes"? That's it?!

Diaco just threw a deck chair off the Titanic.

Woo.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

how does Diaco's comment equate to a new OC?

Other than the appearance of needing a new OC, an actual successful record calling plays and winning, and making no reference to such a replacement ...

 

[uconndogs]

Frankly, if Diaco has something to say he should say it when he can. As a fan I don't want him to "paint a picture" for me. Not sure why he needs to go there before he's ready to make announcements. This guy is really starting to spook me. I hope my instincts are wrong.........

 

[UconnFamily]

Diaco moves Cummings to OL/ TE caoch and hires a new OC that's my guess. IMO, Cummings should of been coaching the OL in the first place since he produced a no. 1 overall OT in Eric Fisher.

 

[JimHSR]

There is a difference between playing like a Stanford or Alabama, and recruiting like a Stanford or Alabama. We don't have to recruit like Stanford or Alabama, as UCONN playing in the AAC conference, to be able to play the game against our schedule with the type of offense emulating those offenses.

What Stanford did to Maryland in their bowl game, with the multiple TE sets, that' a fine offense to execute I think, and I don't see any reason why UCONN could not recruit to play offense like that, against the likes of a Maryland. One profile of athlete that we can find regularly in teh basketball rich northeast, is the tall, big and fast TE types. We just need to develop them, and hopefully we've got a couple already on teh roster, although Tommy Myers needs to learn to keep his ass down when he lines up at scrimmage, or he's useless. We did manage to accumulate wins against Maryland, Louisville, Pittsburgh - only 2 seasons ago.

Offense always starts with the OL though. We'll see if they can improve. Hopefully we are over that hump with recruiting and development going into 2015.

Its obviously en vogue to to assume that a basketball rich area would convert to talent at the TE position, but the Jimmy Grahams of the world are rare. Have you watched high school/prep basketball at the elite level ? Kids playing at elite schools in this area do not have the body (in general) to play D1 football. They're too thin and would take years to build a body that could take a beating and realistically contribute, even against the poor talent in the AAC.

If you want to have an offense like Stanford, its not about converting basketball talent to TE, its about getting guys who have size that can block. Its a power run based offense, not based around 6'9 210lb former strong forwards from the bball prep circuit. Also, I think you are under estimating the level of talent that Stanford has. It started with Harbaugh and has continued with Shaw, but they recruit at an elite level (within their difficult standards). The reason that Stanford beat Maryland, is because they have elite talent throughout their roster and executed their scheme at a much higher level. To even remotely hint that uconn can recruit at that level is crazy.

 

[sdhusky]

First off, who says he knows far better than you? He hasn't proved it as a head coach. Second, that's not the bar he has to clear. He needs to know far better than the coaches he is facing, he needs to know far batter than other coaches we could have hired. I hate, hate, hate when fans fall back on "he knows more than me so he must know what he is doing" Neither side of that argument has to be true and in a lot of bad coaching cases neither side IS true.

Tell me about the $1 million/year jobs you've had or have turned down in college football.

I'm curious if the industry values you more than Diaco.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Its obviously en vogue to to assume that a basketball rich area would convert to talent at the TE position, but the Jimmy Grahams of the world are rare. Have you watched high school/prep basketball at the elite level ? Kids playing at elite schools in this area do not have the body (in general) to play D1 football. They're too thin and would take years to build a body that could take a beating and realistically contribute, even against the poor talent in the AAC.

If you want to have an offense like Stanford, its not about converting basketball talent to TE, its about getting guys who have size that can block. Its a power run based offense, not based around 6'9 210lb former strong forwards from the bball prep circuit. Also, I think you are under estimating the level of talent that Stanford has. It started with Harbaugh and has continued with Shaw, but they recruit at an elite level (within their difficult standards). The reason that Stanford beat Maryland, is because they have elite talent throughout their roster and executed their scheme at a much higher level. To even remotely hint that uconn can recruit at that level is crazy.

UCONN has a track record of taking talent from the basketball court and converting it to football talent. And I'm not talking about B-ball prep circuit players, I'm talking about raw, big guys that play basketball. Look up a guy named Tavarr Closs from Hartford. I won't bore you with a long list, but in the immediate term, our OT in this 2015 recruiting class from New London was a basketball player that started playing football late in high school, and only ended up on the recruiting radar because of his ability there. I hope he develops as others before him have. We've put players in the NFL, recruited from pick up basketball games. UCONN is a basketball school, and the region is basketball oriented, and we can make that good to our advantage.

If you look back, and re-read you'll see that we don't have to recruit like Stanford does, because we don't play in the Pac-10 and compete with the programs that Stanford does. We need to recruit to compete and win against the competition in the AAC conference. We can do that by recruiting smart athletes with adequate physical ability and speed for the most part. A program like Stanford, gets the smart and the elite talented and fast to compete with the likes of Oregon week in and week out. We aren't there, but there is no reason we can't win lots of games and get nationally ranked anyway.

Recruiting smart football players is a good thing to do, and not something that should be feared or looked at as a negative thing. Recruiting with high academic standards is a GREAT thing. The problem we have at UCONN, is that we are smack in the middle of Connecticut and have lots and lots of schools all around that can offer the same kinds of education that a Stanford does or a UCONN does and recruit smart athletes. It's not something to be feared though, because we also live in a corridor from Washington through to Boston that has close to a population of 100 million people. Finding 85 players that can play elite division 1 football in this region, is not as hard as some would make it out to be. If Diaco is to be a success, it's his recruiting plan that will lead to it for sure, because his game time coaching as a head coach is way behind the curve. So far, everything in that respect is good, Diaco needs to assemble a staff that can apply unified football concepts to a program a whole and develop effective game plans and become and effective game time head coach. That's where the worry with this guy lies.

That's the abstract football look.

Cutcliffe at Duke, has unfortunately, beaten UCONN to the punch in developing the recruiting mantra of being a Stanford type of program on the east coast, but they will always be Duke and will suck, and UCONN can beat Duke.

That's husky true blue talking.

 

[huskymedic]

Diaco moves Cummings to OL/ TE caoch and hires a new OC that's my guess. IMO, Cummings should of been coaching the OL in the first place since he produced a no. 1 overall OT in Eric Fisher.

I was waiting to get to the end of the thread to write something similar - don't know if it will come to fruition, but clearly a possibility.

 

[huskysupporter]

And our best offensive coach is not retained. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

 

[Kgun7]

#1 - Any chance Foley left on his own?
#2 - OK Spackler, I'll bite .... Donald Thomas and Danny Murray

 

[BlueDogs]

The coach of the only component of the team that actually improved over the season while every other phase went backwards is leaving? Hmmm.

 

[huskysupporter]

And his comment about big o lineman just reeks of Coach P. I didn't think I could get more depressed about the state of the program. Guess I was wrong.

I am going to miss Coach Foley. He deserves better.

 

[UconnFamily]

I was waiting to get to the end of the thread to write something similar - don't know if it will come to fruition, but clearly a possibility.

That is the only thing that makes sense here. The other proposal is that Diaco extends the OC/OL/TE duties to Cummings, which I feel is asking for too much, so I don't see this happening.

 

[BNich]

And his comment about big o lineman just reeks of Coach P. I didn't think I could get more depressed about the state of the program. Guess I was wrong.

I am going to miss Coach Foley. He deserves better.

How? PP may have said this, but look at the average size of the OL he brought in compared to those currently committed. Diaco says things about what envisions on the OL and at other positions, the recruits the staff has targeted and those that have committed prove exactly that. With the 3 year fiasco of the previous regime, to many around here at too quick to shoot down any possible success for the future of Diaco, staff and the program. This is going to be a long off season. I am hopeful and confident about that future. Whether we see a night and day change from 2014 to 2015 remains to be seen. But we have not seen a recruiting class quite like the one currently committed. The quotes from Murphy and Ulizio are encouraging. February 4th can't get here soon enough!

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Getting rid of the offensive line coach is "changes"? That's it?!

Diaco just threw a deck chair off the Titanic.

Woo.

I guess I missed the quote from Diaco saying that the only thing he was doing to change the offense was to get rid of the offensive line coach.