Coaching search…

[noeynox]

What will be the benchmark of success? Everyone has a different outlook. Michigan is 7-1 and fans think they are underachievers. A loss to Ohio State again this year and the season is a failure
How will UConn measure success. How many wins are needed to move the needle?
How many fans in the seats?

6-6, 7-5, 8-4 will be good years. Any more than that will be great years. Edsall never won 10 games here his 1st go around either. 4-8, 5-7 years will be tolerable. 3 wins or less terrible.

More than wins or losses will be competitiveness and exciting football. Diaco had them competitive but boring as shat, and that started sending fans away. It was brutal sitting there watching the game against UVA we eventually won. Like watching paint dry. Edsall's 2.0 teams never looked like they had a chance. Hard to give up fall Saturdays to go to a stadium and feel like that.

 

[UConnJim]

Schiano has done a decent job in stabilizing Rutgers. He brought in a number of transfers and he seems to have improved recruiting. He has a veteran team this year and he is not starting freshmen and sophomores, so there could be a dropoff next year. But, he is the poster child of what happens if you hire a defensive minded coach - your results are dependent on how good your OC is. Here are the points Rutgers has scored over the past 6 games: 13, 13, 13, 7, 20, 3. On paper, Rutgers OC has a good resume and he did a decent job last year, but the results aren't there this year. Who is to blame?

College football has changed and you have to be able to score points. Sabin saw how college football was changing and he has been able to attract great offensive coaches to Alabama to score points. Alabama can throw money at assistant coaches and they can hire many off the field offensive coaches. UConn can't do that. What UConn can do is pay an offensive minded head coach more than he can make as a top P5 OC.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Would it be crazy to think that AD David Benedict is looking to orchestrate a "2 for 1 special"?

-Hire a HC with a history of rebuilding a similar FBS program (e.g., Golden w/ Temple) who is still reasonably young and has aspirations of using the turnaround as a stepping stone to another crack at a high-level FBS coaching job

-Plus, bring in a current younger hot FCS (or even D2) coach that would come in as OC/DC and take over the program after the rebuild starts gaining steam?

Something like a Golden / Chesney special?


I know this is something like what we thought could happen with Edsall/Lashlee, but I dont think AD David Benedict was able to pull all the strings necessary to get the right coaches in to make that plan work (i.e., Edsall was the rate-limiting part of the plan).

A Golden Chesney Special sounds like something you'd read about on Urban Dictionary.

 

[uconnric]

Golden turned Temple around by playing a super easy schedule. Not Kidding.

Go to his Wikipedia page and look it up for yourself. Golden's most impressive win at Temple was beating UCONN in 2010 in Philly. I'm not kidding look it up for yourself.

Based on that if we are hiring Golden because he turned Temple around I hope we are also announcing we are joining CUSA so we can get that super easy schedule going. Also not kidding.

I don’t share your tremendous dislike for Al Golden. He’s obviously familiar with NE recruiting as well as Florida. He turned around a moribund Temple program. Whoever the new coach is, he’ll have to embrace the transfer portal. With all the new FBS members, recruiting has probably become much more competitive, especially for the 3 star players in the southern states. You have to supplement recruiting with the transfer portal.

I’m not saying that Golden is the answer, but I have faith in whoever Dave chooses. The RE II hire was made under some pretty dire timing circumstances, this hire won’t be.

 

[ZooCougar]

He seems Randy like in terms of his career record.

Well, Golden actually has a winning record at a P5 school.

 

[ZooCougar]

Golden turned Temple around by playing a super easy schedule. Not Kidding.

Go to his Wikipedia page and look it up for yourself. Golden's most impressive win at Temple was beating UCONN in 2010 in Philly. I'm not kidding look it up for yourself.

Based on that if we are hiring Golden because he turned Temple around I hope we are also announcing we are joining CUSA so we can get that super easy schedule going. Also not kidding.

Easy schedule. They were literally the worst team in FBS by miles. They weren’t even a poop stain in your underwear. We came from trailers, they had to borrow trailers and only got to use them once a week. If you were a doormat you scheduled Temple to get an FBS win. He also impacted UConn and Rutgers recruiting. Not opinion, fact.

One guy has proven to turn around a total doormat’s doormat. Another guy is a career FCS guy at a school that doesn’t even award the full complement of scholarships. I’m not sold.

 

[ZooCougar]

I don’t share your tremendous dislike for Al Golden. He’s obviously familiar with NE recruiting as well as Florida. He turned around a moribund Temple program. Whoever the new coach is, he’ll have to embrace the transfer portal. With all the new FBS members, recruiting has probably become much more competitive, especially for the 3 star players in the southern states. You have to supplement recruiting with the transfer portal.

I’m not saying that Golden is the answer, but I have faith in whoever Dave chooses. The RE II hire was made under some pretty dire timing circumstances, this hire won’t be.

I’m not excited about Al Golden. But I’m confident that we would improve.

I prefer an offensive minded Head Coach. I think we need to put points on the board and be fun to watch. I think that will help the team stand out.

 

[drayenob]

There are a lot of pros & cons with this job. I think it is a tremendous opportunity for the right guy. UCONN overall is a P5 level Athletic Department. P5 salary, budget, resources, and facilities. Anyone who would fail would blame the situation. The guy who could succeed will be handsomely rewarded. I think it's more a matter of the right guy finding UCONN. The young confident guy who seeks a challenge. The guy who understands that many dreams come true, and some have silver linings, one who lives for his dreams, and a pocket full of gold.

 

[Yup!]

There are a lot of pros & cons with this job. I think it is a tremendous opportunity for the right guy. UCONN overall is a P5 level Athletic Department. P5 salary, budget, resources, and facilities. Anyone who would fail would blame the situation. The guy who could succeed will be handsomely rewarded. I think it's more a matter of the right guy finding UCONN. The young confident guy who seeks a challenge. The guy who understands that many dreams come true, and some have silver linings, one who lives for his dreams, and a pocket full of gold.

More pros than cons in my opinion but I agree. Sounds like a Hurley kind of hire to me. Passionate, not afraid of a challenge, young, confident, leadership, and not afraid to win now. UConn has a P5 level Athletic Department, my point, and that’s exactly how Dave will sell UConn. Great post!

 

[giddyup]

Well, Golden actually has a winning record at a P5 school.

I have no real beef with Golden. He will make us average which better than where we are by a mile. He’s just not what I would hope for. He’s 59-59. He didn’t do much in Miami with all the assets in the world to put them back to relevancy. Defensive minded coaches are not going to get it done in nowadays. Rules are too favorable to the offense with targeting, no hands to the face, QB protection, etc.

 

[Bongo Fury]

I don’t share your tremendous dislike for Al Golden. He’s obviously familiar with NE recruiting as well as Florida. He turned around a moribund Temple program. Whoever the new coach is, he’ll have to embrace the transfer portal. With all the new FBS members, recruiting has probably become much more competitive, especially for the 3 star players in the southern states. You have to supplement recruiting with the transfer portal.

I’m not saying that Golden is the answer, but I have faith in whoever Dave chooses. The RE II hire was made under some pretty dire timing circumstances, this hire won’t be.

I prefer him to Lashlee. Lashlee is more exciting but a question mark if he can manage a team. I view him and Orlando about the same but will be optimistic whoever they get.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Ok we now have confirmation from Jersey Man. Has anyone received any updates from Florida Man?

Check out omgitswicks Tik Tok, Instagram or FB pages. Best Florida Man out there.

 

[SubbaBub]

I think he wants another HC job. He’s not coming back into a P5 school even with a winning record at Miami.

The Temple rebuild was even more impressive than rebuilding UConn would be. That place was dead, had no support and no prospects. And they were a thorn in Edsall’s side every time we played them with recruits that were our castoffs.

I’d argue that Golden was the coach that the Apologistas thought Randy was.

Is he the sexy hire? No way. But Bob Diaco was a sexy hire.

I can argue PP was more accomplished when he took the UConn job than Golden is right now. They are both unloved retreads. You'd be just as likely to be better off with a guy stepping up to a job.

Which is really the point, I guess. We have no right to expect an obvious savior to fall into our lap, nor can we expect the eventual hire to be a consensus slam dunk when announced. I'm willing to judge based on eventual performance, but are Golden's red flags better than the unknowns of trying to scoop a rising star?

I just feel like Golden is one of the obvious names and that suggests we are looking very hard. A more credible candidate than Skip Holtz. (seriously, Skip Holtz?) I refuse to believe AD David Benedict cares that little about his professional reputation and for me that spills over into the Golden rumor even if he is the best guy we can get. If he is, then take the flyer on a guy who will work his ass off.

 

[SubbaBub]

6-6, 7-5, 8-4 will be good years. Any more than that will be great years. Edsall never won 10 games here his 1st go around either. 4-8, 5-7 years will be tolerable. 3 wins or less terrible.

More than wins or losses will be competitiveness and exciting football. Diaco had them competitive but boring as shat, and that started sending fans away. It was brutal sitting there watching the game against UVA we eventually won. Like watching paint dry. Edsall's 2.0 teams never looked like they had a chance. Hard to give up fall Saturdays to go to a stadium and feel like that.

I think the odd 5-7 year is tolerable once we get out of the <4 win streak. Won't be after that. We can schedule 6 wins a year as an independent. Win the games you're supposed to win, FCS, G5, bottom half of the P5, pull the occasional upset and be bowl eligible more years than not.

The other expectation is to bring name opponents to East Hartford. Not exactly, "play like a champion today" but we'd fill the building regularly.

 

[06029]

what Does UConn really need today?
program builder
hungry/ young enough to know what success will lead to
great recruiter with knowledge of the base geographic recruiting hot spots
charisma, although I put that way down on the list
a pan that includes who his key coaches will be and what budget he needs to get them
a history of replacing under performing coaches
not afraid of a contract with lots of incentives

What does the coach need fromUconn
commitment to fund good coaches all the way down to the position level
the ability to stretch on 10% of the recruits every year with admissions
willingness to accept a 90% graduation rate
not afraid of the transfer portal
in other words, what every P5 coach gets from his school

Golden actually checks all those boxes. He will be the best recruiter as HC since RE 1.0 and will be a lot better than that. Knows the NE, FL and the Delmarva. Big success in VA over his career. He will get UConn to a winning record within 3 years. Not sexy hire, not a splash, although more of a splash than FCS coaches or assistants and certainly not anyone that will make this board happy. Until he starts winning.

I will take him over almost every realistic name floated on this board.

 

[Pudge]

Golden turned Temple around by playing a super easy schedule. Not Kidding.

Go to his Wikipedia page and look it up for yourself. Golden's most impressive win at Temple was beating UCONN in 2010 in Philly. I'm not kidding look it up for yourself.

Based on that if we are hiring Golden because he turned Temple around I hope we are also announcing we are joining CUSA so we can get that super easy schedule going. Also not kidding.

We all know UCONN is in a really crap position today after THREE poor performances at HC. Temple in 2006 was far worse. I'm certain you all are not historians; but, that Program has 20 years of not winning more than 4 and 6 times won 1 or less. So ... yeah, I get it. Retread retread and you are angry.

The key to me - if I am Dave - IF Al Golden comes in with dynamite OC and DC and Oline coach staffing. Bingo. Why do I think that is possible ... again Matt Rhule and Ryan Day on Day One at Temple. It is who he has in his pocket; it is bringing in a COLLEGE guy who can wrap up transfers + grab the talent we need from the rising class. It is not a distinct NO. It is ok for us to be skeptical because of the disastrous state and the years he has been in the NFL. However ...

look Mom - NO BOLD

 

[RSTuthill]

Gotta think AD DB, with all the time in the world, will get the right guy. If it is Golden, then I will feel a whole lot better than when RE was rehired. But that is a low bar to clear. Gotta think something will happen soon. Announcement exactly three weeks from today? Maybe the Coordinators announcements will be more scrutinized?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Schiano has done a decent job in stabilizing Rutgers. He brought in a number of transfers and he seems to have improved recruiting. He has a veteran team this year and he is not starting freshmen and sophomores, so there could be a dropoff next year. But, he is the poster child of what happens if you hire a defensive minded coach - your results are dependent on how good your OC is. Here are the points Rutgers has scored over the past 6 games: 13, 13, 13, 7, 20, 3. On paper, Rutgers OC has a good resume and he did a decent job last year, but the results aren't there this year. Who is to blame?

College football has changed and you have to be able to score points. Sabin saw how college football was changing and he has been able to attract great offensive coaches to Alabama to score points. Alabama can throw money at assistant coaches and they can hire many off the field offensive coaches. UConn can't do that. What UConn can do is pay an offensive minded head coach more than he can make as a top P5 OC.

Rutgers looked like a Pop Warner team playing 6-3 Wisconsin yesterday. Paul Crist put the reserves in after halftime and they still scored 20 something points in the 3rd quarter. Schiano is another fat cat retread and is getting paid $4 million a year. That’s what slightly scares me about Golden, but he’s better than anything we have had this season. We need a smart young coach who’s hungry and has a vision, and can sell that to recruits and transfers.

 

[Yup!]

what Does UConn really need today?
program builder
hungry/ young enough to know what success will lead to
great recruiter with knowledge of the base geographic recruiting hot spots
charisma, although I put that way down on the list
a pan that includes who his key coaches will be and what budget he needs to get them
a history of replacing under performing coaches
not afraid of a contract with lots of incentives

What does the coach need fromUconn
commitment to fund good coaches all the way down to the position level
the ability to stretch on 10% of the recruits every year with admissions
willingness to accept a 90% graduation rate
not afraid of the transfer portal
in other words, what every P5 coach gets from his school

Golden actually checks all those boxes. He will be the best recruiter as HC since RE 1.0 and will be a lot better than that. Knows the NE, FL and the Delmarva. Big success in VA over his career. He will get UConn to a winning record within 3 years. Not sexy hire, not a splash, although more of a splash than FCS coaches or assistants and certainly not anyone that will make this board happy. Until he starts winning.

I will take him over almost every realistic name floated on this board.

A guy that’s been out of coaching college for over 6yrs and had a 59-59 record in college again over 6yrs ago will have us winning and you say that with such confidence. You can’t make this up.. smh

 

[CONN78SEJ]

what Does UConn really need today?
program builder
hungry/ young enough to know what success will lead to
great recruiter with knowledge of the base geographic recruiting hot spots
charisma, although I put that way down on the list
a pan that includes who his key coaches will be and what budget he needs to get them
a history of replacing under performing coaches
not afraid of a contract with lots of incentives

What does the coach need fromUconn
commitment to fund good coaches all the way down to the position level
the ability to stretch on 10% of the recruits every year with admissions
willingness to accept a 90% graduation rate
not afraid of the transfer portal
in other words, what every P5 coach gets from his school

Golden actually checks all those boxes. He will be the best recruiter as HC since RE 1.0 and will be a lot better than that. Knows the NE, FL and the Delmarva. Big success in VA over his career. He will get UConn to a winning record within 3 years. Not sexy hire, not a splash, although more of a splash than FCS coaches or assistants and certainly not anyone that will make this board happy. Until he starts winning.

I will take him over almost every realistic name floated on this board.

I’m not so sure, but thank you Mrs Golden.

 

[SubbaBub]

I’m not so sure, but thank you Mrs Golden.

Golden feels like the same M.O. behind the RE2.0 rational. Can get us to a certain level of credibility and won't cost much. I want a guy who can get the players/recruits to win football games. No spin necessary.

 

[metsfan2323]

Pasqualoni was a dinosaur. Golden is not.

Well you really don't know if that is true, you are just hoping it is. What we do know is that he has been away from the college game for 6 years and is currently a position coach in the NFL. That matches PP's prior 6 years when we hired him to a tee, except PP actually became a defensive coordinator in the NFL so PP one upped Golden.

The selling point for Golden is that he turned Temple around. He turned Temple around from 2006-2010 which matches Randy Edsall's most successful period as a coach. Do you consider Edsall a dinosaur? We all know the game has changed a ton since 2010. If Edsall is a dinosaur I fear Golden is too and there is literally nothing that proves he isn't except a leap of faith.

 

[metsfan2323]

I’m not excited about Al Golden.

Then what the hell are we even debating.

I sure as hell hope Dave Benedict can hire someone who brings some excitement this go around.

 

[Forte]

UMass's top two candidates their admin are floating out there are Liam Coen and Don Brown. UConn's top candidates AD DB's floating out to gauge fan reaction .... Al Golden and Skip Holtz.....I guess he did give us Edsall. Not encouraging though.

 

[giddyup]

UMass's top two candidates their admin are floating out there are Liam Coen and Don Brown. UConn's top candidates AD DB's floating out to gauge fan reaction .... Al Golden and Skip Holtz.....I guess he did give us Edsall. Not encouraging though.

Somebody floated Holtz and Golden but the general reaction is no thanks. Compare that to Hurley when most knew it was the right decision. AD Dave needs to make a pick that rekindles confidence and energy. These guys deliver “meh”. Golden is much better than Holtz but you still end up with a 59-59 meh Coach.

 

[Yup!]

Well you really don't know if that is true, you are just hoping it is. What we do know is that he has been away from the college game for 6 years and is currently a position coach in the NFL. That matches PP's prior 6 years when we hired him to a tee, except PP actually became a defensive coordinator in the NFL so PP one upped Golden.

The selling point for Golden is that he turned Temple around. He turned Temple around from 2006-2010 which matches Randy Edsall's most successful period as a coach. Do you consider Edsall a dinosaur? We all know the game has changed a ton since 2010. If Edsall is a dinosaur I fear Golden is too and there is literally nothing that proves he isn't except a leap of faith.

^^^1000%

 

[uconnbill]

I like Coen but does UConn take another coordinator or go with a head coach at a lower level or like a MAC school type.

One thing the offense has to be 21st century not the screens, draws and other 1990 offenses

 

[ZooCougar]

Then what the hell are we even debating.

I sure as hell hope Dave Benedict can hire someone who brings some excitement this go around.

I was excited about Diaco. Sometimes sexy isn’t what you need. Golden‘s Temple teams were a Harvard Business School case study on how to do a great deal with next to nothing. And his team always played hard.

 

[ZooCougar]

Well you really don't know if that is true, you are just hoping it is. What we do know is that he has been away from the college game for 6 years and is currently a position coach in the NFL. That matches PP's prior 6 years when we hired him to a tee, except PP actually became a defensive coordinator in the NFL so PP one upped Golden.

The selling point for Golden is that he turned Temple around. He turned Temple around from 2006-2010 which matches Randy Edsall's most successful period as a coach. Do you consider Edsall a dinosaur? We all know the game has changed a ton since 2010. If Edsall is a dinosaur I fear Golden is too and there is literally nothing that proves he isn't except a leap of faith.

‘Edsall and Golden have superficial similarities. But it doesn’t surprise me that you are so easily duped.

What Golden did at an outcast school with no resources was better than what Randy did in a well funded situation in a BCS conference.

This is the only way to look at this.

No comparison to PP and RE.

 

[Yup!]

I was excited about Diaco. Sometimes sexy isn’t what you need. Golden‘s Temple teams were a Harvard Business School case study on how to do a great deal with next to nothing. And his team always played hard.

You’re living in the past. You’re talking 10-11yrs ago. Sucks UConn has fans that are excited about a retread. Diaco was a DC with NO HCing experience. That’s not going to happen this time.