Dan Orlovsky has some strong words for AD/UConn

[Guapo]

I really don't think they'll hire Penders.

If they do, then we should just drop to D3 in all sports.

The days of "let's just hire our version of Vince Dooley as AD" are long over.

(It also makes me think DO has absolutely no idea what he is talking about)

 

[Penfield]

(It also makes me think DO has absolutely no idea what he is talking about)

I am praying he doesnt.

 

[jibsey]

DO was just stating the obvious as a former Husky and now a fan. The AD has his hands tied until the season is over and What can he say at this point anyway?

 

[Penfield]

Here is a list of people I think had more influence over the current state of affairs than Dave Benedict.

Jeff Hathaway, John Swofford, John Marinatto, Susan Herbst, Paul Pasqualoni, Warde Manuel, Randy Edsall, Jim Calhoun, Bob Diaco, Kevin Ollie, & Mike Aresco

 

[CL82]

Am I crazy?

I sent the quote to my brother and his response was: "I mean, what has Benedict done that is really positive?"

Me: "IDK he fired Bob Diaco"

Him: "Well any AD would have done that"

Me: "So he doesn't get credit for it?"

Him: "UConn athletics does appear to be in a downward spiral and I can't say the guy in charge has really done anything to stop it"

Me: "OK well if they fire him to hire Jim Penders then we are a joke"

Him: "Why is that a joke?"


Benedict didn't create this mess, and I don't think he has been given the opportunity to really fix it either. The one knock against him is the Ollie extension, which was only bad in that it Ollie all the leverage, but there were constant reports of Ollie being courted by the NBA. Can we blame him for Rhett Lashlee leaving? IDK. I might not be able to list any major accomplishments, but I don't have any serious complaints with anything he has done either. I have no idea what it is like to work with the guy, maybe he is a schmuck. Long story short, he is not the person I would blame for this. There is a long list before I would get to him.

That being said, if the school let Benedict go tomorrow I wouldn't shed a tear. However, they better pony up and hire the best freaking AD available. Someone who has some actual experience. Not the freaking baseball coach. Maybe Penders would be fine, but this doesn't seem like the time for more experiments. If the ship continues to sink then maybe its time to start thinking about what role Susan Herbst has played in this mess.

I would. The guy seems competent to me. And the loss of a FB coach, MBB, coach and the AD in a few years is a lot of turnover in a short period of time. It screams free fall to me.

 

[Penfield]

Actually if this NCAA investigation does reveal some actual infractions, then DB should lose his job based on the comments from this past fall saying they were doing everything on the up and up. Other than that idk.

 

[CL82]

Actually if this NCAA investigation does reveal some actual infractions, then DB should lose his job based on the comments from this past fall saying they were doing everything on the up and up. Other than that idk.

Depends on the nature of violations right? Secondary, not so much. Failure to monitor? Maybe.

 

[Purple Stein]

I have hard time believing DO actually said this, but if he did, I don't think he would have said it publicly unless he knows more than meets the eye and felt it was time the general public was aware. Is there any chance DB is somehow connected to the ncaa investigation?

By default he's connected. And his twitter silence -- which is likely necessary -- unfortunately amplifies suspicions.

But that doesn't mean he or UConn has done anything wrong. Hard to judge DB when so much -- the Ollie situation, the investigation -- is yet to be written.

 

[blue93]

Here is a list of people I think had more influence over the current state of affairs than Dave Benedict.

Jeff Hathaway, John Swofford, John Marinatto, Susan Herbst, Paul Pasqualoni, Warde Manuel, Randy Edsall, Jim Calhoun, Bob Diaco, Kevin Ollie, & Mike Aresco

I think George DeLeone earned himself a spot on the list too, but overall I'm with you. DB inherited a dumpster fire.

The thing that concerns me is that RE and DO have remained close... So you have to think that DO knows more about what's going on behind closed doors than we do. If it turns out DB really is a "schmuck"... then I give up.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

 

[Storrs South]

Let's go through everything said in the article

Bad Take #1 - the comment about the UConn/Cuse game -- that was an ugly game by all standards but they only lost by 9 so to say they looked like a low level team feels like a bit of an exaggeration based on that account. We obviously have seen since that this team is capable of far worse and so based on that I would agree but that game was far from the worst

Bad Take #2 - talking about Calhoun could tout going to MSG every 2-3 times a year -- they play at least once every year in that building and are slated to play twice next year. This is a poor excuse for current performance in conference. I'm going to beat this over the head again but recruiting isn't the problem, it's the coaching, player development, and player retention. So I'm not buying this conference excuse since we don't play in the BE tournament anymore.

Bad Take #3 - The AD is a "schmuck" -- bad look, real sour grapes for someone who is not qualified to be the offensive coordinator. QB Coach would have made a ton of sense but we don't have time to risk a novice at playcalling duties. We have already witness 7 consecutive years of bad football.

There was not one single thing in the whole article I considered an accurate representation of the current state of affairs:

• Diaco was fired by Benedict & brought in his coach who is bringing respectability back
• He will now need to fire Ollie and bring in [Insert Coach of your choosing here] to do the same for basketball
• Made a great hire for WSOC recently
• WBB & WFH are killing it as always

If you want to talk about Ollie being really bad at his job, I'm here for it. If you want to talk about high ticket prices or inadequate marketing of the program, I'm here as well. I'm not above criticizing the Athletic Department but nothing in this article makes any sense.

 

[Penfield]

Depends on the nature of violations right? Secondary, not so much. Failure to monitor? Maybe.

Yes it would depend on the level, but he was really adamant that he was meeting with all the coaches regularly and there was nothing to see here.

 

[Tenspro2002]

The AD is not in great shape, but it's hard to see how Benedict is responsible. The demise has really been on an individual program level, and so far Benedict has done what he was reasonably able to do in each case:
- fired Diaco
- put KO on notice (as an ardent Ollie critic, even I acknowledge that firing him last offseason wasn't practical)

 

[nyhuskies13]

Careful... this board does NOT like when you critique the almighty AD Dave - even after he signed the worst contract extension in the history of our state

Attendance is great, status quo is great, fantastic coaches under reasonable contracts, no investigations at the moment... nothing to see here

 

[80shusky]

*yawn*

 

[Penfield]

Careful... this board does NOT like when you critique the almighty AD Dave - even after he signed the worst contract extension in the history of our state

Attendance is great, status quo is great, fantastic coaches under reasonable contracts, no investigations at the moment... nothing to see here

Fine. Would you hire the baseball coach to replace him?

 

[Wordbomar]

Hope this isn’t the case but this sounds like someone who is angry he didn’t get more consideration for the OC job.

Also, find it funny how a football guy is asking out of the American? The only way out is to go is the big east and that would mean MAC football or Indy or none at all which he has to know is not good for the football program in general. No matter who the AD is he can’t snap his fingers and be in a P5.

 

[MASSconn]

This is the same periodical and author (Matt Burke) that published the piece about UConn no longer being big-time. I believe in the thread about that article people ripped his credibility and the credibility of The Metro as a whole. That said, I'm not implying that he would make up quotes, so it's definitely still troubling.

Edit: link to previous thread that I referenced

Column: Matt Burke: UConn men's basketball is no longer 'big-time'

He's right. We are a joke right now.

 

[tcf15]

Orlovsky denies it

 

[Penfield]

Wow if true

 

[Penfield]

Orlovsky denies it

I meant to look at this earlier and got sidetracked....

This guy that wrote the article went to UConn. I used to follow him on twitter and he was a total jackass.

Matt Burke on Twitter

 

[Buffett10]

It's pretty funny people on here really think Dan O really said that. And then pretend to know he said it because he's upset he didn't get the OC job which he said before he wasn't qualified for...

 

[tcf15]

Former UConn Quarterback Dan Orlovsky Clarifies Comments About Athletics Department, Benedict
Former UConn quarterback Dan Orlovsky said that he wasn’t aware he was being formally interviewed by a reporter who published a story Friday in which Orlovsky was quoted as calling UConn athletic director David Benedict “kind of a schmuck” and suggesting baseball coach Jim Penders could be his replacement.

 

[polycom]

Former UConn Quarterback Dan Orlovsky Clarifies Comments About Athletics Department, Benedict
Former UConn quarterback Dan Orlovsky said that he wasn’t aware he was being formally interviewed by a reporter who published a story Friday in which Orlovsky was quoted as calling UConn athletic director David Benedict “kind of a schmuck” and suggesting baseball coach Jim Penders could be his replacement.

So he 100% said it.

 

[gtcam]

Everybody keeps touting the AD for bringing back Randy Edsall. Reminder: UConn was 3-9 last season, not much of a turn around. And RE was mediocre at best when he was here the first time. So let's not make to much of him coming back. He has instilled some hope in the program, he did seem to understand that an offense can be a wonderful thing (and thus let Lashee do his thing) and his press conferences made more sense that Bobby-Boy D's ever did. But lets not get carried away with RE. Remember, we got him because he was cheap.

If mediocre is a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, I'll take mediocrity