Diaco's debut at Nebraska

[Confident Carl]

The entire board hated my guts because I saw through Diaco's happy horse sheet and didn't wear the pompoms. Some of the same guys ripping Diaco now were acting just like Husker fans are now. Some guys are just a little more quick on the take than others.

Jimmy, it's okay for you to do a little ball spiking. You have good reason based on your prophetic views, the results and looking back at all the disappointments. There were many areas where Diaco and his formula for success coupled with his unusual mannerisms grew thin. He came on like gang busters with good looks and flowery words but in plain English he failed. Hopefully for him, he will learn from his failed effort. Last year was one of the doomiest and gloomiest seasons, I've ever experienced. You should have seen my huge group of family and friends for the Navy Game! It was the total opposite feeling I had in 2009 at South Bend after the dramatic 33-30 win. Then after Navy, traveling to ECU and BC was sooooo embarrassing. If not for Benedict's brilliance, I might not have renewed this year. As it's been said, we have Hope again.

As I've posted before, I got to know him personally. My wife went to the football 101 session and had her picture taken with him. I went to most of his promotional events. I sat with him and the coaches at a golf fundraiser and have had numerous conversation with him at other UCONN events. So naturally when someone has been a friend it's difficult to attack and as I've said before you lose your objectivity.

He wasn't ready to be a head coach. That's why I really admire the way Rhett Lashlee has humbled himself and is not taking short cuts. He is willing to take his time to patiently learn everything he can about the profession before taking the next big step at a Big P5 head coaching assignment.

Noone is more disappointed than me for the players and fans that Diaco fell short. I don't think he personally sabotaged the program but it does sound like his ego and stubbornness got in the way and he was sent packing. You've shared that you are not very religious but there is a very profound bible verse, Proverbs 16:18 that reads "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." In Diaco's case, his pride may have cost him his job.

As one poster said, Bob Diaco brought excitement and life to a dying program. That all came to a crashing end when all the talk and hyperbole never turned into wins. I picked the name Confident Carl a number of years ago because in my life, regardless of the circumstances at hand, I want to stay focused on the goal and live Victoriously. With or without Bob Diaco, my dream is for the UCONN Huskies to win Championships and go to major bowl games. I believe the current coaching staff under Randy Edsall's leadership gives us the best possible chance!

We differed at times and we've also agreed. One thing we can agree on is that after all is said and done we along with most Boneyarder's are true Husky fans! GO HUSKIES!

 

[Excalibur]

The entire board hated my guts because I saw through Diaco's happy horse sheet and didn't wear the pompoms. Some of the same guys ripping Diaco now were acting just like Husker fans are now. Some guys are just a little more quick on the take than others.

You don't get to spike the football unless you called it from the press conference. I was on record as clearly not wanting him to begin with, but once he was here he deserved the benefit of the doubt until he proved he wasn't going to be able to figure things out.

 

[BlueDogs]

IMHO- Bob is a classic con-man. Bob was full of BS. We fell for it, and continued to fall for it even when the numbers said otherwise. The reason Bob can't mention UConn is because it doesn't fit his self created truth about himself. I would have a ton of respect for him if he said, "yeah, I screwed up and wasn't ready for the job. I have more to learn." Instead, his arrogance and need to maintain his personal brand takes precedence over his growth of character.

 

[Kgun7]

Please ... watch Diaco's signing day video. The one where all the assistants have sweater vests, but he has a suit jacket. Where all the assistants are sipping coffee and awaiting the faxes. Where he proudly displays the white board that lists all of the AAC's signed recruits. The one where he talks to Ron Johnson on the phone as if Ron were buying an 81' Monte Carlo. If that video doesn't make him completely transparent ....

It is worth repeating: Who boasts about keeping a display of all of the AAC's signed recruits???

 

[UConnJim]

I don't fault anyone for the Diaco hire. His resume was good. He was young and energetic. After PP, he was exactly what we were looking for. Unfortunately, hiring hot assistants who have never run a football program entails some risk. Warde hired Turner Gill at Buffalo and it worked. His Diaco hire didn't.

What I am thankful for is AD Benedict was able to can Diaco and hire an experienced coach who is a much better coach than Diaco.

As for his defensive philosophy, the bend but don't break defense, can and does work, especially if it is coupled with a good offense. Fans, myself included, like an attacking defense, but that can result in big gains and scores

 

[Stainmaster]

You don't get to spike the football unless you called it from the press conference.

Or if you got duped during '15.

 

[noeynox]

I bought into the hype. He was young, energetic, and most importantly NOT named Paul Pasqualoni. While some were quick to call it a bad hire, it's not unreasonable for fans to have hope.

After his introductory press conference it was all downhill.

The 1st sign was the non key starter vs key non starter malarkey. The 2nd was thanking BYU for the ass whooping and the pre season garbage. After that all we had was blind faith. But he did give Jim Rome a couple of great interviews.

 

[mikedog10]

I picked the name Confident Carl a number of years ago because in my life, regardless of the circumstances at hand, I want to stay focused on the goal and live Victoriously.

#WinningBreakfast

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

You don't get to spike the football unless you called it from the press conference. I was on record as clearly not wanting him to begin with, but once he was here he deserved the benefit of the doubt until he proved he wasn't going to be able to figure things out.

Eh. I couldn't possibly care any less about press conferences. I thought they were weird but the guy was a first time HC. My first red flag was when he pulled Cochran after leading the offense down inside the red zone for Whitmer. From there the idiocy just got worse and it became painfully obvious the guy was a total clown. Nothing he said made any sense at all. Total fraud.

 

[CL82]

I was never a fan of his patter, but I can see how red pants would appear to be a good hire coming off a Broyles award. Who knows? He may be a great interview. I fault the administration more for the Pasqualoni hire than for Diaco.

For what is worth Pasqualoni should be Diaco's biggest fan. Diaco has served as a lightning rod for much of the hate that would otherwise had been directed at the stupid twins.

 

[UConnRock]

I was never a fan of his patter, but I can see how red pants would appear to be a good hire coming off a Broyles award. Who knows? He may be a great interview. I fault the administration more for the Pasqualoni hire than for Diaco.

For what is worth Pasqualoni should be Diaco's biggest fan. Diaco has served as a lightning rod for much of the hate that would otherwise had been directed at the stupid twins.

You are absolutely correct that the Diaco hiring was the result of the pendulum swing back from the the incompetent AD's hiring of PP who was a clueless, washed up coach that wasn't even close to sniffing a HC job for 7 years after his firing from Syracuse. The natural reaction to the debacle that was the PP era was to go for the young energetic up-and-comer. The bungling of that post-Fiesta Bowl hire derailed the program probably for a decade.

The first point that I had fears of potential failure was when he hired Cummings as the OC as Cummings had no experience calling plays or running an offense. If Diaco was truly a quality coach and manager of a team he would have brought in a seasoned OC and given that person appropriate control. I do blame Manuel, who was supposedly a football guy, for not having some say as the AD in the hiring of Diaco's OC, as Diaco was 100% a defensive coach. Diaco/Manuel then fired Cummings and brought in Vertucci who coached for 15 different teams for 31 years and never called a play. The fact that Diaco was eventually fired for not having interest in Jerry Kill as a new OC showed that he never really learned from his errors and would not listen to constructive criticism. It also shows the ineffectiveness of Manuel in properly guiding the program, as a good AD will play a role in coordinator hires when the program is floundering.

 

[cttxus]

I'm not a hater, not that anyone else here is either, but somewhere along the line "fake Bob" deceived "real Bob" with a big fat lie about his own coaching abilities. The local expression here in TX "all hat and no cattle" seems to fit real well. He's all show and little substance. Unfortunately for him, and as CC said, his fall from (coaching) grace is likely to be spectacular. For his sake, I hope it humbles him.

 

[Excalibur]

I was never a fan of his patter, but I can see how red pants would appear to be a good hire coming off a Broyles award. Who knows? He may be a great interview. I fault the administration more for the Pasqualoni hire than for Diaco.

For what is worth Pasqualoni should be Diaco's biggest fan. Diaco has served as a lightning rod for much of the hate that would otherwise had been directed at the stupid twins.

My distaste for Pasqualoni still exceeds my hatred for Diaco. P burned the house down. Diaco came in with what he advertised was a hose but turned out to be a flamethrower.

 

[noeynox]

My distaste for Pasqualoni still exceeds my hatred for Diaco. P burned the house down. Diaco came in with what he advertised was a hose but turned out to be a flamethrower.

I'm the opposite. P was bad, but he still knew how to run a program. After 3 years, Diaco still had no concept of clock management and wasn't smart enough to hire someone to handle this for him. Simply put, this guy had no business being a head coach, but he was handsome, spoke well, and was a Broyles award winner so we hired him. He was worse than P, and recruited clones that all were about 6-5, 250lbs for all positions. The fact that he threw players under the bus after the Navy and East Carolina games further made me loathe this guy.

 

[UConnDan97]

I'm the opposite. P was bad, but he still knew how to run a program. After 3 years, Diaco still had no concept of clock management and wasn't smart enough to hire someone to handle this for him. Simply put, this guy had no business being a head coach, but he was handsome, spoke well, and was a Broyles award winner so we hired him. He was worse than P, and recruited clones that all were about 6-5, 250lbs for all positions. The fact that he threw players under the bus after the Navy and East Carolina games further made me loathe this guy.

I'm with you.

Especially when you see a bunch of folks that were PP recruits and despite their average or slightly above average performances on the field for the Huskies, they somehow got tryouts in NFL camps (Knappe, Levy, Puyol, etc.). Furthermore, he recruited a bunch of folks who clearly deserved to be in the NFL (Melifonwu, Myers, etc.).

What that tells me is that the talent and athleticism was there, and that Diaco taught them absolutely zero. And people like Newsome would probably not have signed with Diaco to come here. PP was what he was, but sadly he was a 10x better coach than Disastro...

 

[noeynox]

I'm with you.

Especially when you see a bunch of folks that were PP recruits and despite their average or slightly above average performances on the field for the Huskies, they somehow got tryouts in NFL camps (Knappe, Levy, Puyol, etc.). Furthermore, he recruited a bunch of folks who clearly deserved to be in the NFL (Melifonwu, Myers, etc.).

What that tells me is that the talent and athleticism was there, and that Diaco taught them absolutely zero. And people like Newsome would probably not have signed with Diaco to come here. PP was what he was, but sadly he was a 10x better coach than Disastro...

Randy Edsall said something so refreshing, I couldn't believe i heard it a couple of days ago. He was talking about every decision he makes being toward winning "this week's game". It isn't about next year or three years from now because that isn't fair to every upper classes who is there busting his hump. There was no talk about messes, coats of paint, building houses, or foundations. You get 12 chances to win, you do your best each and every time.

 

[CL82]

he was a 10x better coach than Disastro...

10 x zero is still zero.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I'm the opposite. P was bad, but he still knew how to run a program. After 3 years, Diaco still had no concept of clock management and wasn't smart enough to hire someone to handle this for him. Simply put, this guy had no business being a head coach, but he was handsome, spoke well, and was a Broyles award winner so we hired him. He was worse than P, and recruited clones that all were about 6-5, 250lbs for all positions. The fact that he threw players under the bus after the Navy and East Carolina games further made me loathe this guy.

Yep. With P there was a lot I could respect about the guy. He was an accomplished HC at Cuse and ran a clean program. The game and profession seemed to have passed him by but he never seemed disingenuous to me. He was who he was.

Diaco was a loser snake in every sense of the word. I have no respect at all for that loser.

 

[CTMike]

Yep. With P there was a lot I could respect about the guy. He was an accomplished HC at Cuse and ran a clean program. The game and profession seemed to have passed him by but he never seemed disingenuous to me. He was who he was.

Diaco was a loser snake in every sense of the word. I have no respect at all for that loser.

It sucks to admit this because I hated P for "destroying" us but it's exactly right. Diaco was way, way worse.

 

[CL82]

It sucks to admit this because I hated P for "destroying" us but it's exactly right. Diaco was way, way worse.

Who do you hate more the guy who burned down your house or the guy who peed in the ashes?

 

[Colt house75]

Yep. With P there was a lot I could respect about the guy. He was an accomplished HC at Cuse and ran a clean program. The game and profession seemed to have passed him by but he never seemed disingenuous to me. He was who he was.

Diaco was a loser snake in every sense of the word. I have no respect at all for that loser.

Agree.
What was worse, correct me if I am wrong, but the Snake received a contract boost after his 2nd year which in the end. . Cost us. Again, correct me.
If Warde was a football "guy", why didn't he smell it out and see it for what it was???
I can understand Warde being fooled in the interview process given Diaco's resume, but not after 2 years of unorthodox bull crap on and off the field.

 

[noeynox]

Agree.
What was worse, correct me if I am wrong, but the Snake received a contract boost after his 2nd year which in the end. . Cost us. Again, correct me.
If Warde was a football "guy", why didn't he smell it out and see it for what it was???
I can understand Warde being fooled in the interview process given Diaco's resume, but not after 2 years of unorthodox bull crap on and off the field.

Nothing about Warde was impressive. He stepped in you know what with the dual natties, and parlayed that to the Michigan job. To me he will always be known as the guy who monitored the landscape.

 

[Sprague03]

I'm with barstool when they state they have no idea what the following quote is supposed to mean...

...In some instances, discretion is the better part of valor, and what could be seen as trying to stop the opponent ends up working against you when you have a particular opponent and particular style of play....” -Bob Diaco

Barstool Sports

 

[Perfect Hair]

The entire board hated my guts because I saw through Diaco's happy horse sheet and didn't wear the pompoms. Some of the same guys ripping Diaco now were acting just like Husker fans are now. Some guys are just a little more quick on the take than others.

Cough, cough

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

Imagine if Diaco had retained his job and got Rhett Lashlee as OC? Might have actually been decent.