Edsall/Hurley Contracts Extended two years...

[deltastew]

Yes Randy makes more than the MAC coaches, but relative to the top 60 programs (and we want to be a top 60 program), he's at the bottom, especially when you consider the cost of the buyouts for most of the others.

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I wrote a post rehashing the situation for the 3940 time and then I deleted it. Quite simply its Randy ball in 2021 and as a fan of the program I sure hope it works. I'd like to get back to winning.

I agree Exit.. We need to let this go until 2022 .. I for one am happy Edsall is here for year 4. Consistency with the team and consistency with the coaching staff has a lot to do with wins on the field. Its like the oline meshing .. takes awhile for the group to be able to read each other and get comfortable. same with the coaching staff.. listen I definitely can see blaming Edsall for some play calling and some decisions but to blame and want to fire him when he didn’t have his recruits for the past 3 years? Players make plays and frankly we didn’t have the talent to do that .. if we don’t see improvement after this year then so be it.. I will agree we need to look for a new staff.

 

[Exit 4]

Benedict could fire Randy this spring and replace him, even with someone like Bill Clark at UAB. Clark may be cheaper than Randy. Clark has experience in turning around a struggling program. He was Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year. Or find someone else.

Btw, Bill Clark gets paid more than Randy. Bill Clark is thinking about how he can get the next SEC HC job, not a lateral move north - even if we upped the financial ante big time.

UAB coach Bill Clark gets big raise, becomes C-USA’s highest-paid coach

The school today announced "an agreement in principle has been reached" with Clark, making him the highest-paid coach in Conference USA.

www.al.com

 

[Bongo Fury]

I'm not sure you appreciate how coaches view these jobs. The so called "good ones" are good for a reason, they know which jobs are a ladder to better place and which are a chute to the dumpster. The good ones know which jobs set them up for success and which will likely have them dumped hard in four years. Right now you can't just sit here and think that every good coach making less somewhere else will just come running here for more coin, even a lot more coin. Its very much about "fit" and what will fit at UConn is someone that knows how to run a football program at a university that cuts zero corners for academics, recruiting shenanigans and on campus student life. A coach that knows how to take athletic undersized kids and coach them up big time because no matter what you do - UConn will never get four star kids. And a coach that has some clue about football culture in the northeast (whatever that is, its not the same as the south).

A lot of coaches are not interested in the unique challenges of UConn football. They fear the set up.

Now that is a realistic view. No judgment on how good Narduzzi is but he wouldn’t come here for a large amount of money.

 

[huskysupporter]

I'm not sure you appreciate how coaches view these jobs. The so called "good ones" are good for a reason, they know which jobs are a ladder to better place and which are a chute to the dumpster. The good ones know which jobs set them up for success and which will likely have them dumped hard in four years. Right now you can't just sit here and think that every good coach making less somewhere else will just come running here for more coin, even a lot more coin. Its very much about "fit" and what will fit at UConn is someone that knows how to run a football program at a university that cuts zero corners for academics, recruiting shenanigans and on campus student life. A coach that knows how to take athletic undersized kids and coach them up big time because no matter what you do - UConn will never get four star kids. And a coach that has some clue about football culture in the northeast (whatever that is, its not the same as the south).

A lot of coaches are not interested in the unique challenges of UConn football. They fear the set up.

Perfectly summed up. This is not an appealing job to many coaches including lower levels unless they are simply looking for an increase in pay:

• no conference
• low assistant coach pay
• not a recruiting hotbed area
• higher academic standards than many programs

those are 4 huge issues I would think for any coach. But I am 100% certain there are coaches who can win here - and by win I don’t mean 10-2, 9-3 seasons. I mean above .500 with a very nice above .500 season sprinkled in. The key is the administration finding that coach - and I have absolutely 0 confidence in this administration as it pertains to football.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Perfectly summed up. This is not an appealing job to many coaches including lower levels unless they are simply looking for an increase in pay:

• no conference
• low assistant coach pay
• not a recruiting hotbed area
• higher academic standards than many programs

those are 4 huge issues I would think for any coach. But I am 100% certain there are coaches who can win here - and by win I don’t mean 10-2, 9-3 seasons. I mean above .500 with a very nice above .500 season sprinkled in. The key is the administration finding that coach - and I have absolutely 0 confidence in this administration as it pertains to football.

look what it did for Diaco ?

 

[SubbaBub]

This is college athletics 101. You don't have a coach without at least 3-4 years on his contract. You extend or you dismiss them. The only exception is when there is no question your coach is staying and you are sure to get around to an extension at some point. Even then you don't go below 2 years.

In the past coaches had auto renewals so that they would always have 4-5 years left. Calhoun had this for years but that was back before good coaches didn't leave successful programs very often and coaches salaries shot up to become $20M+ commitments. Now buyouts are the mechanism to mitigate risk for both sides.

UConn BB can still be a 30 year job, but most aren't. Jay Wright's successor won't be. We'll see if Hurley is successful enough and content enough to stay a job that long. UConn FB is just lucky someone wants the job at the moment. You won't convince me that there is a coach out there that would care enough about it to last more than one or two moderately successful seasons before moving on. To get there, Edsall needs to rebuild it's viability. Otherwise we are looking at another string of PP/BD disasters. If Edsall fails, we are still at square one looking at another string of PP/BD disasters. Might as well take the stairs and see if we can recapture the late 2000's.

 

[SubbaBub]

Perfectly summed up. This is not an appealing job to many coaches including lower levels unless they are simply looking for an increase in pay:

• no conference
• low assistant coach pay
• not a recruiting hotbed area
• higher academic standards than many programs

those are 4 huge issues I would think for any coach. But I am 100% certain there are coaches who can win here - and by win I don’t mean 10-2, 9-3 seasons. I mean above .500 with a very nice above .500 season sprinkled in. The key is the administration finding that coach - and I have absolutely 0 confidence in this administration as it pertains to football.

The appeal will always be stability, our expectations are low and the facilities which are still quite good, though that will not be the case unless more money is pumped in. The Rent is pushing 20 years old as are the on-campus facilities. You can only renovate to maintain for so long. (See XL Center).

The downsides you mentioned are well known and other than the academic standards are unlikely to change ever.
Best case is the other NE programs perennially fall to the bottom of the ACC/B1G and we win enough and play an attractive enough schedule and put enough guys in the NFL to become the preferred NE program (not named Penn State).

 

[freescooter]

Benedict knew what an absolute and utter mess Diaco made of the program. And I’ve always suspected that he and Edsall had an understafing that this is 5 years to just clean up the mess.

 

[SubbaBub]

Benedict knew what an absolute and utter mess Diaco made of the program. And I’ve always suspected that he and Edsall had an understafing that this is 5 years to just clean up the mess.

This year is so important. there will be a huge difference between 6-6, or3-9 with 5-6 heartbreaking losses and 3-9 getting blown out most games. We need to look like a FB program for 60 minutes, every game, regardless of opponent, that includes Clemson even if we lose that one by 50.

 

[Waquoit]

No downside financially but waht is the upside of Randy Edsall being the coach? Hasn't shown anything since he returned (why he was brought back is beyond me).

The general consensus is that he's improved recruiting. He deserves the chance to see if it's translated to the field.

 

[Waquoit]

Find a young hungry coach willing to bet on himself.

We did. You want us to find another but better?

 

[huskysupporter]

We did. You want us to find another but better?

Yep. One who has a vision and can explain how he is going to manage the program and make UCONN competitive despite all the obstacles. Winning breakfast isn’t the answer that is needed.

 

[freescooter]

Honestly sometimes it’s just luck, too. James Franklin wasn’t even vanderbuilt’s first choice when he got the job and he mAde them competitive. And they have far worse problems than UConn. At Penn State he has been good but not great. The guy from Houston was considered “can’t miss” at Texas where he missed at least according to expectations. Go 7-5 at UConn every year and you’re good. At Texas it is a fail!

 

[John Greene]

Btw, Bill Clark gets paid more than Randy. Bill Clark is thinking about how he can get the next SEC HC job, not a lateral move north - even if we upped the financial ante big time.

UAB coach Bill Clark gets big raise, becomes C-USA’s highest-paid coach

The school today announced "an agreement in principle has been reached" with Clark, making him the highest-paid coach in Conference USA.

www.al.com

98.5% of the UConn fan base would have a difficult time understanding more than 5 words coming out of Clark's mouth. Not only that but he would also be more then a little inclined to try to bring you know who into the huddle. Hell he would probably try to name him honorary captain.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

This spring may be a good time to fire Edsall. First, look to other sports. Perhaps, UConn will not only make the NCAA tournament in Men's basketball and make it through to the sweet 16, men's hockey has done well, and women's basketball remains at the top. I remain impressed where baseball is heading this spring.

Edsall leaving will send a message that UConn sports are back and we are confident about our winning future. The optics also will send a message to the ACC or other P5 conferences we take athletics seriously here.

Even if we remain as a FB independent, there remains a risk that calls to send UConn to the FCS will be successful. I even saw a post here that UConn should play Sacred Heart in football. What if UConn loses to Yale? Maybe Central CT will be a struggle? Some will argue FCS is the right home for the Huskies, playing other New England teams as in the Yankee Conference.

Also, typical arguments against firing a college coach tend to apply to mediocre programs with mediocre records where there is a large payout to the coach. UConn FB is in the dumpster. It is also in the rare situation that it was seen as marginally better because it skipped playing an entire season and did not have another horrible win-loss record for all to view.

Edsall has never been a great recruiter. His strength decades ago was taking very good FB players and turning them into great FB players. We haven't seen that in his second reign. And I am skeptical it will happen this fall.

If UConn does not act soon, be ready for Sacred Heart as the annual homecoming game and posters on the Boneyard getting all excited about playing Univ. of Rhode Island.

 

[cullaville]

The general consensus is that he's improved recruiting. He deserves the chance to see if it's translated to the field.

The way I interpret this extension is that there is nobody else at this time that would take the UCONN job and that he can be fired at any time. If I was a recruit this gives me no confidence that he will be around long.

As a program I am disappointed because it seems to me there is a coach who they know is going to be let go sooner rather than later.

 

[hardcorehusky]

This spring may be a good time to fire Edsall. First, look to other sports. Perhaps, UConn will not only make the NCAA tournament in Men's basketball and make it through to the sweet 16, men's hockey has done well, and women's basketball remains at the top. I remain impressed where baseball is heading this spring.

Edsall leaving will send a message that UConn sports are back and we are confident about our winning future. The optics also will send a message to the ACC or other P5 conferences we take athletics seriously here.

Even if we remain as a FB independent, there remains a risk that calls to send UConn to the FCS will be successful. I even saw a post here that UConn should play Sacred Heart in football. What if UConn loses to Yale? Maybe Central CT will be a struggle? Some will argue FCS is the right home for the Huskies, playing other New England teams as in the Yankee Conference.

Also, typical arguments against firing a college coach tend to apply to mediocre programs with mediocre records where there is a large payout to the coach. UConn FB is in the dumpster. It is also in the rare situation that it was seen as marginally better because it skipped playing an entire season and did not have another horrible win-loss record for all to view.

Edsall has never been a great recruiter. His strength decades ago was taking very good FB players and turning them into great FB players. We haven't seen that in his second reign. And I am skeptical it will happen this fall.

If UConn does not act soon, be ready for Sacred Heart as the annual homecoming game and posters on the Boneyard getting all excited about playing Univ. of Rhode Island.

No matter how much logic we send your way, you keep coming up with this drivel. This isn't even about having a conversation, your lack of desire to learn something from anyone else's posts makes it impossible to give any credence to your posts. You, Huskysupporter and a few others just want RE out. The rest of us just want to win but understand this is college sports and not the pros and you just can't throw money at it and acquire players.

 

[huskymedic]

This spring may be a good time to fire Edsall.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

This spring may be a good time to fire Edsall. First, look to other sports. Perhaps, UConn will not only make the NCAA tournament in Men's basketball and make it through to the sweet 16, men's hockey has done well, and women's basketball remains at the top. I remain impressed where baseball is heading this spring.

Edsall leaving will send a message that UConn sports are back and we are confident about our winning future. The optics also will send a message to the ACC or other P5 conferences we take athletics seriously here.

Even if we remain as a FB independent, there remains a risk that calls to send UConn to the FCS will be successful. I even saw a post here that UConn should play Sacred Heart in football. What if UConn loses to Yale? Maybe Central CT will be a struggle? Some will argue FCS is the right home for the Huskies, playing other New England teams as in the Yankee Conference.

Also, typical arguments against firing a college coach tend to apply to mediocre programs with mediocre records where there is a large payout to the coach. UConn FB is in the dumpster. It is also in the rare situation that it was seen as marginally better because it skipped playing an entire season and did not have another horrible win-loss record for all to view.

Edsall has never been a great recruiter. His strength decades ago was taking very good FB players and turning them into great FB players. We haven't seen that in his second reign. And I am skeptical it will happen this fall.

If UConn does not act soon, be ready for Sacred Heart as the annual homecoming game and posters on the Boneyard getting all excited about playing Univ. of Rhode Island.

Are you a fan of UConn football?

 

[huskysupporter]

No matter how much logic we send your way, you keep coming up with this drivel. This isn't even about having a conversation, your lack of desire to learn something from anyone else's posts makes it impossible to give any credence to your posts. You, Huskysupporter and a few others just want RE out. The rest of us just want to win but understand this is college sports and not the pros and you just can't throw money at it and acquire players.

How did I get associated with that post? He should have been fired two years ago but the notion of firing him in the spring is absolutely bizzarre.

 

[deltastew]

This spring may be a good time to fire Edsall. First, look to other sports. Perhaps, UConn will not only make the NCAA tournament in Men's basketball and make it through to the sweet 16, men's hockey has done well, and women's basketball remains at the top. I remain impressed where baseball is heading this spring.

Edsall leaving will send a message that UConn sports are back and we are confident about our winning future. The optics also will send a message to the ACC or other P5 conferences we take athletics seriously here.

Even if we remain as a FB independent, there remains a risk that calls to send UConn to the FCS will be successful. I even saw a post here that UConn should play Sacred Heart in football. What if UConn loses to Yale? Maybe Central CT will be a struggle? Some will argue FCS is the right home for the Huskies, playing other New England teams as in the Yankee Conference.

Also, typical arguments against firing a college coach tend to apply to mediocre programs with mediocre records where there is a large payout to the coach. UConn FB is in the dumpster. It is also in the rare situation that it was seen as marginally better because it skipped playing an entire season and did not have another horrible win-loss record for all to view.

Edsall has never been a great recruiter. His strength decades ago was taking very good FB players and turning them into great FB players. We haven't seen that in his second reign. And I am skeptical it will happen this fall.

If UConn does not act soon, be ready for Sacred Heart as the annual homecoming game and posters on the Boneyard getting all excited about playing Univ. of Rhode Island.

That would be the worst thing we could do.. yes let’s fire Edsall and get in a new coach and start over AGAIN. All new coaches would be a program builder!! Lol. The boys attitude is that they have bought in 100 percent. Give it through 2021 and then you can reevaluate .

 

[DoctorWho85]

This was done for optics for recruits. Nothing else. Edsall has a pretty good recruiting class coming in and let's be honest, if the defense is middle of the road this year, we win no less than 4 games.

 

[J187Money]

And let's be honest, politics aside, we didn't play football this year - I'm not sure what coach is going to want to walk into that situation. Regardless of whether you think Randy should stay or go, he should get this year and see where we are. And as everyone has pointed out, no downside financially. At this point, I just want games to go to.

I went to Indy and GB to see the Packers play this year, but that's it for live football. I hate to say that I care less about the winning at this point. Just want to get back to normalcy.

 

[freescooter]

Here is my read. 1. Pasqoloni recruited some talent but couldn’t coach them
2. Diaco couldn’t coach and couldn’t evaluate talent so we went through 6 years of decline leaving a program that was a complete mess and quite honestly needed a complete rebuild.
3. AD Dave brought Edsall back with 5he complete understanding that this could be done in 2 ways. You might get a guy who goes 7-5 in year 1 but likely would couldn’t sustain it. There are lots of those guys around. They look like world beaters in year 1 but can’t sustain it. By year 3-4 you are right back where you started. Or you do a total rebuild similar to what Edsall did in his first stint. That is what they agreed to do. Look, Edsall is in his sixties. He isn’t going anywhere. Truthfully he doesn’t need this. He is doing it because he wants to rebuild the program. I think the move from the AAC is actually going to help because those teams were very good. I am sort of of the opinion that there is some Master Plan to get into another league at some point but we need a product first. Am I sure Edsall can do it? Nope. But I think when he leaves, either on his own or by being fired, the next guy will have a good bit more to work with than he did.

 

[Storrs South]

This is brielfy discussed again today by AD Benedict

David Benedict on The Rob Dibble Show | 97-9 ESPN | The Rob Dibble Show