HC Candidates

[IMind]

Chip Kelly doesn't count..Bellotti hired him as OC...he worked at Oregon as an Asst before he became HC there. Being an Asst coach recruiting at New Hampshire and preparing each week for CAA competition is a LOT different than doing the same thing at Oregon and the PAC-12!

Is there some reason Jim Tressel wont count either? Seriously there are plenty of examples of FCS coaches that have worked just as there are tons of assistants from FBS schools that haven't worked out... (Greg Robinson for example)

 

[FDNY99]

Tressel is not coming to UConn because 1) he is too and 2) he threw Ohio State’s coach under the bus by lying to him. No college president is going to forget that, which is why he will have a hard time finding a coaching gig anywhere (he’s currently at Akron in a non-athletic position).

He also has a show clause from that OSU issue where he will be suspended for a certain amount of games if he ever coaches again.

 

[NickyNewark]

I would say OC/DC's like Bob Diaco of ND and Chad Morris of Clemson...and possibly Petrino. If a guy like Mark Richt gets fired at UGA he would be my first choice. Guy can recruit/coach...

Diaco would put NJ/NY on lockdown!!Great ND DC and recruiter!Grew up in N.NJ a town over from my hometown!I hear he's waiting for the right opportunity!?!

 

[Husky25]

Hey - I think Pete's done a nice job rebuilding the program @ UNH after it's hiatus and UNH has produced some quality coaches who went onto bigger things (Palmer, Whipple, Sparano, Rizzi) but I think this board would explode if WM went w/ a DII coach as "his choice" (quality coach or not).

So UConn should pay a retread who couldn't cut it at a name school $2,Mil/year+ or an NFL coach with no recruiting experience. That's all sizzle and no steak.

Rex Ryan will give you a quality quote ("Now let's go get a f*#king snack."), but wins is what puts butts on the bleachers. Mangini? Please. My thoughts on head coaches are similar to discipline. Everyone deserves a second chance (NYJ, CLE). I'd think long and hard at giving him a 3rd, especially the way I foresee this season going.

I think Rossomondo is an easier sell and a better option than 80% of the names fired up here over the last 6 pages.

 

[UCONNFANTX]

So UConn pay a retread who couldn't cut it at a name school $2,Mil/year+ or an NFL coach with no recruiting experience. That's all sizzle and no steak.

Rex Ryan will give you a quality quote ("Now let's go get a f*#king snack."), but wins is what puts butts on the bleachers. Mangini? Please. My thoughts on head coaches are similar to discipline. Everyone deserves a second chance (NYJ, CLE). I'd think long and hard at giving him a 3rd, especially the way I foresee this season going.

I think Rossomondo is an easier sell and a better option than 80% of the names fired up here over the last 6 pages.

In Mangini's defense - Rex Ryan went to 2 AFC Championships with his team. Maybe he needed another year.

 

[NickyNewark]

100% agree. Coordinators from the B1G or ACC will probably make up the most attractive candidate pool. I'm going to guess that the candidate will need to have northern/eastern ties but you never know, Chip Kelly was a east coast guy that thrived out west. I highly doubt anybody named JimBob, Dabo, or Jumbo would get consideration up here unless they hit a grand slam in the interview.

I would hope that Kirk Ferentz and possibly Eric Mangini would be interviewed. Off that the very top top of my head, I think these guys could work. Probably not the glamour names everyone would hope for, but solid football guys with ties to the area for recruiting. At the end of the day, I think I'd rather give the keys to an upstart OC at a Power 5 school or upstart offensive head coach at a mid-major. I'm also warming to the idea of Bobby Petrino after initially being opposed. This program needs juice again after flatlining for 3 years. On that premise alone, I'm also also not opposed to firing PP now, let TJ Weist show what he can do and if shows spark, offer him a 3 year deal.

Isn't this fun? It's week 1 and the Boneyard is buzzing with head coaching possibilities.

Ferentz would be solid and very possibly available soon but his eastern recruiter coach Wilson from Glassboro,NJ was hired a few monthes ago by RU and its already paying dividends for Rutgers!!He(Kirk Ferentz) was put on notice by his AD last year!...I'd be adverse to considering Eric "No Buzz" Mangini here at UConn...too bland when pizazz/fire is required this time!

 

[FDNY99]

Is there some reason Jim Tressel wont count either? Seriously there are plenty of examples of FCS coaches that have worked just as there are tons of assistants from FBS schools that haven't worked out... (Greg Robinson for example)

Yeah Tressel coached at OSU as an Asst before going to Youngstown..I posted that before in this thread. I agree with you about the FBS Asst's. Now is not the time to take a shot at a maybe...we are having this discussion because we need a new coach and there is a whole secton here about realignment...last I new we are on the outside looking in and we need the football program to open the door. Go after guys like Chad Morris, Brent Veneables, Pat Narduzzi. Bob Diaco, heck even Kirby Smart...MAC guys like former N. Ill Dave Doeren who is now at NC St who came from the B1G as a OC/DC...take a shot at a Petrino. Then give them money to pay $450-$350K for OC & DC, amd $250K each for rest of staff..allow them to not be handcuffed.

 

[Exit 4]

Chip Kelly doesn't count..Bellotti hired him as OC...he worked at Oregon as an Asst before he became HC there. Being an Asst coach recruiting at New Hampshire and preparing each week for CAA competition is a LOT different than doing the same thing at Oregon and the PAC-12!

I have nothing to base this on other than how UNH dominated under Kelly's tenure, but I think he would be at a similar elevated level today with or without time under Bellotti. My guess is that he came in with a lot to offer from his 14yrs at UNH.

 

[06029]

Diaco would put NJ/NY on lockdown!!Great ND DC and recruiter!Grew up in N.NJ a town over from my hometown!I hear he's waiting for the right opportunity!?!

Or else he is waiting to see if all his players have intimate relationships with real people.

Diacco interviewed for 3 jobs last year and got none of them, including at BC. Does he have what is needed to be a HC? He is about as un-exciting of a man as you can find. People would be happy about the hire until they hear stuff like this:


Let me know when his voice changes modulation or if you can make it past 5 minutes,

Uconn needs someone with a vision, a plan and who knows who will be his dynamic OC and who will be his pitbull DC. The next guy needs to sit down and lay it out to the AD and the fans and get them to buy in Day 1. The next guy needs to recruit like no tomorrow and would need to sign a bunch of 3 and 4 stars. He needs to embrace the media and social media. He needs to be 180 degrees from both Edsall and PP.

 

[ruskin]

If only I knew there would be a 7-page thread on who the next coach should be on Sept. freaking third.

 

[NickyNewark]

Or else he is waiting to see if all his players have intimate relationships with real people.

Diacco interviewed for 3 jobs last year and got none of them, including at BC. Does he have what is needed to be a HC? He is about as un-exciting of a man as you can find. People would be happy about the hire until they hear stuff like this:


Let me know when his voice changes modulation or if you can make it past 5 minutes,

Uconn needs someone with a vision, a plan and who knows who will be his dynamic OC and who will be his pitbull DC. The next guy needs to sit down and lay it out to the AD and the fans and get them to buy in Day 1. The next guy needs to recruit like no tomorrow and would need to sign a bunch of 3 and 4 stars. He needs to embrace the media and social media. He needs to be 180 degrees from both Edsall and PP.

He backed off from the BC job from what I heard?I think thats why Dazzy got the job?Maybe you know more than me but he's one heck of a NE recruiter and with good O-Cord hires who knows?I remember the BC fans were pissed when they 1st got Daz from reading their board!I knew Daz could recruit but he's a loose cannon and the clocks just starting to tick!I don't think he(Diaco) thought the BC job was good enough?@Sorry,I don't have a half hour to listen to the tape now but I've met him through a mutual friend!IIn person he can be a little shy in large groups but not where it would affect his performance. No shy need apply?

 

[Dooley]

That Diaco press conference was tough to listen to. Sounded like this:

 

[Excalibur]

Cherry picking? I was on a plane from Phoenix and the Fiesta Bowl that had just landed at JFK when I found out Edsall had left. I knew if we wanted to continue on that level of success we needed to hire someone who needed to compete at that level. KC Keeler, Pasqualoni, and Whipple were NOT those guys! I am on record here in many places as wanting Tom Bradley or Garrick McGee as our next coach. That isn't cherry picking. FCS coaches are a crap shoot...for every guy like Tressel (I really don't even put him in the FCS model because he was an Asst at OSU for years before taking the job at Youngstown State). Yes the same can be said about OC/DC's from P5 conference teams...but the difference is a OC/DC from a P5 team who gets a h job at a school like UCONN knows what it takes to win at that high level. Enough damage has been done by P and company these past 3 seasons...we don't have the luxury to bet on the wild card..we need to make the safe bet here. It's time for UCONN to put up or shut up...are we going all in like Cincinnati did...or do we need to take an honest assesment of where we are going with this program when we replace P after this season. I have had season tickets for 10 seasons (not including the 6 years I had season tkts when we were 1AA) been to every bowl game and at least 1 away game every season, if we are going to play football at the BCS level then let's do it the right way, not just look for a participation trophy and pat on the back (ie: a P5 conference invite) because we showed up! Rentschler Field and Burton/Schenkman facility weren't done halfa_s_s_ed why should hiring a head coach and his staff be like that.

Excluding an entire category of coaches based on one example is cherry picking. The rest of your post is a giant straw man. Essentially you said that we shouldn't consider any FCS head coaches because we hired a guy that wasn't a FCS coach and he failed miserably.

 

[freescooter]

I don't know who I want but I do think that the following general "rules" apply:
1. Stay away from NFL coaches. there are exceptions, I'm sure, but as a rule I don't think they translate well to the college game.
2. Stay away from old guys. Again there might be an exception, but I don't generally want a guy who is older than most players grandfathers.
3. Ideally look for someone with head coaching experience. that means you are looking at MAC and Sunbelt guys mostly, but FCS coaches who have had 1A experience as assistants wouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
4. Experience in the east is probably worthwhile. We are never going to recruit heavily in California or Texas, so knowledge of recruiting in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania Ohio, Virginia and the Carolinas is critical.
5. get somebody with a pulse. We need a head coach who is going to generate excitement when he shows up at the Middlesex Chamber, or gets interviewed on tv. someone who people believe in. We are in rebuilding mode now. He needs to generate excitement.
6. Whoever the new coach is, he needs to bring in a new staff. maybe you keep 1-2 guys for continuity, but that's it. the idea that Pasqualoni arrived and didn't really replace anyone is unfathomable to me.
7. If they guy mentions he has read any book, watched any video or spoken at length about offensive football with George DeLeone, hand him his hat, show him the door and immediately lock it behind him.

 

[FDNY99]

Excluding an entire category of coaches based on one example is cherry picking. The rest of your post is a giant straw man. Essentially you said that we shouldn't consider any FCS head coaches because we hired a guy that wasn't a FCS coach and he failed miserably.

Cherry picking by excluding..guilty as charged if you mean I want to see someone hired who has been OC/DC in a top level P5 conference. Last time I knew Pasqualoni was a FBS level coach not FCS level. The last 4 head coaches at UCONN came from FBS level programs (Jackson PSU, Holtz ND, Edsall G Tech, P Syracuse). I was too young to remember who Jackson beat out, but Hotlz beat out firmer BC and NC St head coach Tom O'Brien who was OC at UVA at the time, Edsall beat out Brad Childress firmer Vikings head coach who was OC at Wisconsin at the time.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Forget any old guys as freescooter says, unless it is Bill Belichick or Tom Coughlin. Forget Mangini...he doesn't have it. Josh McDaniel would be a much better bet, and may be willing to jump to a college HC job (as O'Brien did). He has HC experience, however brief, with Denver, and is plenty young. He's well known in the NorthEast. As for all the coordinators, anybody young, talented and coming from a big program should be on the radar. I would avoid guys from small programs...if we are rolling the dice (and we will be) we should create more buzz with connection to a big program at the same time. Based on game one TJ Weist had a horrible game plan.

 

[Pudge]

The other coordinator of the Patriots - DC Matt Patricia

He's from Central NY and went to RPI. Has only been in the Northeast and is 38. IF he combines with a hot OC at UConn, that would be interesting.

 

[UCONNFANTX]

The other coordinator of the Patriots - DC Matt Patricia

He's from Central NY and went to RPI. Has only been in the Northeast and is 38. IF he combines with a hot OC at UConn, that would be interesting.

No

 

[UconnFamily]

Mike Bajakian former OC of the Cincinnati Bearcats, now OC at Tennessee. If he gets the job im sure he'll keep TJ Weist around since they both worked together at Cincinnati. He's also from CT

 

[Marty Jackson]

Dave Campo..

 

[whaler11]

Dave Campo..

These are jokes right? I mean people are intentionally posting stuff like this to get a reaction right?

Our fanbase can't be so clueless as to just throw out any name they have ever heard before right?

 

[whaler11]

I'll get in front of a couple more names:

Butch: Walter Camp, Pop Warner
Spackler: Carm Cozza

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Get someone who thinks offense 23.5 hours per day. Until UConn football can be as exciting as Saturday's Clemson v Georgia game, the program goes nowhere. Until people are talking about this QB, that WR or some Terry Cauley-esque running back the program goes nowhere. Offense drives the bus in the modern day, compete for the entertainment dollar from fans, wide open college (and pro) game.

 

[huskymedic]

Mike Bajakian former OC of the Cincinnati Bearcats, now OC at Tennessee. If he gets the job im sure he'll keep TJ Weist around since they both worked together at Cincinnati. He's also from CT

He's from Nj??

 

[Marty Jackson]

These are jokes right? I mean people are intentionally posting stuff like this to get a reaction right?

Our fanbase can't be so clueless as to just throw out any name they have ever heard before right?

Geno Auriema