I'm not the guy who sends demanding emails to the AD

[FfldCntyFan]

i know a man who lives in this great state. he is a great guy, a family man and a serious business man. he owns lets just say multiple dunkin donuts in this state and has some power. this is just a prime example of the war about to come your way warde. if u think dunkin donuts is at all a bit important to your school and ad, then god help you on monday.

Dan, info such as this may be more effective if you kept it to yourself.

 

[Skiblets]

Warde's email warde.manuel@uconn.edu Fire away fellas

 

[Dann]

Dan, info such as this may be more effective if you kept it to yourself.

this type of info is only the tip, i have much better stuff

Hah Billy Ghio is a good man

he is not the man

 

[PWS]

Let's face it, this is a litmus test for "the Michigan Man." He is not responsible for hiring the George Blaney of College Football, so there is no loyalty. He needs to clear these fools out quickly to show that we are serious. The alternative is to downgrade football and make nice with the Catholics and try to create a decent basketball conference with the best of the A10. In the last week I am getting more comfortable with that idea, because UMass is more serious about football than we are, because I have no faith that we are going to go out and get a real coach and create a real BCS Program. The clowns would be fine in the Yankee Conference. They would beat Delaware once every 5 years. Let's stop throwing good money after bad.

 

[dante]

The excuse is that PP and DeLeone doesn't have their kids in yet, but thats bull ****! theres so many coaches that are successful their first and second years without having their "own players". If we want to be big time we have to act big time and that starts with firing theses coaches, besides hank and brown of course.

Exactly D. Brown didnt need to bring his kids to show that he has a clue in how to coach.

And I agree with Fishy, well said.

 

[Fishy]

Now, I'm conflicted.

I want P to be fired. But I would also like to see Dunkin Donuts forced to take out a restraining order against Dan.

This could go in any one of several entertaining directions - I can almost see Warde waking up to find a dozen dismembered glazed donuts in bed with him.

 

[uconNYC]

My concern is that WM wants to delay hiring a new football coach until he knows where we will be playing football.

I think the fan base is more than willing to accept an up and coming coach from the MAC. For such a hire conference affiliation probably does not matter too much.

 

[superjohn]

Dan, taking away Warde's donuts is a bold move, he might go all incredible hulk on you.

 

[Dann]

Now, I'm conflicted.

I want P to be fired. But I would also like to see Dunkin Donuts forced to take out a restraining order against Dan.

This could go in any one of several entertaining directions - I can almost see Warde waking up to find a dozen dismembered glazed donuts in bed with him.

Dan, taking away Warde's donuts is a bold move, he might go all incredible hulk on you.

taking away donuts will be the least of wardes issues. i'm taking away sponsor $$ and have a great idea on how to force that...

 

[FfldCntyFan]

taking away donuts will be the least of wardes issues. i'm taking away sponsor $$ and have a great idea on how to force that...

Dan,

I have a feeling that with the correct representation you could land a distillery deal on a smaller scale to say Michael Jordan's Nike (now Jordan brand) sneaker deal. The key there would be to forward proceeds (if WM agrees to your terms) to UConn's athletic department.

I imagine that owning exclusive rights to provide you with libations would be very lucrative for the distillery and it could be profitable for you if your representation could start a bidding war between say Jim Beam, Austin Nichols (Wild Turkey), Evan Williams & Jack Daniels.

 

[Dann]

Dan,

I have a feeling that with the correct representation you could land a distillery deal on a smaller scale to say Michael Jordan's Nike (now Jordan brand) sneaker deal. The key there would be to forward proceeds (if WM agrees to your terms) to UConn's athletic department.

i am a bit lost as i have had one to few 2night, but where do i sign?

 

[jbdphi]

Anyone willing to share their letters?

This was my poor attempt. It was impossible to keep it short and simple so I ended up going pretty Spackler...


Dear Mr. Manuel,

I am not a UConn alumnus but I was raised in Connecticut and have been an ardent UConn fan since I started following college sports and became a passionate follower of the UConn football team when they made the upgrade to Division 1 football. Over these past 10 years, I have lived the ups and downs of UConn football and I thought you should know that in all that time, I have never been more pessimistic about the state of this program as I am today.

This is not about our most recent loss to Cincinnati or even the soap opera that is conference realignment. My analysis on the performance of this team was based on a complete season and looking back now, it is clear to me that the offensive coaching staff and Head Coach Pasqualoni are not up to the task of moving this program in a better direction and need to be replaced.

I’m sure you are as familiar with the dismal offensive statistics as I am. Prior to the Cincinnati game, we ranked in the bottom five of all FBS teams in Scoring Offense and the bottom 10 of all FBS teams in Total Offense. Those two statistics alone should be reason enough to merit a change in the offensive coaching staff but if you want to look beyond the quantitative and examine the qualitative, the “eye” test leads to a similar conclusion. This group did not lack for talent, particularly at the skill positions – we had returning 2nd team All-Big East performers at Tight End and Running Back along with returning our leading receiver from 2010 in Michael Smith. Chandler Whitmer was broadly considered a significant upgrade from our starting QB last year. Even the offensive line, which was considered our weakest link, had senior leadership with Masters and Bennett and returned both Kevin Friend and Steve Greene as starters from last year.

Despite having this talent available, we never executed on the game plan that the offensive coaching staff was looking for and seemed to take a significant step backwards from last year’s performance (when we had a walk-on starting QB). While I understand that coaches don’t throw or catch the ball (or do anything else on the field), if they cannot come up with an offensive scheme that matches the abilities of the players that they have, then a new direction is needed. In addition, like many fans, I was frustrated that, even though we were never able to master our “base” offense, we constantly attempted to introduce a wildcat offense that failed to move the ball and often took away from our offensive rhythm / caused the unnecessary wasting of Time Outs. Perhaps our offense should have spent its limited practice time to get better at our “base” offense as opposed to being sub-par in multiple systems?

With respect to Head Coach Pasqualoni, I appreciate that popular theory is that a Head Coach needs several years to bring in “his” players before you can truly judge him. That being said, Head Coach Pasqualoni has made many decisions over the past two years which are completely unrelated to the players on the field which make me doubt his abilities as a head coach. Specifically clock management and the use (or non-use) of Time Outs at the end of 1st halves and games in general has been abysmal. In addition, in similar situations (end of half or game), we have often run plays that involved multiple exchanges of the ball when a kneel-down would have sufficed with much less risk involved whether it be a potential turnover or a potential player injury. These poor decisions are unrelated to the players on the field and are indicative of poor head coaching ability.

Beyond those on the field decisions however was a quote from Head Coach Pasqualoni during his interview with the ABC sideline reporter after the first half of the Cincinnati game. In that interview, he was asked what the team needed to do in the 2nd half to win the game (a standard question) and his response was to play for a close game in the fourth quarter. I understand these interviews are not supposed to be particularly informative – they are a requirement of getting your game televised. That being said, Head Coach Pasqualoni’s statement seemed to be an admission which implied that he was coaching the game to just keep it close. I don’t understand how a coach can approach a game thinking that they are coaching for the fourth quarter. Doesn’t it imply that you expect to be unsuccessful at performing substantially better than the opponent in the first three quarters? Extrapolate further and it is really an indictment of his expectation of player / coach performance in the game; he doesn’t seek to win the game on each possession but rather try to keep it close until the fourth quarter so we can steal a win? As a fan, I hope you can appreciate that this philosophy is extremely frustrating and provides some explanation for our poor performance in various games earlier in the year and last year as well (both wins and losses).

These coaches have created a style of football for UConn which, from a fan’s perspective, does not generate excitement or optimism. Our schedule was relatively weak this year given the replacement of West Virginia by Temple in the Big East. This team had a great defense that performed very well statistically (Top 20 Scoring Defense and Top 10 Total Defense prior to Cincinnati game) and, in most games, was the only reason UConn was remotely competitive. If a team cannot even win half of its games with such superior performance on the defensive side of the ball, it is a clear commentary on the performance of both the offensive staff as well as the Head Coach.

This team, despite having the same unsatisfactory record of 5-7 as they did in 2011, has regressed offensively from last year. Coach DeLeone took personal responsibility for the Offensive Line this year and that unit performed far worse than they had in previous years under Coach Foley. That change in coaching responsibility was either made or approved by Head Coach Pasqualoni and is another apparent error in judgment. Two teams that beat us this year (Western Michigan and North Carolina State) have already terminated their head coaches’ contracts for sub-par performance. I hope you can appreciate that, while two years is not the ideal time frame to judge a coaching staff, in this case many fans, including myself, feel that it is more than sufficient. If no action is taken and the existing coaching staff is retained, I fear for the development of this program, both on the field and in the stands and in the hearts and minds of UConn alumni and local supporters such as myself.

Thank you in advance for listening to the perspective of the fans. I know I am not alone in my opinions and that others have also contacted you – some more coherently than others. We all have the same goal which is to support the UConn athletic programs and see them succeed at the highest level of competition. In order to achieve that, it seems apparent to me that changes need to be made as soon as possible.

Regards,

 

[Adios]

The football program is already collapsing. I heard many random fans through out the game voice their disgust with the coaches but one brought up a valid point... We are a mid major now... Are we going to be able to throw the same type of $$ that Rutgers throws for the next big name? Do we keep paying for a good coach with lack of state interest? The football program is starting to become a financial burden. The fan base is turned off...Louisville and Rutgers both made football and bball their priority and it's paying off. I keep hearing about grades and academics from Herbst and manual ... As if they don't know the grass foots of how it all came to be. Will they throw the right $$ for a rising coach? If they do they need a game plan in place to have a list of next in line coaches that fit our program. We should follow cinci's system.... When the lose Butch Davis im confident they'll move forward without missing a beat. It has to be a living list ... Hell hire someone just to maintain it... Also schedule a real fb season... The SEC and big may play **** OOC but they play
Egit big names in conference... Start a year with rhode island and buffalo .. With the biggest OOC being a vandy or Maryland along with the new big least well no one will give a ****.

Shut up. PLEASE. Get therapy, do something.

 

[Hoophound]

Excellent letter jbdphi!!!!

 

[Brochacho]

This should be easy for Warde, hand the reigns over to Don Brown. All of the continuity concerns that Warde supposedly has are not an issue if he promotes someone on the current staff.

Don currently has a significant amount of equity with the players and most fans, his promotion to HC will reinvigorate the whole program.

But he will only get a one year deal.

 

[Tucker]

Is there any way Fishy can craft the letter and open it to all Boneyarders willing to sign? Not being lazy just trying to get the loudest voice possible

 

[bigAbruns]

Is there any way Fishy can craft the letter and open it to all Boneyarders willing to sign? Not being lazy just trying to get the loudest voice possible

This is a good idea

 

[Tucker]

Well looks like there would be at least 4 signatures. I'm willing to bet we could get the majority of the board to sign on. Not sure how many members there are but I'm sure many signees won't write one on their own for whatever the reason.

 

[geordi]

OK. You convinced me. Done! My email to Warde was just sent.

(By the way, Fishy. How did you manage to grow another 3 inches in just a couple of months?)

 

[coachRD]

The excuse is that PP and DeLeone doesn't have their kids in yet, but thats bull ****! theres so many coaches that are successful their first and second years without having their "own players". If we want to be big time we have to act big time and that starts with firing theses coaches, besides hank and brown of course.

Agreed, the "give them time to get their kids" thing is complete BS. That excuse carries some weight if a coaching staff takes over a team like UCONN (or to go higher up the foodchain) or Wisconsin, that has been built around big, strong OLinemen, posession-type receivers, and athletic, "lunch pail" mentality defenders, and they are then going to install the up-tempo, spread philosophy.

DeLeone has decimated everything he has touched at UCONN. In Year One-our run production and passing immediately dropped off-at first attributable to some admittedly big personnel losses. Enter Year Two-he takes over the O-Line and they instantly become much worse than the previous year, and our offensive production sinks to lows not seen in over 5 years. Our Special Teams went from being some of the best in the country to pedestrian in terms of both kick returns and kick coverage.

The way he has brushed off his incompetence with only thinly-veiled swipes at the "lack of talent" to work with is disgusting and highly disrespectful of the kids who bust their butts on this team.

 

[BugsyCT]

Just sent one to Warde. It's a longshot that anything changes, but as many people as possible sending disgruntled letters couldn't hurt, and would be a reminder to the athletics office that the fans are, uh, "concerned about the direction of the program."

Fire PP/GDL.

 

[Skiblets]

Mine will be sent within the hour. Just trying to make it fact-based and not an emotional rant

 

[buckley503]

I sent a respectful email expressing my disappointment in recent decisions.
No rant just requesting that if the strategic objective of UConn is to focus on continued academic excellence with athletics obtaining a "mid major" success-level in revenue sports, then it would be their courtesy to let the fanbase know so that we may adjust/temper expectations.

 

[junglehusky]

Shut up. PLEASE. Get therapy, do something.

Usually this is an appropriate reaction to fortebleedsblue (like after we eke out a win during a 7-8 win season). However this is not one of those times. forte is more right than wrong. Cinci now has a track record of maintained success through 3 coaches in the NBE and there is NO REASON UConn couldn't achieve a similar track record.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Usually this is an appropriate reaction to fortebleedsblue (like after we eke out a win during a 7-8 win season). However this is not one of those times. forte is more right than wrong. Cinci now has a track record of maintained success through 3 coaches in the NBE and there is NO REASON UConn couldn't achieve a similar track record.

Yes Cincy does have a track record. They also have done a few things to get there that many bone yard posters would view as beneath us; move home games nine hours drive time away; schedule home and homes with MAC & Sun Belt schools, schedule home and homes with BCS schools where the return home game is played at a reasonably local NFL stadium where the visiting fans match the home fans in numbers.

They came into the BE (one year after we did, with reasonable recent success in CUSA after decades of little to moderate success in many conferences) knowing they had to build and that they had to embrace the image of a program that needed to grow and needed to do the little things stated above (basically admitting that they were not yet Ohio St and that they may never be more than a school that on occasion could beat them) instead of claiming "Nippert is our home, if they won't play us here who needs them" or "we're a BCS school, BCS schools don't schedule home games 900 miles away".

After all, we had accomplished so much more than they had prior to 2005 (when they joined the BE). It absolutely was beneath us to take some of the steps that they took.

 

[CL82]

What does Howie have to do with this?

Coach P in this brief case I have $330,000, if you will only get the hell out, deal or no deal?

 

[jbdphi]

Mine will be sent within the hour. Just trying to make it fact-based and not an emotional rant

That's the challenging part. Looking up the offensive and defensive statistics made me emotional all over again.

 

[Jimdish255]

Not my letter to Ward but here's my take:

P was not among my choices when we were discussing replacements for HRCE. While I liked Randy and the team was well prepared, it seemed as if were were hitting a plateau in terms of talent and preparation, and frankly good fortune that translated into an opportunity for us to find the next head coach to take us to the next level. Hearing the name PP come up and remembering his exit from Syracuse years earlier, I was surprised and frankly a little worried. By the time his local contacts finished lobbying it was a done deal.

I was prepared to support P and measure my criticism and did fairly well for the first year. His first presser alleviated some of my fears about age and energy. He was an experienced, accomplished local guy with national and professional contacts. Recruiting even started looking up. He mostly got a pass on the rigors of transitioning to a new system.

When year 2 began we seemed to have a lot to look forward to. A solid core of returning D and some returning and added skill guys on offense. Big questionmarks on the line that I kept harping on all summer. The o-line coach had work to do. But when this year began to resemble the same disorganized, unprepared and archaic model as last my hopes quickly evaporated. Criticism turned sharper, and while I tried to avoid calling for P's replacement until the end of the season, I had to fold to retain my own sanity.

What kills me is that everyone from the die-hard to the casual fan seems resigned to the futility of this experiment, yet the press and our AD continues to tow the line of a sinking ship. It's dragging everyone down and could damage the brand for decades! And everyone/anyone who thinks it's an article of faith to keep a guy for at least 2 years because he's won more than 2-3 games ignore both their eyes and the actions of other AD's around the country. Coaches have been let go in that time period or sooner. And the NC State's coach went 7-5 this year. Where is he now?

Wait and see isn't working. Even if it did we've already seen and it's pretty clear that waiting will only entrench our mediocrity in the eyes of fans, recruits, other schools and more importantly potential conference destinations. Our AD has only been here a short time and the prism of experience has been as a middling program with similar results. Over the last few decades we've experienced a steady upward trajectory in football as well as other sports and academically. It's what we believe in and who we are. Anything less than a commitment to those objective and competitive measures is just not acceptable in the long term or more importantly, at this crucial juncture.

 

[Jimdish255]

Warde's email warde.manuel@uconn.edu Fire away fellas

Don't just fire away. Aim for the target you want to hit and the goals you want to reach.

 

[Jimdish255]

I'll give them til Monday before I go nuts.

Where are those couple of Pasqualistas who demanded our opinions of P & D change after the Ville game? It is so obvious this program is going nowhere but backwards under P.

It's always good to keep an open mind until you feel your sanity is being threatened.