Is UConn Facing a Structural Problem?

[CTBasketball]

There is no one to blame for UConn football's problems this year other than the coaches and the players. There is no excuse for the product on the field.

Cannot blame the conference affiliation on the fact we could not beat FIU or Georgia St, or even choke against NC State.

 

[giddyup]

it’s not even worth trying to diagnose of the issues. It’s the program that has no consequences until there is a full fledged all out conflagration. We have no standards of excellence or expectations at any level. We half ash everything

 

[RSTuthill]

Not really. When people say we'd be better off in the American, that's what they're talking about, whether they realize it or not.

Not the American of today. The American all the way up until UConn got the B12 invite.

 

[CL82]

Not the American of today. The American all the way up until UConn got the B12 invite.

Accept why do you believe that we would have gotten a conference bid to the bug 12 if we were 1) a horrifically bad geographic fit; 2) historically bad at football and 3) mediocre at best at men's basketball with declining attendance and I am apathetic fanbase.

I don't see it. So, yes, we'd be stuck in that godforsaken conference today. We are infinitely better off as an independent in football and in the big east in hoops.

 

[CTBasketball]

Not the American of today. The American all the way up until UConn got the B12 invite.

We could not afford to kill men’s basketball. That is the university’s identity. AD made the best decision with what he had.

 

[Kolumbo]

Can we go a day without some version of a "Should we shut down the program" thread? And we may need to start a new board for those that think the AAC would be the best home for UConn athletics. That level of stupid may be contagious.

I haven't gone through the math, but this may be one of the better seasons for G5 wins over P5 teams. Somehow some of these other schools have figured out a way to bring in transfers and compete. Mora blew it in the offseason, and blew it in training camp, that much is clear. It isn't much more complicated than that.

And if that is the case I am good with that. It is only year 2 of the HCJM era at UConn and the transfer portal is new and something everyone needs to figure out. HCJM and his staff may have whiffed so they better figure it out. I agree the portal should be spreading talent around rather than consolidating it and maybe some of it is luck and some is skill. UConn was able to recruit Roberson from Penn State which is a Top 10 program. Keep at it and they will string together enough good portal moves to make the program successful.

 

[UConnJim]

And if that is the case I am good with that. It is only year 2 of the HCJM era at UConn and the transfer portal is new and something everyone needs to figure out. HCJM and his staff may have whiffed so they better figure it out. I agree the portal should be spreading talent around rather than consolidating it and maybe some of it is luck and some is skill. UConn was able to recruit Roberson from Penn State which is a Top 10 program. Keep at it and they will string together enough good portal moves to make the program successful.

All we need is a proven OC who brings in a decent QB or 2. With the portal, that can happen next year.

 

[CL82]

UConn was able to recruit Roberson from Penn State which is a Top 10 program

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Yeah, we have seen this movie before. A collapse after a 6-7 year. Was it 2016 or 2017? Doesn't matter, it is seared into our collective minds.

What the heck is going on?

Some things have occurred to me that have not been discussed and some that have. In no particular order:

1. It seems almost obvious that player mobility is hurting UConn rather than helping. UConn as a lower level independent, is being used as a training ground and they are unable to replace their losses to the portal with equal quality.
2. The psychological effect of not joining a P4 conference when it was built up as almost a sure thing throughout the summer. A resulting WTF attitude by the players after the letdown.
3. Rolling around in the back of my mind has been the thought that if this goes on much longer, HCJM may decide he has had enough of a no-win situation and just ask to be released from his contract. Guessing not the end of this season, but by the end of next season it would become a real possibility if this continues.
4. Like recruiting players, recruiting coaches is really tough at UConn. I am a little more tolerant of less than optimum coaching than most. But are we suffering from this? Hard to imagine that HCJM did not get first rate coaches, but UConn's football status may have affected quality. I am not qualified to judge, the comments here by others notwithstanding.
5. If HCJM did exit, who might UConn get? Almost certainly a successul FCS coach I would guess. Who else would come? Wou;d Bob Chesney up the road be a good match? I doubt UConn could beat Holy Cross right now.
6. Is the lack of bigtime NIL the problem? Feels like the players' expectations might have been higher and they are just mailing it in. Thoughts?
7. It is a little frustrating to think that UConn would be in the B12 now if they had stayed in the AAC and won a BB nattie. Of course the BB fans would argue that the nattie would not have happened had they stayed in the AAC. Personally I think that Hurley could have done it in the AAC, but that and a second mortgage will get you on the subway these days.
8. Also rolling around the back of my head is the factoid that the last UConn HC whose team started the season 0-4 got fired the next Tuesday ... nine days after his team came within 3 points of Michigan. [Sorry, this may not be quite correct, but the point stands.] That is not happening this year, but the situation does look very unfavorable.

I think #3 is definitely in the cards, especially if the school doesn’t give Mora the money it takes to hire a respected and competent FBS OC and DC. If that happens it will show a lack of will on the part of the BOT and the school president. Goodbye FBS

 

[businesslawyer]

The structural problem relates to coaching hires. We have missed at almost every opportunity to improve coaching since PP was hired. I think Mora was a great choice and think he can get the job done; however, he has to find an offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator to implement his vision for the team. Without them, there is only so much he can do.

I am not sure I agree. Isn't the single most important task of a head coach in this era picking the right coordinators? If he's failed miserably at it, how good a coach is he really? And it's not money. There is no reason we shouldn't have well above average G-5 coaches based on what we spend.

 

[BlueandOG]

I am not sure I agree. Isn't the single most important task of a head coach in this era picking the right coordinators? If he's failed miserably at it, how good a coach is he really? And it's not money. There is no reason we shouldn't have well above average G-5 coaches based on what we spend.

Good point. Perhaps Mora's swing and miss on the OC and DC positions is fatal. I HOPE he sees the mistakes and takes corrective action asap. If that happens, I'll stand by Mora. If he keeps the status quo, he is the problem.

 

[RSTuthill]

I think #3 is definitely in the cards, especially if the school doesn’t give Mora the money it takes to hire a respected and competent FBS OC and DC. If that happens it will show a lack of will on the part of the BOT and the school president. Goodbye FBS

We have seen posts here recently to the effect: "That is what we are, a basketball school." As long as that attitude prevails, the under investment in the FB program, most recently due to the BB program incurred liabilities regarding their previous men's coach, is going to continue. When you compare salaries of the basketball coaching staff to those of the football coaching staff, go back to when Hurley first came here, when UConn was a very mediocre BB program. How much did UConn pay Hurley to get him here and add to that the severance paid to his predecessor. (That severance amount must be booked to the cost of the Hurley acquisition as a cost of business, after all.) If UConn is not willing to lay out those kinds of dollars for FB, a sport that is three times as important as BB in the eyes of the TV market, then UConn does not want to play at the FBS P-whatever level. It is just that simple. Dress for the job you want, not the one that you've got.

Oh, and someone posted that #3 might happen sooner than we think. I am beginning the come around to that view.

 

[KryHavok]

We have seen posts here recently to the effect: "That is what we are, a basketball school." As long as that attitude prevails, the under investment in the FB program, most recently due to the BB program incurred liabilities regarding their previous men's coach, is going to continue. When you compare salaries of the basketball coaching staff to those of the football coaching staff, go back to when Hurley first came here, when UConn was a very mediocre BB program. How much did UConn pay Hurley to get him here and add to that the severance paid to his predecessor. (That severance amount must be booked to the cost of the Hurley acquisition as a cost of business, after all.) If UConn is not willing to lay out those kinds of dollars for FB, a sport that is three times as important as BB in the eyes of the TV market, then UConn does not want to play at the FBS P-whatever level. It is just that simple. Dress for the job you want, not the one that you've got.

Oh, and someone posted that #3 might happen sooner than we think. I am beginning the come around to that view.

This is what I also believe and have been thinking since the Georgia State game. He’s got 3/4 of a season left to make some demonstrable progress. I don’t think Mora quits in the manner that Edsel did, but he may decide the administration isn’t as supportive as they need to be and decide it’s better to leave than undergo another exercise in futility. Nothing short of winning will change the culture and narrative.

 

[shizzle787]

This is what I also believe and have been thinking since the Georgia State game. He’s got 3/4 of a season left to make some demonstrable progress. I don’t think Mora quits in the manner that Edsel did, but he may decide the administration isn’t as supportive as they need to be and decide it’s better to leave than undergo another exercise in futility. Nothing short of winning will change the culture and narrative.

That is a garbage excuse. We have more talent than Georgia State and FIU. Those should be wins. That is on coaching, not resources (of which we have more than FIU or Georgia State).

 

[UConnJim]

I am not sure I agree. Isn't the single most important task of a head coach in this era picking the right coordinators? If he's failed miserably at it, how good a coach is he really? And it's not money. There is no reason we shouldn't have well above average G-5 coaches based on what we spend.

Unfortunately BL, that is not the case and I don't think you are the only fan that thinks this way. While we have not increased our assistant pool in about 10 years, everyone else has been creeping up. Our top assistant makes more than the top assistant of 4 schools that we play on our schedule; James Madison, Georgia St., Sacred Heart, and UMass. According to the USA Today database, the median G5 top assistant pay for 2022 was ~$280k, or ~25% less than Charlton.

And, when you look at the OC pay at the G5, UConn might be able to grab a MAC coordinator or a few other schools and that is about it as I don't think a successful G5 OC is going to leave their situation for a 25% to 30% raise to go to UConn. I stated this in another post. We have 3 real options for hiring an OC right now: 1) FCS/D2/D3 OC; 2) Retread OC; or 3) A coach with no previous OC experience. UConn has tried all three and the most successful one was Lashlee and he was a unique situation.

I honestly feel this way: If UConn wants to schedule 3 to 4 P5 schools and a few top G5 schools every year, we need to pay our assistants more than we are paying now if we want to compete.

 

[NE Football]

The answer is to fire JM and get Bob Chesney before BCU hires him. Either put up the 15 million for a 5 year contract or drop down to FCS. If the administration is not going to fund the program, what’s the point in having losing season after losing season after losing season, etc.???!!

 

[shizzle787]

The answer is to fire JM and get Bob Chesney before BCU hires him. Either put up the 15 million for a 5 year contract or drop down to FCS. If the administration is not going to fund the program, what’s the point in having losing season after losing season after losing season, etc.???!!

This is an odd take. So should every struggling mid-major basketball program drop down to Division 2?

 

[Patman]

This is what I also believe and have been thinking since the Georgia State game. He’s got 3/4 of a season left to make some demonstrable progress. I don’t think Mora quits in the manner that Edsel did, but he may decide the administration isn’t as supportive as they need to be and decide it’s better to leave than undergo another exercise in futility. Nothing short of winning will change the culture and narrative.

that starts inside. UConn has to decide if it is a big boy school or not and so far, they're failing my bet in 2004 that they were. Folks, I could have gone to the University of Minnesota. I bet on you guys. Did I make a mistake?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

That is a garbage excuse. We have more talent than Georgia State and FIU. Those should be wins. That is on coaching, not resources (of which we have more than FIU or Georgia State).

Georgia State has a football stadium that is 1 mile from campus, and FIU has an on campus stadium and field house. Just saying. I know you dumbs dumbs have heard me pound this before but it’s an important aspect of building a program for a whole slew of reasons.

 

[Kolumbo]

Cannot blame the conference affiliation on the fact we could not beat FIU or Georgia St, or even choke against NC State.

Lack of conference affiliation isn't the only reason but it certainly plays a significant part. James Madison, Marshall, Georgia State, Troy all benefit by being members of the Sun Belt. Being a member of the B1G or ACC would absolutely help boost recruiting so yes, conference affiliation matters big time.

 

[CTBasketball]

Lack of conference affiliation isn't the only reason but it certainly plays a significant part. James Madison, Marshall, Georgia State, Troy all benefit by being members of the Sun Belt. Being a member of the B1G or ACC would absolutely help boost recruiting so yes, conference affiliation matters big time.

We aren’t going to those two conferences so that idea is null. I said conference affiliation had nothing to do with our losses this year.

 

[KryHavok]

That is a garbage excuse. We have more talent than Georgia State and FIU. Those should be wins. That is on coaching, not resources (of which we have more than FIU or Georgia State).

I dont know shizzle, we may think UConn has more talent than GSU & FIU, but the facts remain they both beat UConn despite near parity in yardage and time of possession. Coaching staff has remained somewhat comparable to last year with perhaps the biggest loss being the RB coach Barthel. Sooo somehow the coaches became ineffective from last year in teaching how to tackle, run, catch??? I won’t deny that the offensive play calling has been atrocious, though players are making worse mistakes than last year.

The facilities at UConn are suitable, but Mora has in the past called for more investment (hence my statement about administration support being lacking). There are key pieces missing with no good and immediate solutions on how to address the issues (short of sending Charlton on an unpaid sabbatical to Acadia National Park).

 

[ZooCougar]

That is a garbage excuse. We have more talent than Georgia State and FIU. Those should be wins. That is on coaching, not resources (of which we have more than FIU or Georgia State).

Shizzle: “We have more talent than FIU and Georgia State”

Narrator: “No, they didn’t”

 

[ZooCougar]

Lack of conference affiliation isn't the only reason but it certainly plays a significant part. James Madison, Marshall, Georgia State, Troy all benefit by being members of the Sun Belt. Being a member of the B1G or ACC would absolutely help boost recruiting so yes, conference affiliation matters big time.

The Sun Belt is by far the strongest Group of Five League.

 

[ZooCougar]

The answer is to fire JM and get Bob Chesney before BCU hires him. Either put up the 15 million for a 5 year contract or drop down to FCS. If the administration is not going to fund the program, what’s the point in having losing season after losing season after losing season, etc.???!!

Stop posting.