It's All Up To Benedict

[politics]

I don't think it would be a good career move to veto your boss on the first day of work. He wasn't in a position to know the nuances of Bob Diaco at that point.

Wasn't his first day. He had six weeks from hiring to contract extension. Herbst would have respected him if he said "Uh, maybe we should revisit this"

 

[politics]

With a 800K buyout, there is no way Diaco is our 2017 head coach. With a $5M buyout, it muddies up the waters for sure. My hope is that DB will address the program in other ways, such as green lighting a significant bump to our assistant coaches pool. Let's bring in an OC who has, I don't know, actually called an offensive gameplan before.

As much as I'm favor of giving assistant raises, maybe part of UConn (Herbst) problem is throwing money at things.Let's get the HC thing straightened out first.

 

[whaler11]

Let's talk about how bad this extension is.

If they thought he was a threat to leave: WHY WOULD THERE BE A HUGE BUYOUT TO CAN HIM BUT ALMOST NO BUYOUT IF HE LEAVES.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Who extends an 8-17 coach who did nothing in recruiting.

 

[whaler11]

In Benedict's defense I'm sure Bob seems fine in the dead of winter.

 

[Hoophound]

Wasn't his first day. He had six weeks from hiring to contract extension. Herbst would have respected him if he said "Uh, maybe we should revisit this"

Again, much easier not to question your new boss right away. What could he have learned about Diaco in the offseason to warrant disagreeing with the extension?

Warde and Susan did this. If anything, Benedict's opinion should have more sway after this disaster. They made a bad decision and now he should have the capital to use his expertise to fix the problem.

 

[politics]

Again, much easier not to question your new boss right away. What could he have learned about Diaco in the offseason to warrant disagreeing with the extension?

Warde and Susan did this. If anything, Benedict's opinion should have more sway after this disaster. They made a bad decision and now he should have the capital to use his expertise to fix the problem.

Benedict came to UConn from Auburn. Auburn fired a guy who won a freaking national title. Since Benedict obviously sold UConn on his Auburn cred, don't you think he should have gone to his former boss (Jay Jacobs) and asked him what he thought about the deal before he signed off on it?

 

[whaler11]

Again, much easier not to question your new boss right away. What could he have learned about Diaco in the offseason to warrant disagreeing with the extension?

Warde and Susan did this. If anything, Benedict's opinion should have more sway after this disaster. They made a bad decision and now he should have the capital to use his expertise to fix the problem.

The only think I think you can call DB out on is the terms of the deal. Not that it got signed but that it's so one-sided.

We don't know if he raged against the machine and was overruled though.

Either way he'll be judged on how he fixes it - can't change that deal now.

 

[freescooter]

Tough call without knowing much more about the internal working of the University but I'm inclined to give Benedict the benefit of a he doubt. He walks in and gets handed a deal that originated with Warde and Herbst. He isn't going to be able to cancel it most of the time without causing a huge number of problems with his coach and his boss.

But I agree it isn't the deal it is how he fixes it that will be his legacy.

 

[kemba]

I don't have a problem with giving him an extension, it looked like we were moving in the right direction, and with our situation if we get a good coach we have to be aggressive in keeping him. The terms of the deal were terrible though, little protection against him jumping to a better job, but huge job security for him if he fails.

 

[Sky ball]

Here we go again ...

The other thing I will throw on you: This is not just a Diaco/Football issue. We are sucking wind on attendance in Hoop. We have championship programs in multiple sports ... and I think this is ON Benedict now. I do think he had the background and an elite new staff he's pulled in. But ... we are at a crossraods. I agree with Nostical: this has everything to do with how good Benedict is on selling his vision to our top donors or creating new pockets in Fairfield County. It is not about Connecticut residents shoveling their streets ... it might be about buying 5 suits at Ed Mitchell's or something akin to that.

Hoops? Want to go to a Syracuse, Georgetown or Villanova home game or a ECU, Tulane or Tulsa game? Football has the same issue. Would Michigan fill the Big House with our football schedule? Maybe year one but over time there would be a loytof empty seats.

 

[pnow15]

Do you think this is what gets presidents fired?

In Alabama?

 

[pnow15]

The last time a guy name Benedict made an important decision in CT, he burned down New London.