Jim Calhoun and Bob Diaco Philosophy

[gwhuskyfan]

Was reading an article on Calhoun and this part about his first season stuck out to me:

"In the first year we said we were going to bite the bullet and do things the right way," said Calhoun, who retired in 2012. "We could have won maybe 15, but we won nine and it was the best thing we ever did — we stuck to what we were going to do. That was the beginning of it, it's pretty special, what's happened here and that's the great sense of pride you have when you look back."

In my opinion this sounds similar to what we're hearing from Diaco. All about the process. Could we have won more games so far...sure, but we're sticking to the process, biting the bullet now and getting ready for future success. That season was the only one for Calhoun with a losing record.

Thoughts?

 

[metsfan2323]

We lost our starting QB in game one, that team lost Cliff and Phil early. I think half this board has already forgotten that we lost our starting QB and fails to understand the disastrous effect that can have on a season. The Colts went from Super Bowl contender to #1 pick in the draft when they lost Peyton Manning to injury.

Someone needs to dig out that long August thread where everyone was saying they just want to see the team have enthusiasm this season. What a bunch of liars.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Bob Diaco = Jim Calhoun. Got it.

 

[uconnbill]

Bob Diaco = Jim Calhoun. Got it.

Probably not, but better than you and some others think about him and what he is doing. This is not something that happens overnight. You should know that, but you just like stirring the pot and being negative

 

[BlueDogs]

If we want to live retrospectively, by the same logic there is a litany of comments over 2 and a half years of those calling others pot stirrers, disloyal, morons, etc..for calling out PP and GDL.

My opinion is BD is trying to be a change agent, but he is young and lacks HC experience and has made some questionable decisions. He may very well be following the JC do it right and bite the bullet philosophy. But all things have context. The BB program was moving up and part of an exciting new emerging BB power conference, not moving backwards from being a BCS level program into a bleak mid tier conference removed from the big boys. We have endured years of misery and the fan base cannot sustain more hopelessness marked by another bad season. So, all things have a balance. Yes, fans have a right to be impatient and skittish after being burned, and yes Diaco should do it right. The problem is we can't tell if BD is doing it right or just another Pp GDL problem looming.

 

[Colt house75]

We lost our starting QB in game one, that team lost Cliff and Phil early. I think half this board has already forgotten that we lost our starting QB and fails to understand the disastrous effect that can have on a season. The Colts went from Super Bowl contender to #1 pick in the draft when they lost Peyton Manning to injury.

Someone needs to dig out that long August thread where everyone was saying they just want to see the team have enthusiasm this season. What a bunch of liars.

Absolutely Mr. Mets. Losing Casey changed the dynamic of the season. In so doing, people need to manage their expectations. But right now, there is a hung jury on the BY as actions are speaking louder than words.... and only time will tell for both sides of the jury. The jury is in panic mode with rightful cause because nothing is matching up, not so much because of the loss of Casey but because the actions in losing Casey, the resultant field play, and the decisions made in field play were well below anticipated results. I am trying to reserve judgment until this team and coaching staff are well down the road and we can look back. Separating out the decision making from actual field of play will be the toughest and it's not looking good for those of us trying to stay positive and stay the course. It feels like 1999 all over again.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

If we want to live retrospectively, by the same logic there is a litany of comments over 2 and a half years of those calling others pot stirrers, disloyal, morons, etc..for calling out PP and GDL.

My opinion is BD is trying to be a change agent, but he is young and lacks HC experience and has made some questionable decisions. He may very well be following the JC do it right and bite the bullet philosophy. But all things have context. The BB program was moving up and part of an exciting new emerging BB power conference, not moving backwards from being a BCS level program into a bleak mid tier conference removed from the big boys. We have endured years of misery and the fan base cannot sustain more hopelessness marked by another bad season. So, all things have a balance. Yes, fans have a right to be impatient and skittish after being burned, and yes Diaco should do it right. The problem is we can't tell if BD is doing it right or just another Pp GDL problem looming.

I agree with this post about 95%. My biggest two additional complaints are:

1) Diaco needs to stop publicly trashing the players and making excuses. We get that the team is bad, but when the coach keeps saying it over and over, it sounds like throwing the players under the bus with the fans.

2) there is nothing we can do about it now, but the team would be playing better if Weist was the coach. The Apologists need to stop overstating the talent gap against mid majors.

 

[BlueMAB]

Bob Diaco = Jim Calhoun. Got it.

Nelson =

I love this assertion that the team would play better under Weist, who had Cochran for QB, and an O-Line, while not very good, full of upperclassmen.

Have we forgotten the fact that Weist lost to USF at home?

 

[mauconnfan]

No overstating he talent gap, just watch the games. It's glaringly obvious and it has little to do with coaching. He was left a heaping pile of crap which started steaming even more after Cochran's news. They have a Divy 2 QB now with the same on the offensive line. The defense is mud slower than the past few years and noticeably by a large margin in all areas.

To not see these things is ignorant.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I've made my position on Diaco pretty clear and have purposely stopped harping about it.

But the notion that people can't criticize his performance in his first four games is ridiculous.

 

[sportsart]

I've made my position on Diaco pretty clear and have purposely stopped harping about it.

But the notion that people can't criticize his performance in his first four games is ridiculous.

Your second sentence is a continuation of your harping. It's ridiculous to to judge his overall performance with just 4 games.

It's clear why he did what he did Friday, and while people may not agree with what he did, if you look at it objectively, it made sense.

CW would have got hammered if they kept passing and then we would have needed to insert a QB with a "pain" in his leg. The turf conditions would have more than likely furthered that pain and then what?

Too many people think that the hole he inherited should be fixed over night.

You have gone over the top to sound like some of the newbies that don't understand that you need to win the war, not the battles on the way.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Your second sentence is a continuation of your harping. It's ridiculous to to judge his overall performance with just 4 games.

It's clear why he did what he did Friday, and while people may not agree with what he did, if you look at it objectively, it made sense.

CW would have got hammered if they kept passing and then we would have needed to insert a QB with a "pain" in his leg. The turf conditions would have more than likely furthered that pain and then what?

Too many people think that the hole he inherited should be fixed over night.

You have gone over the top to sound like some of the newbies that don't understand that you need to win the war, not the battles on the way.

Not harping on it. You and I disagree. I won't lose any sleep over that.

 

[sportsart]

Not harping on it. You and I disagree. I won't lose any sleep over that.

But you are harping on it. After 4 games you seem to have the position that Diaco is not doing a very good job. In the scheme of things it is way too early to know if he has a clue or not.

 

[BlueMAB]

But the notion that people can't criticize his performance in his first four games is ridiculous.

disagreeing with the criticism =/= saying his performance can't be criticized.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

But you are harping on it. After 4 games you seem to have the position that Diaco is not doing a very good job. In the scheme of things it is way too early to know if he has a clue or not.

I've made no judgements whether he works out in the long term or not. I've been clear about that. My issues are regarding some of the decisions he's made in these first 4 games. I do not agree with the approach he's taking about these "preseason" games. IMO he did one of the few things that would cost us the USF game and give us no chance to win. You and I disagree on that. So there's no point in arguing.

But what you and others are doing to me, whaler, and others is creating strawmen that implies we think he's going to be a failure. For the 19th time, nobody is saying that.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

disagreeing with the criticism =/= saying his performance can't be criticized.

I don't mind people disagreeing with my criticism. But there are plenty who have stated it's too early to criticize. What really annoys me is when people make strawman arguments.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Bob Diaco = Jim Calhoun. Got it.

Who thought Calhoun was CALHOUN off that 9 win season?

 

[uconnbill]

How have some forgot about last season is beyond me. FHCPP left this place a mess and fixing it will not happen overnight. Most of you complaining had not issue giving FHCPP time and yet you can't give him the same opportunity

 

[sportsart]

I don't mind people disagreeing with my criticism. What annoys me is when people make strawman arguments.

Actually what appears to annoy you is when people present a reasonable answer to why Diaco did what he did. You consistently appose the theory that the passing game, after 4 attempts, was a disaster, and that protecting the back up QB, who appeared to have a minor pain, was not the way to go.

Tell us how you would have felt if CW got hurt (probable in the weather, field conditions and poor blocking) and then Boyle comes in, with a pain in his leg, slips and gets hurt.

You'd have called for Diaco's head.

 

[BlueMAB]

I don't mind people disagreeing with my criticism. But there are plenty who have stated it's too early to criticize. What really annoys me is when people make strawman arguments.

It's not black and white. Certainly some decisions can be questioned, or criticized, but I believe it's too early to criticize the results. Too early to criticize the process (which has just begun). And far too early to criticize his overall performance as a head coach.

the strawman issues happen on both sides of every argument, you know this.

 

[sportsart]

I don't mind people disagreeing with my criticism. But there are plenty who have stated it's too early to criticize. What really annoys me is when people make strawman arguments.

Please explain, what you feel are, the strawman arguments.

 

[freescooter]

Your second sentence is a continuation of your harping. It's ridiculous to to judge his overall performance with just 4 games.

It's clear why he did what he did Friday, and while people may not agree with what he did, if you look at it objectively, it made sense.

CW would have got hammered if they kept passing and then we would have needed to insert a QB with a "pain" in his leg. The turf conditions would have more than likely furthered that pain and then what?

Too many people think that the hole he inherited should be fixed over night.

You have gone over the top to sound like some of the newbies that don't understand that you need to win the war, not the battles on the way.

I think you absolutely can say his performance in the first 4 games has been significantly below expectations. At least that's my view. I don't believe for a minute that he was tryign to protect Whitmer. I think he panicked when the first 4 passing plays went bad and went into a shell. You're not going to win a punting contest when the other team has the best punter in the league and one of the best in the country. And that's what he was trying to do...plus his defense hadn't stopped South Florida when he went into the shell. He's made more head scratching decisions in the first 4 games than I'd care to count. As to the idea that losing Cochran killed his chances to succeed, I'd agree if he wasn't essentially splitting time between Cochran and Whitmer. Seems pretty obvious that he didn't view it that Casey was irreplaceable. Having said all that, does it mean that he can't won't be a decent to good coach in the long run? No. I remember Schiano's early going at Rutgers and he made many many questionable calls in the early going including a failed fake punt against UConn that cost the Rutbois the game. By the time he left, Rutgers was if not great, at least a decent program. While I have higher aspirations for our program than just a decent one, for the moment I'd take that without complaint.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Please explain, what you feel are, the strawman arguments.

For starters:

Too many people think that the hole he inherited should be fixed over night.

You have gone over the top to sound like some of the newbies that don't understand that you need to win the war, not the battles on the way.

 

[Waquoit]

Who thought Calhoun was CALHOUN off that 9 win season?

I did. And you know who HATED Calhoun back then, CT high school coaches.

 

[Waquoit]

For starters:

Too many people think that the hole he inherited should be fixed over night.

You have gone over the top to sound like some of the newbies that don't understand that you need to win the war, not the battles on the way.

Call that strawmen? Maybe not the first, but the second can be legitmately assumed from your incessant barrage of negativity.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Call that strawmen? Maybe not the first, but the second can be legitmately assumed from your incessant barrage of negativity.

OK.

 

[Waquoit]

OK.

Wait, what?

 

[John]

Judging this guy after only 4 games is like you or I being judged after a week on the new job. It's not fair to him.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Wait, what?

You continue to attack me as poster and not the content of my argument. I just have no interest. If you want to disagree with my criticisms that's fair. It's obvious we're not the kind of guys who would have a beer together. I don't care. If you'd like to defend the decisions I've criticized, then we can have a legitimate argument. Otherwise this is dull.

 

[Waquoit]

You continue to attack me as poster and not the content of my argument. I just have no interest. If you want to disagree with my criticisms that's fair. It's obvious we're not the kind of guys who would have a beer together. I don't care. If you'd like to defend the decisions I've criticized, then we can have a legitimate argument. Otherwise this is dull.

Fine by me. It's no fun to drink beer with someone with zero sense of humor.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

How have some forgot about last season is beyond me. FHCPP left this place a mess and fixing it will not happen overnight. Most of you complaining had not issue giving FHCPP time and yet you can't give him the same opportunity

Bill you know I love ya but this is nuts. Nobody has forgotten the last 3 years. I was predicting 4 or 5 wins this year while everyone else was making plans for a bowl game. We're not complaining about the results. We're questioning the decisions he's making during games and his approach to this whole season. It's legitimate criticism that Diaco can handle given his $2 million per year salary.

 

[noeynox]

How have some forgot about last season is beyond me. FHCPP left this place a mess and fixing it will not happen overnight. Most of you complaining had not issue giving FHCPP time and yet you can't give him the same opportunity

There were about three posters that I remember wanted to give P "more time". Most of us were in a conundrum, of course we wanted to see UConn make a bowl, but if they did it bought P more time which we didn't want.

 

[noeynox]

Judging this guy after only 4 games is like you or I being judged after a week on the new job. It's not fair to him.

Judging him and criticizing some of his decisions to date are not the same thing. When I think judging I think "this guy sucks, he is never going to win here". What we have here is more like "shut down the passing game till garbage time, really Bob?"

 

[Excalibur]

What we have here is more like "shut down the passing game till garbage time, really Bob?"

No, what we have here is "he quit".

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

No, what we have here is "he quit".

He quit trying to win that game. I stand by my comment. Maybe I'm hoping that is the case. Because if it's not, well......

 

[noeynox]

No, what we have here is "he quit".

Maybe he did, for that one game, for reasons he is totally comfortable with, you know the whole lose the battle/win the war thing. Fans are never going to be accepting of something like that when you are playing a team as horrible as USF. Their defense had been a sieve basically up to that point and we went into a shell, in what on paper looked like one of our most winnable games. If some people call it quitting I'm not going to be upset, he is going to have more than enough time coaching here to atone for the one time he "quit".

 

[Waquoit]

Judging him and criticizing some of his decisions to date are not the same thing..."

I disagree, it seems to be going part and parcel here. The guy has a plan and a vision and is making his decisions based on the overall plan. At this point in time, I don't think it's fair to go off on a particular decision in a vacuum, it should be considered as part of the overall plan. For instance, I hated the two QB approach. But I give him the benefit of the doubt because he did it for a reason, even if the reason isn't readily apparent to me. I'm going wait until the end of the season before I make a determination. That's all I and the non-bashers (I believe) are saying. He's not going anywhere, why shouldn't he get the benefit of the doubt? And if his plan doesn't produce, I get the feeling he will learn and adjust. I have to admit I'm surprised by the depth, breath and sheer volume of the criticism here. He isn't going to turn this thing around with an off-the-shelf approach. But this is an example of why weak coaches go by the book all the time. If you dare to try something different and don't succeed, you get both barrells right away. I hope BD sticks to his guns, it's what's best for the program.

 

[noeynox]

@Waquoit, if that were the case there would be nothing discuss or banter about. Ever. Criticism of his decisions on the boneyard is neither going to affect his coaching decisions or his job security. What you're saying sounds a lot to me like what I talked about before if the boneyard likes the coach, any criticism of him is off limits. Didn't understand it when Edsall was here, don't understand it now.

 

[noeynox]

@Waquoit, It's like Nick Saban against Auburn last year, he challenged that out of bounds play that put one second back on the clock so that his FG kicker could attempt a kick he had no shot in hell of ever making. We all know how that turned out, do you think because of his past success Bama fans didn't have "the right" to second guess that boneheaded move?

 

[sdhusky]

Bob Diaco = Jim Calhoun. Got it.

Wow. you are stupid. The article was about following the same process, not them being the same person.

Really, are you that dumb?

 

[sdhusky]

I've made my position on Diaco pretty clear and have purposely stopped harping about it.

But the notion that people can't criticize his performance in his first four games is ridiculous.

Right. And the thought that we can't criticize the emotional logic of the critics is ridiculous too.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Right. And the thought that we can't criticize the emotional logic of the critics is ridiculous too.

No, that's called debate. We're not getting debate. We're getting things like, "it's too early to tell whether he will be a good coach long term".

 

[CL82]

?

Too many people think that the hole he inherited should be fixed over night.

Wasn't this the exact argument for keeping FUCHCPP for three years? Look Diaco isn't PP, I know that and I still support him but losing winnable games, blaming the players and promising that it is all part of the plan is painfully familiar. It worries me.

 

[sdhusky]

No, that's called debate. We're not getting debate. We're getting things like, "it's too early to tell whether he will be a good coach long term".

Right. Facts on one side and emotional foot stomping on the other side.

When you lose, every decision looks bad.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Wow. you are stupid. The article was about following the same process, not them being the same person.

Really, are you that dumb?

Trying to drop the halo of one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history over a HC that is struggling 4 games into his career is a little puzzling.

I am with Serrano in that Diaco may turn out great, but he is stumbling a bit and i was hoping for a shorter learning curve. We are where we are, so let's hope for the best. I would like to start seeing some wins over lousy teams soon. Temple is probably a bridge too far, but SMU and Tulane are on the schedule, and both are terrible.