Larry McHugh should be pressured to publicly take ownership of Pasqualoni/GDL

[John Greene]

It's Obama's fault.

You are soooo wrong. I read it in the Times today. It's Bush's fault.

 

[UConnDan97]

Not 100% sure, but I think that the use of this picture on the football board may be a hanging offense.

The use of the picture was reverse-psychology. It was meant for guys (and gals) to say, "No, I don't recognize that picture at all....because I'm a man's man (or a woman's woman)....so let's talk some football, okay?"

The only people that are to be hanged are the ones that admit they get the reference...

 

[J187Money]

I don't want McHugh's blood. From what I know he's done a good job overall with the BOT in academic and other non-athletic areas. But, sadly, this is a typical Connecticut good-old-boy-network situation where who you know as a state employee is more important than your actual job performance. LMcH's personal relationship with PP - including recruiting him for this job - is clouding his judgement. He probably should have stayed out of the hiring process in the first place and darn sure should not be involved in decision to retain him.

The Lane Kiffin reference is a red herring. No matter what happens USC is guaranteed a spot at the big-boy table. The hire of PP - and his and GDL's continued employment - has sent a message to the rest of the world that UConn, despite the $150 million plus invested in football, really isn't taking football seriously at the worst possible time.

I'd buy that if we hadn't been competitive and playing for a bowl up until the last week both seasons. At 4-20 it is a different conversation.

If he wins 7 games next year he is .500. Not great, and not up to my expectations, but he isn't the worst BCS level coach out there.

It also isn't like PP had no resume and was hired solely because he was known.

 

[concerned143]

Woof I am interested to see McHugh's take on this thing after next season. I can't see Pasqualoni doing enough to keep his job...and if he does bring GDL back aside from Michigan and posdibly MD games you will see crowds like were at the start of the Pitt game this season. Crickets McHugh definitley will hear if his buddy Paul doesn't get it...and I definitelt think he doesn't get it!

McHugh take ? Don't beleive it was all Hathaway. McHugh has final say. No question about it

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

So...PP comes in and interviews for the Uconn job. Calls it his dream job and sells Hathaway and McHugh on the idea that he can create this pipeline to the program by embracing the high school coaches in the state and region, which in turn should also increase the local interest in the program. That had to be it, right?? And the AD, who couldn't promote a film in a prison and the Trustee of the Board who loves his Xavier football buy it?

dumb and dumber

 

[UConnDan97]

So...PP comes in and interviews for the Uconn job. Calls it his dream job and sells Hathaway and McHugh on the idea that he can create this pipeline to the program by embracing the high school coaches in the state and region, which in turn should also increase the local interest in the program. That had to be it, right?? And the AD, who couldn't promote a film in a prison and the Trustee of the Board who loves his Xavier football buy it?

dumb and dumber

Yeah, that was it. Oh, and the fact that he was the winningest coach in Big East history and he was employed in the NFL at the time. But yes, only those selling points....

 

[FDNY99]

McHugh take ? Don't beleive it was all Hathaway. McHugh has final say. No question about it

McHugh was VERY vocal about getting rid of Hathaway for a while beore Edsall left. To say he disliked Hathaway is being nice from what I have been told (if anyone knows different please correct me)...I'm sure if/when McHugh suggested Pasqualoni to JH it was a done deal...as that spineless, gutless, worthless puke Hathaway would have done ANYTHING to get in McHugh's good graces to get his bonus with out any issues and keep McHugh off his back. Again if anyone on here is in the know and finds this WAY off base please correct me.

 

[FDNY99]

So...PP comes in and interviews for the Uconn job. Calls it his dream job and sells Hathaway and McHugh on the idea that he can create this pipeline to the program by embracing the high school coaches in the state and region, which in turn should also increase the local interest in the program. That had to be it, right?? And the AD, who couldn't promote a film in a prison and the Trustee of the Board who loves his Xavier football buy it?

dumb and dumber

You hit the proverbial nail on the head in describing Hathaway with the "couldn't promote a film in a prison" line!

 

[RMoore1999]

So wait...because he said some nice things about our then-brand new football coach in a two-year old Courant article, we should demand some sort of public prostration from the man?

All righty!

Since we're making requests, I'd like all of the insane people here to adopt some sort of common avatar so that we can spot 'em at a distance.

How about this one? This dude looks pretty insane...

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

Yeah, that was it. Oh, and the fact that he was the winningest coach in Big East history and he was employed in the NFL at the time. But yes, only those selling points....

who was fired and had been a vagabond assistant in the NFL for 8 years. and was 60 years old. Please. When he was hired it was mocked (rightfully so it appears) all over the country. Although somewhat irrelevent, it should be mentioned that PP got Nick Carparelli his first job out of school (cheshire ties) at Syracuse, so don't think that the Providence powers were not also supportive/pushing this hire. In fact, Carparelli applied for the UConn AD job that WM got, hoping that PP would be an advocate.

 

[UConnDan97]

who was fired and had been a vagabond assistant in the NFL for 8 years. and was 60 years old. Please. When he was hired it was mocked (rightfully so it appears) all over the country. Although somewhat irrelevent, it should be mentioned that PP got Nick Carparelli his first job out of school (cheshire ties) at Syracuse, so don't think that the Providence powers were not also supportive/pushing this hire. In fact, Carparelli applied for the UConn AD job that WM got, hoping that PP would be an advocate.

Yeah, it was "mocked all over the country." Got a link to that reaction? Do you really believe that the country was mocking the move because we didn't choose Whipple??? Yeah, right! I'll sit and wait patiently for your link when you find it...

I'm growing tired of revisionist history, and I'm growing tired of the constant hyperbole on the board. Tell it like it is (or was, in this case) or don't tell it at all. You're mad because the truth of the situation at the time doesn't agree with your hatred for McHugh right now, and you want your point to stick. It doesn't. Has the Pasqualoni era disappointed us up to this point? Yes. We expected better from him than 4 games below 0.500. But the reason we expected better from him is because people had HIGH expectations of him, not low and mocking ones like you suggest.

But I'm not shocked, because these posts are the kinds of posts that have been plaguing us for months now, so I guess continue on if you so choose...

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

I am not sure how to go back through a Twitter feed from two years ago, when my feed was filled with comments like "is that a joke?" "Is he still alive?" "really?" "P is not bad as long as he doesn't bring DeLeone" Most of my Syracuse friends were laughing at the hire. I also remember listening to SiriusXM college radio and Bill King basically concluding UConn didn't care about football with this hire (true?). As a fan of the Dolphins, I remember him being fired for continually being outcoached while DC. He was despised in south Florida if that is even possible. There were few if any here in this forum who hated this hire more than me, and he was my Saturday morning basketball coach when I was like 7 years old!

some of the comments at the end here mirrored my memory of what I was reading.
http://blog.ctnews.com/ostrout/2011/01/13/pasqualoni-taking-over-at-uconn/
I mean you aren't going to have a national news agency mock a hire. But try finding one who thinks it a great, or even good, hire.

I think there are more recent:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...k-of-for-every-college-football-coach/page/24

http://collegespun.com/big-east/con...ny-having-paul-pasqualoni-as-uconn-head-coach

http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com...-redshirt-diaries/23793-who-wont-be-the-coach

http://virginiatech.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=750&tid=160014719&mid=160014719&sid=1020

Whatever, at this point what does it matter. He will be the coach until they get invited into a real conference. If that day does not come, then UConn football is dead anyways.

 

[J187Money]

I'd buy that if we hadn't been competitive and playing for a bowl up until the last week both seasons. At 4-20 it is a different conversation.

If he wins 7 games next year he is .500. Not great, and not up to my expectations, but he isn't the worst BCS level coach out there.

It also isn't like PP had no resume and was hired solely because he was known.

9 games. Sorry for the incorrect math.

 

[J187Money]

I am not sure how to go back through a Twitter feed from two years ago, when my feed was filled with comments like "is that a joke?" "Is he still alive?" "really?" "P is not bad as long as he doesn't bring DeLeone" Most of my Syracuse friends were laughing at the hire. I also remember listening to SiriusXM college radio and Bill King basically concluding UConn didn't care about football with this hire (true?). As a fan of the Dolphins, I remember him being fired for continually being outcoached while DC. He was despised in south Florida if that is even possible. There were few if any here in this forum who hated this hire more than me, and he was my Saturday morning basketball coach when I was like 7 years old!

some of the comments at the end here mirrored my memory of what I was reading.
http://blog.ctnews.com/ostrout/2011/01/13/pasqualoni-taking-over-at-uconn/
I mean you aren't going to have a national news agency mock a hire. But try finding one who thinks it a great, or even good, hire.

I think there are more recent:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...k-of-for-every-college-football-coach/page/24

http://collegespun.com/big-east/con...ny-having-paul-pasqualoni-as-uconn-head-coach

http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com...-redshirt-diaries/23793-who-wont-be-the-coach

http://virginiatech.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=750&tid=160014719&mid=160014719&sid=1020

Whatever, at this point what does it matter. He will be the coach until they get invited into a real conference. If that day does not come, then UConn football is dead anyways.

Some people liked it. Some people didn't. I didn't have an opinion, because I don't spend my entire life combing the assistant ranks of C-USA or the MAAC looking for our next coach. My boss at the time, who is a Cuse guy and has connections to players that played for P when he was there, said he thought it was a good hire for UCONN and his connections thought he would do well. Those same people were REALLY pissed off when Syracuse DIDN'T poach Edsall from us when they were getting rid of GRob.

For every story or tweet that thinks this was foolish, any of us can find one to rebut it.

Pete Carroll was a joke also. He was going to ruin USC. Then he was going to prove that he couldn't coach in the NFL after failing previously. Oops.

 

[BlueDogs]

McHugh was VERY vocal about getting rid of Hathaway for a while beore Edsall left. To say he disliked Hathaway is being nice from what I have been told (if anyone knows different please correct me)...I'm sure if/when McHugh suggested Pasqualoni to JH it was a done deal...as that spineless, gutless, worthless puke Hathaway would have done ANYTHING to get in McHugh's good graces to get his bonus with out any issues and keep McHugh off his back. Again if anyone on here is in the know and finds this WAY off base please correct me.

"Gutless, worthless pukes" seem to be our forte when it comes to recent ADs. PP was a bad hire and most knew it. So many opportunities, yet the outcome was baked from day 1. The consultants were a classic maneuver to give cover to a pre-wired outcome. McHugh didn't just fall off the turnip truck.

 

[J187Money]

"Gutless, worthless pukes" seem to be our forte when it comes to recent ADs. PP was a bad hire and most knew it. So many opportunities, yet the outcome was baked from day 1. The consultants were a classic maneuver to give cover to a pre-wired outcome. McHugh didn't just fall off the turnip truck.

And by "knew it", meaning that most people didn't have any idea and read some blog posts by some disgruntled Syracuse fans that hated him and then co-opted those opinions as their own.

There were a number of people here that hated this from day one. And it turns out you were right (at least to date). Yay you.

 

[BlueDogs]

And by "knew it", meaning that most people didn't have any idea and read some blog posts by some disgruntled Syracuse fans that hated him and then co-opted those opinions as their own.

There were a number of people here that hated this from day one. And it turns out you were right (at least to date). Yay you.

Everybody wants the best for the program. There were plenty of critics especially in a comparative sense. There are intangibles including leadership, motivation and overall philosophy. Some argued go for the young hot prospects, and others for big names like RR with embedded recruiting networks. Pulling in an old guy whose career could be fairly described as in the twilight and on the downward slope (his NFL experience was not spectacular and headed towards journeyman staff status at best), made little sense for a program that had a chance to leverage off a programmatic high point.

I celebrate UConn success, not being right. The facts as they stand support the many that saw PP as a bad hire. Maybe it all miraculously gels in year 3, and I am gladly terribly wrong. I don't see it. Year 2 moved in the wrong direction on many fronts. Game decisions were bad as ever. The 118th worst offense is no easy accomplishment. So, indicators of progress are missing. You coach with what you have and the best get the best they can from them. He did not come close to doing that.

 

[UConnDan97]

I am not sure how to go back through a Twitter feed from two years ago, when my feed was filled with comments like "is that a joke?" "Is he still alive?" "really?" "P is not bad as long as he doesn't bring DeLeone" Most of my Syracuse friends were laughing at the hire. I also remember listening to SiriusXM college radio and Bill King basically concluding UConn didn't care about football with this hire (true?). As a fan of the Dolphins, I remember him being fired for continually being outcoached while DC. He was despised in south Florida if that is even possible. There were few if any here in this forum who hated this hire more than me, and he was my Saturday morning basketball coach when I was like 7 years old!

some of the comments at the end here mirrored my memory of what I was reading.
http://blog.ctnews.com/ostrout/2011/01/13/pasqualoni-taking-over-at-uconn/
I mean you aren't going to have a national news agency mock a hire. But try finding one who thinks it a great, or even good, hire.

I think there are more recent:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...k-of-for-every-college-football-coach/page/24

http://collegespun.com/big-east/con...ny-having-paul-pasqualoni-as-uconn-head-coach

http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com...-redshirt-diaries/23793-who-wont-be-the-coach

http://virginiatech.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=750&tid=160014719&mid=160014719&sid=1020

Whatever, at this point what does it matter. He will be the coach until they get invited into a real conference. If that day does not come, then UConn football is dead anyways.

I'll try to lighten my tone based on your last sentence, since it really doesn't matter and I typically enjoy your posts. I'll just focus on the Ostrout article that you included, since it seems to be the one that was written prior to any of the games being played. If you look at the bottom of the article, he had a poll that asks if people thought it was a good hire. Although 467 people is not a very big sample size, the results were:

Yes - 50.11%
No - 22.7%
Let's Wait and See - 21.63%
Don't Care - 3.85%
Other - 1.71%

That's hardly a resounding "joke" of a hire. Also, my brother went to Syracuse in the mid 90's, and he loved the guy. He thought it was a great pickup for us (he may have been biased by the McNabb / Jones / Freeney days, or maybe he was jaded by the Robinson era, but he loved him). But again, as you said, what does it matter...

 

[Srqhusky]

kevin do you live in south florida? I do. I can tell you 75% of whatever fans they have left wouldnt even know he was on their team. furthermore he was the least of there worries as their defense was decent but the offense was struggling to make 15 points a gsme

 

[RedSoloCup]

The use of the picture was reverse-psychology. It was meant for guys (and gals) to say, "No, I don't recognize that picture at all....because I'm a man's man (or a woman's woman)....so let's talk some football, okay?"

The only people that are to be hanged are the ones that admit they get the reference...

where is that picture from? I like the car, pretty cool.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Everybody wants the best for the program. There were plenty of critics especially in a comparative sense. There are intangibles including leadership, motivation and overall philosophy. Some argued go for the young hot prospects, and others for big names like RR with embedded recruiting networks. Pulling in an old guy whose career could be fairly described as in the twilight and on the downward slope (his NFL experience was not spectacular and headed towards journeyman staff status at best), made little sense for a program that had a chance to leverage off a programmatic high point.

The facts as they stand support the many that saw PP as a bad hire. Maybe it all miraculously gels in year 3, and I am gladly terribly wrong. I don't see it. Year 2 moved in the wrong direction on many fronts. Game decisions were bad as ever. The 118th worst offense is no easy accomplishment. So, indicators of progress are missing. You coach with what you have and the best get the best they can from them. He did not come close to doing that.

All too true. As for McHugh, his coaching was done in the '70s. No wonder he like PP. Old school ball is all he knows and he obviously doesn't see that the game has changed. Besides, McHugh made his mark at a school that recruits while most of Connecticut schools are not in that position. Thinking those wins need an asterik.

 

[UConnDan97]

where is that picture from? I like the car, pretty cool.

That picture was from the movie Just Say Anything. I'm pretty sure he was jamming the music "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel...on a boombox...for the girl that he really liked. I can't wait for the sequel, when we find out how they got divorced and that she kept the car...

 

[Kevin Caliendo]

kevin do you live in south florida? I do. I can tell you 75% of whatever fans they have left wouldnt even know he was on their team. furthermore he was the least of there worries as their defense was decent but the offense was struggling to make 15 points a gsme

I live in Fairfield county but am a fan of the Fish and watch every game. You are right that no one cares really down there, so my "insight" comes again from following the beat guys on Twitter and message boards. When he was the D-coordinator, the defense ranked 25th (he wasn't playing rookie CamWake I remember and some of the players were complaining about the style they ran). Sparano fired him I think. they've gone through 2-3 d-coor since I think, but their D has been decent since. Come to think of it, its funny that UConn's best asst coach was on D and PP brought in GDL to run the O when he himself was a defensive guy.

 

[CL82]

That picture was from the movie Just Say Anything. I'm pretty sure he was jamming the music "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel...on a boombox...for the girl that he really liked. I can't wait for the sequel, when we find out how they got divorced and that she kept the car...

...and the boom box and quite possibly his coat, just because he liked it.

 

[RedSoloCup]

...and the boom box and quite possibly his coat, just because he liked it.

but he will still have his kick-boxing. and no job.