New Head Coach Criteria/Wishes | Page 19 | The Boneyard

New Head Coach Criteria/Wishes

ScottVib said:
Herman was successful over a decade ago. Then moved to Texas and lasted only four years despite having every advantage, being fired in part due to the way he handled the program (check out Texas' budget and compare it to UConn's at that time). He then only lasted a year as an analyst remaining unemployed a season before FAU gave him a shot and flushed him after 2 years.

I'm not saying he wasn't successful, but a lot has changed in the decade since he was last successful, his Texas departure and struggles to find a role that he could stick at since then (even analyst roles) raise red flags. You don't typically get fired from FAU and then move upward and I'd like to think that UConn is aiming a bit higher than someone who couldn't cut it at FAU.
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I'm not completely sure his time at UT was unsuccessful and I still view the issues he had with a handful of players as something quite strange, and a few people looking for attention. As far as only spending one year asd an NFL analyst, Nagy got fired and Eberflus cleaned house, It happens quite often in the NFL.
 
DJHurlhoun said:
To be fair, Tom Herman was also 22-4 at Houston with a CFP/New Year's Six bowl win over Florida State. So just for the fun of it, let's combine those records from four years at non P-5 programs (at the time he coached them). 38-20 = 65.5% win percentage over 4 years.

Jim Mora was 27-23 at UConn = 54% win percentage over four years, and I would argue that UConn has had a much easier schedule as an independent. Don't get me wrong, I give Mora a ton of credit because we were one of the worst FBS football programs before he arrived.

One other point. In a 2024 study on the valuation of athletic programs, UConn was ranked #71 at $178 million with an annual revenue of 93 million. Florida Atlantic did not make this list as it was limited to the top 75. FAU athletics' operating budget for 2024-25 was 35.5 million. UConn spent 101 million.
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Herman was a disaster at FAU and often appeared to be on drugs after games and during press conferences.

The guy totally crashed out.

Next.
 
noeynox said:
He's gone. I'm not on his bandwagon.

I don't get why you're hell bent in saying he sucks. He did great here. You yourself said a team needs resources to succeed. He got a little NIL and did something with it. You're even trying to use that as a knock.

He is NOT irreplaceable, but is not a slam dunk the next guy will be as good.
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You're understating your case. Yes, he had a bit more NIL than the G5 generally, but spread among a lot of players, not very much. He could give $10k to a bunch of players and $100k or more to a few. Lots of other G5 programs could compete with that on any given player. He still had to find good players and effectively recruit them with at most a small cash advantage.

I'd guess it's no better than 50% that the next guy will be as good. We did very well getting Mora. Every candidate we can get has some risk.
 
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tiger paw said:
1. Wait for Penn State to hire it's new coach. Find out who the other finalist were and target them.
2. Who wants to live in rural CT ?
3. Who has a wife willing to endure living in rural CT.
4. Some one with Northeast ties.
5. Some one with NFL experience.
6. Some one willing to accept being 3rd fiddle to UC MBB +WBB.
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I don’t get the rural CT thing. Live in Glastonbury like they all do. Storrs is 20 minutes from civilization. It’s such a silly argument. I actually like Storrs as a place to live. About the only real downside is there isn’t a lot of places to have a 5 martini lunch like some of the socialites like. My wife has always lived in big cities and she loves Mansfield. When my daughter was considering UConn my wife was ready to buy a house there and plant a garden. She thought it was great. She figured it was nothing to go shopping at Buckland etc. Gainesville and Tallahassee are no great shakes. I’ve spent tons of time in both.
 
Fatroony5 said:
I don’t understand why people keep suggesting Matt Patricia. I’ve been a patriots fan my entire life, he is not head coach material. He can scheme up good defenses, but no way we want him as the head man; time & time again people keep dipping into Bill’s coaching tree & they flop, hard no. Sammis is not a serious candidate, if we ended up with him we’re in a bad spot.

I’ve said it for a few days now I’m all in on Pat Fitzgerald. It’d signify to our own players, portal players, & the rest of CFB that were fully invested in football, perception matters. I want them to go big at this point. If not Fitz, I’d be looking at P4 assistants or lower G5 coaches that can immediately hit the ground running. Maybe Cahill can smash it here, I’d just be more nervous going after a FCS coach than a P4 assistant with really good connections that can bring players with him right now. Hopefully we get this hire right.
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Same thoughts here. We have no head coach, players graduating, players portalling, and recruits possibly getting poached. Our former HC left us in an extremely precarious situation. It may be important to get a current coach who can bring in some players and recruits with him. It may be possible to get a current G6 head coach or P4 assistant coach

Fitzgerald has very little experience outside of Northwestern and is currently at Loyola Academy in IL as an assistant. His son Ryan is now a freshman QB at Iowa but didn't play and only had offers from MAC level teams. Of course Pat may be itching to get back into coaching.

"Following his dismissal from Northwestern, Fitzgerald became a parent volunteer for Loyola Academy's football team. Fitzgerald's son, Ryan, was the team's starting quarterback for the 2023 season. Loyola Academy beat Lincoln-Way East High School to win the 2023 IHSA Class 8A State Football Championship"

 
Kolumbo said:
Same thoughts here. We have no head coach, players graduating, players portalling, and recruits possibly getting poached. Our former HC left us in an extremely precarious situation. It may be important to get a current coach who can bring in some players and recruits with him. It may be possible to get a current G6 head coach or P4 assistant coach

Fitzgerald has very little experience outside of Northwestern and is currently at Loyola Academy in IL as an assistant. His son Ryan is now a freshman QB at Iowa but didn't play and only had offers from MAC level teams. Of course Pat may be itching to get back into coaching.

"Following his dismissal from Northwestern, Fitzgerald became a parent volunteer for Loyola Academy's football team. Fitzgerald's son, Ryan, was the team's starting quarterback for the 2023 season. Loyola Academy beat Lincoln-Way East High School to win the 2023 IHSA Class 8A State Football Championship"

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Yeah, I like the thought. He's a highly regarded and successful coach at a difficult location. He was very loyal to Northwestern. He did sue them for $130 million, which may put off a bunch of schools (as Kevin Ollie's suit against UConn may have hindered from getting his next job), but that gives UConn a fighting chance to reel him in. If there were no negatives at all he'd be taken by a P4 school.
 
Smith from MSU is an interesting option. Yes, things did not go well at Michigan State but that program has been in a downward trend since the later D'Antonio years. What he did at Oregon State was impressive and shows he has the ability to maximize a tough situation. Plus the MSU buyout lessens the need to pay him top dollar.
 
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Hoophound said:
I don’t get the rural CT thing. Live in Glastonbury like they all do. Storrs is 20 minutes from civilization. It’s such a silly argument. I actually like Storrs as a place to live. About the only real downside is there isn’t a lot of places to have a 5 martini lunch like some of the socialites like. My wife has always lived in big cities and she loves Mansfield. When my daughter was considering UConn my wife was ready to buy a house there and plant a garden. She thought it was great. She figured it was nothing to go shopping at Buckland etc. Gainesville and Tallahassee are no great shakes. I’ve spent tons of time in both.
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If you’re hanging your hat on Glastonbury CT compared to other places around the country then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
 
RitzLuce1 said:
After reading his tweets the last 72 hours I cannot stress how imperative it is that Marc D’Amelio be kept as far away from this process as possible.

For such a big wig donor, he is advocating for things that are both insane and damaging to the program.
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Not everyone should get a platform but by all means. Start writing those checks!
 
RitzLuce1 said:
After reading his tweets the last 72 hours I cannot stress how imperative it is that Marc D’Amelio be kept as far away from this process as possible.

For such a big wig donor, he is advocating for things that are both insane and damaging to the program.
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Agreed - the AD needs to be the single official mouthpiece. No politicians, for sure. Donors need to first be aligned to the AD.
 
RitzLuce1 said:
After reading his tweets the last 72 hours I cannot stress how imperative it is that Marc D’Amelio be kept as far away from this process as possible.

For such a big wig donor, he is advocating for things that are both insane and damaging to the program.
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For sure, he shouldn’t make the decisions. We need him though as long as he’s an online idiot we can live with that.
 
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RitzLuce1 said:
After reading his tweets the last 72 hours I cannot stress how imperative it is that Marc D’Amelio be kept as far away from this process as possible.

For such a big wig donor, he is advocating for things that are both insane and damaging to the program.
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I appreciate Marc for whatever financial contributions he makes to UConn athletics, but I’ve always felt this off vibe coming from him.

Pushing for his buddy publicly, who is in no way qualified, feels very self important of him. No we’re not hiring your friend to run the program, please get serious.
 
Huskyforlife said:
I appreciate Marc for whatever financial contributions he makes to UConn athletics, but I’ve always felt this off vibe coming from him.

Pushing for his buddy publicly, who is in no way qualified, feels very self important of him. No we’re not hiring your friend to run the program, please get serious.
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It was insane. Thankfully Burton is the guy that matters with the money.
 
These are the ones I would like to target in no particular order:

1. Pat Fitzgerald
2. Kevin Cahill from Leigh
3. Coach at Delaware
4. SDSU the entire staff
5. Buffalo head coach
6. Yale HC since he is already coaching in CT

The most important criteria is how they plan to recruit and manage the money to build a roster. Also, what kind of coaching staff they can construct.
 
UCONNRPh said:
My issue with Sammis is that the majority of his plays called were focused on a handful of guys. Many on the team were frustrated (i.e. Rosa)

It could easily be ANY of the aforementioned HCs or even one not mentioned will be successful at UConn as long as we have the funds to hire a VERY solid support staff.
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Rosa was the 3rd or 4th back. Good grief. He wasn’t better than Cam and it’s not even close. Sammis did a fine job. He got the ball to his stars. But Fsgnano had 3000 yards passing. Bell had 1000 catching them. So some other guys caught 2000 yards worth os passes.
 
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