New Head Coach Criteria/Wishes

[Jimdish255]

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.

That chip on your shoulder can work for you or against you. I trust DB will cast a wide enough net and let his judgement and confidants help make the right decision. Hope we can move quickly and get the right guy.

 

[zls44]

I would rather go 0-12 every year than have that scumbag Pat Fitzgerald within 100 miles of UConn.

He was also a straight-up bad coach the last three years he was in Evanston and if he wasn’t a legendary player would’ve been canned earlier.

Congrats to Michigan State on having no standards and settling for less. But based on Larry Nasser, it’s nothing we didn’t already know about that athletic department.

 

[Devland]

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.

Houston and Florida are recruiting hot beds. Connecticut, not so much.

 

[noeynox]

Houston and Florida are recruiting hot beds. Connecticut, not so much.

It's all about the portal now anyways

 

[JohnFSilver]

Houston and Florida are recruiting hot beds. Connecticut, not so much.

I just don't think that matters as much. Go into the portal and grab a transfer.

I think next coach should embrace the portal as the primary way to get players. UConn offers a starting spot.

 

[superjohn]

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.

It's never made any sense. Connecticut is the 4th most densely populated state and one of the least rural states in the country. Sure the little area around UConn is rural but CT is tiny and nothing is far, you're also 1.5 hours from Boston and 2.5 hours from arguably the most diverse and vibrant city in the world. A lot of people from the northeast don't seem to have a good grasp of the rest of the country.

 

[superjohn]

I would rather go 0-12 every year than have that scumbag Pat Fitzgerald within 100 miles of UConn.

He was also a straight-up bad coach the last three years he was in Evanston and if he wasn’t a legendary player would’ve been canned earlier.

Congrats to Michigan State on having no standards and settling for less. But based on Larry Nasser, it’s nothing we didn’t already know about that athletic department.

 

[CTSooner]

It looks like Kentucky is about to fire Mark Stoops. Yes, I'm an Oklahoma alum / fan so full Stoops disclaimer here. But I think he'd be a candidate to at least consider at UConn. For starters, he knows how to make a football program co-exist with a basketball culture.

 

[AllHusky]

It looks like Kentucky is about to fire Mark Stoops. Yes, I'm an Oklahoma alum / fan so full Stoops disclaimer here. But I think he'd be a candidate to at least consider at UConn. For starters, he knows how to make a football program co-exist with a basketball culture.

Are you saying Barry Switzers Oklahoma Sooner FB program took a back seat to hoops? I think not