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

 

[CTSooner]

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

If I'm missing sarcasm here, forgive me. Mark Stoops coached at Kentucky. Bob Stoops coached at Oklahoma. As much as I love my Sooners basketball is not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning the program. Unless you're thinking of UConn knocking them out of the men's and women's tourney last season. An interesting few days in this house. 😆

 

[freescooter]

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.

This is so right. I’ve seen farms bigger than Glastonbury in the mid-west! Connecticut, in particular, has this bizzare mindset. I call it the Portland-East Hampton factor after an experience I had with a guy who told me he only shopped in Portland but if they didn’t have it, he might go to East Hampton. If they didn’t have, he’d get along without it.

 

[JwittersPAC]

I’ve lived in some awfully nice places and I’ve been just about everywhere in this country. I live in a ridiculously nice place right now. Glastonbury is just fine. We’re talking about a nice place to live with some good food and a place to buy some cool clothes. All this while making several mill per year and being 30 minutes from ESPN and two hours from the media capital of the world. It is absolutely not coaching purgatory.

I personally love West Hartford. I think the quality of life there is extremely high based on my likes. It’s a bit further from UConn though, especially with traffic.

I have lived all over as well. Sorry to say Glastonbury would not make my list. West Hartford is fine if you are raising a family. I think the hard selling point is football is the 3rd wheel at UConn. Men’s and Women’s basketball take center stage. That can be an issue for most football coaches who have big egos.

 

[RedStickHusky]

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.

I think he knew that going in. He told his friend he'd throw his name in the discussion and he did. job done.

 

[JwittersPAC]

I think he knew that going in. He told his friend he'd throw his name in the discussion and he did. job done.

Yeah throw his name in behind the scenes to DB. But in public?

 

[Hoophound]

I have lived all over as well. Sorry to say Glastonbury would not make my list. West Hartford is fine if you are raising a family. I think the hard selling point is football is the 3rd wheel at UConn. Men’s and Women’s basketball take center stage. That can be an issue for most football coaches who have big egos.

I don’t see it that way. We have an elite athletic department. That championship pedigree will bleed over to football. The fans will bleed over too.

Most coaches are interviewing for jobs at schools that aren’t really good at anything at all. Think about that. We win national championships almost every year in one revenue sport or another. Most schools never win ANYTHING. It cannot continually be used against us that we have great basketball. When a fan of an average school says we are just a basketball school, I say “better that than a nothing school like yours”.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Yeah throw his name in behind the scenes to DB. But in public?

Sure. What'd cost him? He said he's not advocating but the guy maybe deserves a look. Wasn't exactly an endorsement. Besides, a private mention to DB wouldn't matter. You know DB's not interested. Put his name in public, maybe he ends up with a high school job from it.

 

[JwittersPAC]

It's all about the portal now anyways

You still need to be able to recruit High School players to build a core team. The transfer portal is only to fill in the gaps of your roster.

 

[RedStickHusky]

You still need to be able to recruit High School players to build a core team. The transfer portal is only to fill in the gaps of your roster.

If I was coaching a p4, I'd be hiding recruits at g5s to snatch up when they're juniors.

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

You still need to be able to recruit High School players to build a core team. The transfer portal is only to fill in the gaps of your roster.

Not sure if I believe this anymore...feels like you recruit high school kids only to coach them up and into the portal if they show out. The ones who don't are the ones who get an education and maybe a little playing time here and there. 75% or more of our starters may eventually be transfers.

 

[JwittersPAC]

Not sure if I believe this anymore...feels like you recruit high school kids only to coach them up and into the portal if they show out. The ones who don't are the ones who get an education and maybe a little playing time here and there. 75% or more of our starters may eventually be transfers.

Well you could be correct at most schools anymore but not true for the elite programs in FBS. My understanding we do not offer NIL to high School recruits that is why UConn currently has no chance for 4 and 5 star recruits. I think to have continuing success you need to keep a core team. Just like Hurley does for basketball.

 

[ZooCougar]

Not sure if I believe this anymore...feels like you recruit high school kids only to coach them up and into the portal if they show out. The ones who don't are the ones who get an education and maybe a little playing time here and there. 75% or more of our starters may eventually be transfers.

In our case it’s probably 70/30 in favor of the portal.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

You still need to be able to recruit High School players to build a core team. The transfer portal is only to fill in the gaps of your roster.

Anyone who believes that you won't need the bulk of your roster and at least close to half of your starters (assuming that another 30+% are second or third year in the system as transfers) doesn't understand football beyond being able to play it on a video game.

You can't just change what playbook you want to usd or what defense you want to run and everything is ready to roll. Real football isn't Madden.

If we want any sustainable success we will need to bring in and develop kids from high school. Granted, we won't need to almost entirely rely on them, but we can spend triple what we did ladt off season bringing in ten new starters on defense but we still would have a defense that would be susceptible to getting beaten badly at the worst possible moments. Continuity within a system is invaluable in this sport.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

In our case it’s probably 70/30 in favor of the portal.

We'd have one year out of every decade where we didn't underperform in relation to our talent under that scenario.

 

[zls44]

Oh, well, if that’s what the lawyers are releasing I guess it’s all good, gimme a break.

 

[ZooCougar]

Oh, well, if that’s what the lawyers are releasing I guess it’s all good, gimme a break.

Sorry. But you are hopelessly wrong on this.