OC Hire will tell a lot about football future

[Jimdish255]

"Wanna come help the offense? BTW we don't return punts."

 

[zls44]

Bless your hearts for thinking UConn is going to swim in the same salary pool as Pitt, RU or those top AAC teams on this hire. I wish I had your naive optimism.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I'm not reading through all the responses, but my reaction to the OP Thread title is,,,,,,,duh?????

 

[Athlete94]

I'm not sure how true this would be. Someone looking to move up may see an opportunity.

Well considering most incoming coaches bring in there own, I wouldn't leave a more secure position some where, move my family only to be axed a year later. We all know he will be canned if there's another 3-9 type of year. I don't know about you, but I don't see 4 guarantee wins on that schedule.

 

[freescooter]

We have a coach on the hot seat in a huge way looking for an oc to come for maybe a season and you think it will foretell the future of UConn football? Seriously? This is about Diaco's last stand. If things turn around in a significant way on that side of the ball and if we end up with a winning record he will be back and so will the coordinator but if not, both will likely be out the door come December 2017. It will. E tricky to get an experienced guy for that job because Diaco doesn't look like he is a coach you want to hitch your star to. Simple as that.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Good Lord. The last thing we need is another favor in BD's hiring strategy. He's done everything short of bringing his immediate family on staff, and it's part of what's gotten us in this mess. I want someone who has no prior experience with Diaco. That should literally be a prerequisite.

I think you missed my point. I agree that hiring inside his "coaching tree" hasn't worked and he should get someone with a fresh perspective. I have been vocal that his hiring his cronies approach has been part of the issue here. The problem is that you aren't going to get that up and coming outsider to come to UConn to captain the Titanic. Only way someone with any ability will come here is because they already know BD.

 

[temery]

Well considering most incoming coaches bring in there own, I wouldn't leave a more secure position some where, move my family only to be axed a year later. We all know he will be canned if there's another 3-9 type of year. I don't know about you, but I don't see 4 guarantee wins on that schedule.

Bowl game last year wasn't seen in the cards either. My guess is the AD will be doing the hiring more than the coach.

 

[TheDrifter75]

I think you missed my point. I agree that hiring inside his "coaching tree" hasn't worked and he should get someone with a fresh perspective. I have been vocal that his hiring his cronies approach has been part of the issue here. The problem is that you aren't going to get that up and coming outsider to come to UConn to captain the Titanic. Only way someone with any ability will come here is because they already know BD.

I can see someone coming thats recommended from someone he knows and not necessarily a direct contact of his.

 

[ktuck911]

I can see someone coming thats recommended from someone he knows and not necessarily a direct contact of his.

Hoping for this...

 

[Confident Carl]

I think you missed my point. I agree that hiring inside his "coaching tree" hasn't worked and he should get someone with a fresh perspective. I have been vocal that his hiring his cronies approach has been part of the issue here. The problem is that you aren't going to get that up and coming outsider to come to UConn to captain the Titanic. Only way someone with any ability will come here is because they already know BD.

Shaky, there has been a shift in Offensive philosophy to a spread. Sure, Verducci was hired because BD knew him but also for his Run Game coordinator experience. After so many years of this nonsense, things will open up and speed up significantly under the next OC.

A successful FCS coordinator, or P5 position coach would probably jump at the opportunity to make a name for himself by being a part of a UCONN turn around and at the same time make around 300K per year. I am confident that there is no shortage of qualified coaches for the UCONN OC job. Talk about a ground floor opportunity!

One such coach who I have been posting about is Donnie Kirkpatrick, OC at JMU who came to the Dukes last January and their only loss this year was to North Carolina. They finished 2nd in offense in the FCS. They play Friday night against North Dakota State in the FCS National Semi-Final. I love the fact that he had so much success in only his first year. On the surface, he seems like a perfect coach for UCONN. This is not a time for a coach with training wheels.

Here is what head coach Mike Houston said about Donnie when he hired him:

“Donnie has been a part of some really good offenses at East Carolina and had a lot of success there. He’s had a lot of success as a head coach and offensive coordinator at previous stops. I know him very well and have known him for some time. I know how he’ll fit in with the rest of our staff. I know how he is with the kids and what kind of recruiter he is. I think he’s a smart football coach who will use the talent we have on the roster right now and also the talent we have in the recruiting class, he’ll use that talent the right way."


PS - He is making 90K at JMU. Might be wanting to build up the 401K!

James Madison University Athletics - 2016 Football Coaching Staff

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The main issue is that even if the guy is good or could be good, there is no way of telling due to the offense we are going to put on the field next year at minimum.

 

[Dooley]

First: we need to crack the $500K mark for our new OC. Find a guy with experience calling plays and, you know, coordinating an offense. A higher pay pool removes the financial limitation of finding the right guy...

...Second: it does not remove the dumpster fire limitation to us finding the right guy. If Diaco returns for season 4 - and it looks like that is the case (gulp) - then not many OCs are going to look at our program and our roster and think to themselves "UConn is a place where I can further my career development". Quite the opposite in fact. Diaco will likely shackle whoever comes in with his overly stupid and overly conservative preference to playing 1920s style football. Just about the *only* positive selling feature to our job opening is to tell prospective OCs that when (not if) we start 0-4 in 2017 and we finally can Diaco, the new OC could get their head coach feet wet with 8 season weeks of an interim title. Perhaps they will look at Ed Orgeron at LSU and draw inspiration. Only problem with that is that LSU has FBS football players that fit their style and we...

...Third: don't. We have been recruiting big bodies for 2+ years under the guise of running a power run scheme. Big bodies = slower speed times. In other words, any OC we bring in must realize that we simply do not have a 2-deep filled with guys who can run an uptempo offense. The new OC will have to figure out the best way towards utilizing big frame dudes into his offense. Most tempo OCs want speed, not bulk, and revamping our offense in one season is going to be too big of a task, I'm afraid.

I haven't even gotten to the most important position on the field and how we haven't had a FBS level quality QB in over a decade. Williams has athleticism, I'll give him that. But the kid is not ready to play at this level and the present coaching staff did him a huge disservice playing him this past season. Maybe Williams will continue to develop despite his coaches, who knows. Maybe he'll develop more from playing catch with Hergy and Beals at 1am in the offseason than he will during spring or summer practices. Or maybe Sheriffs ribs were be fused and welded back together again and he will come back in 2017 stronger. Who knows. But for any prospective OC looking/evaluating UConn, we offer far more questions than answers and in very important areas.

I can't say this enough: we have to wipe the slate clean and gut the entire coaching staff. Bite the financial bullet on the payout, learn our lessons about never getting far too excited about a 6-7 season ever again, and MOVE ON. I have zero confidence in Diaco's ability to hire the right guy and I have zero confidence/expectation that the new guy will be allowed to have complete control over the offense.

Bring in a new staff top to bottom, let roster attrition take place, and completely change the losing culture here.

 

[Bonehead]

How can you hit a home run since you get one year and have a paper thin roster and no QB?

Wing T

;-)

 

[thatguyed]

Wing T

;-)

I like wings. Hot, BBQ, teriyaki, doesn't matter. Who doesn't like wings?

 

[weyuo]

I like wings. Hot, BBQ, teriyaki, doesn't matter. Who doesn't like wings?

I like legs and thighs myself: