One Writer's Opinion about HCBD Controlling the Message | Page 2 | The Boneyard

One Writer's Opinion about HCBD Controlling the Message

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Jesus I wish Mark Mangino had just duck*ing eaten him.
 
There is no trust(yet), he lost an assistant coach. He has dopey Joe Zone yelling about how he handles scholarship choices without coaching a game yet...
 
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It was strange to say the least. I'm not sure if BD may have been "uncomfortable" and/or a little "unsure" about naming a single starter QB. He rambled on almost in an "apologetic manner" to justify his decision.

He's the head coach, for Pete's sake. The CEO of UConn football. He doesn't have to justify anything. So what if maybe UConn does not have one QB that has all the skills of a complete Div. I QB. Just name the GD starting QB. That is his decision and he doesn't have to explain why.

There wasn't any pressure from the fans or press. He isn't on a "hot seat" ........yet. Just name a starter and open it up to questions......and move on.

I'm not sure any of the players felt comfortable.

Just a strange news conference.

Now I'm beginning to be a little nervous as to how decisive he will be during game time and how he will appear after his first loss. Hope he doesn't try to justify every play of the game,

 
Ken Davis has done more damage to UConn football in the form of his trainwreck s-c-o-u-t site than Diaco ever could with the media. Having a dead site like that on a portal that other fans look to isn't helping us at all.
 
Funny, for all of the crap that DC takes, much of it deserved, he is live tweeting Diaco's appearance at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce breakfast today. Not a peep out of Mr. Davis. Stories are there if you want them bad enough Kenny.


(*The fact he's not tweeting doesn't mean he's not there, obviously, but after a hatchet job like the one in the OP, it isn't a good look to not at least provide some sort of balance here.)
 
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Mr Davis is clearly an egomaniac with hurt feelings. He should take his ball and go home.
 
I think the program, including HCBD, needs to spend more time coddling both the local media and the CT HS FB Coaches, as both have proven invaluable allies and fully committed to seeing State U. compete on a national stage. We should care very much about their opinions and views.
 
pepband99 said:
Ken Davis has done more damage to UConn football in the form of his trainwreck s-c-o-u-t site than Diaco ever could with the media. Having a dead site like that on a portal that other fans look to isn't helping us at all.
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Sometimes sarcasm doesn't come through in writing. Your post isn't serious, is it?
 
I think the CT media learned a lesson with PP....they were so happy to have a coach who talked to them, they treated him as if he was better than Edsall. They quickly realized that fans really didn't care how the coach treated the media...they wanted a competent team on the field. Media liked Paul more than Randy. Fans liked Randy more than Paul. So when the media displayed favoritism to Paul it backfired on them. Fans lost respect for the media...because they decided to align with a coach that was easier for them to work with versus actually being a good football coach.

They seemed to have learned with BD because they are focusing on the positive culture change. How the players appear to be physicially and mentally ready to play. Other than Davis, they haven't bitched about not having access to practices and the team.

But...if BD has a rough stretch....that will change quickly.

Davis's mis-step is that he built the narrative before the team played a game. Hard to take his complaining seriously when we don't know if BD's tactics will produce a winning team or a losing team. Davis doesn't get that all the fans care about is a BD running a good clean program that is competitive. If UConn shows progress and development, the fans could care less how goofy and controlling the press conferences are.

Unless all that Davis wanted to accomplish was people to talk about him...which...he did get that. Of course it is in a negative light, but maybe that isn't important to him.
 
Diaco is the coach, he runs his program as he sees fit. If he wins, then he did it right. If he doesn't win, then his method can be questioned. Otherwise, the media should report the news, not make it. This guy should stop his whining. Do his job, which is reporting the news, not making it. Perhaps we need Max Mercy to show up ;)
 
Being a little more open would not kill Diaco. Publicity is a good thing.
 
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Pudge said:
I think Diaco has done a lot if great things in a short timeframe.
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Can you list some of those and tell us why they are great? Or are they just great in comparison to PP?

He talks a good game about commitment and accountability and added what appears to be a very competent strength and conditioning coach (how the team holds up during the season will be the actual proof of that), but beyond that, there is nothing that has been shown to the public or the media except what he wants them to see or hear. Not that there is anything wrong with that but as they say, talk is cheap.
 
This is ridiculous. The press conference was different but not weird. I liked his explanation and discussion of the QB decision. I can just see the media talk/squawk had he merely announced Casey as the starter. Media: "Diaco provided us with no rationale for his choice of Casey, leaving us to speculate on the roles of Whitmer and Boyle. As HC he owes us more"

I'm ten toes in on Diaco. Go Huskies!
 
Jimmy Serrano said:
Sometimes sarcasm doesn't come through in writing. Your post isn't serious, is it?
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It's semi-serious. Think of it this way - having that essentially dead site out there "controls the message" that our fanbase sucks.
 
06029 said:
Can you list some of those and tell us why they are great? Or are they just great in comparison to PP?

He talks a good game about commitment and accountability and added what appears to be a very competent strength and conditioning coach (how the team holds up during the season will be the actual proof of that), but beyond that, there is nothing that has been shown to the public or the media except what he wants them to see or hear. Not that there is anything wrong with that but as they say, talk is cheap.
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He hasn't won a single game yet but you have to give him credit for transforming the culture in a short period of time. Players have bought in. Bodies have been transformed. Kids like playing football again. He has done a lot to get out in the public and engage the fanbase.

That is really all you can expect from him at this point. He's had a few trip ups that you'd expect from a 1st time HC. Ernest Jones and Monday's presser (my opinion only). At the risk of upsetting the recruitniks we have no idea how well Diaco is recruiting here. What's really gonna define his tenure here ultimately is wins and losses.

Stop being an downer.
 
pepband99 said:
It's semi-serious. Think of it this way - having that essentially dead site out there "controls the message" that our fanbase sucks.
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No UConn fans go to that website. How many fans of other teams do you think frequent there? More importantly, do they matter?
 
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I don't know Ken, I wasn't at the presser (though I watched)... But it comes across as whining that Diaco isn't making Davis's job easier. Which - when there are other folks working for and putting out good reads - reeks of entitlement and laziness.
 
gioff23 said:
I think the program, including HCBD, needs to spend more time coddling both the local media and the CT HS FB Coaches, as both have proven invaluable allies and fully committed to seeing State U. compete on a national stage. We should care very much about their opinions and views.
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CT HS football coaches? Have you been reading all the articles being put out? He's been touring the state visiting every high school football program there is and inviting everyone to their football camp
 
Lot's of discussion on twitter this morning about the subject from @UconnFB_Andrew (Andrew Callahan), @NoEscalators, @JohnFSilver, and the Boneyards own @MattSchonvisky, among others. The old school guys have their opinion and the new schools guys have theirs.

The issue I have here is that its 8/20/14 and Ken Davis needs to hold the duck up. Diaco is not only trying to change the team but the culture. That takes work and I think he needs to make that new culture unbreakable before he can open it up to outside influence. That takes time and lots of it. I think the Horde is due for a culture change. Too many years of resting on their laurels of right puff pieces with easy quotes. The fans are starting to demand in-depth, knowledgeable reporting. Andrew Callahan did some of the best if not THE BEST reporting I've ever seen on Uconn Football. He had film breakdown, formations, etc. The Horde writes opinion pieces, this kid writes actual football articles.

The Horde might need to start changing its culture along with Uconn. Starting manning up and transform the way you write and report. Go and out and get a story instead of asking one handed to you. Write about something I care about. I don't care about you rehashing the QB. Write knowledgeable articles that teach me something new.
 
We have to give Diaco some slack. He inherited a team that had 3 losing seasons in a row that was run by two guys that were beyond their expiration dates. And, the team had an interim coach who was likeable and the team through 3 starting QBs. Plus, the previous coaches had an offense that had the QB running for his life and then started an unready freshman QB who should have been redshirted. It looked like the senior QB was ready to quit and the freshman QB was probably upset with blowing his redshirt.

IMHO, in college, QB is the most important position. Diaco has kept all three legacy QBs on board, convincing the senior to come back, the sophomore to redshirt, and he has brought in a transfer QB. Has UConn ever had this type of depth at QB? I don't think so.

I think his handling of the QB situation has been ver positive. By bringing all of the QBs out to the press conference, it was very clear that he wanted to be straightforward with each QB's position on the team.
 
Jimmy Serrano said:
No UConn fans go to that website. How many fans of other teams do you think frequent there? More importantly, do they matter?
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The fact you see more random fanbase fans than posts from UConn people sort of proves my point. Even worse is the sole poster is pretty much the village lunatic.
 
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gioff23 said:
A little more open? A little more publicity? Seriously? The guy has been everywhere since he arrived. Short of open-ing his fly, what more would you like him to do - lay out the plays he will call and schemes he plans to set for BYU?
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He keeps all the practices closed. It's one of the ways he controls the information flow. How manages the story and keeps info close to the vest.

Although I appreciate your incredulous, I stand by my previous post.
 
Dear Ken Davis

The rationale behind Diaco's decision is simple. Coach Diaco believes the team is better, and therefore more likely to win games, with Casey Cochran starting at QB and Whitmer coming in from time to time to run certain packages.

It's not rocket science Ken, coaches will start the players they believe give them the best chance. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong. Going over specific strengths and weaknesses and giving detail on what packages they will run 10 days out of the first game will give the opposition an idea of what to prepare for. If they know that Whitmer will be brought in to run the read option, they can prepare for that. Coach Diaco doesn't want BYU to know what to prepare for. The more they have to be prepared for, the tougher it will be for them to prepare.
 
06029 said:
Can you list some of those and tell us why they are great? Or are they just great in comparison to PP?

He talks a good game about commitment and accountability and added what appears to be a very competent strength and conditioning coach (how the team holds up during the season will be the actual proof of that), but beyond that, there is nothing that has been shown to the public or the media except what he wants them to see or hear. Not that there is anything wrong with that but as they say, talk is cheap.
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Number ONE ... and this comes from watching assemblage of staff at UConn; and at BC, Syracuse, Rutgers, etc ... GREAT is the way he pulled together a top credentialed staff quick and efficiently. ALL targeted to our (UConn & CT) place in the world. We need guys that know NJ, PA, NE, VA and can recruit Florida, Georgia. He is there. He got guys - all of whom except Foley - that he knew and coached with before. He filled this with a nice balance of age/experience and youth/passion. I like the stories of virtually all of these guys. (and always thought Foley was the highlight of the last 5 years of UConn staffing in Football).

I contrast this with Edsall; with Schiano; with Pasqualoni; with (disaster) Greg Robinson; with (disaster) Dave Kragthorpe; with Addazio; with Frank Spaziano; with Flood. Diaco ... came out of the hiring strong.

This then translated into a really solid first 7 months of recruiting. And this - to me - emphasizes a culture he did install.

ALL just the beginning ... but I think I give him high grades contrasting him with others.

Again, let's see what translates on the field. I, however, would love to talk to Ken Davis when we are bowl bound after that pre-emptive strike on 8/18.
 
Davis complains about lack of information, but I have never known a coach to provide so much information on his thinking regarding his selecting starting and backup quarterbacks.

I am very happy that the media can’t provide us with ” any impression of this team or the schemes Diaco might use in the opener”, as they would also be providing that to BYU. One advantage in having a new coaching staff, is for that first game a least,, it is more difficult for the opposition to prepare for us.
 
Sprague03 said:
CT HS football coaches? Have you been reading all the articles being put out? He's been touring the state visiting every high school football program there is and inviting everyone to their football camp
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it was a joke, or intended as such. If you believe the CT HS FB coaches are supportive of this program, you're nuts. They're still whining about PP's firing and that the staff did not attend a coaches clinic in a snowstorm this winter.
 
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