Schiano 2.0 vs. Edsall 2.0

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

A lot easier to turn things around quick with that Big10 money

 

[UConnJim]

I thought Edsall would be able to stabilize the program, bring in better recruits, and develop them like he did during 1.0. I do think he brought in better recruits and he was developing them, but they are still young although he didn't develop a franchise QB. But, I do think the roster and the program were in bad shape when Edsall arrived. And, unlike 1.0, the schedule was much more difficult for rebuilding quickly using primarily HS recruits given UConn is a development program. The Holy Cross loss was a debacle, but you aren't going to win against anybody when your QB has 4 turnovers.

Given the cards he was handed, there are some things he could have done differently.

Before I get into what he should have done differently, people need to stop focusing on the outbound transfers. It is happening all over college football, especially when there is a coaching change. (It happened to Schiano 2.0 as well.) I would argue, UConn's transfer numbers are about in-line with the average FBS school and just like every FBS school, there are kids who are going to leave who you don't want to leave. Do people really think he was happy that Beavers and Coyle left? Of course not. Also, if you are a 4th year junior who is not a major contributor, you will not get your scholarship renewed at virtually every school. Why? Because you have an 85 scholarship limit.

What should 2.0 done differently?

1) He should have used the transfer portal to a greater extent given how young the roster was going to skew.

2) He should have recruited an up and coming OC when Dunn left instead of promoting an internal candidate with no OC experience.

3) He should have adjusted his style and approach to today's players and modern football.

 

[Chief00]

I thought Edsall would be able to stabilize the program, bring in better recruits, and develop them like he did during 1.0. I do think he brought in better recruits and he was developing them, but they are still young although he didn't develop a franchise QB. But, I do think the roster and the program were in bad shape when Edsall arrived. And, unlike 1.0, the schedule was much more difficult for rebuilding quickly using primarily HS recruits given UConn is a development program. The Holy Cross loss was a debacle, but you aren't going to win against anybody when your QB has 4 turnovers.

Given the cards he was handed, there are some things he could have done differently.

Before I get into what he should have done differently, people need to stop focusing on the outbound transfers. It is happening all over college football, especially when there is a coaching change. (It happened to Schiano 2.0 as well.) I would argue, UConn's transfer numbers are about in-line with the average FBS school and just like every FBS school, there are kids who are going to leave who you don't want to leave. Do people really think he was happy that Beavers and Coyle left? Of course not. Also, if you are a 4th year junior who is not a major contributor, you will not get your scholarship renewed at virtually every school. Why? Because you have an 85 scholarship limit.

What should 2.0 done differently?

1) He should have used the transfer portal to a greater extent given how young the roster was going to skew.

2) He should have recruited an up and coming OC when Dunn left instead of promoting an internal candidate with no OC experience.

3) He should have adjusted his style and approach to today's players and modern football.

When he blamed Lashlee for scoring too fast and putting an inept defense on the field run by his hand picked disaster - Chief knew things were upside down in year one - and it only got worse when he ran Lashlee out of town and his buddies put out that lame story blaming Lashlee’s wife.

 

[Bubba1957]

I was happy to see RE hired and to have an “adult” in the room after Diablo (who I was also happy to see hired). I’ve been dead wrong both times. Randy was not capable or interested in looking at the talent he inherited/recruited and adjusting his approach to what he had. He was going to build a team that ran it down your throat without having the hogs to do it. So he failed. Like Diablo with the fake fake field goal, a coach should feel responsible for putting players in the best position to succeed based on their abilities. His teams might not have been great, but a good coach would have had them competing. Instead he whined about their lack of ability. I’ve learned my lesson, it will be wait and see before I jump on any bandwagons.

 

[Bongo Fury]

I hear ya. I’m always optimistic. Hoped PP would bring it to the next level. Had some success at Cuse especially with Mcnab. Hiring is a crapshoot. This time it’s the AD David Benedict’s choice and feel he will deliver. He wants it as much as we do.

 

[Dean Wormer]

Rutgers sucks. Always has, always will. Couldn’t care less about them. I’m worried about UConn. Anyone else can kick rocks.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Fat drunk and stupid is no way to play football

 

[noeynox]

I hear ya. I’m always optimistic. Hoped PP would bring it to the next level. Had some success at Cuse especially with Mcnab. Hiring is a crapshoot. This time it’s the AD David Benedict’s choice and feel he will deliver. He wants it as much as we do.

I remember wanting Dave Clawson. His Wake Forest team looking real good right now against UVA.

 

[Bongo Fury]

I remember wanting Dave Clawson. His Wake Forest team looking real good right now against UVA.

Yeah would have been nice. Believe it was like him Lembo and Narduzzi and out of nowhere Diaco hired.

 

[UConnJim]

When he blamed Lashlee for scoring too fast and putting an inept defense on the field run by his hand picked disaster - Chief knew things were upside down in year one - and it only got worse when he ran Lashlee out of town and his buddies put out that lame story blaming Lashlee’s wife.

Look Edsall made a number of mistakes at UConn and Crocker's defense the first year was a disaster.

That said, Edsall didn't get on Lashlee for scoring too fast. He got on him for too many short offensive series. If you are going to run an uptempo offensive, you have to score as uptempo offenses win in shootouts and Lashlee's offense did not score.

In 2017 under Lashlee, UConn's total offense was rated 50th, but scoring offense was rated 103rd. Red zone TD% was ranked 110th. UConn could move the ball, but they couldn't put it in the end zone.

Lashlee came to UConn because he was a reclamation project after getting fired by Auburn. Remember, he took a massive pay cut ($600k to $350k) when he came to UConn, so it was pretty clear he was going to leave when he got a better offer. If you took a massive pay cut after getting fired, wouldn't you be looking for a new job to get back to your old pay scale? Of course you would.

When Lashlee got fired at Auburn as OC, his offense had regressed. His scoring offense went from 12th to 27th to 74th to 49th. It seems like he is running into the same problem at Miaim, although this season is still young. His scoring offense has gone from 25th last year to 117th this year. And he has a stud 24 year old 6th year senior QB! Playing CCSU today should help the stats this year.

He went to SMU where he could learn from Sonny Dykes, one of the best offensive minds in college football. So, not only did he get a pay raise, he got to learn from one of the best.

And, how has SMU's offense performed since Lashlee left? They haven't missed a beat due to Sonny Dykes:

2018 (Lashlee): 81st in total offense, 54th in scoring offense
2019 (Lashlee): 9th in total offense, 7th in scoring offense.
2020 (no Lashlee): 12th in total offense, 15th in scoring offense
2021 (no Lashlee): 10th in total offense, 10th in scoring offense.

 

[huskymedic]

When he blamed Lashlee for scoring too fast and putting an inept defense on the field run by his hand picked disaster - Chief knew things were upside down in year one…

@FfldCntyFan what say you?

 

[huskymedic]

Lashlee came to UConn because he was a reclamation project after getting fired by Auburn. Remember, he took a massive pay cut ($600k to $350k) when he came to UConn, so it was pretty clear he was going to leave when he got a better offer. If you took a massive pay cut after getting fired, wouldn't you be looking for a new job to get back to your old pay scale? Of course you would.

Lashlee wasn’t fired by Auburn... the conventional thought process was he needed to get out from under Malzahn (who was the de facto OC/Play-caller) to prove his ability as an OC.

 

[Tdaley]

I thought Edsall would be able to stabilize the program, bring in better recruits, and develop them like he did during 1.0. I do think he brought in better recruits and he was developing them, but they are still young although he didn't develop a franchise QB. But, I do think the roster and the program were in bad shape when Edsall arrived. And, unlike 1.0, the schedule was much more difficult for rebuilding quickly using primarily HS recruits given UConn is a development program. The Holy Cross loss was a debacle, but you aren't going to win against anybody when your QB has 4 turnovers.

Given the cards he was handed, there are some things he could have done differently.

Before I get into what he should have done differently, people need to stop focusing on the outbound transfers. It is happening all over college football, especially when there is a coaching change. (It happened to Schiano 2.0 as well.) I would argue, UConn's transfer numbers are about in-line with the average FBS school and just like every FBS school, there are kids who are going to leave who you don't want to leave. Do people really think he was happy that Beavers and Coyle left? Of course not. Also, if you are a 4th year junior who is not a major contributor, you will not get your scholarship renewed at virtually every school. Why? Because you have an 85 scholarship limit.

What should 2.0 done differently?

1) He should have used the transfer portal to a greater extent given how young the roster was going to skew.

2) He should have recruited an up and coming OC when Dunn left instead of promoting an internal candidate with no OC experience.

3) He should have adjusted his style and approach to today's players and modern football.

Edsall was never going to do items 1 through 3.

 

[noeynox]

Lashlee at UConn represented hope after the Diaco paint drying offensive model.

While we weren't a winning team it was fun to see us advancing the ball. Of course Randy didn't like it as he seems to prefer offensive performances like what we saw against Fresno.

We have a better chance at getting more fans in the stadium playing a wide open style than hoping to find that home run hire. We are no longer playing for conference championships so playing fun schedules which Benedict has checked off on the list and entertaining offensive football that GIVES you a CHANCE to be in games has to be a top consideration. The objective should be to be fun and eek out enough wins to qualify for minor bowls. Enough of them that if there is further P5 expansion you're in the mix, rather than dismissed because you are in the discussion for "WORST FBS TEAM EVER".

 

[Tdaley]

Look Edsall made a number of mistakes at UConn and Crocker's defense the first year was a disaster.

That said, Edsall didn't get on Lashlee for scoring too fast. He got on him for too many short offensive series. If you are going to run an uptempo offensive, you have to score as uptempo offenses win in shootouts and Lashlee's offense did not score.

In 2017 under Lashlee, UConn's total offense was rated 50th, but scoring offense was rated 103rd. Red zone TD% was ranked 110th. UConn could move the ball, but they couldn't put it in the end zone.

Lashlee came to UConn because he was a reclamation project after getting fired by Auburn. Remember, he took a massive pay cut ($600k to $350k) when he came to UConn, so it was pretty clear he was going to leave when he got a better offer. If you took a massive pay cut after getting fired, wouldn't you be looking for a new job to get back to your old pay scale? Of course you would.

When Lashlee got fired at Auburn as OC, his offense had regressed. His scoring offense went from 12th to 27th to 74th to 49th. It seems like he is running into the same problem at Miaim, although this season is still young. His scoring offense has gone from 25th last year to 117th this year. And he has a stud 24 year old 6th year senior QB! Playing CCSU today should help the stats this year.

He went to SMU where he could learn from Sonny Dykes, one of the best offensive minds in college football. So, not only did he get a pay raise, he got to learn from one of the best.

And, how has SMU's offense performed since Lashlee left? They haven't missed a beat due to Sonny Dykes:

2018 (Lashlee): 81st in total offense, 54th in scoring offense
2019 (Lashlee): 9th in total offense, 7th in scoring offense.
2020 (no Lashlee): 12th in total offense, 15th in scoring offense
2021 (no Lashlee): 10th in total offense, 10th in scoring offense.

Yes thank God Lashlee left after only one year. Our offense has been so much better after Edsall got to hire his guy as OC. Although I tend agree with most of your posts, I don't understand why you don't appreciate how much of upgrade Lashlee was after 3 years of Diaco's offenses and the 3 years after he left.

 

[UConnJim]

Lashlee wasn’t fired by Auburn... the conventional thought process was he needed to get out from under Malzahn (who was the de facto OC/Play-caller) to prove his ability as an OC.

Lashlee was being let go by Auburn and a soft landing was found at UConn due to the Benedict tie. The spin was he needed to get out from under Malzahn, but he was not going to be OC at Auburn in 2017.

 

[huskymedic]

Lashlee was being let go by Auburn and a soft landing was found at UConn due to the Benedict tie. The spin was he needed to get out from under Malzahn, but he was not going to be OC at Auburn in 2017.

I don’t disagree he was being nudged out (and scapegoated) but he wasn’t fired. He had a contract into 2018 and from everything I heard/saw he wasn’t paid out for it.

 

[Chief00]

Lashlee was being let go by Auburn and a soft landing was found at UConn due to the Benedict tie. The spin was he needed to get out from under Malzahn, but he was not going to be OC at Auburn in 2017.

Rhett took our offense from absolutely one of the worst in the nation to lower mid range in one season without an influx of talent.

 

[UConnJim]

Rhett took our offense from absolutely one of the worst in the nation to lower mid range in one season without an influx of talent.

I wouldn’t call the 103rd rated scoring offense as middle of the pack. Was Lashlee’s offense more fun to watch than Diaco’s? Yes. The bottom line, if you are going to run a fast offense that doesn’t score on almost every drive, you are going to lose games.

 

[DCT]

I thought Edsall would be able to stabilize the program, bring in better recruits, and develop them like he did during 1.0. I do think he brought in better recruits and he was developing them, but they are still young although he didn't develop a franchise QB. But, I do think the roster and the program were in bad shape when Edsall arrived. And, unlike 1.0, the schedule was much more difficult for rebuilding quickly using primarily HS recruits given UConn is a development program. The Holy Cross loss was a debacle, but you aren't going to win against anybody when your QB has 4 turnovers.

Given the cards he was handed, there are some things he could have done differently.

Before I get into what he should have done differently, people need to stop focusing on the outbound transfers. It is happening all over college football, especially when there is a coaching change. (It happened to Schiano 2.0 as well.) I would argue, UConn's transfer numbers are about in-line with the average FBS school and just like every FBS school, there are kids who are going to leave who you don't want to leave. Do people really think he was happy that Beavers and Coyle left? Of course not. Also, if you are a 4th year junior who is not a major contributor, you will not get your scholarship renewed at virtually every school. Why? Because you have an 85 scholarship limit.

What should 2.0 done differently?

1) He should have used the transfer portal to a greater extent given how young the roster was going to skew.

2) He should have recruited an up and coming OC when Dunn left instead of promoting an internal candidate with no OC experience.

3) He should have adjusted his style and approach to today's players and modern football.

RE1 came to a Div 2 program that was moving to Div1 with a guaranteed spot in the Big East Football which was pretty good nationally, recruiting was easier players and coaches. RE2 came in talking down the team that was already here and forced out players that could have helped us. Nothing good can come from a coach talking crap about his players.

 

[Chief00]

I wouldn’t call the 103rd rated scoring offense as middle of the pack. Was Lashlee’s offense more fun to watch than Diaco’s? Yes. The bottom line, if you are going to run a fast offense that doesn’t score on almost every drive, you are going to lose games.

There’s a reason Chief called it “Lower mid range”. I used the word “lower” thoughtfully. But, we went from 19 to 36 TD’s in one year and moved from a 122 to a 102 ranking. In passing yards we went from 94 to 34 team ranking, an amazing jump for one year.

In 2018, there were 4 AAC teams in the top 12 offensive teams (UCF, Memphis, USF and SMU). A very good football conference during that period.

 

[Tdaley]

I wouldn’t call the 103rd rated scoring offense as middle of the pack. Was Lashlee’s offense more fun to watch than Diaco’s? Yes. The bottom line, if you are going to run a fast offense that doesn’t score on almost every drive, you are going to lose games.

I couldn't disagree with you more. Your using one statistic to support your position that you didn't like Lashlee as an OC. If you evaluate Lashlee's performance based on the talent he had here the only conclusion you can reach is that he was a great upgrade as a OC. Since you like statistics, can you show some statistics that demonstrates that that any of Diaco's or Edsall's OC were better than Lashlee?

 

[UConnJim]

I couldn't disagree with you more. Your using one statistic to support your position that you didn't like Lashlee as an OC. If you evaluate Lashlee's performance based on the talent he had here the only conclusion you can reach is that he was a great upgrade as a OC. Since you like statistics, can you show some statistics that demonstrates that that any of Diaco's or Edsall's OC were better than Lashlee?

The combination of a hurry up offense that couldn’t score with a new defensive scheme that did not have the personnel to play it was a recipe for disaster. The good hurry up offenses are almost impossible to stop and score at will.

I would like to see a modern offense at UConn, and I liked seeing the ball movement with Lashlee’s offense. Edsall was stubborn and didn’t adjust to modern football and he didn’t work out during 2.0.