So is Bob Diaco Becoming a Folk Hero?

[Nostical]

Who would've thunk it!
If you recall how he took responsibility for his UConn coaching debacle in a recent article, this Barstool interview expands on that theme--and goes much deeper into his psyche. Enjoy the ride.

 

[UCFBfan]

Ok I had to stop after he went in to talking about making cartoons and marketing on Nickelodeon. How they kept a straight face throughout that is beyond me.....wow he is insane....

 

[Blades]

Wow, all kidding aside he's just all over the place, ADHD or even CTE
Stage I. This first stage is most commonly marked by headaches, and loss of attention and concentration. ...

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Yeah he is definitely not neurotypical

 

[UConnJim]

That interview is gold, classic Diaco. At the same time, he readily admits his failings as a coach which is unusual and refreshing.

 

[CTMike]

He’s not a bad guy he was just in over his head.

“We weren’t prepared in critical game situations” followed by describing that he was playing for one score games to try and win at the end kind of says it all.

Some things left unsaid: just how much turnover luck played in the bowl year (was just kind of glossed over as a successful year and expected to build on it) and the overall talent level he was bringing in was… well, was what it was.

 

[hardcorehusky]

He’s not a bad guy he was just in over his head.

“We weren’t prepared in critical game situations” followed by describing that he was playing for one score games to try and win at the end kind of says it all.

Some things left unsaid: just how much turnover luck played in the bowl year (was just kind of glossed over as a successful year and expected to build on it) and the overall talent level he was bringing in was… well, was what it was.

No. No. No. He is an egotistical piece of ****. He didn't listen to people around him and didn't care. He is not someone who has lots of friends outside football. Anyone who dealt with him would concur.

 

[CTMike]

No. No. No. He is an egotistical piece of ****. He didn't listen to people around him and didn't care. He is not someone who has lots of friends outside football. Anyone who dealt with him would concur.

Ok I have no reason to doubt first hand experiences like that… my comment was really based of the interview.

 

[noeynox]

It all went south for him in that Navy game and he actually acknowledged that in this interview. That one boondoggle lost him the fans, and the athletic director in one moment. Portnoy is right as painful as it was, he had the team at Missouri playing a close game. Since he left competitive games have not been seen around here. This is not to say he should have been kept only that what followed him was so much worse.

 

[Skiblets]

Basically comes down to him being unable to focus on what it takes to win games. ADHD for sure. People laugh at Belichick and his ‘just do your job’ line. Fiasco was worried about and trying to fix everything which means he couldn’t fix anything

 

[ktuck911]

... bump... looking forward to seeing how Mora turns this thing around... completely....

 

[Banta55]

No. No. No. He is an egotistical piece of ****. He didn't listen to people around him and didn't care. He is not someone who has lots of friends outside football. Anyone who dealt with him would concur.

100% He was disliked by just about everyone at Uconn

 

[Nostical]

It all went south for him in that Navy game and he actually acknowledged that in this interview.

That’s actually what caught my attention, his willingness to admit that inept coaching decisions, rather than poor player execution, led to losses at the end of close games. (Think Edsall would be that self aware?)

I’ve been at many of those corporate retreats where ideas come fast and furious and are written on white boards around the room. He obviously loved to pitch all kinds of outside the box thinking, but given the button down world of football, I’m sure eyes were rolling around the table—especially when he walked in wearing red pants.
Look, there’s no question he’s an eccentric guy, but by the end of this video I believe most people (especially the younger Barstool audience) will come away with a much more sympathetic assessment of the man than our experience with him would warrant.

 

[AndOne]

100% He was disliked by just about everyone at Uconn

Diaco had a ton of fan boys when he was hired. Grown men fawning over him, OMG Broyles award, he's gonna be much better than P, getting bucket hats, LOL. Then they turned on him when there was no defense of him being a disaster. Same thing happened with REstored.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Diaco had a ton of fan boys when he was hired. Grown men fawning over him, OMG Broyles award, he's gonna be much better than P, getting bucket hats, LOL. Then they turned on him when there was no defense of him being a disaster. Same thing happened with REstored.

At least the defenses were good under Diaco. The only thing that was good during his tenure.

 

[storrsroars]

It all went south for him in that Navy game and he actually acknowledged that in this interview. That one boondoggle lost him the fans, and the athletic director in one moment. Portnoy is right as painful as it was, he had the team at Missouri playing a close game. Since he left competitive games have not been seen around here. This is not to say he should have been kept only that what followed him was so much worse.

Bad special teams day at Mizzou. Safety on a blocked punt, then a blocked extra point, which, if made and everything else played out the same, Diaco goes for a winning FG from the 25 instead of Boyle throwing an INT.

Ok I had to stop after he went in to talking about making cartoons and marketing on Nickelodeon. How they kept a straight face throughout that is beyond me.....wow he is insane....

As I spent most of my career in marketing, the idea of having some character in Spongebob wear UConn gear is far from crazy, it actually is genius.

I'm not going to give an amateur diagnosis of Diaco's mental acuity. He has had success. He was also a piss-poor recruiter while at Storrs. And this interview seems disjointed. But his marketing ideas aren't half bad. Maybe that's his real calling. Crazy like a fox in that regard.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

Had no idea he had P5 job offers after year 2

 

[Banta55]

Diaco had a ton of fan boys when he was hired. Grown men fawning over him, OMG Broyles award, he's gonna be much better than P, getting bucket hats, LOL. Then they turned on him when there was no defense of him being a disaster. Same thing happened with REstored.

Had no idea he had P5 job offers after year 2

Had no idea he had P5 job offers after year 2

Rutgers was one of them.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Things were trending well until they weren’t. Struggled big time on offense. Now I’m just used to it.

 

[CL82]

It all went south for him in that Navy game and he actually acknowledged that in this interview. That one boondoggle lost him the fans, and the athletic director in one moment. Portnoy is right as painful as it was, he had the team at Missouri playing a close game. Since he left competitive games have not been seen around here. This is not to say he should have been kept only that what followed him was so much worse.

Not being able to get a playoff at the end of the Navy game was just criminal ineptitude.

 

[metsfan2323]

Rutgers was one of them.

For real? Wow if true. Why didn't he take it? (another poor Diaco decision)

 

[kemba]

No. No. No. He is an egotistical piece of ****. He didn't listen to people around him and didn't care. He is not someone who has lots of friends outside football. Anyone who dealt with him would concur.

You could just tell by a lot of his decisions that he had this attitude that he was the smartest man in the room. From the QB press conference his first year, to all the key starter nonsense, to the we aren't going to do punt returns stuff.

Haven't listened to the whole thing yet, and its nice that he's kind of held himself accountable now but he certainly wasn't doing that at the time.

 

[huskysupporter]

I sure hope he hasn’t become a folk hero - Bob Diaco played a large role in burying the UCONN football program. Although I think majority of blame goes on Jeff Hathaway, Warde Manuel, and Dave Benedict, Coach Diaco destroyed the roster and made it absolutely non competitive.

 

[Waquoit]

For real? Wow if true. Why didn't he take it? (another poor Diaco decision)

I always thought that Rutgers thing was a ruse

 

[uconndogs]

At least the defenses were good under Diaco. The only thing that was good during his tenure.

He inherited some decent defensive talent, but then the defense went to hell as well.

Honestly, I don't know what he was doing with recruiting. It was simply abysmal and those recruits were slooooowwww........