Spanos out

[Waquoit]

He definitely gets credit for breaking the story.

Seriously. It's funny how folks are shading the OP who nailed it. Imagine what Chief would be saying now if he had it.

 

[Dizzy21]

It just means he has a friend in the SI office, probably an intern, who leaked it to him during a grace period. Not sure props are appropriate.

Doesn't matter who they have, still has better connections than all but a few on this board.

 

[Milo65]

I have to believe it is truly a personal issue. Spanos is a known entity to Mora. Spanos didn’t all of a sudden change everything at the last minute? Anyone else’s thoughts on this?

 

[metsfan2323]

I have to believe it is truly a personal issue. Spanos is a known entity to Mora. Spanos didn’t all of a sudden change everything at the last minute? Anyone else’s thoughts on this?

The only thing that makes sense is a personal issue. Discovering a conflict in defensive philosophy or a general failure to connect with the players this late in the game when they have so much history would truly be bizarre, Spanos would have to be guilty of insubordination to get canned at this point it would seem.

Three weeks ago during a radio show Mora mentioned he doesn't attend defensive meetings that include the players even though he attends those same meetings with the offense making it seem like he had complete faith in Spanos.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

My guess is that the defense Spanos was required to run under Edsall was further removed philosophically from what he preferred than anything Mora would ask him to run.

Yes, the two could have had a falling out. There have been cases where people have been closer, for far longer, only to go years without speaking due to some differences of opinions on things. If this is the case, it likely isn't entirely football related.

Regardless of whether this is temporary or permanent I wish Spanos the best in health for him and his family.

 

[Hoophound]

I’m hopeful that we will hear something from Spanos at some point soon. Clearly, they are being tight lipped about it on campus so it seems like it is either medical or deeply personal.

I think there would be more rumors going around if it was an issue between the coaches. Then again, the OP that broke this was right on the leave, so he may very well be right that Spanos just wasn’t in good favor with Mora too.

I can’t help but be excited to see the defense. I certainly like the way the players describe it. It sounds more like a Don Brown style D. While not always the most effective in some iterations, it was very high energy and exciting to watch.

 

[Palatine]

The defensive and offense philosophy of the UConn Huskies are the ones chosen by Mora.

Anyone hired by Mora would have to be onboard with these choices before taking a job on the staff.

I suppose there could be a conflict in teaching methods. Or how to implement the systems. But not on the system itself. But it seems highly unlikely that Spanos was doing anything that countered exactly what Mora wanted. That would indicate that the reason for the LOA lies elsewhere.

 

[Greedo]

It's not hard to imagine why a coach with loyalty to the players he's been with for a while might clash a little with the new staff demanding excellence. Or why stress might build up in those circumstances. Pure speculation. It could be differences in opinion over scheme as well, but I have a harder time believing that - I think that issue would have come up a while ago.

It could also be strictly personal, or some combination. Regardless of the circumstances, I wish Lou the best. If he's back after 3 months, great, if not I wish him the best. I'm not concerned about the defense, Mora knows what he's doing there. I wasn't expecting a monumental leap from last year anyway.

 

[Chin Diesel]

It's not hard to imagine why a coach with loyalty to the players he's been with for a while might clash a little with the new staff demanding excellence. Or why stress might build up in those circumstances. Pure speculation. It could be differences in opinion over scheme as well, but I have a harder time believing that - I think that issue would have come up a while ago.

It could also be strictly personal, or some combination. Regardless of the circumstances, I wish Lou the best. If he's back after 3 months, great, if not I wish him the best. I'm not concerned about the defense, Mora knows what he's doing there. I wasn't expecting a monumental leap from last year anyway.

If there are any surprises on the two deep on defense it would be an indicator of possible staff friction.

 

[hardcorehusky]

If there are any surprises on the two deep on defense it would be an indicator of possible staff friction.

It could also be injury, suspension, etc. We don't know how Mora does things, we only know how Edsall, PP and Diaco did things. They ranged from no info to misinfo to dead on. I think we will need to watch things for a few weeks to figure out how Mora will handle these items.

Regarding Spanos, we are all speculating. Fun for a board, but I hope the truth eventually comes out.

 

[Chin Diesel]

It could also be injury, suspension, etc. We don't know how Mora does things, we only know how Edsall, PP and Diaco did things. They ranged from no info to misinfo to dead on. I think we will need to watch things for a few weeks to figure out how Mora will handle these items.

Regarding Spanos, we are all speculating. Fun for a board, but I hope the truth eventually comes out.

Definitely some tea leave reading when we see the two deep released and media availability.

 

[HuskyAlum012]

 

[gioff2323]

In the event …???

 

[pepband99]

In the event …???

Game week press conf today.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Incredible thread here.

OP states news that nobody else had and 11 pages of disillusionment follow.

Muh positive attitudes!

 

[huskymedic]

Audio a bit rough…

 

[Stinger92860]

Lou Spanos 3 month leave of absence! Defensive staff and Lou could not get on the same page. Tough to find a coordinator less than 2 weeks before the season !

The OP was obviously correct on the LOA. I assume the 2nd half of the post also has to be correct. Despite yesterday’s tweets, the issue could have been between Spanos and the D staff. Do we know how much input he had with their selection vs. Mora? Did the staff as a group push back on Spanos? I am a person who speaks up if I disagree with an approach, why not the staff too?

As folks here have said, Spanos directed one of the worst CFB defenses ever. New guys come in and they don’t agree with his approach. Maybe Mora had no choice but to step in And support the majority. It’s likely we never know what really happened, but today we get to see initial results of the break up. Go Huskies!

 

[storrsroars]

Audio a bit rough…

I want to trust Mora, but this sounds like chaos to me. Anyone ever seen a delay of game penalty called on defense?

 

[Husky92]

The OP was obviously correct on the LOA. I assume the 2nd half of the post also has to be correct. Despite yesterday’s tweets, the issue could have been between Spanos and the D staff. Do we know how much input he had with their selection vs. Mora? Did the staff as a group push back on Spanos? I am a person who speaks up if I disagree with an approach, why not the staff too?

As folks here have said, Spanos directed one of the worst CFB defenses ever. New guys come in and they don’t agree with his approach. Maybe Mora had no choice but to step in And support the majority. It’s likely we never know what really happened, but today we get to see initial results of the break up. Go Huskies!

This is an interesting take. I still don’t believe a fallout b/t Spanos and Mora, but possibly a split between Spanos and Mora assistants underneath him. In my mind, time will tell. If Spa on returns after the LOA, then it likely wasn’t personality. If he is gone for good, then we’ll hear about health or we’ll figure irreconcilable differences.

 

[noeynox]

The OP was obviously correct on the LOA. I assume the 2nd half of the post also has to be correct. Despite yesterday’s tweets, the issue could have been between Spanos and the D staff. Do we know how much input he had with their selection vs. Mora? Did the staff as a group push back on Spanos? I am a person who speaks up if I disagree with an approach, why not the staff too?

As folks here have said, Spanos directed one of the worst CFB defenses ever. New guys come in and they don’t agree with his approach. Maybe Mora had no choice but to step in And support the majority. It’s likely we never know what really happened, but today we get to see initial results of the break up. Go Huskies!

I would say Spanos had no input on the defensive hires since he was hired after them.

 

[Stinger92860]

I would say Spanos had no input on the defensive hires since he was hired after them.

Excellent point! That could be a source of friction I would think.

 

[Chief00]

Spanos is out.

 

[noeynox]

Spanos is out.

Insert webay GIF

 

[FairwayFlyer]

Spanos is out.

What do you mean?