Spanos out

[LoyalFanCT]

If they need an interim. Keith Butler just retired after seven seasons as Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive coordinator. He is not young but maybe has energy for another season or two. I think he coached college, too.

 

[Jimdish255]

Good luck to Lou but we gotta move on right away. Mora has a rolodex and so do other coaches on this team. Either step up or help bring somebody on board who's ready to work. Games coming with or without the guy. Great challenge for somebody!

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

So much for 2022 being the first season since 2013 when UConn wasn't paying a coach not to coach our team.

Hopefully we can reach that status in 2023 !

FYI: Spanos signed 2 year contract until December 15 2023.

Ok, I guess we can target 2024 as the first year in over a decade that we aren't paying someone NOT to coach our football team!

 

[Stinger92860]

Reading bio’s it appears to me that none of the remaiming coaches on the D side are ready to step up to DC. Maybe that changes after this year. Until then it would seem that Mora needs to own the D and he lets Charlton owns the O. Is it possible to hire a consultant to assist on D? Maybe yes, but the consultant would be here to help, not to run the D. Super Bowl winning coaches have run one of the units, so there is some success in this model. It’s going to be interesting watching this play out. I hope the beat writers stay all over this.

 

[CTMike]

Reading bio’s it appears to me that none of the remaiming coaches on the D side are ready to step up to DC. Maybe that changes after this year. Until then it would seem that Mora needs to own the D and he lets Charlton owns the O. Is it possible to hire a consultant to assist on D? Maybe yes, but the consultant would be here to help, not to run the D. Super Bowl winning coaches have run one of the units, so there is some success in this model. It’s going to be interesting watching this play out. I hope the beat writers stay all over this.

“Media” knew and didn’t ask anything as far as we’ve seen. Courant’s article was just regurgitating the release from UConn.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I hope the beat writers stay all over this.

Lol.

None of them bothered to ask about Spanos' absence after the media availability. @Blades said he even sent the info to some of them and none of them figured it out until after UConn press release.

 

[RSTuthill]

“Media” knew and didn’t ask anything as far as we’ve seen. Courant’s article was just regurgitating the release from UConn.

Same with the JI. I presume they are as clueless as we are.

 

[pepband99]

Lol.

None of them bothered to ask about Spanos' absence after the media availability. @Blades said he even sent the info to some of them and none of them figured it out until after UConn press release.

Yeah - the "horde" is dead. We now have 10 papers covering media open dates only, and not particularly in-depth.

 

[History Geek]

Same with the JI. I presume they are as clueless as we are.

The media all have eyes and ears and presumably not bad at their jobs. They must have noticed LS not there and maybe even heard some rumors as to why. I’m betting some inquired and were told that there would be something soon and asked to respect LS’s privacy at this time. Later someone asked about Mora’s involvement with the defense and he gave that BS answer. The rest of them decided not to follow up because Mora is still in the honeymoon phase.

I agree its not a good look but it is what it is. I hope LS will be ok and I hope all the positive vibes that have emanated from the program since the Mora hire is not just window dressing. We are about to find out.

 

[Blades]

Lol.

None of them bothered to ask about Spanos' absence after the media availability. @Blades said he even sent the info to some of them and none of them figured it out until after UConn press release.

Just to confirm, early morning on media day.

https://twitter.com/UConnSN/status/1559883433245040641

 

[Chin Diesel]

Just to confirm, early morning on media day.

Wish I could give a laugh and a cry emoji for this one.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Just to confirm, early morning on media day.

And by the way, I am anxious to see the info on Haynes.

 

[Blades]

The media all have eyes and ears and presumably not bad at their jobs. They must have noticed LS not there and maybe even heard some rumors as to why. I’m betting some inquired and were told that there would be something soon and asked to respect LS’s privacy at this time.

True that makes the most sense but if not, I wonder why none of them were even curious, since this has been going on for awhile,
"Spanos has missed recent team practices, but was in attendance at the start of practice Wednesday, though he appeared to have left early."

Either way, sounds like the D may get more aggressive under Mora's control, per Matt's new tweet with Wortham, which isn't a bad thing. And there's that Mora word again..... Maniacal !

 

[Chin Diesel]

The media all have eyes and ears and presumably not bad at their jobs. They must have noticed LS not there and maybe even heard some rumors as to why. I’m betting some inquired and were told that there would be something soon and asked to respect LS’s privacy at this time. Later someone asked about Mora’s involvement with the defense and he gave that BS answer. The rest of them decided not to follow up because Mora is still in the honeymoon phase.

I agree its not a good look but it is what it is. I hope LS will be ok and I hope all the positive vibes that have emanated from the program since the Mora hire is not just window dressing. We are about to find out.

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, I will give a slight pass if it was a legit personal reason, a reporter noticed it and the staff asked for a 24-hour period to keep it quiet. Not saying a reporter has to do that, nor am I saying they can't do it. I do know part of keeping access and not burning sources is an art and sometimes you can be a decent human and hold on to a story for a day.

As much as it surprised the UConn faithful, it's not a major story or critical story where a 24-hour delay has any effect once the story breaks.

 

[Husky92]

For me the question still remains, “what happened and what is the future of the position?” A leave of absence suggests a return. The OP stated this was over differing opinions on the defense. That make no sense to me given their past relationship. They knew each other pretty well. But the OP scooped the story so it is at least possible.

If it is a football issue, he needs to be let go and replaced. If it is a personal issue, he needs to be supported and the team will shift responsibilities until his return (or departure). As a fan, I would love some clarification on this. As the head of an organization, I realize there are times to keep info close to the vest.

But my fanhood is winning out right now.

 

[PAGS]

Just throwing this out there….usually when someone takes a “leave of absence” and they don’t comment on why…it’s cause it’s some type of medical issue. Lou hasn’t been active on twitter (was much more this season than the last few) since early august. If you ask me…I think he’s dealing with some kinda medical issue. I’ve said for years, he doesn’t look good…very pale at times and a drawn face. He didn’t look like that even 8 years ago. I wish him the best and a speedy return to the team. Hope is all with him!

 

[Huskyforlife]

I’m leaning towards it being an actual personal issue.

You don’t fire your DC one week before your first game over a football disagreement, you work it out and move on. Plus Mora is the HC, he can just demand something be done his way. The football reasoning would be understandable if it happened weeks ago, there’s no way Mora just figured out they aren’t meshing well enough.

Plus we know Spanos has dealt with a lot in his life recently, might not be able to handle the added stress of travel and game performance at the moment. I don’t think it’s so crazy that a rich man with many personal issues might make a decision to alleviate a heavy burden like this.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I’m leaning towards it being an actual personal issue.

You don’t fire your DC one week before your first game over a football disagreement, you work it out and move on. Plus Mora is the HC, he can just demand something be done his way. The football reasoning would be understandable if it happened weeks ago, there’s no way Mora just figured out they aren’t meshing well enough.

Plus we know Spanos has dealt with a lot in his life recently, might not be able to handle the added stress of travel and game performance at the moment. I don’t think it’s so crazy that a rich man with many personal issues might make a decision to alleviate a heavy burden like this.

I hear what you are saying...but the original poster....and exit 4 have said it's a personality conflict. It may be both, but it's hard to ignore those data points.

And for his sake...a personality conflict is better than a health issue.

 

[Waquoit]

The truth will come out. If he's right, he's right. Spanos worked for Mora before, it's not like any of what Mora demands was new for him. You'd expect some fundamental incompatibility would have shown up sooner. If not, then this is a fail by Mora, who should have identified it earlier or hired somebody else.

Naw, the real fail would be letting a situation fester.

 

[PAGS]

In my opinion….Personality conflict gets you fired. If I suck at my job they don’t ask me to take a month off and come back and try again. Just makes no sense. At my job people take a “leave of absence” when they have one or a combination of mental health issues, medical issues or substance abuse issues. Maybe he’s on maternity leave!? LOL Could have been stress related…who knows! But yeah…hope he’s doing just fine and gets back to the sidelines quick.

 

[Waquoit]

Mora has to own this one.

And do what with it? Wear a hairshirt? Give you a personal apology?

 

[huskysupporter]

And do what with it? Wear a hairshirt? Give you a personal apology?

He can do whatever he wants with it.

 

[Jimdish255]

Reading bio’s it appears to me that none of the remaiming coaches on the D side are ready to step up to DC. Maybe that changes after this year. Until then it would seem that Mora needs to own the D and he lets Charlton owns the O. Is it possible to hire a consultant to assist on D? Maybe yes, but the consultant would be here to help, not to run the D. Super Bowl winning coaches have run one of the units, so there is some success in this model. It’s going to be interesting watching this play out. I hope the beat writers stay all over this.

I disagree. Mora needs to be the game manager and to do that he has to focus on what's going on on the field every second. That's his strength. He can't be giving sideline pep talks to position groups.

 

[BPT2Storrs]

Why fire your DC a few weeks out from the start of the season? I feel there would need to be an extremely compelling reason for doing so, more than just a personality conflict. That conflict would have been evident months ago, and yes you’d pull the trigger and fire sooner rather than later to not jeopardize what you have been building.

I think it’s a personal matter for Spanos.

 

[UConnJim]

I have no idea why Spanos is taking an LOA, but UConn is better able to replace the DC than the OC at this point. I think Charlton can run the offense as he has experience as both an OC and a HC. Mora can run the defense as he has experience as both a DC and HC.