Stepping Up? AD David Benedict’s Fingerprints All Over UConn Football Program (Mike Anthony)

[huskymedic]

Mike Anthony on fire with opening night approaching:

Stepping Up? AD David Benedict’s Fingerprints All Over UConn Football Program

>>But, Benedict said, "There should be progress. Offense was an issue. If you're going to hire a coordinator as a head coach — and that's what Bob was, a coordinator trying to be a head coach — but really didn't want to have anything to do with the offense, you better have someone that's really good at running the offense. And we didn't. … You wind up setting yourself way back. So seeing where Bob was from the standpoint of how he approached the [offensive coordinator] hire, that certainly had an impact on me eventually saying, 'Hey, this isn't going to work.' Eventually you're either going to do the right things that can help the team move forward, or you're going to continue trying to do the same things. ... You can't be afraid to hire really good people."<<

>>"Apathy is probably the worst thing that can happen to a program," Benedict said. "There's no question, had we stood pat, we would have lost a percentage of the fan base. And you could have lost a percentage of the team, just like, 'Hey, we're going to do the same stuff over and how is the result going to be different?' … You can't build a program and have your fan base going south." Benedict appreciated that Edsall showed flexibility, a willingness to hire offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee from Auburn and defensive coordinator Billy Crocker from Villanova, accomplished coaches who would be given control of their units. Edsall was also decisive in addressing roster needs, bringing in junior college transfer David Pindell and naming him the starting quarterback. He also acknowledged that the UConn job today isn't what it was in the 2000s — different conference, different preferred styles, different competition — and has shown a willingness to adapt to an evolving sport.<<

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Pretty blunt comments about the Diaco/OC situation which we read about on the Yard.

Hopefully Edsall/Lashlee/Crocker can improve the program, because it certainly seems like AD Dave has the proper mindset.

 

[junglehusky]

Sounds like DB is confirming the Jerry Kill story, and that Bob was probably afraid of being overshadowed by another coach.

 

[NowInStorrs]

Benedict seems like he's got his head on straight and isn't messing around with UConn athletics. The coaching hires for football are all pretty solid on paper. Let's hope it coalesces into something on the field.

 

[BlueMAB]

"Diaco, previously the Notre Dame defensive coordinator, worked exclusively with the defense while at UConn. At every practice, he worked with linebackers 95 percent of the time. "

 

[CTMike]

Enlightening read. Holy sheet Diaco was in over his head.

 

[JMick]

"Diaco, previously the Notre Dame defensive coordinator, worked exclusively with the defense while at UConn. At every practice, he worked with linebackers 95 percent of the time. "

What a disaster. We only have a glimpse of how bad it was but .

 

[ScottVib]

You can't be afraid to hire really good people.

That's really to me the most damning thing. Good coaches (or managers in business) know they are only as good as their staff (team); he was so afraid for his job that he wouldn't set himself up for success. That's bad for anyone in management, regardless of industry, let alone one who has a full half of their org-chart that they really don't want to deal with.

 

[BlueMAB]

What a disaster. We only have a glimpse of how bad it was but .

How could he think he could coach a winning team by focusing so much on one unit. It's stunning how obtuse that is. Then consider how narcissistic he must be to refuse to change after seeing three years of miserable results. I think Anthony hit it right, he was afraid another coach would outshine him. Pathetic. That quote should be etched onto his resume for the next time(s) his name is mentioned as a HC possibility.

 

[CL82]

How could he think he could coach a winning team by focusing so much on one unit.

My guess is that he realized that he was over his head and that was the only place he felt in control.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Absolute positive last post about old regime.
Tomorrow is literally turning over a new leaf.
Confirms fans worst fears that we could actually be correct at how poor Bob was at managing a program and how poor he was at receiving direction from his bosses.
Tone deaf all around.

 

[BlueMAB]

My guess is that he realized that he was over his head and that was the only place he felt in control.

It would make for a fascinating psychology paper.

Was he that tone-deaf he didn't think he could be fired. Or did he just want to collect a buyout and find his next gig?

F&*% him. He's gone. Tomorrow we officially start to regain some respect.

 

[Walker11]

Good God I hope the best for Corley and Lineburg and Brown and Poindexter and basically everyone else on the staff but I couldn't root harder against Diaco. I have trolled the Husker board a little to gauge their expectations and they are so high on him. I have even seen poster speculate that he could replace Riley, or that he might jump to an even better job after this year. People just want to hear what they want to hear. Diaco's reputation is remarkable. Even when we hired him, the response on the ND board was pretty split. All liked his goofy A as a person but the bend don't break philosphy wasn't exactly lauded. Of course I shrugged it off, as I'm sure Husker fans are shrugging off the negatives I hear but they are in for a bad trip.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Good God I hope the best for Corley and Lineburg and Brown and Poindexter and basically everyone else on the staff but I couldn't root harder against Diaco. I have trolled the Husker board a little to gauge their expectations and they are so high on him. I have even seen poster speculate that he could replace Riley, or that he might jump to an even better job after this year. People just want to hear what they want to hear. Diaco's reputation is remarkable. Even when we hired him, the response on the ND board was pretty split. All liked his goofy A as a person but the bend don't break philosphy wasn't exactly lauded. Of course I shrugged it off, as I'm sure Husker fans are shrugging off the negatives I hear but they are in for a bad trip.

It's like when the Cuse fans warned us about PPGDL.

 

[blue93]

Or did he just want to collect a buyout and find his next gig?

The more we find out about what went on, the more I believe this to be true. Pretty up but he's somebody else's problem now.

 

[tjhusky]

The Bob Principle