"The expectation is to win every football game." Diaco

[uconndogs]

Despite the fact that Diaco and Edsall are very different on how they approach coaching, I have a feeling that the team on the field will be similar. Well disciplined, physically and mentally tough, smart and consistent. Defensively stout but not flashy. Similar to Edsall, I think BD's teams will beat the teams that they should beat. I think they beat Nova....and Army.....just like Edsall would have. To me the real question will be can he take it to the next level. Can the offense evolve to be competitive and consistent in games against top teams?

I think we see significant growth and I feel pretty good about beating Nova and Army.

It's only one season, but there is no way in hell Edsall would have coached the way Diaco did last season. The turnovers alone would have prompted Edsall to sit half the offense. It is my sincere hope that Diaco talks like a crazy person, but will bring the discipline that Edsall instilled in the program before the stupid twins duck*ed it up.

 

[06029]

While the media experts (and many of you) view the bravado in Newport as a disingenuous rant, the reality is that this is a vastly superior team (and offensive system) compared to last years squad. It's the players that are saying it. They aren't deceiving themselves. They expect to win. Last year's game planning and execution was all about wings and prayers. This year it's about purposeful confidence and racking up victories. We will (like Donald Trump) surprisingly compete for the conference crown. Though we're not likely to win it just yet, we'll be in the discussion in November. That's a team I can believe in.

Until it is shown on the field, until the actual play calling and scheme is shown in a game, they are all just words.

EVERY team in the country feels vastly improved over the prior year before practice starts. Why? These are the same kids that are now a year older, a year further into the system, a year longer in the conditioning program. No player will ever say, I think we are going to be the same or maybe even worse this year.

Words are powerful. Actions produce results. BD needs actions to back up his words. Until then, all to judge is prior results.

And anyone that uses a serial bankruptcy abuser (or any politician) as an analogy for this team should have to do two a days until the season starts.

 

[DCUconnfan]

I'm just pissed. There was no one on this board more vocal than me against the hiring of PP. It was a lazy hire pushed by the Big East football commissioner who got his first job from PP via their Cheshire ties. I was willing to give Diaco a shot. He was a "name" but he lost me after about three or four games when he stopped dealing with reality. His was one of the worst coached teams I had ever seen last year. There was little talent, but when fundamentals are terrible and play calling is terrible and schemes are poorly designed and clock management sucks....I don't want to hear about going undefeated and making the playoff. I want to hear about kids buying in, working hard, getting better. Even if he says those things, the headline will always be "We are going 12-0." Its idiotic. You are a three point underdog at home at FBS team in week one. Be humble and perhaps acknowledge you are lucky to have the job you have after the disaster of last season.

Not jumping on you here at all, but just to clarify, after watching the whole thing yesterday on the interweb, Diaco never said that we would go undefeated. Only that the expectation is to win every game (in my opinion, if you're an athlete/coach and think you're going to lose, you have a bigger problem than overinflated expectations). He also stated the standard get better every day line, along with him saying that he sees the investment the kids made (buying in)

 

[OkaForPrez]

It's like Diaco is operating from a "head coaching for dummies" book and is continually misapplying the key themes.

Step 1) Find unique ways to motivate your players. Creates Civil ConFLiCT. Gets Mocked.
Step 2) Establish a goal. National Champions. Get's Mocked.

It's why I can't buy in to the 180 in his vision this year. Its right out of the tear em down, build em up script. That's chapter 3.

My money is on Diaco ending up a parable himself. Would love to be wrong.

 

[noeynox]

I'd have no problem with Diaco making outlandish comments if he wasn't thanking the likes of BYU for being their partner in getting better.

If you're going to be bold talking man, go all in and never give an inch. He should just have said BYU got lucky, next.

 

[mets1090]

It's like Diaco is operating from a "head coaching for dummies" book and is continually misapplying the key themes.

Step 1) Find unique ways to motivate your players. Creates Civil ConFLiCT. Gets Mocked.
Step 2) Establish a goal. National Champions. Get's Mocked.

It's why I can't buy in to the 180 in his vision this year. Its right out of the tear em down, build em up script. That's chapter 3.

My money is on Diaco ending up a parable himself. Would love to be wrong.

I understand the skepticism but in fairness to Diaco and his "we expect to win every game" cliche, this is exactly what he said the plan was from the start. For that reason, I won't give him a hard time over it. I'd be far more concerned if he was still talking about just being ready to compete. To me that would mean he had already failed for this season and he knew it.

I don't expect them to go 9-3. I do expect them to be much better this year than they were last year. Given a year and a half, a decent developer of talent would have this roster ready to go at least 6-6 this year. We have no idea what kind of developer Diaco really is. I'll reserve judgment until halfway through the season. That is assuming they come out and beat Nova - lose that game and I'm pretty much throwing up the white flag.

 

[noeynox]

Maybe I'm drinking the koolaid a little more than others... We really didn't show much on film last year guys...We looked lost out there ... Got no choice but to believe this HCBD at this point.. if we come out the gate 1-1 or 0-2 then you gotta believe he's nothing but a good car salesman....

I think this is going too far in the opposite direction. The first thing we need to see from Diaco is, can he coach? What he did with the passing game against USF made me question that. I think year 3 will really tell the story of what we have with this guy, but I'm hoping we can compete for 6 wins and a bowl bid, but more than anything I don't want to sit there wondering wtf I'm doing putting myself through such a frustrating afternoon.

 

[junglehusky]

Diaco's pulling a reverse Lou Holtz. Holtz had a team that was going to be favored in every game, often heavily, and used his press conference to build up their opponent so that after they won the perception was "hey that was a decent win". Presumably the comments plus his locker room talks were aimed to instill in his players that they need to take their opponent seriously and stay focused. With Diaco, his team is going to be the underdog in most games and he needs to get the fanbase engaged so they'll show up, and his players to buy in so that if they lose a couple games they don't give up like last year.

At least on media day, I prefer this enthusiastic approach to the typical kind of coachspeak, of which Bellichick is the extreme example. How it plays out over the season which in reality will probably result in a small number of wins, remains to be seen. It could backfire. But I think Diaco is thinking about the next 2-4 years and this is probably more for setting the tone for next year and beyond than it is for this year.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

It's only one season, but there is no way in hell Edsall would have coached the way Diaco did last season. The turnovers alone would have prompted Edsall to sit half the offense. It is my sincere hope that Diaco talks like a crazy person, but will bring the discipline that Edsall instilled in the program before the stupid twins duck*ed it up.

To be honest...I don't remember how Edsall coached his first year. I would guess he made mistakes also. I agree with you that the Edsall that left UConn wouldn't have had those issues. But I wouldn't be surprised if he had similar issues his first year. And I wouldn't be surprised if BD grows the way RE grew.

I know that whaler likes to call it "blind faith" to think that the team will improve this year. But I really believe the team was getting better mid-year and injuries and lack of depth devastated any momentum that was built. It was just too much to overcome. It could happen again this year, but it feels like the team has better overall depth and is better positioned physically and mentally to withstand any challenges. It may not result in a bowl bid, but I really do think they will be more consistent and less frustrating to watch (both the team and Diaco).

 

[whaler11]

To be honest...I don't remember how Edsall coached his first year. I would guess he made mistakes also. I agree with you that the Edsall that left UConn wouldn't have had those issues. But I wouldn't be surprised if he had similar issues his first year. And I wouldn't be surprised if BD grows the way RE grew.

I know that whaler likes to call it "blind faith" to think that the team will improve this year. But I really believe the team was getting better mid-year and injuries and lack of depth devastated any momentum that was built. It was just too much to overcome. It could happen again this year, but it feels like the team has better overall depth and is better positioned physically and mentally to withstand any challenges. It may not result in a bowl bid, but I really do think they will be more consistent and less frustrating to watch (both the team and Diaco).

I think they will be better. Would be hard to be worse anyway.

But 6-6, 7-5 etc - until they show they can block and the QB shows he can play - that's just blind faith because there is zero evidence.

 

[UCFBfan]

Tim Fontenault ‏@Tim_Fontenault 16m16 minutes ago
Misheard Diaco on Thomas: "If Noel Thomas is not one of the most dominant wide receivers in the country that's on him." Misheard as "on me."

Hold up....Can Noel throw the ball to himself?? Last I checked we've lacked any semblance of a QB for god knows how long. Gonna be tough for a WR to be one of the most dominant in the nation if Sherriffs continues the QB perils...

 

[uconndogs]

To be honest...I don't remember how Edsall coached his first year. I would guess he made mistakes also. I agree with you that the Edsall that left UConn wouldn't have had those issues. But I wouldn't be surprised if he had similar issues his first year. And I wouldn't be surprised if BD grows the way RE grew.

I know that whaler likes to call it "blind faith" to think that the team will improve this year. But I really believe the team was getting better mid-year and injuries and lack of depth devastated any momentum that was built. It was just too much to overcome. It could happen again this year, but it feels like the team has better overall depth and is better positioned physically and mentally to withstand any challenges. It may not result in a bowl bid, but I really do think they will be more consistent and less frustrating to watch (both the team and Diaco).

Agree. Good post.

 

[Palatine]

Name one game where Diaco's team performed above there expected level. That's how you judge a coach. Does he get the most out of his team? Can they exceed expectations?

IMHO, his team performed well below its talent level. He got much less from his team than he should have. Army ran all over them. HCBD was afraid to pass the ball. His team was timid and so afraid to make mistakes, it actually caused errors.

I don't care about much better the team is. I want to see the head coach improve.

 

[huskymedic]

Name one game where Diaco's team performed above there expected level. .

UCF

 

[Palatine]

For me, we performed at the expected level and UCF below.

 

[sportsart]

Name one game where Diaco's team performed above there expected level. That's how you judge a coach. Does he get the most out of his team? Can they exceed expectations?

IMHO, his team performed well below its talent level. He got much less from his team than he should have. Army ran all over them. HCBD was afraid to pass the ball. His team was timid and so afraid to make mistakes, it actually caused errors.

I don't care about much better the team is. I want to see the head coach improve.

Urban Meyer couldn't have done much better with last years team.

The team was beyond a mess and you of all people know this.

Diaco is rebuilding a program, not a team. Not the same thing.

 

[Nostical]

Until it is shown on the field, they are all just words.
And anyone that uses a serial bankruptcy abuser as an analogy for this team should have to do two a days until the season starts.

Words always come first. A belief must be instilled from within before the action can commence. Of course the proof comes in the execution.
As for Mr.Trump, he's an excellent example of someone who said some very bold and rather outlandish things and was underestimated by the media horde following his pursuits. No one is underestimating him now. Sounds like he's channelling Diaco--or is it the other way around. And if he became a UConn booster and donated $100M your snarky comment would fall on deaf ears---even your own.

 

[BlueandOG]

Urban Meyer couldn't have done much better with last years team.

The team was beyond a mess and you of all people know this.

Diaco is rebuilding a program, not a team. Not the same thing.

Yes! Exactly! Anyone who has led a major organization knows that it takes time, energy, and vision to affect change. He is making it happen. His craziness is putting UConn football in the national conversation. What other terrible teams are people talking about? Who would have the UConn-UCF game circled on the calendar if not for the ConFLiCT? He has brought eyes to the program. Now, he has to execute.

 

[Husky25]

To be honest...I don't remember how Edsall coached his first year. I would guess he made mistakes also. I agree with you that the Edsall that left UConn wouldn't have had those issues. But I wouldn't be surprised if he had similar issues his first year. And I wouldn't be surprised if BD grows the way RE grew.

I know that whaler likes to call it "blind faith" to think that the team will improve this year. But I really believe the team was getting better mid-year and injuries and lack of depth devastated any momentum that was built. It was just too much to overcome. It could happen again this year, but it feels like the team has better overall depth and is better positioned physically and mentally to withstand any challenges. It may not result in a bowl bid, but I really do think they will be more consistent and less frustrating to watch (both the team and Diaco).

Edsall took a team coming off a Div. 1AA playoff appearance and coached them to the lofty record of 4-7, bookended by loses of 56-17 and 62-20 to Hofstra and UMass, respectively.

Edsall improved by leaps and bounds in year 2 to 3-8 and 2-9 in 2001 . If memory serves, WR Keron Henry was the starting QB in '99 and part of '00.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

For me, we performed at the expected level and UCF below.

The ECU and UCF games were back to back...and UConn played better than expected in both. Then the injuries hit harder and the season was cratered.

Nobody is saying (including Diaco) that he didn't make mistakes last year. But it is completely unfair, considering the hand that he was dealt, to expect Diaco to be flawless and get that team to perform at a high level. Your criticism is fair if the guy had more than 12 games under his belt and didn't inherit the PP mess. How about waiting for a larger data sample before building assumptions about his coaching ability.

 

[Palatine]

The ECU and UCF games were back to back...and UConn played better than expected in both. Then the injuries hit harder and the season was cratered.

Nobody is saying (including Diaco) that he didn't make mistakes last year. But it is completely unfair, considering the hand that he was dealt, to expect Diaco to be flawless and get that team to perform at a high level. Your criticism is fair if the guy had more than 12 games under his belt and didn't inherit the PP mess. How about waiting for a larger data sample before building assumptions about his coaching ability.

UConn played to their talent level in those games. If UConn plays to its talent level all year, we win 5 games at a minimum.

Let's be honest, Diaco was flat out awful. We needed a extraordinary special team play to beat Stony Brook. He sat Geremy Davis on numerous third downs. He didn't know how to use his TOs. He trumpeted that he didn't game plan for opponents. His defensive against Army was a disaster. How about the decision not to throw any passes against USF? He gave his team no chance to win.

I hope he turns into Vince Lombardi this year. Hell, Pasqualoni won 10 games his first two years. I hope Diaco succeeds, I'm on his side every game, but show me something, anything.

 

[06029]

Words always come first. A belief must be instilled from within before the action can commence. Of course the proof comes in the execution.
As for Mr.Trump, he's an excellent example of someone who said some very bold and rather outlandish things and was underestimated by the media horde following his pursuits. No one is underestimating him now. Sounds like he's channelling Diaco--or is it the other way around. And if he became a UConn booster and donated $100M your snarky comment would fall on deaf ears---even your own.

If BD is Trump, then we should all be worried. And I said any politician because they are all full of poop. IF Trump wins the abomination, then it might be a good analogy. Herman Cain was once a frontrunner.

I suggest you look at how much debt the Donald personally defaulted on and how much of a loss the US taxpayers took as a result of his financial wheeling and dealing 1986-1996. Trump, the man, is currently unbankable by all major institutions. Trump, the companies, they pay premium interest rates on their construction deals. People can donate all they want, it does not change their past. Let me know the day he does because that is when Uconn buys it way into the B1G.

 

[UConnJim]

People need to cut Diaco some slack. The roster was decimated last year and the QB position went to hell after Cochran went down. Nobody was coaching last year's team to greatness. I think we all had a problem with how Diaco was telling us he approached the season and the games and I think he has matured since last year. His interviews are much better this year. And, the roster is starting to look like a solid roster now as the roster is full and the players have been improving their size and strength. I'm pretty confident we will see improvement over last year, but the schedule is much more difficult this year, so the record may not show significant improvement.

Based on where this team is in the development process, I am expecting a good year in 2016. We should have an experienced QB, a seasoned OL, good skill players and a solid defense. Remember, we lose very few starters next year.

 

[outlaw]

goshdarn I LOVE Diaco

 

[huskysupporter]

People need to cut Diaco some slack. The roster was decimated last year and the QB position went to hell after Cochran went down. Nobody was coaching last year's team to greatness. I think we all had a problem with how Diaco was telling us he approached the season and the games and I think he has matured since last year. His interviews are much better this year. And, the roster is starting to look like a solid roster now as the roster is full and the players have been improving their size and strength. I'm pretty confident we will see improvement over last year, but the schedule is much more difficult this year, so the record may not show significant improvement.

Based on where this team is in the development process, I am expecting a good year in 2016. We should have an experienced QB, a seasoned OL, good skill players and a solid defense. Remember, we lose very few starters next year.

Everyone knew there was a talent issue, all I wanted to see progress, no matter how small, throughout the year. And to me, progress didn't necessarily mean wins. Unfortunately the team regressed to end the year. Add in the puzzling in game coaching (including horrific time management), and it's easy to see why people were dissapointed.

 

[Husky25]

Not jumping on you here at all, but just to clarify, after watching the whole thing yesterday on the interweb, Diaco never said that we would go undefeated. Only that the expectation is to win every game (in my opinion, if you're an athlete/coach and think you're going to lose, you have a bigger problem than overinflated expectations). He also stated the standard get better every day line, along with him saying that he sees the investment the kids made (buying in)

Actually, he did. The textbook definition of going undefeated is winning every game. On the other hand, Diaco's tongue was planted so far into his cheek, it was in danger of going through.

Diaco: “Win. We’re going to win every game. We’re going to play as one of the four teams in the playoff and win a national championship.”

Does anyone actually think there is even a remote possibility that a 121st ranked team coming out of the AAC can make the Final 4? Diaco absolutly has to have that attitude, but the reality is there is no way a G5 program gets into the CFP above a P5 school (undefeated or not) while the tournament field remains at 4.

 

[mets1090]

Actually, he did. The textbook definition of going undefeated is winning every game. On the other hand, Diaco's tongue was planted so far into his cheek, it was in danger of going through.

Diaco: “Win. We’re going to win every game. We’re going to play as one of the four teams in the playoff and win a national championship.”

Does anyone actually think there is even a remote possibility that a 121st ranked team coming out of the AAC can make the Final 4? Diaco absolutly has to have that attitude, but the reality is there is no way a G5 program gets into the CFP above a P5 school (undefeated or not) while the tournament field remains at 4.

Whole post is valid but the bolded part is why I don't think anyone should even be making anything of any of these quotes.

 

[huskymedic]

Actually, he did. The textbook definition of going undefeated is winning every game. On the other hand, Diaco's tongue was planted so far into his cheek, it was in danger of going through.

Diaco: “Win. We’re going to win every game. We’re going to play as one of the four teams in the playoff and win a national championship.”

Agree! What torques me about the whole thing is that he was asked what his expectations were for this year and that was his response. Then the Testudo Times SBN tool Volk takes the partial Neil Ostrout tweet offline (who is only there because Silver left) and creates his own title and bam... interweb urban myth that UConn HCBD says they will never lose another game.

It's not like he came in wearing a t-shirt with the proclamation on it. They asked his expectation... not the reality/actuality.

 

[Husky25]

Agree! What torques me about the whole thing is that he was asked what his expectations where for this year and that was his response. Then the Testudo Times SBN tool Volk takes the partial Neil Ostrout tweet offline (who is only there because Silver left) and creates his own title and bam... interweb urban myth that UConn HCBD says they will never lose another game.

It's not like he came in wearing a t-shirt with the proclamation on it. They asked his expectation... not the reality/actuality.

Volk should know better, but journalists are no longer responsible for accurately reporting news. Volk's job at SB Nation is to generate clicks. Unfortunately, that is where journalism is going. Write a splashy lead that garners a "BAM" headline and make it easy for the sales staff to monetize the hack piece through advertizing.

 

[Limbo Land]

I hear the usual negative Connecticut talking heads spouting off as usual. I wonder what they rather hear him say... Gee I hope we are okay... I think we can be in a few games... give me some confidence whether it is misguided or not over what we have had in the past. We'll see how it all shakes out in the end but I think a few of us will be eating a bit of crow in the end...