think WM has a difficult decision...

[Uconnalliance]

I think your comment is agreeing with my assessment, but I'm not sure. If it is, then....yeah. If not....well, let's stick with agreement...

We're Uconn not SC,ND or any big Fla U,to expect that some big time OC or DC from some school is coming here instead of some other school is plain foolish, believe me I love the football program as much as the rest, but Narduzzi,Lembo or Clawson coming here is such a stretch we need to be real,were Uconn were a damaged football program in the eyes of all others, rebuild as best we can support the kids and the program and at some point some big fish will come here , I just don't think it's now, but.... I Believe it will happen

 

[Jimdish255]

I'm surprised to hear so many people changing their tune on TJ based on these last three games. Could he be a good coach long term? Possibly yes. Do the last three games indicate he can elevate this program to the top of even our league in a short period of time, attract solid recruits and give us the perception of a P5 program moving forward? I'm not sold on that based on the body of work. But if I were a MAC, MWC, CUSA or top FCS team I would say deserves a chance as a HC. And I give him a ton of credit for walking into a horrible situation and beginning to turn things in the right direction. We've still got a way to go and not forever to get it done.

This board is nothing if not emotional and schizophrenic. But it's home.

 

[Uconnrick]

I'm surprised to hear so many people changing their tune on TJ based on these last three games. Could he be a good coach long term? Possibly yes. Do the last three games indicate he can elevate this program to the top of even our league in a short period of time, attract solid recruits and give us the perception of a P5 program moving forward? I'm not sold on that based on the body of work. But if I were a MAC, MWC, CUSA or top FCS team I would say deserves a chance as a HC. And I give him a ton of credit for walking into a horrible situation and beginning to turn things in the right direction. We've still got a way to go and not forever to get it done.

This board is nothing if not emotional and schizophrenic. But it's home.

I'm not sure we are currently attractive to a guy like Narduzzi and honestly; none of the other names I've heard offer more than TJ. The voices in my head are telling me TJ is the guy

 

[Jimdish255]

I'm not sure we are currently attractive to a guy like Narduzzi and honestly; none of the other names I've heard offer more than TJ. The voices in my head are telling me TJ is the guy

I wouldn't freak out if they chose him, but I might have a sinking feeling if we miss out on some of the other guys out there. Not the same as the last hire, but sinking nonetheless.

 

[UConnDan97]

I think my Christmas wish list would be in the following order:

1) Mullen (Miss St.)
2) Narduzzi
t3) Herman
t3) Clawson
t3) Weist
6) Lembo
.
.
.
10) Houston Nutt (or Nutt-type)
11) Ambrose or Moorhead

I don't know who names 7, 8, or 9 are (Diaco?), so that is where they get listed. And I think I personally have some daylight between Lembo and the ones that are tied for third. Let's see what Santa brings me, and I hope it isn't a lump of coal...

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I fully believe that if the decision WM made post Buffalo had been made during spring practice (six months earlier) we would be preparing for a bowl game as we speak and the off season decisions would be how to upgrade the defensive coaching (redeploy Wholley, replace Hughes & Perkins), Unfortunately for TJ, not enough has been accomplished and there is a perception issue to deal with with our hire. We need to make it clear the to college football world that we are taking this very seriously.

One thing that also needs to be added to this equation is that the offense started performing at a consistent level after Day was given play calling duties (and Casey became starter). TJ as WR coach is as good as we've had here and I don't like the idea of losing him but there are more important things than having a quality WR coach. I was told by a few people close to the program ~ game three in 2012 that if GDL was given the boot, Foley was returned to OL coach and Day took over OC duties, we could beat anyone on our schedule. I believe that what transpired post P/GDL this season was pretty good evidence that those opinions did have some validity.

The brightest part of what happened today was that we have reached the point where we can legitimately begin moving forward from the prior regime. That is all officially behind us. We may well lose some quality assistants in the transition but this is a necessary part of the process. We will do well going forward, the position here is far more desirable than many boneyarders want to believe.

 

[rich1122]

You have a guy maybe two in mind. If they say no then take the in-house guy. I know it was Memphis but the Receivers have improved and the O-Line that was a mess is better. I mean say what you want the guy has pushed all of the right buttons. Another coach another playbook maybe, maybe not unless you get what you want.

 

[UConn07]

You may hate hearing the names of the opponents......but if WM makes this decision based on these 3 wins this program is finished.

Wrong

 

[UConn07]

How about the other 5? We're here because we made a small time, easy, short sighted hire 3 years ago. Amazing people want to go down that road again.

Weist isn't Pasqualoni, but in your head that hire would be the same thing. Good to know.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Weist isn't Pasqualoni, but in your head that hire would be the same thing. Good to know.

I'm not surprised there's a lot of emotional sentiment for TJ given how this board overreacts to everything. And nobody knows if TJ will be successful here or not. But to give a guy, who up until this year was a career position coach, this job because we beat 3 dreadful teams is just so stupid it's hard to wrap my mind around.

Given that you're wrong about just nearly everything, I would like to see someone new brought in.

 

[metsfan2323]

But to give a guy, who up until this year was a career position coach, this job because we beat 3 dreadful teams is just so stupid it's hard to wrap my mind around.

If you are going to build a case against TJ do it with facts. Your statement is not factual.

and get off your high horse while you search for some facts.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

You have a guy maybe two in mind. If they say no then take the in-house guy. I know it was Memphis but the Receivers have improved and the O-Line that was a mess is better. I mean say what you want the guy has pushed all of the right buttons. Another coach another playbook maybe, maybe not unless you get what you want.

I'm guessing the candidate list (of quality names to speak with about the position) has far more than a guy, maybe two. I would wager that beyond the Narduzzi-Lembo-Clawson-Herman names that we do know about there are about triple that number of equally qualified candidates that we don't know, every one capable of creating more buzz and presenting the likelyhood (nothing is guaranteed) of better results than making TJ permanent. Granted, a large number of names on the list won't see this job as want they are ideally looking for but that doesn't mean that none of the candidates will say yes.

I doubt that WM will hire outside of the current interim HC just to get rid of TJ but I seriously doubt that we cannot find a better candidate than TJ and unfortunately for TJ, we are not in a position where we can say 'let's see what he can do over the next year or two". Among the many things we are fighting is the propaganda that we are not a football school and have no desire to ever take football seriously. Making TJ permanent will not only prevent us from fighting that perception, it will give our detractors reason to chirp even louder. This hire needs to accomplish many things and one is to be a shot across the bow to those detractors. When RE left, if TJ had been here he may have been a great choice. Unfortunately for TJ, too much damage has occurred and we need to make a much bigger splash.

 

[ScottVib]

says you....
people were also certain that Shaka or Stevens would be the better choice than Ollie.
Ollie's book isn't nearly complete, but after 1+ seasons, that hire is looking pretty good.

Ollie also had the endorsement of a Hall of Fame legend.... a legend who stepped down late into the process to ensure that his head-coach in waiting got the interim spot with a chance to prove himself. In Ollie's first game he beat Michigan State... Weist lost to USF and four other teams before figuring out how to beat the three teams at the bottom of the conference standings. Weist deserves credit for the finish... but is far from a shoe-in and the process needs to play out. If Manuel judges him the best after a full set of interviews so-be-it, but he should not be anointed (winning 38% of your games is not earning it on the field). Ollie earned his deal through the results he demonstrated.

 

[whaler11]

I've heard this comment a lot recently, and it shocks me that people don't understand that the Pasqualoni hire was not the small time, easy choice three years ago. He was the "known commodity, bigger name, expensive" hire. The results of that were clear.

What Marty is advocating is NOT what we just did with Pasqualoni. It's quite the opposite: a younger coach with a "more modern" style of offense, with more charisma and energy, but without the name or pedigree.

I'm not saying TJ is the right choice. What I'm saying is that your reasons for it being the wrong choice aren't applicable...

It was the smallest time decision in college football history. That some people recognized his name doesn't change that.

He was known all right. Known as someone who should have never been contacted.

 

[joey3$trike$]

Clean house period! Including TJW and Foley. Let the new HC decide who he wants as coordinators/position coach etc... New Identity Please!

 

[jbdphi]

Clean house period! Including TJW and Foley. Let the new HC decide who he wants as coordinators/position coach etc... New Identity Please!

While we're at it let's get rid of all the existing players too. That would definitely mean a new identity wouldn't it?

Seriously, you're being a bit tone deaf on a day when we had a great team performance (albeit against a really bad football team).

 

[huskysupporter]

Clean house period! Including TJW and Foley. Let the new HC decide who he wants as coordinators/position coach etc... New Identity Please!

I think the team finally established an offensive identity the last 4 games (yes, including the SMU loss). I really like the concepts.

 

[joey3$trike$]

I think the team finally established an offensive identity the last 4 games (yes, including the SMU loss). I really like the concepts.

if throwing 50 times in a blowout win and throwing the ball every down in the 4th qtr up 4 scores, are good concepts to you so be it.

 

[huskysupporter]

if throwing 50 times in a blowout win and throwing the ball every down in the 4th qtr up 4 scores, are good concepts to you so be it.

See the bolded above.

 

[jbdphi]

if throwing 50 times in a blowout win and throwing the ball every down in the 4th qtr up 4 scores, are good concepts to you so be it.

So you're saying you were unsatisfied with today's win?

Listen, we weren't perfect but try to be happy about what went right (a lot of things) as opposed to the few things that were not (KO coverage, secondary play, maybe a bit pass heavy at the end with a big lead).

Not trying to pick on you in particular but I just don't get how people cannot be happy with a blowout win even over a crappy opponent.

 

[jbdphi]

By the way, I'm just listening to the post-game stuff and TJW addresses the passing offense at the end. Wanted to get Davis to 1,000 yards and a record catching day and Casey a record throwing day. Wanted to build them momentum for next year.

I saw him speaking to Fuentes after the game and you could tell this was a subject of conversation. I'm OK with it.

 

[UConnDan97]

It was the smallest time decision in college football history. That some people recognized his name doesn't change that.

He was known all right. Known as someone who should have never been contacted.

Except that somebody forgot to tell that to the Miami Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys. Don't let the fact that top-level organizations thought differently than you change your opinion on the subject.

Just to refresh your memories, the most small-time thing that could have been done would have been to just keep Hank Hughes as the full time coach (he was interim), and save a million a year...

 

[metsfan2323]

Just to refresh your memories, the most small-time thing that could have been done would have been to just keep Hank Hughes as the full time coach (he was interim), and save a million a year...

or Joe Moorhead, which in hindsight would have been a much better decision.

are we about to make the same mistake by not promoting from within?

 

[ruskin]

Except that somebody forgot to tell that to the Miami Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys. Don't let the fact that top-level organizations thought differently

NFL teams, yes. Top-level? Not so much.

 

[CL82]

While we're at it let's get rid of all the existing players too. That would definitely mean a new identity wouldn't it?

Seriously, you're being a bit tone deaf on a day when we had a great team performance (albeit against a really bad football team).

Yeah and change the mascot!

Uh, wait nevermind...