UConn athletic director David Benedict searching for next football coach: "We need some charisma"

[CL82]

Bob Diaco had charisma.

Of course it was hidden under a bucket of insanity so....

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Not sure I would call what Diaco had charisma. He had something... But that ain't it.

I would call it b.s.ing ability

 

[CL82]

And a stadium. Here's a nice spot on Discovery Drive. 195 is on the other side of the field towards the left.

View attachment 69772

Interesting I hadn't thought about there (indicated by an X on the map below.) I prefer behind Freitas in the athletic campus (indicated by the circle.) It is a good spot close to Burton and Shenkman and allows you to use one parking lot for multiple sports rather than separate lots for everything. My runner up is Horsebarn Hill (indicated by the H.) Far from Burton but would have an amazing view.

 

[gsmooth]

"sell our program and get people engaged."

And how do you do that Dave?

Winning games. That's how you do that. You cant sell or get people engaged if the game is over at halftime.

The article is behind a pay wall so I don't know if it was talked about...but did he actually talk about trying to win games? Did he mention if the athletic dept. and University were committed to funding a staff of assistants that are top notch and can help the head coach turn this around? You know the only important qualities to actually turning this around?

Because if he talked only about the superficial of charisma and engagement and energy than this is going to be another lost cause of a hire. Bob Diaco had charisma.

Disclaimer: I have only read this thread up to this point nor have I read the article.

But this post is on point, 100%. Win games or at least play entertaining competitive football that we fans can latch onto. I hear people talk about the tailgating and having better beer concessions, blah, blah, blah. Sure that's important, but it means nothing if we keep seeing football like this.

Combined score after 2 games vs FBS:
FBS team 94
UConn 0

 

[ASweet3781]

And a stadium. Here's a nice spot on Discovery Drive. 195 is on the other side of the field towards the left.

View attachment 69772

When I drove that area last week I thought of the same thing. There is a ton of space on this road for a stadium and parking and the road connects Rt. 44 to campus.

 

[Kolumbo]

When I drove that area last week I thought of the same thing. There is a ton of space on this road for a stadium and parking and the road connects Rt. 44 to campus.

Right. One could drive 195 or 44 to Discovery Drive. Easier to get to than over by Freitas.

 

[Kolumbo]

Interesting I hadn't thought about there (indicated by an X on the map below.) I prefer behind Freitas in the athletic campus (indicated by the circle.) It is a good spot close to Burton and Shenkman and allows you to use one parking lot for multiple sports rather than separate lots for everything. My runner up is Horsebarn Hill (indicated by the H.) Far from Burton but would have an amazing view.

View attachment 69773

I was thinking East of your X on the other side of Discovery where the corn field is. Close to 44 and 195. The tennis courts are also on Discovery Dr. Your H is actually where the forest is. On top of Horsebarn Hill would be a nice view, where it says "...at Storrs."

 

[Seamus84]

if this were 2013 BEFORE we knew what a dumpster fire BD was going to be, I bet there would‘ve been a decent percentage of B’Yarders who would’ve preferred him over Belichick (“Bill doesn‘t know the college game”, “he’s too old”….”Diaco is fresh, energetic, dynamic”, etc). it’s about winning, and developing a sustainable culture of winning, that’s it. It’s why you see 25yr old models with 80yr old millionaires. Charisma may be in the job description, but it’s down on the list, and will only even be remotely relevant until the first snap of the 2022 season.

 

[UConnJim]

And a stadium. Here's a nice spot on Discovery Drive. 195 is on the other side of the field towards the left.

View attachment 69772

If they ever do put a football stadium in Storrs, I would move EO Smith to a new location when the building needs to be rebuilt and build a stadium on the former EO Smith. On campus. Walking distance to most dorms. Close to athletic facilities. And, they already have a football field on campus! Near Storrs Center.

Can be reached from both 195 North and South and S Eagleville Rd. And, if the state of Connecticut wanted to rejuvenate economic development in Eastern Connecticut, they would finish the 11 mile section of I-384 to connect Bolton and WIllimantic.

 

[Hoophound]

If they ever do put a football stadium in Storrs, I would move EO Smith to a new location when the building needs to be rebuilt and build a stadium on the former EO Smith. On campus. Walking distance to most dorms. Close to athletic facilities. And, they already have a football field on campus! Near Storrs Center.

Can be reached from both 195 North and South and S Eagleville Rd. And, if the state of Connecticut wanted to rejuvenate economic development in Eastern Connecticut, they would finish the 11 mile section of I-384 to connect Bolton and WIllimantic.

I think they might want to keep Willimantic isolated from the rest of the state.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Charisma is nice but getting a coach that understands offense is critical. Edsall DC, Pasquoloni DC, Diaco DC, Spanos DC, the only OC we promoted was Weist. That's, what?, six games in the last 21 years.

The parade of "defense and running the ball" head coaches has to end.

I'd love to see a coach who will help the offense, Kevin Kelly is one coach who would be interesting, but he might be to interesting for can - no punting? Last time we had a coach like that we lost games, 4th and long and he runs the ball...

 

[HuskyDogArt]

If they ever do put a football stadium in Storrs, I would move EO Smith to a new location when the building needs to be rebuilt and build a stadium on the former EO Smith. On campus. Walking distance to most dorms. Close to athletic facilities. And, they already have a football field on campus! Near Storrs Center.

Can be reached from both 195 North and South and S Eagleville Rd. And, if the state of Connecticut wanted to rejuvenate economic development in Eastern Connecticut, they would finish the 11 mile section of I-384 to connect Bolton and WIllimantic.

Route 6 (I-384) needs to be built, BUT NIMBYs are always complaining. We should rebuild the Midland route (East Hartford to Willimantic railroad). The railroad can be a passenger/freight operation, but the G&W doesn't like passenger trains. Have the Connecticut Eastern RR Museum run the passenger trains. Even from Willimantic to East Hartford for students and citizens of Eastern CT.

Now, if you build a stadium on campus, what should we do with the Rent? I doubt you'll see an on campus stadium at UConn in the near future...The politicians (especially East Hartford's politicians) would veto it...

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Oh the revisionist history....

From the Register when Diaco was hired:

Charismatic 40-year-old Bob Diaco was a walking bundle of pomp and circumstance.

Footballscoop.com:

Diaco brings an engaging and charismatic personality at a program - following the dismissal of Paul Pasqualoni

From the private plane UConn super-donor on twitter:

Mike Melio on Twitter: "Incredible evening with @UConnFootball ...​

https://twitter.com › enzosdad › status
A Man's TALENT and CHARISMA can get him to a place that ONLY his CHARACTER can ... Incredible evening with @UConnFootball Coach Bob Diaco @UConnAlumniGHC !


The New London Day:

UConn's new football coach, Bob Diaco, is on a mission​

https://www.theday.com › article › SPORT07

Dec 13, 2013 — Storrs - Bob Diaco didn't exactly play hard to get when meeting with UConn ... conference with his passion, energy, enthusiasm and charisma.


Warde Manuel:

"Is it a show? The first time you see him, listen to Diaco, that's the question. The second time, it's still the question. He's so charismatic, so full of energy and ideas and specific structures, you wonder how can he keep it up? And is it genuine?"


ADimeBack:

Bob Diaco, photogenic human/football coach. ... with the impossibly handsome and charismatic coach leading the program back on a positive ..


I could go into The-Boneyard thread on his hire but it would be too embarrassing to share the responses when he was hired (for me included).

One of the chief reasons Bob Diaco become our football coach was....his charisma. No need to rewrite history and say he had none. If you fail to learn from history...

Oh, commentary from the same people that want to shut down the program?

I likely thought the same thing at first, but if you ever met Diaco in person he had nothing going on behind his eyes.

 

[RSTuthill]

I am very glad to read this. For those who respond... "I just want wins... everything else takes care of itself".... yes... that's assumed. This is an extra element that is needed right now.

We all knew that the media and fans were a nuisance to Edsall. That's cute at Alabama...but a disaster at UConn. And really not cute when the team sucks. Maybe giving more media access or having a spring game is actually a good thing.

This puts Benedict on the spot...now he needs to deliver on this. Hard to hire a cranky old retread after making these statements.

Kind of a moot point. In Alabama Edsall would have been gone long ago.

 

[UCDaveD]

Think we could lure PJ Fleck away from Minnesota? This is the kind of charisma we need.

 

[NowInStorrs]

Think we could lure PJ Fleck away from Minnesota? This is the kind of charisma we need.

He makes $4.75 mil (base salary plus complimentary supplements) there so I'm going to guess no.

 

[Purple Stein]

This is a massive subtweet of Edsall, right?

He was clearly looking to coast.

There's no way to read this:

“We’re going to need someone who doesn’t look at [engagement] as being a burden or something they don’t want to do,” Benedict said. “We’re going to need someone who has the want-to, to get out in the state and this community and really sell our program and get people engaged.

without hearing "Unlike that other guy."

 

[CTMike]

Diaco was a lunatic used car salesman so we can’t hire a coach with charisma lol

 

[UCDaveD]

He makes $4.75 mil (base salary plus complimentary supplements) there so I'm going to guess no.

It wasn’t a serious question.

 

[huskysupporter]

Is he talking about our next coach or next athletic director. I have zero faith he is going to find the right coach for this program.

 

[ZooCougar]

Charisma? Can’t do worse than Randy? Everyone outside and lots of people inside disliked him.

 

[SubbaBub]

And a stadium. Here's a nice spot on Discovery Drive. 195 is on the other side of the field towards the left.

View attachment 69772

Zero chance. Most of this land is a conservation easement. It took 30 years to build the road. UConn will win the Rose Bowl before a stadium is built here.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

And a stadium. Here's a nice spot on Discovery Drive. 195 is on the other side of the field towards the left.

View attachment 69772

What about all that space at Depot Campus near the intersection of 44 and 32? Lots of space that doesn’t really exist in other suggested spots…

 

[Kolumbo]

What about all that space at Depot Campus near the intersection of 44 and 32? Lots of space that doesn’t really exist in other suggested spots…

I think it needs to be on campus and walkable. Plenty of space up there, just a matter of making it happen. Aztec Stadium is close but not really on their campus.

 

[Kolumbo]

It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and you've got the stock market beat.

We need to embrace the situation and rise to the challenge.