UConn Coaching changes

[Palatine]

None of the OL's we've had come out of UConn in recent years and go on to the NFL and either make rosters, or get cut in camps, have been ready for pass protection at the NFL level. In the big east, even on our own team, we are regularly facing players in defensive fronts that are capable of pass rush in the NFL.

That is hardly an indictment of UConn. Almost no NFL rookie offensive lineman is ready to face an NFL pass rush. Even the first rounders have trouble. I also disagree about both Thomas and Beatty. They performed pretty well as rookies.

But this is off topic. The improvement in UConn's lines was noticeable the minute that Foley got on campus. Why move him? That's the question.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Why move him? Because we need offensive tackles that can be relied on to pass protect in 1-1 situations against NFL calibre pass rushers, and we need TE's that can play anywhere on the field in the offensive system, and he's a guy that has the ability to coach it, and it's something that is going to challenge him to rededicate himself to his profession.

Seriously - the question you should be asking yourself, is why don't I (you) believe that Foley isn't going to be good at this? Why do I (you) think that Deleone won't be able to do well with the interior offensive line?

The actual business of big time college football is so foreign to UConn fans in the Randy Edsall era, that it's shocking sometimes.

Bill Parcells put Paul Pasqualoni in charge of tight ends in the NFL, and then after the Cowboys had put together two seasons with the deepest and most productive TE groups ever, he moved PP to linebackers. Why on earth would he do something like that?

I'm just trying to help people open their eyes to the world of football. The moves made here make sense.

WHy it's taken so long for a QB coach to emerge? That's what concerns me about Pasqualoni and the staff right now, yet people are bellyaching about Foley maybe, maybe moving on to another job in 2013.

How about focusing on the present, huh?

 

[Carl Spackler]

Also, I'm not indicting UConn or Foley at all for not producing pass blocking talent.

There's been no need to work on that extensively at UConn for the past several years. That's what's changed, and that's why the coaching moves have been put in place.

Focus on not just run blocking, but pass blocking too.

 

[ithaca barrel]

As a long tome Syracuse fan, I will say that I was not a huge fan of Deleone as the OC at Syracuse by the end of his tenure but if there is a guy coaching O Line that can get more with less out there I would love to see him. Coach D is a fantastic O Line coach. In addition, when he was here, we sent quite a few OL guys to the NFL. He can coach O Line, we haven't had a guy that can really come close since he left.

However, he was definitely more in tune with run blocking versus pass blocking, we had some qb's that could scramble back then

 

[2Infinity]

I thought we led the conference in fewest sacks allowed in 2010. I know facts have no impact on Carl's canned speeches, but that doesn't mean we can't try.

We may have led the conference in fewest sacks allowed...but that was not last season, it was the one before that. To be fair, the year was mentioned, but it's like looking at yesterday's weather forecast. Last season we had some new faces on the OL as well as an inexperienced QB. But is that enough to expect that our sacks allowed should have gone from 15 to 41? (2010-2011) That's more than 2 1/2 times as many! With a brilliant offensive line coach, should this have happened? 41 sacks allowed was 2nd worst in the Big East and ranked UConn 115th best (adjusted for opposition) in the nation! Pointing this out is not meant to disparage Mike Foley, as he has been great over his tenure here. However, is it beyond belief that he is asked to coach the TEs, as well as the tackles, in favor of a guy like DeLeone, who has had such great success in coaching O lines at both the collegiate level as well as in the NFL?! I don't believe so. That some here have been acting like Foley's deserving of imminent induction into sainthood.... seems a bit premature.​

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http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/29123/uconn-coaching-position-switch​

http://sportsratings.typepad.com/college_football/sacks-allowed.html​

 

[Husky68]

1st in the big east and 20th nationally.

Out of 120 teams in 2010 Uconn had only 37 teams with less pass attempts, so to a certain extend would expect no worse than 37th place if were more or less equal to other teams in position on number of sacks vs. position for number of pass attempts. For 2011 out of 120 teams again Uconn had only 37 teams with less pass attempts so the 117th place in sacks allowed is quite bad.

Don't see the line as that much worse in pass protection (from good to so, so bad) although was weaker. See it as some of the subtle impact of having a QB in 2010 who was a pretty experienced senior who was coached to throw the ball away quickly if found reads not open to a green QB who at times froze and was quite immoble. Some on the O line, but some on the QB.

 

[gioff23]

I don't think anyone here would argue Coach Foley has been a tremendous asset in his tenure as OL coach. And I am sure all of us hope that the change is not the negative one might presume from reading a blog.

I think the OL has generally be a (perhaps thee) strength of this team over the past few years. But I also am mindful of the fact that the OL under RE is different than it will be under PP. But the U brought in PP to coach this team and that includes putting in asst coaches he thinks can best help this program grow. You may not like this move on the surface much like you don't like changes that come in the workplace whenever there is a change in maangement, but they are inevitable.

In fairness, while we led the league in fewest sacks allowed in 2010, we also threw less than almost every other team and generally employed max protections. The idea was not to win offensively - the O was not to lose the game. Stats are a dangerous game - the Bengals and Browns were among the leaders in sacks allowed in 2011. Anyone arguing they are the best O lines in the NFL?

Does anyone believe the OL was a strength in 11? I don't. What made that really disappointing IMO was that we returned a couple of all conference performers and draftable guys. The pass protection was mediocre at best and the run blocking was not up to prior year's levels. Yes, we had a 1000 yard rusher, but doesn't every team rush for more than 1000 yards? Was that on the players, the schemes, the staff? Unclear. Obviously, PP and GD believe they need to work on the core of the OL (the C and Gs) and align their talents and approach to that of the playbook.

I think the new staff is trying to change the approach - let's be able to win on O or D, or both. Whether they are successful only time will tell. I am open to the change and I do not fear the consequences.

 

[businesslawyer]

We may have led the conference in fewest sacks allowed...but that was not last season, it was the one before that. To be fair, the year was mentioned, but it's like looking at yesterday's weather forecast. Last season we had some new faces on the OL as well as an inexperienced QB. But is that enough to expect that our sacks allowed should have gone from 15 to 41? (2010-2011) That's more than 2 1/2 times as many! With a brilliant offensive line coach, should this have happened? 41 sacks allowed was 2nd worst in the Big East and ranked UConn 115th best (adjusted for opposition) in the nation! Pointing this out is not meant to disparage Mike Foley, as he has been great over his tenure here. However, is it beyond belief that he is asked to coach the TEs, as well as the tackles, in favor of a guy like DeLeone, who has had such great success in coaching O lines at both the collegiate level as well as in the NFL?! I don't believe so. That some here have been acting like Foley's deserving of imminent induction into sainthood.... seems a bit premature.​

​

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/29123/uconn-coaching-position-switch​

http://sportsratings.typepad.com/college_football/sacks-allowed.html​

1. I could not have been more clear that I was giving the 2010 number, not the 2011.

2. What do you think the most likely reason for the spike from 2010 to 2011 was. Putting a new offense in place? The loss of Hurd and Olivier without their replacements being as good? A QB who didn't throw the ball quickly enough. Or a worse job of coaching technique by a long time position coach? I can't tell you for a fact it's not the last one, but isn't it fairly obvious that the last one is the least likely explanation?

 

[uconnric]

I don't think the pass blocking was good enough to allow our receivers time to get open. Mc wasn't an elusive qb, but he was generally on the mark when he had time and an open receiver. There were many occasions on obvious passing downs that there was not sufficient pass protection and it wasn't his fault.

 

[2Infinity]

1. I could not have been more clear that I was giving the 2010 number, not the 2011.

2. What do you think the most likely reason for the spike from 2010 to 2011 was. Putting a new offense in place? The loss of Hurd and Olivier without their replacements being as good? A QB who didn't throw the ball quickly enough. Or a worse job of coaching technique by a long time position coach? I can't tell you for a fact it's not the last one, but isn't it fairly obvious that the last one is the least likely explanation?

Yes, you were clear about it being 2010, but made no mention of 2011. It seems a bit odd to omit the most recent year and selectively post the most favorable season's number...that's all.

As for point #2, I happen to agree with you that, on the surface, the last reason given was not the primary or only reason for the drop off in performance. He certainly has been a great teacher over the yeasr. However, is it possible that his techniques are better suited to the running game than the passing game? After all, that is what our primary focus had been over those years, until last season that is. I believe the spike was due to a combination of all of the factors you mentioned above. But going forward, it seems Coach P feels that GD's approach to coaching the OL is better, and proven, when employing a more active passing game. To his credit, he did give Foley a year to continue coaching the O line, even though there was going to be much more passing than before. However, he may have realized that with DeLeone's proven success at both the college and pro level, it's just smart coaching to get him more involved with the line. It was reported that Foley will continue coaching the tackles as well as the TEs. So CP obviously still has confidence in Foley!

 

[Nostical]

There's no question that certain line coaches excel at run blocking while others are pass blocking gurus. Want a good example? How about The Indy Colts. I don't think there's a question that Donald Brown would have shown better results behind a run blocking line. That O line was built by Howard Mudd to pass block for Peyton Manning.
The #1 run blocking O-Line this season belonged to The Houston Texans. Any wonder why an undrafted running back from U of Tennessee (Arian Foster) excelled?
#26 was the Indy Colts. Any wonder why the Big East rushing leader was stymied?

 

[sdhusky]

I thought we led the conference in fewest sacks allowed in 2010. I know facts have no impact on Carl's canned speeches, but that doesn't mean we can't try.

Hmmmm. I wonder where we ranked in pass attempts?

 

[sdhusky]

Is Foley a football guy or an offensive line guy?

I don't know why everyone thinks he will suck so bad at a new position. I think he did a pretty good job with the oline and I expect he will continue to be a good coach.

Why all the negativity about him?

 

[Excalibur]

Is Foley a football guy or an offensive line guy?

I don't know why everyone thinks he will suck so bad at a new position. I think he did a pretty good job with the oline and I expect he will continue to be a good coach.

Why all the negativity about him?

I think the issue is taking him away from a position that he's done quite well at. It's a valid point, tempered a bit by the fact that DeLeone is also an accomplished OL coach.

 

[Palatine]

Is Foley a football guy or an offensive line guy?

I don't know why everyone thinks he will suck so bad at a new position. I think he did a pretty good job with the oline and I expect he will continue to be a good coach.

Why all the negativity about him?

No one is saying he will suck at his new position.

We are saying he was great at his last position, so why move him?

 

[Waquoit]

No one is saying he will suck at his new position.

We are saying he was great at his last position, so why move him?

And it seems that the feedback is that it seems he was most effective under HCRE's ball control system, less so under Coach P's more pass oriented system.

 

[2Infinity]

Hmmmm. I wonder where we ranked in pass attempts?

Some interesting stats contrasting the last two seasons passing-wise:

Year --- Att/G --- Yds/G --- Rating --- TDs --- INTs --- Sacks Alw/G
2010 --- 27.5 ----- 151.1* --- 103.07* --- 10* ----- 9 -------- 1.15*
2011 --- 29.9 ------194.7* --- 113.22* --- 14 ------ 9*-------- 3.42

* lowest in Big East conference

A nice move up in yardage per game, though not where we want to be. Lowest interception total in league! With only two passing attempts more per game, the sacks allowed per game jumped a lot! From the stats, and not saying he is great, but it doesn't look like Johnny Mac was the worst QB we could have had, as some would like us to believe.

 

[Excalibur]

Some interesting stats contrasting the last two seasons passing-wise:

Year --- Att/G --- Yds/G --- Rating --- TDs --- INTs --- Sacks Alw/G
2010 --- 27.5 ----- 151.1* --- 103.07* --- 10* ----- 9 -------- 1.15*
2011 --- 29.9 ------194.7* --- 113.22* --- 14 ------ 9*-------- 3.42

* lowest in Big East conference

A nice move up in yardage per game, though not where we want to be. Lowest interception total in league! With only two passing attempts more per game, the sacks allowed per game jumped a lot! From the stats, and not saying he is great, but it doesn't look like Johnny Mac was the worst QB we could have had, as some would like us to believe.

What I noticed this year is that, if Mac was hit early, he got really gun shy, and would often tuck the ball and take the sack at the slightest hint of pressure. This was more of an issue early in the year, where the protection was nowhere near as good as it was later on.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Let me make this point again. I think it was missed. We play in the big east. The big east has some of the strongest defensive fronts, and pass rushers in the country, guys that come through and move on to the NFL year in and year out. It's something that's been here for a while in this league, many years.

Anyone think that Randy Edsall didn't know this? In the past, we overcame, by developing an offense that didn't rely too much on 1-1 battles at the line with the OL. We were an offensive line that moved A LOT. We pulled, we trapped, we ran the ball. WHen it came to pass protections, we didn't send out 4 and 5 routes regularly, a majority of the time there were two major route trees in any play call, and sometimes a third, rarely 4, never 5. That means more guys in tight to block on passing downs.

The head guy we've got now, is also quite aware of the type of defenses out there in this league, and is putting in an offensive system, such that when we face those kinds of defensive fronts, with guys out there that will play in the NFL, we're going to do it by having players on our side of the ball that can take them on 1-1 in blocking situations at the line of scrimmage while we're sending out plays with 4 routes and 5 routes built in. That means TE's and OT's better be top notch, because the pass rush coming around the edge are the ones that are most dangerous.

So why do you take a guy that's successful at one little piece of the football game, and move him to something else? To challenge him to be better, and to make your team better at the same time. To tell him, that we've got a serious and focused job to do, and you got it.

It's a pretty common management tool at higher level management. You take people that are smart and good, and make them smarter and better by giving them new tasks. It wouldn't surprise me - IF - Foley is still here next year, that he's back to the full OL duties.

But for now, we need somebody who's going to get the TE's and OT"s up to the speed and skill they need to be to handle an NFL quality pass rush 1-1, and get them up to speed quick, and at the same time get the TE's up to speed in being as diverse in teh offense down field and in the various roles in the formations, and Foley is the guy that drew the stick.

As for my comments on lack of development in pass rush skills, well - that's your management challenge right there. I don't think there's anybody that can question whether or not we've been good at developing run blocking offensive linemen. That's not to say the coach CAN'T do it, but now he's got the challenge to go out there and prove that he CAN do it.

We'll see. I'm excited about the move.

I"m still very much concerned though, as to why we've got no QB coach yet. Surprises me that everybody's concerned about this Foley / Deleone thing, and nobody's talking about that.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

No one is saying he will suck at his new position.

We are saying he was great at his last position, so why move him?

usually i right with you dave, but i think we need a guy who can coach pass blocking technique. obviously pp saw something lacking in that area from foley.

i like this move. when PP was with Dallas, he had the best TE group one year, then was moved to LB coach. it worked well because PP is a football guy....not just a LB/TE guy. Foley is the same. he has been in the game for a long time, and knows probably every position.

We needed the O line to pass block better this season, and we needed the TE's to run block better. Foley can definitely teach that. I think this move solves both problems pretty darn well.

 

[Carl Spackler]

usually i right with you dave, but i think we need a guy who can coach pass blocking technique. obviously pp saw something lacking in that area from foley.

i like this move. when PP was with Dallas, he had the best TE group one year, then was moved to LB coach. it worked well because PP is a football guy....not just a LB/TE guy. Foley is the same. he has been in the game for a long time, and knows probably every position.

We needed the O line to pass block better this season, and we needed the TE's to run block better. Foley can definitely teach that. I think this move solves both problems pretty darn well.

Excellent points. The TE's need to get better at both pass and run blocking. The OT"s need to be able to handle 1-1 situations against the best pass rushers in the country.

Putting Foley specifically on this, and leaving Deleone to handle interior OL with the OC duties is a bad thing? not to me.

Randy Edsall is/was a very good football coach and tactician. He developed a program in the big east, built a football program that was pretty darn solid based on the building blocks he was working with against the competition we face year in and year out. He did it on both sides of the ball.

What happened though, very clearly, over the years in the big east, is that the tactics he came up with to be successful on the football field on offense and defense, not as clear on D as O, but against the competition in our league, the offensive system we developed to be competitive came at the cost of progressively limiting our ability to do things on the field offensively in the passing game.

and defensively....what happened is that the ability to move outside the boundaries of a very rigid system progressively decreased. I mean we were so god damn predictable on the field by 2010 it was ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with being that predictable, but if you're going to be, the flip side of the coin is that you need to have the very best athletes on the field, at every single position,

The passing game went progressively down the ladder as an aspect of offensive football in recent years, and the concepts of pressuring the offense on defense went progressively out the window. and it made us more and more predictable year in and year out, and we didn't have the best players in the country up and down the roster, and all of that factors in to the type of athletes that you're going to be able to recruit successfully - especially if you're not a real exceptional kind of personality guy when it comes to recruiting.

It needed to change. The program needed to change. It has changed.

 

[FDNY99]

I honestly thought we would see a massive staff purge after Moorehead left given our record and the fact that aside from DeLeone, Brown, and White the rest of the staff isn't one of P's guys. I said it once in this thread and I will say it again...we have been spoiled as fans with the longevity of our assistant coaching staff. What happened to this staff when Edsall left is the exception not the norm! If P ends up getting fired or not having his contract extended be prepared for a complete staff turn over. If Foley ends up leaving after next season I wish him luck, he has done a good job for us while he was here; and someone else will take his place that P hires....P's guy.