I said this during P's first year when you, whaler, and a few others declared the hire a fail (credit to you both that you were right) and I'll say it again. It's too early to declare Diaco a failure. 6 games is nowhere near enough. Has he done things that make me question whether he is gonna be good long term? Absolutely.
But I wouldn't expect to hear anything from WM at this point because frankly, it would be inappropriate to even comment on Diaco other than a standard vote of confidence.
Completely agree with you. It's very rare that a coach (especially a rookie coach) can step into a program and turn it around in one year. Look at Petrino, Strong left him with a solid program and Louisville is looking pretty pedestrian this year. Temple last year under Rhule went 2-10 and looked to be the same Temple that got kicked out of the Big East. This year, they've been competitive in every game and seem to have really bought into Rhule. Even Memphis is getting better under their second year coach. I still think Diaco and turn it around and I think next year will show what he can or cannot do with this program.
I imagine that he's thing about how this is screwing up his resume.There is really nothing Warde can say.
I imagine he's thinking about what he can do to speed up BD's development.
This is a true story?Ms.Herbst asked HCBD to stop by her office (during the bye week) to give him a pep talk. She also spoke recently to Jim Calhoun who advised her that it will take time to turn the tide and to be patient with the program and coach. As long as the Prez has BD's back (and she does) he isn't going anywhere.
The president of the school on down are fully supportive of the new staff.This is a true story?
And that's the danger of any coach coming into a rebuild situation. There may not be enough time or patience to determine if the situation is coach related or personnel related and the coach doesn't get a fair opportunity to prove himself.Here's what I worry about in year 2 for Diaco. We don't know if we have a single player who can play D1 OL. If Crozier, Rutherford, Oak, and company aren't quite ready yet, we are going to suck again. Throw in the uncertainty at QB and losing Davis and Foxx, and our offense could actually be worse next year. Defensively losing Jones will hurt but I don't think we take a step back. But if none of those kids on the OL are ready, and whoever steps in at QB isn't that good? Yikes.
I'm normally in agreement with you on most subjects but disagree with you on this.As a manager, the it's too early line is complete bunk. If you know something isn't going to work then you address it immediately. There is no reason to continue and expect different results.
That was the case with P after year two. It was obvious. That is not the current case with Diaco. There had better be meetings concerning the Olinemen and plans to improve the same.
They better know what the problem is, and the excuse, " these guys aren't talented," isn't good enough for a professional coaching staff. They better have drilled down to the causes and develop a plan to address it.
Are they too slow? Is next year's line faster? Are they not in the right physical condition? What's S&C doing about it? Are they confused? Looks like it, then spend more better time in the film/meeting room, etc. etc.
The answers to these questions should show Warde's all he needs to know about his coaching staff and whether this will be turned around next year, because there is always an excuse for needing better more experienced players.
His media skills class can wait for the off season. Maybe JC, GA, and KO can give him some pointers.
I said this during P's first year when you, whaler, and a few others declared the hire a fail (credit to you both that you were right) and I'll say it again. It's too early to declare Diaco a failure. 6 games is nowhere near enough. Has he done things that make me question whether he is gonna be good long term? Absolutely.
But I wouldn't expect to hear anything from WM at this point because frankly, it would be inappropriate to even comment on Diaco other than a standard vote of confidence.
Warde is much too busy to be conspicuous because he is heavily involved in actively monitoring the Michigan AD situation.
I don't know what happened with Rugg & Schafenacker (and that neither could crack the two deep is stunning) but I believe that any coach with any confidence in his abilities would have believed last January that by August he could have improved each enough to have been contributors.And that's the danger of any coach coming into a rebuild situation. There may not be enough time or patience to determine if the situation is coach related or personnel related and the coach doesn't get a fair opportunity to prove himself.
For the most part the defense looks well coached. So the coaching staff isn't totally incompetent. I would say Foley is competent because we have evidence of his coaching success. So that means the failure with the offense is either the players or some improper assessment by Cummings and Foley.
fleudslipcon said:I'm normally in agreement with you on most subjects but disagree with you on this.
If you or I find an employee inadequate, we replace them immediately. Obviously coaches at the college level can't do that. It's a once a year deal.
This year's recruiting process by the coaches began well before they could properly assess the players. Practice is not always a perfect indicator of game ability.
You and I have resumes we rely on. We're most likely going to hire relatively known commodities. Coaches have this opportunity as well when they are the top dogs of the coaching world. UConn football is not in that position. It has to go after unknowns. Geno on the other hand can act closer to the way you and I select candidates.
This would be my take as well. It's hard to know how much of the problem is physical limitation and how much is intellectual and emotional limitation. It's easier to evaluate physical limitations. The conditioning amongst the players was poor and obvious to most of us. Less obvious is the emotional make up of the players.I don't know what happened with Rugg & Schafenacker (and that neither could crack the two deep is stunning) but I believe that any coach with any confidence in his abilities would have believed last January that by August he could have improved each enough to have been contributors.
One thing that RE placed an enormous priority on was discipline. Under PP discipline was left entirely on the players (and when that happens things slowly fall apart) and restoring it to a level necessary for succes will take time (I imagine that this is the bulk of the culture change that Diaco keeps mentioning). There is no position grouping on a football team that is more dependent on discipline than an offensive line. We are seeing the fallout of a few years of neglect.
If you or I find an employee inadequate, we replace them immediately. Obviously coaches at the college level can't do that. It's a once a year deal.