Warde Manuel silence after Towson clock

[Marty Jackson]

Without a doubt, things are really bad. The coaches have totally lost the team.

what have you seen to suggest the coaches have lost the team?

 

[junglehusky]

Well, Pasqualoni said some things during the summer about urgency, he made reference to his job security after two 5-7 seasons at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, and for all that urgency/desperation we went out and lost to Towson. So my advice is don't hold your breath for some renewed sense of urgency or something dramatic to happen. As long as we're talking about reality here, the reality is the decisions that will turn the ship around won't come in in the next two months, at least, not publicly. Manuel probably has a list of candidates and he'll be watching the names on that list, maybe adding and subtracting from during the season. But turning a big battleship around takes time, it's not done instantaneously even if that's what we want.

 

[junglehusky]

Another brilliant riposte. Seriously sd do you have season tix and are you looking forward to the six remaining home games either in a halfempty stadium or being outnumbered by visiting fans? And is it fair to the seniors to sacrifice their last season in the name of whatever it is youre advocating (not quite sure what that is)?

No it's not really fair to seniors, or to the other players, that the Rent will be a morgue. This season is going to probably be the worst since we moved into the Rent, and if that turns out to be the case, yeah it'll really suck for the seniors to have their last year under a lame duck coach with no hope of a bowl bid. But as a program, UConn has to do what's best for its medium and long term growth and winning, which is hiring the RIGHT head coach for 2014 on. I don't think that you promote an assistant to take over unless you are 100% certain that is the right person for not just 2013 but beyond, and I doubt Hughes or Weist is that person for now.

 

[freescooter]

Well, Pasqualoni said some things during the summer about urgency, he made reference to his job security after two 5-7 seasons at the Middles e x Chamber of Commerce, and for all that urgency/desperation we went out and lost to Towson. So my advice is don't hold your breath for some renewed sense of urgency or something dramatic to happen. As long as we're talking about reality here, the reality is the decisions that will turn the ship around won't come in in the next two months, at least, not publicly. Manuel probably has a list of candidates and he'll be watching the names on that list, maybe adding and subtracting from during the season. But turning a big battleship around takes time, it's not done instantaneously even if that's what we want.

You know, I wouldn't have been happy losing to Towson under any circumstances, but when a team comes out and is lifeless, disorganized, and gets pushed around by a smaller opponent, that is about coaching. We see the same mistakes, year in year out. Linemen who have no idea what their assignments are, trying to power run a 160 pound halfback on 3rd & 2. Poor time management, poor play calling, no halftime adjustments...this isn't like we haven't seen it all before for the last two years. It is clear that Pasqualoni is not going to get it done. Sometimes a change needs to start sooner than later.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Making a move now makes the administration look horrendous. We brought him back but one loss we punt the season?

Looking at it from Manuel's point of view, no reason to cause a circus. Maybe it gets better. If it doesn't you get a shot at a hire.

If Manuel's job were at risk I could see him making that call. Since it isn't he'll sit back - make a change around Thanksgiving and then it's 2-3 years before anyone can even judge that hire

No way he puts himself in harm's way for the 2013 season.

Then he's the wrong guy for the job!!! Our situation calls for somebody with balls. Any CEO worth his salt will tell you s/he prefers someone who takes action. Ask Lincoln what he thought of the usefulness of McClellan's ability to monitor situations. The plain cold fact is we're going in the wrong direction so step one in any plan is to stop going that way. The way to stop going that way is to get rid of the guy leading. Right now. Not later. Not after the guy has a chance to accidentally stumble upon a good result that temporarily let's people sigh, slide back into the barcalounger, and pretend that maybe things are going to work out after all. They're not, and the last thing we need to do is fool ourselves about that.

Inaction is the wrong course. Even if TJ or whoever is installed as head coach fails miserably, so what? You come to a fork in the road. To the left is certain death. To the right is almost certain death. Which way do you go?

People are worried about sending the wrong message to some future coach? Trust me, firing PP now is EXACTLY the message I want to send. It's not like Thursday was Paul's first stroll out that tunnel. I want anyone applying for the job to think "These guys mean business." Right now we look like a bunch of monkeys grooming ourselves for fleas while the forest is on fire.

 

[tduconn]

I'm torn on a number of issues and everyone has made some good commentary.

Is PP and his staff gone sometime this year. Right now I'm guessing it would probably happen.

But when? Putting aside my selfish feelings, what is best for the players? If we give up on the coaches today, done the players also feel we've given up on them? I'm guessing they'd question their future......if a new coach comes in now, would they "be benched" now or next season. Will their skills match the requirements of a "new scheme". And after Spring and August training under existing concepts, just how long will it take to change things around. It seems the players are confused enough now.

What about the "assistant coaches". Would they have the fire in their gut to coach hard the rest of the season if they believe they need to be getting resume's out before the end of the season?

It wouldn't be fair to name an interim coach RIGHT NOW from the existing staff because I'm not too sure we'd receive the best effort from the players or coaches. Just too much uncertainity for all of them as to their respective futures.......so we may never experience the talents of an interim coach to the fullest.

I'm quite sure Ward Manual has a plan and he don't have to e-mail me to keep me abreast of his ideas. He and Herbst very well know what is at stake for all of UConn, and I'll bet the gears are moving, and the Trustees are providing the grease. I have absolutely no worries about this already being set in motion. I'm confident the timetable has been hashed over......they don't need my selfish imput.

I'm more concerned about the concepts of empty seats at the Rent. . I played on an absolutely horrible little league team years ago, but will guarentee you this........we played harder when our dads were there to watch than when they stayed home. At least then we knew someone besides ourselves cared.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

No it's not really fair to seniors, or to the other players, that the Rent will be a morgue. This season is going to probably be the worst since we moved into the Rent, and if that turns out to be the case, yeah it'll really suck for the seniors to have their last year under a lame duck coach with no hope of a bowl bid. But as a program, UConn has to do what's best for its medium and long term growth and winning, which is hiring the RIGHT head coach for 2014 on. I don't think that you promote an assistant to take over unless you are 100% certain that is the right person for not just 2013 but beyond, and I doubt Hughes or Weist is that person for now.

Stop already. It's the old what happens if so-and-so gets hit by a bus or wins the lottery. PP didn't get run over but he's performed like he was. You gotta reassign the tasks, maybe bring in somebody new. It doesn't mean you've conducted an exhaustive search and have located the ideal replacement. Still, something must be done and you need to buy time. That's what we do until the end of the year. Meanwhile, Warde can monitor the hell out of things.

 

[freescooter]

a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. And the first step in the restoration of UConn football is to clear away the roadblock that is Paul Pasqualoni. And the sooner that happens the sooner we can begin the rebuilding process. And this from someone who thought Pasqualoni was a solid choice. Clearly he has not been. He has just sucked the life out of the program. I envisioned the Fiesta Bowl as being the first step in UConn's move to the next level, but Pasqualoni has moved it in the wrong direction entirely.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

I'm torn on a number of issues and everyone has made some good commentary.

Is PP and his staff gone sometime this year. Right now I'm guessing it would probably happen.

But when? Putting aside my selfish feelings, what is best for the players? If we give up on the coaches today, done the players also feel we've given up on them? I'm guessing they'd question their future......if a new coach comes in now, would they "be benched" now or next season. Will their skills match the requirements of a "new scheme". And after Spring and August training under existing concepts, just how long will it take to change things around. It seems the players are confused enough now.

What about the "assistant coaches". Would they have the fire in their gut to coach hard the rest of the season if they believe they need to be getting resume's out before the end of the season?

It wouldn't be fair to name an interim coach RIGHT NOW from the existing staff because I'm not too sure we'd receive the best effort from the players or coaches. Just too much uncertainity for all of them as to their respective futures.......so we may never experience the talents of an interim coach to the fullest.

I'm quite sure Ward Manual has a plan and he don't have to e-mail me to keep me abreast of his ideas. He and Herbst very well know what is at stake for all of UConn, and I'll bet the gears are moving, and the Trustees are providing the grease. I have absolutely no worries about this already being set in motion. I'm confident the timetable has been hashed over......they don't need my selfish imput.

I'm more concerned about the concepts of empty seats at the Rent. . I played on an absolutely horrible little league team years ago, but will guarentee you this........we played harder when our dads were there to watch than when they stayed home. At least then we knew someone besides ourselves cared.

Nice post td and I agree for the most part, especially the paragraph about gears being in motion. That I certainly agree with. I wouldn't call our input selfish particularly. Sometimes a trustee who is not particularly interested in sports might overlook what's going on with the football team unless a stink so big s/he can't ignore it is raised. We might miss important input from someone astute enough in general to secure a spot on the board.

The bolded, blue statement does bother me. Were I a player, replacing some coaches might me feel the administration cared more about me than that they'd given up on me. Let's say I'm a running back and the coach has me practicing long snaps with the punting team all day. If the head guy comes over, sees what's going on, and sends my coach packing I'll think he cares more, not less.

What Thursday's game showed is one of these things:
1) The game plan was inadequate. Coach's problem.
2) The team was incapable of executing the plan. Coach's problem.
3) The program isn't currently capable of fielding a competitive team for the contest. Not the coach's problem but surely not the case with Towson.

 

[huskymedic]

a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. And the first step in the restoration of UConn football is to clear away the ro that is Paul Pasqualoni. And the sooner that happens the sooner we can begin the rebuilding process. And this from someone who thought Pasqualoni was a solid choice. Clearly he has not been. He has just sucked the life out of the program. I envisioned the Fiesta Bowl as being the first step in UConn's move to the next level, but Pasqualoni has moved it in the wrong direction entirely.

Said it better than I could.

I do believe that if we start 0-4 (with bad loses to RE and both of WM's old stomping grounds) -- they make a change after the Buffalo game (9/28) which leads to the next bye week and USF @ home on 10/12.

 

[whaler11]

Then he's the wrong guy for the job!!! Our situation calls for somebody with balls. Any CEO worth his salt will tell you s/he prefers someone who takes action. Ask Lincoln what he thought of the usefulness of McClellan's ability to monitor situations. The plain cold fact is we're going in the wrong direction so step one in any plan is to stop going that way. The way to stop going that way is to get rid of the guy leading. Right now. Not later. Not after the guy has a chance to accidentally stumble upon a good result that temporarily let's people sigh, slide back into the barcalounger, and pretend that maybe things are going to work out after all. They're not, and the last thing we need to do is fool ourselves about that.

Inaction is the wrong course. Even if TJ or whoever is installed as head coach fails miserably, so what? You come to a fork in the road. To the left is certain death. To the right is almost certain death. Which way do you go?

People are worried about sending the wrong message to some future coach? Trust me, firing PP now is EXACTLY the message I want to send. It's not like Thursday was Paul's first stroll out that tunnel. I want anyone applying for the job to think "These guys mean business." Right now we look like a bunch of monkeys grooming ourselves for fleas while the forest is on fire.

Don't disagree, just warning folks not to hold their breaths.

 

[Sea Goat]

Well, Pasqualoni said some things during the summer about urgency, he made reference to his job security after two 5-7 seasons at the Middles e x Chamber of Commerce, and for all that urgency/desperation we went out and lost to Towson. So my advice is don't hold your breath for some renewed sense of urgency or something dramatic to happen. As long as we're talking about reality here, the reality is the decisions that will turn the ship around won't come in in the next two months, at least, not publicly. Manuel probably has a list of candidates and he'll be watching the names on that list, maybe adding and subtracting from during the season. But turning a big battleship around takes time, it's not done instantaneously even if that's what we want.

Your battleship reference is interesting. Agreed you shouldn't be able to turn one on a dime. But let's review how quickly Pasqualoni "turned it around" the wrong way!

We had just come off 4 straight "bowl game" seasons, including a BCS game. (While many say it was a fluke and we didn't deserve it, we did play in one. Granted we lost big, but by the same score that ND lost big to Bama.) We had beaten South Carolina the year before. etc. My point is we were on a nice trajectory and then we crashed and burned with PP at the wheel. Turning the "battleship" back around will probably take longer. It always takes longer to fix something you broke then to build it in the first place. However, the absolute wrong thing to do is delay the start of the work. I say if Maryland and Michigan are repeats of Towson, then good bye Pasqualoni.

 

[Milo65]

Yes! Finally HCPP has a ranking in the top ten!
http://coacheshotseat.com/

 

[FAIRTIDES]

yes you can fire coaches during the season. Desperate times, desperate measures. Sends a message that we're not going to tolerate the over-the-hill gang. Not unfair to Weist either - low expectations. I think the players would respond favorably, IMO.

This group of coaches knows the score. My guess is that old contacts are being renewed, Resumes are being updated and houses are being listed. They're human. They're worried about feeding their families beyond this season. The only coach who would bat an eye at PP's firing would be GDL. The others would probably see it as a ray of hope; a chance to turn things around.

The players aren't stupid either. They know what's going on; what's at stake.

To me, a continuation of PP is like a sign outside "Burton" that reads,
"THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORAL IMPROVES."

 

[sportsart]

No it's not really fair to seniors, or to the other players, that the Rent will be a morgue. This season is going to probably be the worst since we moved into the Rent, and if that turns out to be the case, yeah it'll really suck for the seniors to have their last year under a lame duck coach with no hope of a bowl bid.

There will come a point, if it hasn't happened already, where ALL the players will realize PP and GDL are gone. It then becomes that much harder to "run through a wall" for them.

That's when the wheels fall off. If we're 0-4 after Buffalo my guess is all hell will break loose.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

Not picking a spitting match here, I ask a question to be informed. How many school AD's have pressers after a football game? I have not heard of this.
Also do some research on the PP hire and you will find he was brought in by the board and not the AD at the time alone. He will not exit by the AD alone at our state run school.
Do some homework on Larry McHugh and co. This will solve many questions you may have on when negative comments on the coaching staff will be made public by the school administration. It would be a classless act for him to do so.
This was not my choice from day one and I do not see it as Warde's fault. Not sure what anyone would expect him to say after one game into the season regardless of the fact it should have been won or lost...

Hathaway had three major requirements and one general, all-encompassing requirement for RE's replacement.

1. He has to be nice to me; unlike JC and RE.
2. He has to treat me like something other than an empty suit.
3. He can't be dismissive of me, like RE and JC, or patronizingly pretend nice like GA.
4. He has to do football stuff, blah, blah, blah....

The product of the search?

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

What really should've been done was GDL being shown the door. If P refused, then can him to.

The fact that GDL is still on this staff is just utterly and grossly mind boggling.

Agree 110%... Plus you show PP that you mean business and are serious about the expectations this season by tossing PP's lifelong coaching partner GDL to the curb.

 

[freescooter]

upstater,

Manuel was hired to deal with the bad public relations that came from the APR issue. I'm not saying APR is meaningful as a measure of academics,but even you have to admit that it was portrayed as such in the press. This is from his UB profile:
"After inheriting four programs – football, men’s basketball, wrestling, and baseball – that fell far below the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) cut score of 925 when he arrived, diligent work and a focused academic plan led to all four sports – and indeed all 20 of UB’s intercollegiate sports – posting a four-year APR rate above the cut score. At the end of 2009-10, 10 of UB’s 20 sports had scores of 975 or above. "

And this is from the announcement of his hiring at UConn:
"From an academic standpoint, teams at Buffalo enjoyed incredible academic success. When Manuel arrived at UB, there were four programs - football, men's basketball, wrestling, and baseball - that fell far below the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) cut score of 925. With a focused academic plan, all four teams posted a four-year APR rate above the cut score and at the end of 2009-10, 10 of UB's 20 sports had scores of 975 or above."

And there are other quotes as well. He got the job because of the PR benefit of having the guy who repaired Buffalo's APR image. Whether he actually did anything, or whether that problem took care of itself, or whether someone else did all the heavy lifting is totally irrelevant. He was given credit by everyone from UB to the NCAA (he got some award for it from them). UConn needed to make it look like it was changing its commitment to academics and he fit the bill. Really simple and straightforward.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

upstater,

Manuel was hired to deal with the bad public relations that came from the APR issue. I'm not saying APR is meaningful as a measure of academics,but even you have to admit that it was portrayed as such in the press. This is from his UB profile:
"After inheriting four programs – football, men’s basketball, wrestling, and baseball – that fell far below the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) cut score of 925 when he arrived, diligent work and a focused academic plan led to all four sports – and indeed all 20 of UB’s intercollegiate sports – posting a four-year APR rate above the cut score. At the end of 2009-10, 10 of UB’s 20 sports had scores of 975 or above. "

And this is from the announcement of his hiring at UConn:
"From an academic standpoint, teams at Buffalo enjoyed incredible academic success. When Manuel arrived at UB, there were four programs - football, men's basketball, wrestling, and baseball - that fell far below the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) cut score of 925. With a focused academic plan, all four teams posted a four-year APR rate above the cut score and at the end of 2009-10, 10 of UB's 20 sports had scores of 975 or above."

And there are other quotes as well. He got the job because of the PR benefit of having the guy who repaired Buffalo's APR image. Whether he actually did anything, or whether that problem took care of itself, or whether someone else did all the heavy lifting is totally irrelevant. He was given credit by everyone from UB to the NCAA (he got some award for it from them). UConn needed to make it look like it was changing its commitment to academics and he fit the bill. Really simple and straightforward.

This is incredibly.......I'll be nice......misinformed.

 

[ruskin]

Hathaway had three major requirements and one general, all-encompassing requirement for RE's replacement.

1. He has to be nice to me; unlike JC and RE.
2. He has to treat me like something other than an empty suit.
3. He can't be dismissive of me, like RE and JC, or patronizingly pretend nice like GA.
4. He has to do football stuff, blah, blah, blah....

The product of the search?

You forgot 5. He has to be the guy Larry told me to hire.

 

[ruskin]

. . .and while we wait for The Great Man to break his silence, here's the last time his name showed up in the media. Could be time for a fun caption contest. I'll start. . . .

"Listen seniors, if this goes into the crapper fast, don't expect me to bail you out"


At Practice, AD Manuel Tells Huskies To 'Have Some Fun'

• ​

Warde Manuel speaks to UConn football players on a beautiful afternoon… (Desmond Conner / Hartford…)​

August 06, 2013|By DESMOND CONNER, dconner@courant.com, The Hartford Courant

STORRS — UConn athletic director Warde Manuel addressed the team before practice Tuesday.

"Coach Manuel!" a voice shouted as the team concluded stretching drills.

Manuel headed toward a circle of players who were kneeling. At 6 feet 5, Manuel towered over them.

"[Coach Paul Pasqualoni] just asked me to come in and say hello to the guys. I get a little jacked up when I say hello to the guys during football," Manuel said.

"The beginning of any season when I talk to our student-athletes brings back great memories of when I was a player," said Manuel, a former first team high school All American from New Orleans and a defensive lineman at Michigan (1986-89) under Bo Schembechler. "This is a time for them to really have some fun and know this is a game we're playing. We want to win but this is a fun time for them. This is what they worked hard [for] all offseason; whether it's football or basketball or soccer, you name it. Have some fun with it — and I had some fun."

It's also a serious time for the UConn football program and everyone knows it. Manuel didn't have to be reminded the team finished the past two seasons 5-7.

"Game by game I want us to play hard. I want us to have success on the field," Manuel said. "We're going to go into every game with a game plan to win knowing that we're going to give our all and success for them looks the same for me, that at the end of the game, we're ahead and the other team has scored less points than we've scored. The expectations are going to be high for what this team could do. We're looking at a new offensive coordinator coming, new defensive coordinator who has been here before so a lot of changes, lot of things in the air but it should be exciting; great schedule, great opportunity for these kids to go against some of the best in the country and to be at home doing it. You want it for them and you want it for our fans."

 

[freescooter]

. . .and while we wait for The Great Man to break his silence, here's the last time his name showed up in the media. Could be time for a fun caption contest. I'll start. . . .

"Listen seniors, if this goes into the crapper fast, don't expect me to bail you out"


At Practice, AD Manuel Tells Huskies To 'Have Some Fun'

​

• 
  [ ]
  
  ​

Warde Manuel speaks to UConn football players on a beautiful afternoon… (Desmond Conner / Hartford…)​

August 06, 2013|By DESMOND CONNER, dconner@courant.com, The Hartford Courant

STORRS — UConn athletic director Warde Manuel addressed the team before practice Tuesday.

"Coach Manuel!" a voice shouted as the team concluded stretching drills.

Manuel headed toward a circle of players who were kneeling. At 6 feet 5, Manuel towered over them.

"[Coach Paul Pasqualoni] just asked me to come in and say hello to the guys. I get a little jacked up when I say hello to the guys during football," Manuel said.

"The beginning of any season when I talk to our student-athletes brings back great memories of when I was a player," said Manuel, a former first team high school All American from New Orleans and a defensive lineman at Michigan (1986-89) under Bo Schembechler. "This is a time for them to really have some fun and know this is a game we're playing. We want to win but this is a fun time for them. This is what they worked hard [for] all offseason; whether it's football or basketball or soccer, you name it. Have some fun with it — and I had some fun."

It's also a serious time for the UConn football program and everyone knows it. Manuel didn't have to be reminded the team finished the past two seasons 5-7.

"Game by game I want us to play hard. I want us to have success on the field," Manuel said. "We're going to go into every game with a game plan to win knowing that we're going to give our all and success for them looks the same for me, that at the end of the game, we're ahead and the other team has scored less points than we've scored. The expectations are going to be high for what this team could do. We're looking at a new offensive coordinator coming, new defensive coordinator who has been here before so a lot of changes, lot of things in the air but it should be exciting; great schedule, great opportunity for these kids to go against some of the best in the country and to be at home doing it. You want it for them and you want it for our fans."

Or not...

 

[Sea Goat]

Yes! Finally HCPP has a ranking in the top ten!
http://coacheshotseat.com/[/quote]

Great! It #5 Edsall v. #6 Pasqualoni on Sept. 14. Loser gets shown the door!

 

[BlueDogs]

Tick tock goes the clock ...and nothing from Al Roker

 

[ruskin]

bumping to the top. Approaching six days. This isn't going away, Warde. Easy to talk when things are going well. They aren't. Quit hiding.