Who's your list for next HC?

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

The bio on Kevin Kelley is pretty fascinating - 9 State Championships in Arkansas at AAA is impressive.

Gimmicky strategies and some Arkansas high school success aside, somehow a FCS coaching veteran of 2 games and beating a 4th year NAIA Pioneer League opponent (St Andrews) and another never heard of 160 student evangelical school founded in 1995 (Univ Fort Lauderdale) may be a slight reach. Maybe Kelley will succeed and move on to a FBS job, but it's highly unlikely he's UConn's new hire.

 

[ScottVib]

Kelley would end up working for free here with the current roster under his 90k a win plan. He was never a real candidate for Kansas and has coached 2 collegiate games, both against teams that are multiple levels below his own. His opening win featured a victory and 48 points allowed to an NAIA D2 school. His second win was against a NCCAA school who states: "Little by little, we are taking small steps to become a full-blown collegiate athletics department."


Ultimately given the current personnel putting out that strategy would be painful. The defense struggles in coverage. Giving up a short field on failed 4th down conversions and following onsides kicks may have let Fresno and Purdue nearly double their scores (if they wanted). Given the accuracy struggles of the passing game (and perhaps this gets fixed schematically by Kelley) you're looking at a lot of incompletions and stopped clocks, lengthening the game. I suspect they'd feel like a slog at first.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

Diaco is a case study in what can happen when you hire a coach with an unconventional approach and it doesn't work out. I prefer us hiring a traditional candidate with a proven track record as a program leader. He can hire coordinators to manage the nuts and bolts.

This guy has a history of winning as a head coach even though it's mostly at high school level. Diaco had a brief success as DC at ND. I am pretty sure this guy has much more experience leading a team vs Diaco.

 

[UConntLose]

Ah, you gotta love The Boneyard's excitement over Kelley. Literally, if we are going to hire a coach solely because he doesn't punt, always on-side kicks/goes for a 2, then I'll throw my name into the ring. But, I'll take it a step further. I will never run the ball...

I know we can't put UConn, football and serious in the same sentence, but if we are to have any iota of credibility going forward, we need to hire a damn good football coach first and foremost. If we do that, the results will come. The hire doesn't need to be a winner on the message boards, but on the field.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

always goes for a 2

I could get on board potentially for this one aspect of his philosophy. I think the Steelers had employed it to some degree or at least that Tomlin had espoused it as viable.
Unfortunately for UConn, we would have only had to make that choice in one game through our first three and it wouldn't have impacted the outcome even if we had converted every time (38-32 if we converted all 4 TDs).

 

[Chin Diesel]

Just tossing around a few more names:

Mike Sanford Jr, OC/QB Minnesota formerly HC at Western Kentucky. HC stint didn't go great but wasn't a total disaster and ended after only 2 years.

Said it before, but I'll say it again because I feel he deserves another shot, Brian Polian STC Norte Dame, formerly HC at Nevada.

If UConn doesn't go young, as I feel they should within reason. I would love to see someone get their second shot.

Does Mike Sanford, Jr have a father who is alive? Heck, I'd take his pops being dead and put him on the staff because I have this gut feeling if they were successful there'd be a funny name we could give the two of them.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

How many different coaches will the Boneyard obsess over before a new coach is named?

So far I'd count 3...

First it was Chesney in the build up and defeat to HC, next was Moorhead which I suspect will continue and now Kelly... Who will be next? A fired coach? An up and coming coordinator? Can't wait to find out!

They definitely are not naming a new coach until after the last game of the season. What’s TJ doing nowadays?

 

[06029]

Football drives the bus for every sport at every FBS school. UConn in all sports, including basketball, will die a slow death if in fact, as you say “UConn is not one of those schools”. Benedict and the school knows this, that they have to hire a decent coach and pay big bucks. The return on the investment is definitely worth it.

Villanova, Butler, Gonzaga all thrive without FB.

 

[bobbyinaz]

Villanova, Butler, Gonzaga all thrive without FB.

Yes, because UConn's goal is to be a small school w religious affiliation.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Villanova, Butler, Gonzaga all thrive without FB.

All three are losing critical recruits to the P5 more so than in previous years. All three will end up like Georgetown and St John’s. Shells of once proud basketball programs.

 

[Dooooooomed]

All three are losing critical recruits to the P5 more so than in previous years. All three will end up like Georgetown and St John’s. Shells of once proud basketball programs.

Gonzaga has the #3 recruiting class for '21, which includes 2 5-stars, one being the overall #1.

 

[cullaville]

Someone who can motivate players, get their respect, recruit and has turned around a program and won national championships.

Jim Calhoun

 

[Samoo]

Gonzaga has the #3 recruiting class for '21, which includes 2 5-stars, one being the overall #1.

You and your facts...

 

[#1 PA Husky Fan]

Someone who can motivate players, get their respect, recruit and has turned around a program and won national championships.

Jim Calhoun

Would have a great football coach!

 

[JMick]

The bio on Kevin Kelley is pretty fascinating - 9 State Championships in Arkansas at AAA is impressive. I'm not sure it's the right fit - but it would, finally, be fun to watch. When Kansas was searching, he supposedly said he'd take $90k per win if offered the job...I like the performance-based pay confidence.

lmfao this isn't impressive. Arkansas goes up to 7A. This is the equivalent of hiring Tom Brockett.

You people advocating for Kelley are so clueless I don't even understand how you're college football fans.

 

[Yup!]

lmfao this isn't impressive. Arkansas goes up to 7A. This is the equivalent of hiring Tom Brockett.

You people advocating for Kelley are so clueless I don't even understand how you're college football fans.

Lol chill out JMick he’s probably far down Daves list I’m sure, if he’s even on the list. Kelley’s coaching style is different and exciting.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

This is unfair. In my opinion, UConn had pretty good QB depth with Lagow, Cochran, Whitmer, and Boyle. Lagow was upset from the start and delayed his signing with UConn as they brought in Tim Boyle late. And, he left before the season started. It happens as all of the QBs can't play.

Cochran had a pretty good year as he went 3-1 as a starter to end the season under Weist competing 63.4% of his passes for 1293 yards and 11 TDs and 4 INTs. He looked like the QB of the future, but concussions got the best of him. Boyle is now in the NFL. I don't think you can blame PP/GDL for putting Cochran and Boyle ahead of Lagow on the initial depth chart.

We had incredible depth (especially with the freshmen) that year. I would give anything to see something close again one day.

As far as who was ahead of who, that wasn't my opinion, it was something a (then) sportswriter for the Courant wrote while covering summer practice, more than once. If anything, Boyle displayed that he wasn't ready as a true freshman (it was a borderline sin the way he was mishandled by the coaches we had during his three years here) and considering that Lagow was a multi-year starter at a B-10 school (even took that school, which had little recent success, to a bowl game) while Boyle landed at an FCS school and IIRC, didn't start every game his one year there), I don't believe it is too much of a stretch to believe that as true freshman during their first summer camp Lagow was the more advanced of the two.

The post was not to disparage anyone (I seldom speak negatively about any kid who suited up for us), merely to point out that among the (many) failings during P's tenure was that he was more concerned with appeasing local high school coaches than he should have been.

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

lmfao this isn't impressive. Arkansas goes up to 7A. This is the equivalent of hiring Tom Brockett.

You people advocating for Kelley are so clueless I don't even understand how you're college football fans.

Agreed, but still better than the idiots suggesting JC.

 

[Bongo Fury]

We had incredible depth (especially with the freshmen) that year. I would give anything to see something close again one day.

As far as who was ahead of who, that wasn't my opinion, it was something a (then) sportswriter for the Courant wrote while covering summer practice, more than once. If anything, Boyle displayed that he wasn't ready as a true freshman (it was a borderline sin the way he was mishandled by the coaches we had during his three years here) and considering that Lagow was a multi-year starter at a B-10 school (even took that school, which had little recent success, to a bowl game) while Boyle landed at an FCS school and IIRC, didn't start every game his one year there), I don't believe it is too much of a stretch to believe that as true freshman during their first summer camp Lagow was the more advanced of the two.

The post was not to disparage anyone (I seldom speak negatively about any kid who suited up for us), merely to point out that among the (many) failings during P's tenure was that he was more concerned with appeasing local high school coaches than he should have been.

They were so excited that they got Boyle from BC last minute even though Daz didn’t want him because they were going more mobile QB.

 

[CL82]

I think this is a case of the old saying "nobody ever got fired for buying IBM". If Benedict hires a more traditional name for next coach and it fails, maybe he is done at UConn but he's still got a pretty good career ahead of him. If Benedict hires Kelley and it fails, that could easily be a pretty nasty black mark on his resume.

Agree. This is Dave’s second football hire. Two bad football coaches in a row is a career killer. I’d look for Benedict to hire the best candidate he can and dramatically improve the staff budget. The school needs to decide if it’s serious about football or not. If it is it’s going to have to open its wallet.

 

[coachcap]

Villanova, Butler, Gonzaga all thrive without FB.

Ask Howie Long how HE feels about Villanova being Division I when he was a player, dropping the sport entirely, then revoking its decision due to Alumni backlash, only to reinstate it slowly & build it to 1-AA (FCS) level.

 

[Nostical]

This guy (Kelley) has a history of winning as a head coach even though it's mostly at high school level.

Why did Notre Dame hire Gerry Faust?
“It was his amazing high school record! He also had sound ethics and had coached several players from Moeller who later played at Notre Dame”

Enough said.

 

[Kolumbo]

This is from September 2020. The coach at Air Force has a nice ring.

Top 25 young college football coaches to watch (yahoo.com)

 

[Kolumbo]

And from August 2021.

20 Group of Five coaches who could be due for an upgrade after this college football season [Video] (aol.com)

 

[cullaville]

Agreed, but still better than the idiots suggesting JC.

If you referencing my post about Jim Calhoun do you know the expression "tongue in cheek"?