Who's your list for next HC?

[CCSUblue]

Question, do other schools obsess over former coaches as much UConn fans do? Is that a common thing?

 

[Blades]

Question, do other schools obsess over former coaches as much UConn fans do? Is that a common thing?

That's like asking if a guy starving on a desert island obsesses over a box of crackers, LOL !

 

[HobokenHusky]

Question, do other schools obsess over former coaches as much UConn fans do? Is that a common thing?

It’s extremely bizarre, especially considering our lack of real, sustained national success at any point.

It would be like a basketball team wanting an assistant who happened to be at the school when they made the second weekend one time on a miracle shot 15 years ago.

 

[metsfan2323]

It’s extremely bizarre, especially considering our lack of real, sustained national success at any point.

It would be like a basketball team wanting an assistant who happened to be at the school when they made the second weekend one time on a miracle shot 15 years ago.

It's not uncommon at all, Schiano at Rutgers (former coach), Harbaugh (alum) at Michigan are examples and I'm sure there are many others. Moorhead went to Fordham (alum). Brady Hoke is back at Sand Diego State and doing well. Bill Snyder went back to Kansas State.
Our basketball board has a mild obsession with Peikell and if Hurley were to leave suddenly Peikell would be a hot topic.

I think this board is united in that we would love Moorhead to come back.

 

[ktuck911]

It's not uncommon at all, Schiano at Rutgers (former coach), Harbaugh (alum) at Michigan are examples and I'm sure there are many others. Moorhead went to Fordham (alum). Brady Hoke is back at Sand Diego State and doing well. Bill Snyder went back to Kansas State.
Our basketball board has a mild obsession with Peikell and if Hurley were to leave suddenly Peikell would be a hot topic.

I think this board is united in that we would love Moorhead to come back.

All signs seem to point to wishful thinking on the Moorhead front... but with Skip? Even though re-visiting the past with a HC doesn't seem ideal (for us in particular) we really are in need of a guy that 1st and foremost wants to be here, and 2nd, a guy that has shown a competency to put a product on the field at a specific level ( FBS in our case ) to have some sort of success and is steady with it.. which means you have more up years (where you go bowling) than down... We gotta look at everything thoroughly... and (hopefully this time) get it right...

 

[metsfan2323]

All signs seem to point to wishful thinking on the Moorhead front... but with Skip? Even though re-visiting the past with a HC doesn't seem ideal (for us in particular) we really are in need of a guy that 1st and foremost wants to be here, and 2nd, a guy that has shown a competency to put a product on the field at a specific level ( FBS in our case ) to have some sort of success and is steady with it.. which means you have more up years (where you go bowling) than down... We gotta look at everything thoroughly... and (hopefully this time) get it right...

exactly. Whether it be someone who has a former tie to the school or someone who has never been part of UCONN, just pick the best candidate. Nobody is saying only former UCONN staff or alum should be considered but to exclude someone because they have a former tie to the school would also be dumb. Skip and Randy have never worked for each other and have nothing in common other than being former head coaches at UCONN. Skip has a proven track record and an offensive background, he checks a lot of boxes and might be available (CUSA Implosion) to exclude him just because "we tried that with Randy" would be dumb. Judge him based on his qualifications nothing else.

 

[ktuck911]

exactly. Whether it be someone who has a former tie to the school or someone who has never been part of UCONN, just pick the best candidate. Nobody is saying only former UCONN staff or alum should be considered but to exclude someone because they have a former tie to the school would also be dumb. Skip and Randy have never worked for each other and have nothing in common other than being former head coaches at UCONN. Skip has a proven track record and an offensive background, he checks a lot of boxes and might be available (CUSA Implosion) to exclude him just because "we tried that with Randy" would be dumb. Judge him base on his qualifications nothing else.

and he did have success here, albeit at the FCS... Success is success... especially when you've truly shown you can do it at either level.. proven.... I think what's so different now than Edsall 1.0 was that when we started becoming a legitimate blue collar football team in our early FBS days, we as fans weren't too enamored by our offense, or lack off.. We were a heavy run team... predictable.. Boy oh boy, I'd give anything to still be that team.. which could've eventually evolved into a more pass oriented one... We played HARD on both sides of the ball despite our deficiencies... We played with passion... as a team...

It'll be refreshing once we get back to playing the game (during the game, not in practice) with that intensity we used to have on the football field.. It makes a difference...

 

[Yup!]

exactly. Whether it be someone who has a former tie to the school or someone who has never been part of UCONN, just pick the best candidate. Nobody is saying only former UCONN staff or alum should be considered but to exclude someone because they have a former tie to the school would also be dumb. Skip and Randy have never worked for each other and have nothing in common other than being former head coaches at UCONN. Skip has a proven track record and an offensive background, he checks a lot of boxes and might be available (CUSA Implosion) to exclude him just because "we tried that with Randy" would be dumb. Judge him based on his qualifications nothing else.

I agree, but I can almost guarantee that Skip will not be the next HC. I get it Edsall and Skip never worked together, but the problem will be that we brought edsall back and it didn’t work out. Just imagine if Dave was to hire Skip and it didn’t work out how the fan base would go nuts to get rid of him. Not sure Dave is willing to take that chance. Dave will bring in his guy. I’m not saying he’s not going to hire someone with UConn ties but it won’t be a 57 year old former UConn HC named Skip.

 

[Bongo Fury]

My hunch is AD David has a list of coaches he has been evaluating for some time. Most will not be former UConn coaches.

 

[metsfan2323]

Just imagine if Dave was to hire ANYBODY and it didn’t work out how the fan base would go nuts to get rid of him.

Fixed it for you. It doesn't matter who he hires, if he gets it right he will be golden and if he gets it wrong (yikes).

 

[Blades]

and he did have success here, albeit at the FCS... Success is success... especially when you've truly shown you can do it at either level.. proven.... I think what's so different now than Edsall 1.0 was that when we started becoming a legitimate blue collar football team in our early FBS days, we as fans weren't too enamored by our offense, or lack off.. We were a heavy run team... predictable.. Boy oh boy, I'd give anything to still be that team.. which could've eventually evolved into a more pass oriented one... We played HARD on both sides of the ball despite our deficiencies... We played with passion... as a team...

It'll be refreshing once we get back to playing the game (during the game, not in practice) with that intensity we used to have on the football field.. It makes a difference...

So true, K..... I think there are certain guys out there just going through the motions because of all the losing, taking plays off, bad penalties, missing blocks or not wrapping up with arm tackles on D, etc, etc. . Problem is in FB all it takes is one guy making a mistake on a play and it continues to snowball and becomes a cancer. The lack leadership and discipline with this lame duck situation hasn't seemed to help. But where ever the the new HC comes from, it's got to start out with belief and respect from both sides, the players and coach.

 

[coachcap]

Question, do other schools obsess over former coaches as much UConn fans do? Is that a common thing?

My brother is both a UConn alum (undergrad) & LSU grad (M.S. degree). Once upon a time the Tigers had a coach named Saban who left them for the NFL. Then he returned to coach their archrival, I know for a fact that many in Bayou Bengals Nation wish that they could have retained him.

 

[Greedo]

My brother is both a UConn alum (undergrad) & LSU grad (M.S. degree). Once upon a time the Tigers had a coach named Saban who left them for the NFL. Then he returned to coach their archrival, I know for a fact that many in Bayou Bengals Nation wish that they could have retained him.

If we had a former coach that won us a national championship I'd be obsessed with bringing him back too. But we don't have that.

 

[DoctorWho85]

If we had a former coach that won us a national championship I'd be obsessed with bringing him back too. But we don't have that.

Les Miles is available.

 

[Greedo]

Les Miles is available.

Les Miles never built a national championship program at the University of Connecticut, proving that he knows how to do it with our school's unique circumstances (recruiting, admin, etc.).

 

[RSTuthill]

Would a "young offensive OC" candidate want to work under Skip? In his UConn incarnation, he was basicially calling his own shots on on offense. For a young coach to take this in name only position, he would have to be willing llearn under Skip's tutelage & have his own decisions constantly countermanded or second guessed.
[

Yeah, no more retreads. Been there done that twice. No NFL guys. Been there done that twice, the NFL is a much different job.

 

[RSTuthill]

Quick question, do we think that interviews are already ongoing or is that viewed as tortious interference during the regular season?

And, how many weeks do we think that Mazzone was actually in Storrs? One week or more than one week?

And was that little interlude an audition or not?

 

[coachcap]

Quick question, do we think that interviews are already ongoing or is that viewed as tortious interference during the regular season?

And, how many weeks do we think that Mazzone was actually in Storrs? One week or more than one week?

And was that little interlude an audition or not?

As to the first question, the UConn head coaching position has been publicly "open" since mid-September. UConn hired a talent search firm to assess candidates & act as a third party go-between. All communications with possible candidates will be through this back-channel link. I can't see how tortuous interference applies as schools commonly do such job interviews in-season.e.g. Scott Frost (UCF to Nebraska), Brian Kelley (Cinci to Notre Dame).

 

[ZooCougar]

Word on the street is Todd Orlando is in the mix.

 

[SubbaBub]

I toured the Storrs campus yesterday (10/20) with my son. I've been to the campus over the years, but not in the buildings and didn't really walk the grounds. I am astounded how beautiful that campus has become. I couldn't contain my excitement seeing the school on the ground level and reminiscing about my days there. I graduated in 1990.
With that said, I feel like any coach who summarily dismisses UConn as a dumpster fire and not salvageable is a fool. Between the facilities we have, the quality of the education, the beauty of the campus, the support of the governor (or so he says), the lack of competition for attention (no pro teams in state), and The Dairy Bar, there is a ton of potential there for the coach who sees it. I would like the admissions loosened a little, but outside of that I think the pieces are in place for someone to succeed.
On a related note, we've been to a few campuses now. Up to this point, nobody has their brand/mascot as visible on the campus as UConn does. You are constantly reminded that you are a Husky. I love it. We've also been to UMass Amherst, New Hampshire, and Endicott with future visits planned to Roger Williams and URI.

None of those are P5. Branding at those schools not only saturates campus, but the surrounding town, county and sometimes the entire state.

At one of the mega programs, entire economies are built around 7-8 home games oer year. Hotels, restaurants, shops, car dealerships, travel agencies, just about everything. The rest is built on proximity to campus.

If we want to be a true player, we need to have everyone between Fairfield County, to Springfield, Worchester, and Providence on the bandwagon and everyone between Hartford and Storrs to really be on the bandwagon. We had that for a very brief period, then blew it.

Anyone in school during the Fiesta Bowl is now in their 30's likely with young kids. Those kids will be among the last of the legacy fanbase if things don't improve.

Anyone in school during the 1-A transtion who went to sell out after sell out in 2003-2005, now has kids in college or close to. If we had more success post 2011, we'd have a building generational fanbase. We blew it and now have to start over from just the die hards. Kids in school today won't care about UConn FB much after graduation which means their kids won't either.

 

[Banta55]

Word on the street is Todd Orlando is in the mix.

That tweet has been deleted, but i was told it will be in the courant soon..

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Word on the street is Todd Orlando is in the mix.

Surprising. He has never been a head coach.

 

[Storrs South]

Word on the street is Todd Orlando is in the mix.

I think that'd be a bad choice. Zero Head Coaching experience at any level yet been in the college ranks for 25 years. He's only 50 but to not have gotten any chances at head coaching at all the stops he has made I find concerning. What does everyone else know that we don't?

This program needs someone that has experience building up a program from nothing. I don't care if it is G5, FCS, D2, just someone who knows how to come in and rehabilitate, hire a competent staff, and lead a team in the face of various headwinds.

 

[Banta55]

Surprising. He has never been a head coach.

My thoughts as well, prefer someone with head coach experience...

 

[SubbaBub]

UConn can offer one thing most others can't, a very low bar from which to show improvement.

I still don't want to predict or suggest. I just want Dave to pick someone and for it to work out. If that's someone with a passion for UConn great. If that's someone hungry for an opportunity before moving up the ladder, that's fine. I just don't want anyone there to collect a check and tell us what we need to do. You're the coach, go do it.

I'm also still adamant that Dave needs to have people review film on these candidates. Schemes are very important these days and we need some on both sides of the ball that will work with out current talent.