UConn back to Big East?

BaseballJones

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The time to cut football would have been in the wake of the CTE fallout, which was a couple of years ago. Cut the program, claim that it's due to the safety concerns about football, wanting to put student-athlete health above everything else. It would have been disingenuous, but it would have made for a nice cover story. But that ship has sailed.
 
BaseballJones

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Dan Murfman said:
The vision should be to play a decent schedule and just not suck so bad. They were on the right path but have had 3 horrible coaching hires. How about hiring a coach that actually cares about offense. I have to think this is their last shot at getting the coaching hire correct. I know it seems like a lifetime ago but we used to sellout the Rent and it was a fun time.
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I agree. But it will take some time to get there. They used to be pretty darned good and it's possible to get there again, I think. But it'll take time.

One thing to remember: this team is REALLY young. They play just a few seniors, and are playing a ton of underclassmen. Now they're not 5-star recruits, but they should improve as they get older.
 
Awesome Fossum

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Well, they were good and they were drawing crowds when they were members of the Big East, had an ESPN contract, and had a path to a big time bowl game. That's not to say they can't be good again -- god knows they can be better than they are now -- but their past success came in a totally different situation and needs to be disregarded when setting future expectations. That's why I asked what a good football season looks like, because they're not going to another Fiesta Bowl with the current set up. They don't even have a bad bowl tie-in, let alone a good one.
 
Dan Murfman

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Awesome Fossum said:
Well, they were good and they were drawing crowds when they were members of the Big East, had an ESPN contract, and had a path to a big time bowl game. That's not to say they can't be good again -- god knows they can be better than they are now -- but their past success came in a totally different situation and needs to be disregarded when setting future expectations. That's why I asked what a good football season looks like, because they're not going to another Fiesta Bowl with the current set up. They don't even have a bad bowl tie-in, let alone a good one.
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That's true I forgot about that.
 
BaseballJones

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Me too. It's a long tough road for UConn football ahead. There needs to be hope, but also realistic expectations too.
 
Dan Murfman

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Apparently I still care. Last year doesn't really count as no fans were allowed. So I saw that conference schedule came out today and was excited to see when the first home game was 12/15 vs PC. Then when they were playing at PC as I never really missed a game at the Dunk. And then was real happy to see they have a Sunday game at their home away from home at MSG in February.

https://uconnhuskies.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2021-22
 
BaseballJones

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UConn just announced the hiring of Jim Mora as their new football coach. Very interesting choice. Like a lot of guys who have been around, he's seen some success and some failure. I wonder (a) what this does for UConn football, and (b) why a guy with his experience (he's been at UCLA and a HC in the NFL) would accept a job at UConn.
 
Awesome Fossum

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As far as why Mora would take it, his three head coaching runs all ended in failure. If he doesn't want to cycle back down as a coordinator or take an XFL-type job, this is the type of head coach position that's going to be available to him.

What would worry me about Mora, beyond his long track record of mediocrity, is that he's a west coast guy. If they were going to go with a retread, Al Golden struck me as much more intriguing given how he resuscitated a really bad Temple program.
 
BaseballJones

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Most college coaching runs end in "failure". That is, eventually coaches get fired, almost as a rule. (I know not ALWAYS, but most of the time) Even if they've had a really good run, it ends up going bad in the end. Or at least worse than it was when they were successful, which leads to them being let go.

I was hoping for a young up and coming stud coach but it is what it is.
 
Ale Xander

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BaseballJones said:
Most college coaching runs end in "failure". That is, eventually coaches get fired, almost as a rule. (I know not ALWAYS, but most of the time) Even if they've had a really good run, it ends up going bad in the end. Or at least worse than it was when they were successful, which leads to them being let go.

I was hoping for a young up and coming stud coach but it is what it is.
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Up and coming stud coach? We’re not talking about the FBS playoffs here. You should just hope they can win one game a year.
 
BaseballJones

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Ale Xander said:
Up and coming stud coach? We’re not talking about the FBS playoffs here. You should just hope they can win one game a year.
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I was thinking some hotshot from the next level down that's getting his first crack at a D1 job, but who happens to be pretty darned good. That was my wish.
 
Awesome Fossum

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BaseballJones said:
Most college coaching runs end in "failure". That is, eventually coaches get fired, almost as a rule. (I know not ALWAYS, but most of the time) Even if they've had a really good run, it ends up going bad in the end. Or at least worse than it was when they were successful, which leads to them being let go.

I was hoping for a young up and coming stud coach but it is what it is.
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Well, most coaching careers eventually end in failure, but often it's success > success > failure or something like that. Like Al Golden went from Temple success to Miami failure. Mora doesn't even have that, IMO. At least as a head coach.
 
BaseballJones

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Well at UCLA he had four good seasons.

9-5, Holiday Bowl
10-3, Sun Bowl
10-3, Alamo Bowl
8-5, Foster Farms Bowl

He ended down (4-8 and 5-6) but those first four years were pretty good. The two years prior to his arrival, UCLA went 4-8 and 6-8, so he clearly was "successful" there, at least at first.

And in Atlanta in the NFL he went 11-5, 8-8, and 7-9. Obviously the 7-9 year wasn't good but 11-5 is pretty solid.

Am I talking myself into this being a good hire for UConn? Maybe. I mean, it's UConn, not Michigan. The expectations for who they can bring in are...lower.
 
sodenj5

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RedOctober3829 said:
He hasn't coached in a few years and has never recruited the Northeast. Perfect hire.
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Does the recruiting matter? I mean, I’m sure you want/need to recruit locally to an extent, but the best high school players in the country are not in the Northeast. They’re in Texas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, etc.

Maybe that’s where some of his predecessors have gone wrong in the past.
 
RedOctober3829

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sodenj5 said:
Does the recruiting matter? I mean, I’m sure you want/need to recruit locally to an extent, but the best high school players in the country are not in the Northeast. They’re in Texas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, etc.

Maybe that’s where some of his predecessors have gone wrong in the past.
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It absolutely matters. Mora hasn't recruited the Northeast/NJ/East Coast ever. He's coached out west his entire college coaching career. Not exactly the right person to bring in if you want to revive your program. Recruiting the states you mention are all well and good and you'll get some kids from Florida but for the most part it's a complete waste of time for UConn to spend the bulk of their time in those states. The bulk of your kids will come from places like PA, OH, NJ, NY, MA, CT, MD. He better hire a hell of a staff with a bunch of connections in these areas.
 
Awesome Fossum

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Totally agree. It's obviously not the most talent rich region in the country, but there's more than enough kids in the northeast for a school like UConn. BC and Rutgers run into high-end talent problems, but UConn is not sharing a division with Clemson or Ohio State.
 
StuckOnYouk

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Edsall and his staff - if they could have coached worth a damn- were on pace to bring in a recruiting class somewhere in the 70 range out of 130 schools, with a lot of those commits coming from Texas and Florida.

Jim Mora could and should recruit better than Edsall - and in the same places. Doesn’t matter what part of the country you coach, you’re a fool if you arent hitting up TX and FL hard.
As for recruiting locally, it sounds like he’s already reaching out to some local coaches in CT that Randy didn’t have the time for.

He also is going to hit the portal hard which I don’t think Randy had much patience for.

When the news broke I was 50-50 but as I’ve heard more about him and heard a ton of his interviews nationally, I really like the hire and can’t wait to see what kind of staff he puts together.
 
StuckOnYouk

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It sounds like Hurley and staff is in on a lot of top ‘23 targets. Could be one hell of a class.
Three years ago our coach was Kevin Ollie and we were floundering in the American.

Quite a turnaround on the horizon
 
DennyDoyle'sBoil

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So, that Auburn game was like one of the best early season college basketball games ever, right? That was awesome. That Auburn Johnson kid was fun to watch.
 
JOBU

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Glad they won. Frustrating game to watch but exciting. UConn with a lot of dumb plays down the stretch. Always better to come up on the winning side though. Hurley needs to spend all of the next practice on breaking the half court. Yikes.
 
DennyDoyle'sBoil

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There was a lot they could have done better and closing out games is a skill but they fought like crazy against a really good defense that found its groove.

32 points in two overtimes with some of your best players fouled out and your player of the game in foul trouble? You can’t complain about that. The other guys are trying too. That was just an absolutely epic game with so many clutch moments by both sides. Plus, they overcame some shit calls.
 
JOBU

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Couldn’t close it out today. Struggle down the stretch with decision making and getting quality shots. Tough loss in a game they should have won
 
Awesome Fossum

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Mora starting to fill out his staff:

UConn football head coach Jim Mora has tabbed Nick Charlton as his offensive coordinator, The Athletic reported on Sunday. Charlton is the current head coach of Maine football, which competes in the FCS subdivision and has been head coach of the Black Bears since 2018. He is the youngest head football coach in Division I.

UConn also officially announced the hiring of four new coaches, as well as two others reported by Brett McMurphy. John Allen will be joining the staff as a wide receivers coach, E.J. Barthel as a running backs coach, Siriki Diabate coaching linebackers and John Marinelli coaching tight ends, as well as Preston Pehrson coaching defensive line and Dalton Hilliard coaching defensive backs.
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https://www.theuconnblog.com/2021/11/28/22806268/uconn-football-to-hire-nick-charlton-offensive-coordinator-officially-announces-staff-additions

Plenty of northeast/mid Atlantic experience here -- in addition to Charlton, Allen has been at Old Dominion; Barthel at William & Mary, Albany, and Howard; Marinelli at Greenwhich HS (CT), and Pehrson at Navy.
 
Ale Xander

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Awesome Fossum said:
Mora starting to fill out his staff:



https://www.theuconnblog.com/2021/11/28/22806268/uconn-football-to-hire-nick-charlton-offensive-coordinator-officially-announces-staff-additions

Plenty of northeast/mid Atlantic experience here -- in addition to Charlton, Allen has been at Old Dominion; Barthel at William & Mary, Albany, and Howard; Marinelli at Greenwhich HS (CT), and Pehrson at Navy.
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Marinelli played at Trinity so he brings *valuable* Hartford experience expertise.
 
JOBU

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Exciting game here with WV. This team has struggled close and late all year. Hopefully they can get these last 2 minutes. Free throws or the lack thereof on WV’s part is what keeping the huskies in the game.

And yeah… no. This team is horrible closing out.
 
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JOBU

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Yeah this team is not good. Still no clue how to close out games. UCONN had no business losing this game to St. John’s tonight. Just let em hang around… why not?!?

Edit- Well… they pulled it off. I stand by my comments though.
 
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RIrooter09

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They're a very talented team, but I'm starting to question Hurley's coaching ability in close games. They lose way too many close games to inferior opponents and struggle to close out others.
 
Doug Beerabelli

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The bad guard play from Gaffney and Hawkins is hurting them for sure, forcing the few guys who can handle the ball to play big minutes, and then get tired out and less effective in the second half. But Hurley can’t seem to figure out how to deal with that.

EDIT for correcting Hawkins name.
 
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DennyDoyle'sBoil

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RIrooter09 said:
They're a very talented team, but I'm starting to question Hurley's coaching ability in close games. They lose way too many close games to inferior opponents and struggle to close out others.
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It's funny because his brother is having the very same problem. I end up watching a fair amount of ASU basketball and they look a lot like a less talented version of the Huskies down the stretch in games.
 
RIrooter09

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Doug Beerabelli said:
The bad guard play from Gaffney and Higgins is hurting them for sure, forcing the few guys who can handle the ball to play big minutes, and then get tired out and less effective in the second half. But Hurley can’t seem to figure out how to deal with that.
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Did you mean Diggins?

Edit: or Hawkins
 
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