http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-footbal...n-mcneill/

(04-25-2014 09:44 AM)pesik Wrote:  http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-footbal...n-mcneill/

Poor journalism. Diaco was one of UCONN's top targets. Warde wanted a top coordinator, relatively young and more energetic. He wasn't far down the candidate list as it says.

We were top 50 in defense last year........ this guy didn't do much research. And June Jones at #2 lulzzz

(04-25-2014 09:58 AM)NBPirate Wrote:  We were top 50 in defense last year........ this guy didn't do much research. And June Jones at #2 lulzzz

I am by no means a fan of June Jones but he did go to a program that hadn't been to a bowl since 1984 and took them to 4 straight bowls from 2009-2012. He has resurrected the program to some extent. Now is he good enough to take them to the next level?? probably not but he has to get some credit for taking something that was nothing and building it into something better.

(04-25-2014 09:58 AM)NBPirate Wrote:  We were top 50 in defense last year........ this guy didn't do much research. And June Jones at #2 lulzzz

Yeah I was taken aback seeing Jones ranked so high. That is probably about 4-5 spots too high IMO.

This is more like a ranking of the most accomplished coaches.

There's no doubt that O'Leary, Tuberville, and Jones have the best resumes in the AAC. They've all been coaching at a high level for much longer than any of the other AAC coaches. All three of them have P5/NFL experience, top 25 finishes, conference championships, BCS bowls, etc.

There's a chance some of the other coaches in this league will get to that level one day, but most of them are still pretty young and a few of them are rebuilding teams that have been down for years. It's going to take time for them to get to the level of GOL, Tubs, and June.

Unfortunately I can't argue with O'Leary....they put it all together last year.

But Jones at 2 is laughable. Slide him back a few spots. Jones is a good coach, but his programs have not reached a high level.

Taggart that high is laughable as well. He hasn't done anything at USF...so how is he ahead of the Houston coach or Tulane coach. Tulane had nothing but a good kicker and Johnson turned that into a Bowl team.

Diaco was "well down the list" for UConn? Hahaha. That is such an inaccurate statement. While Pat Narduzzi may have been the first choice for UConn before he said that he wasn't interested in the job, I am convinced that Diaco was #2. Diaco is perfect for UConn. Guys like Lembo and Clawson (Clawson was already off the table) may be great coaches, but they weren't the guys that UConn needed at this exact moment in time. Diaco is defensive minded, a great motivator, and also has success recruiting nearby NJ and PA. Most importantly, he is a salesman with positive energy. He will create a buzz around UConn football and get more butts in the seats. He is the right guy at the right time.

UConn won't be one of the top teams in the AAC this year, but I think that they will finish between 5th and 7th in the conference. It will be a solid start for Diaco.

I'm not sure why the SMU fans are always so upset - June Jones is # 2.

(04-25-2014 10:28 AM)HP-TBDPITL Wrote:  Unfortunately I can't argue with O'Leary....they put it all together last year.

But Jones at 2 is laughable. Slide him back a few spots. Jones is a good coach, but his programs have not reached a high level.

Taggart that high is laughable as well. He hasn't done anything at USF...so how is he ahead of the Houston coach or Tulane coach. Tulane had nothing but a good kicker and Johnson turned that into a Bowl team.

List like this are useless b/c it spurs comments like these.

Just two seasons ago, O'Leary was on everyone's Hot Seat Top10 list due to mediocre play and off the field scandals. Fast forward a couple seasons and a couple fortuitous bounces and he is on top of the list and at least for the 2013 season deservedly so.

In terms of Taggart, I wouldn't call it "laughable" as he has had success at other places and was rising young assistant at top PAC12 program for a couple years.

August can't get here soon enough.

(04-25-2014 11:21 AM)CyberBull Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 10:28 AM)HP-TBDPITL Wrote:  Unfortunately I can't argue with O'Leary....they put it all together last year.

But Jones at 2 is laughable. Slide him back a few spots. Jones is a good coach, but his programs have not reached a high level.

Taggart that high is laughable as well. He hasn't done anything at USF...so how is he ahead of the Houston coach or Tulane coach. Tulane had nothing but a good kicker and Johnson turned that into a Bowl team.

List like this are useless b/c it spurs comments like these. Gotta love the offseason...August can't get here soon enough.

Just two seasons ago, O'Leary was on everyone's Hot Seat Top10 list due to mediocre play and off the field scandals. Fast forward a couple seasons and a couple fortuitous bounces and he is on top of the list and at least for the 2013 season deservedly so.

In terms of Taggart, I wouldn't call it "laughable" as he has had success at other places and was rising young assistant at top PAC12 program for a couple years. In terms of not doing anything, other than O'Leary last season nobody else "did" anything either. Taggart has had two good recruiting classes, with last year being his first "real" class. What he does with that talent will determine whether he goes up or down on that list. I don't see a championship team at USF this season but I do see a 5-7 to 7-5 team with a lot of young players coming back for 2015 lead by a seasoned junior QB.

June and Blankenship to high. Diaco has yet to prove anything as a head coach so I can't really argue with that.

On the Diaco hire...

The information I have is that Narduzzi was the clear leader pre interview. Diaco's interview and presentation was so good that he basically pulled a Louisville and overtook Narduzzi. Once Narduzzi got wind of that, he withdrew his name.

Diaco hasn't even coached a game yet. In fairness, I don't see how he could be ahead of anyone at the moment, but he could easily be in the top 3 by this time next year.

(04-25-2014 11:44 AM)UConnFB Wrote:  On the Diaco hire...

The information I have is that Narduzzi was the clear leader pre interview. Diaco's interview and presentation was so good that he basically pulled a Louisville and overtook Narduzzi. Once Narduzzi got wind of that, he withdrew his name.

Diaco hasn't even coached a game yet. In fairness, I don't see how he could be ahead of anyone at the moment, but he could easily be in the top 3 by this time next year.

wasn't it reported everywhere that narduzzi withdrew because uconn didn't have the budget for the staff he wanted

(04-25-2014 11:47 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 11:44 AM)UConnFB Wrote:  On the Diaco hire...

The information I have is that Narduzzi was the clear leader pre interview. Diaco's interview and presentation was so good that he basically pulled a Louisville and overtook Narduzzi. Once Narduzzi got wind of that, he withdrew his name.

Diaco hasn't even coached a game yet. In fairness, I don't see how he could be ahead of anyone at the moment, but he could easily be in the top 3 by this time next year.

wasn't it reported everywhere that narduzzi withdrew because uconn didn't have the budget for the staff he wanted

And debunked. Do you think the Narduzzi camp would report that UConn liked someone else better?

(04-25-2014 11:47 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 11:44 AM)UConnFB Wrote:  On the Diaco hire...

The information I have is that Narduzzi was the clear leader pre interview. Diaco's interview and presentation was so good that he basically pulled a Louisville and overtook Narduzzi. Once Narduzzi got wind of that, he withdrew his name.

Diaco hasn't even coached a game yet. In fairness, I don't see how he could be ahead of anyone at the moment, but he could easily be in the top 3 by this time next year.

wasn't it reported everywhere that narduzzi withdrew because uconn didn't have the budget for the staff he wanted

Untrue. UConn beat guys were all over that calling it BS.

(04-25-2014 11:21 AM)CyberBull Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 10:28 AM)HP-TBDPITL Wrote:  Unfortunately I can't argue with O'Leary....they put it all together last year.

But Jones at 2 is laughable. Slide him back a few spots. Jones is a good coach, but his programs have not reached a high level.

Taggart that high is laughable as well. He hasn't done anything at USF...so how is he ahead of the Houston coach or Tulane coach. Tulane had nothing but a good kicker and Johnson turned that into a Bowl team.

List like this are useless b/c it spurs comments like these.

Just two seasons ago, O'Leary was on everyone's Hot Seat Top10 list due to mediocre play and off the field scandals. Fast forward a couple seasons and a couple fortuitous bounces and he is on top of the list and at least for the 2013 season deservedly so.

In terms of Taggart, I wouldn't call it "laughable" as he has had success at other places and was rising young assistant at top PAC12 program for a couple years.

August can't get here soon enough.

I stand by my opinion that the Houston and Tulane coach should be ahead of the USF coach. Not saying Taggart can't be good, but those guys had winning seasons last year....Taggart was 2-10.

(04-25-2014 11:47 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 11:44 AM)UConnFB Wrote:  On the Diaco hire...

The information I have is that Narduzzi was the clear leader pre interview. Diaco's interview and presentation was so good that he basically pulled a Louisville and overtook Narduzzi. Once Narduzzi got wind of that, he withdrew his name.

Diaco hasn't even coached a game yet. In fairness, I don't see how he could be ahead of anyone at the moment, but he could easily be in the top 3 by this time next year.

wasn't it reported everywhere that narduzzi withdrew because uconn didn't have the budget for the staff he wanted

That's a clueless statement. UCONN pays our FB assistants as much as Michigan State. It wasn't the money. Warde made it clear Diaco was his #1 choice. Everything we have seen so far has been positive with Diaco. I believe he will be one of the top coaches in the conference within 1 or 2 years.

If I remember correctly, MSU's total pay for all FB coaches is like $4.2M. UCONN's total pay for all FB coaches is like $3.5M. The difference is mainly due to a raise for Narduzzi (He just got a raise for $512K) and raise for Dantonio. If UCONN teams win, our coaches will get paid.

Fuente has had to deal with one of the biggest makeover jobs in football, and he's getting it done.

Coach Ruff was spot on. All the coaches above him have done more

Ruff next step is proving he can win the Big game/must win games.
In must win games such as bowl games, games to become bowl eligible, or games to advance to CCG he has dropped the ball. Record 1-5

2010- 0-1 Loss to Maryland in bowl game
2011- 0-1 finished 5-7 missed bowl with loss @ Marshall
2012- 0-2 Lost to UCF cost appearance to CCG, Bowl Loss
2013- 1-1 Lost to Marshall for CCG appearance, Won Bowl Game

Bowl record 1-2 vs. Ohio, ULL, Maryland

Not all Ruff's fault especially first couple years with what he inherited. But the buck stops at the HC office.