We do not have much time; Pasqualoni has got to go.

[J187Money]

When Cincy hired Brian Kelly, it was a no brainer. His rise was meteoric and he was kicking ass with every job he took. He scorched Division II, he was very successful in the MAC. He had consistent success and he was more aggressive than a Velociraptor.

Or look at Dantonio, he had head coach written all over him. He took the Cincy job and they overachieved under him.

You look at a guy like Kragthorpe who was successful, there were a ton of caveats and buts..

We should be looking for guys like that. We can sit around and hope for football's version of Calhoun to turn up, but that's infinitely less likely.

I'm with you completely.

 

[ZooCougar]

Keep in mind the coach they brought was following Brian Kelly from CMU where he also was HC following Brian Kelly. They're essentially running the same thing so you wouldn't expect as much of a drop off, although you'll recall we had a rough first year. If Butch Jones continues to follow his BK career ladder to greener pastures we'll see if they can find another guy.

I like that we know P doesn't want to go anywhere else, and some might see that as setting my sights low, but I think I'm being realistic. Besides, no matter who you hire there's no guarantee they'll be any good. RRod was great at WVU, sucked at UM, and now he seems good again. I'm sure ND thought they were hitting the ball out of the park with Charlie Weis but he sucked. I remember a lot of people saying that Turner Gill would have been a better hire at Auburn than a guy that went 5-19 at ISU, but Chizik's doing pretty well while Gill has already been replaced at his greener pasture. There's no guarantee the next guy will do well, although I'm sure if our next hire does suck it'll be P's fault anyway.

You could probably write a pretty good thesis on how to determine whether a coach is going to be successful or not. In Chizik's case, he went to place that he already knew, and he had Cam Newton for a season. Pretty hard to not be successful.

Leach and Holgorsen? They are both savants. Those offenses are so ridiculous and sophisticated. I think Geno Smith is the best QB at the college level to ever run that offense and look at the basketball scores he is running up.

Chip Kelly probably another savant. One day he is lighting up I-AA with a QB named Ricky Santos at UNH and then Oregon plucks him from the opposite coast and two or three years later (if that) he's the Oregon HC. Anyone who saw UNH blowing people up in the Chip Kelly days knew that something special was happening.

I think we should stop worrying about what we can't keep, and worry more about what we can have. I don't think that Turner Gill had as much of a track record as a head coach as Brian Kelly. I think with P, of course we have security. Nobody will take him from us, but with him I sense that we are stuck in another loop of mediocrity.

 

[ZooCougar]

Come on people. PP is not going to be fired now. Calling for it now is just wasted breath. What kind of message does that send prospective coaches that we fire a guy midseason who was above .500? Barring epic collapse we should wait until December at least. I'm not a pp apologist by any means. I think a change needs to be made somewhere, but right now is not the time.

Oh, we should definitely wait for December. But for now, let's set the table.

 

[mattp]

Chip Kelly probably another savant. One day he is lighting up I-AA with a QB named Ricky Santos at UNH and then Oregon plucks him from the opposite coast and two or three years later (if that) he's the Oregon HC. Anyone who saw UNH blowing people up in the Chip Kelly days knew that something special was happening.

Chip Kelly would have been a great one for us, especially with his New England roots. I think we'll have a better chance of keeping a guy like that than if we'd picked up Mike Leach, although for the record I'd have loved Leach. Even if we had him for just 3 years, and then if we had a shot at promoting one of his pupils after he leaves, I think it'd be worth it. His character flaws are fabricated. He's weird but most geniuses are.

 

[Waquoit]

the program will be Buffalo in 2 years if we don't fire HCPP now but if we run through a couple of coaching mistakes taking flyers on young guys that couldn't hurt either.

To me it is worth the risk, but there is a potential downside.

Not really. The real risk is staying with this overmatched bunch whose best days are behind them.

 

[UConnJim]

When Edsall left after the Fiesta Bowl and we hired PP, I have always wondered, what would Edsall have done differently in the 9 months before the 2011 season started. UConn had two serious holes on offense, no ready QB or RB due to the graduation of Frasier and the early departure of Todman. He must have known that UConn needed to find a juco QB (like Lorenzen) and a juco RB. I don't think PP understood the offensive problems until it was too late to try to fix them for 2011. For 2012, he brought in Whitmer who has 3 years of eligibility, but he is practically a true freshman, and he brought in Cochrane. I'm not sure why Joe Williams has not played, but we have not filled the RB hole.

Last year, we all complained about the Vanderbilt loss because we had a walk-on QB, McEntee, throwing in the 4th Q with UConn up 21-14 with 6:30 left to play in the game. McEntee threw an interception that was returned 50 yards for a TD that tied the score and Vandy ultimately won with a FG. Everyone on here was arguing for UConn to run the ball and run out the clock. Go figure.

Against Buffalo, the coaches got too conservative and predictable in the 2nd half. I have been critical of the strategy as Buffalo is not good and you can not allow bad teams to hang around as they will use trick plays (on-side kick, hook and ladder, going for it on 4th down,...) to create big plays.

All this said, we need to see how this year develops before we panic. Whitmer is developing well, in my opinion. Everyone knew that PP was a "bridge" hire, but I would be more comfortable if we had a hot shot OC that was looked at as the potential future HC.

 

[ZooCougar]

Chip Kelly would have been a great one for us, especially with his New England roots. I think we'll have a better chance of keeping a guy like that than if we'd picked up Mike Leach, although for the record I'd have loved Leach. Even if we had him for just 3 years, and then if we had a shot at promoting one of his pupils after he leaves, I think it'd be worth it. His character flaws are fabricated. He's weird but most geniuses are.

Leach got taken down by a member of the media who used to have some influence and an AD that had a major personality conflict with him. I think he would have stayed at Texas Tech forever if they paid him. It wasn't that Leach seemed like he was born to coach that program it was more like that program seemed to exist for Leach. That place is an afterthought without him.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I know this is just message board conversation...but...this conversation still feels premature to me. Let's play a game or two in BE play before deciding if PP is the answer. This team has shown glimpses of a very good team. Combine Whitmer's WMU second half/Buffalo first half with the defense shown against NC St, and you have quite a team. Whitmer is still inexperienced but improving..the o-line seems to be gelling a bit, the WRs look better...ST seem solid. My biggest concern is the running game and defensive consistency.

Plus...let's not forget that PP runs a clean program. The program has had less issues than when RE was here...and RE ran a clean program.

 

[J187Money]

Not really. The real risk is staying with this overmatched bunch whose best days are behind them.

I think this is the problem I have with this line of thinking.

1) When people say that HCRE did a good job, they are apologistas and we are told that UCONN (by the mere virtue of its existence) is a pre-ordained top 25 team and that HCRE failed because he didn't bring us there.
2) When people say that there are recruiting challenges or perception issues we are told that is nonsense, because UCONN is awesome.
3) Then we are told that if we don't do anything immediately we are doomed to failure forever. That two more 8-4 / 7-5 seasons doom us forever to mediocrity no matter what we do, and somehow we are in a worse position than we were 10 years ago.
4) Many of the people that argue 1 and 2 are also arguing 3, which to me just doesn't make any logical sense.

No matter what happens with the HCPP era or when it ends, there is ALWAYS an opportunity to start over, and if something can be that easily ruined, than it was never there to begin with.

Remember that this hire was made when there was no real leadership at the university (and we were on a clock). Look at what we brought in at President and AD. I believe that sane people think we did the right thing, and I think we would all be happy if we brought in a HC in the same mold of Herbst or Manuel. And given that they will be making the decision this time, I have no reason to think otherwise. I also believe that if it happens this year, or next year, or even at the end of HCPP's term (as long as we are relatively successful-meaning bowl eligible every year) no damage is done.

I do not think if we fire HCPP tomorrow, get a new coach and go 10-2 next year that we automatically get invited to the B1G or ACC (and I think some of you believe exactly that). The conference thing is an issue, but what's done is done. We can only look forward.

I want to see what THIS coaching staff can do with THIS set of players. And when the season's over, I'll see where we are. If we end up 4-8/5-7, by all means I will call for his head in December (which will give us time to do this properly).

 

[gwhuskyfan]

Found this stat interesting. PP prides himself in the run game, yet it's not really working out, especially when you look at the stats. This is from a BR article on the Big East:
"Six of the eight schools average over 150 yards per game on the ground, and the Bearcats are leading the charge (pun intended) with 259 yards per game, 15th in the nation.
Only Connecticut, with just 111.7 yards on the ground per game, ranks outside the top 100 in the country."

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I am not happy with Pasqualoni at all, but I also don't like the "we can't do any better" argument. UAB got Calvin McGee, who has made one of the worst programs in D1 competitive with Ohio State and Tulsa. That said, they are still 0-4. Gus Malzahn is at Arkansas State.

My biggest issue is that Pasqualoni seems to be treading water off Edsall. Neither coach is all that good, neither coach sucks. Edsall is a better game coach, and would squeak out close wins over bad teams (the bobble game vs. Temple, the home win over Duke, Ohio) that Pasqualoni is capable of losing. Pasqualoni is a better recruiter, but the benefits of that are not yet evident. Pasqualoni will win 3 Big East games, and we will sit here at the end of the season wondering whether UConn had a good year or not, which was a frequent outcome with Edsall.

 

[ruskin]

Barring a completely out-of-the-blue Petrino-style scandal PP is not getting fired during the season. If we go 5-7 or 6-7 (assuming a bad bowl loss) I'd be surprised if he was back next year. Herbst/Manuel come from big-time environments, have seen this act before and they seem like the types who aren't afraid to cut their losses quickly. Folks make a big deal about the buyout, but I don't think WM/SH view that as a problem. Besides, our man Bob Burton seems like the guy who will eagerly raise the $$ to cover it

I think the chances are very good we'll have a new offensive coordinator next season no matter what happens. The philosophy that has been on display the last four weeks (except for when were down 24-7 at West Mich) is going to sell zero tickets. Forced resignations of coordinators might be a new thing in Connecticut, but it is almost standard operating procedure in the rest of the CFB world.

Some thoughts on observations I'm seeing from P defenders:
Quick hook will make job unattractive: Most coaches coming up through the CFB ranks know how this is how the world works in 2012. They'll understand the guy who was fired was hired by people who don't work at the school anymore.
P is an "excellent coach" 24-29 since 2002, much worse out of conference record than Edsall.
P is "recruiting better": Sure, if you put a lot of stock in the the scout/rivals rankings. Does not translate to wins.
P "needs time to build a program": Was mostly done before he got here. His job was to maintain it and bring it to the next level. He's failing.

 

[J187Money]

I am not happy with Pasqualoni at all, but I also don't like the "we can't do any better" argument. UAB got Calvin McGee, who has made one of the worst programs in D1 competitive with Ohio State and Tulsa. That said, they are still 0-4. Gus Malzahn is at Arkansas State.

My biggest issue is that Pasqualoni seems to be treading water off Edsall. Neither coach is all that good, neither coach sucks. Edsall is a better game coach, and would squeak out close wins over bad teams (the bobble game vs. Temple, the home win over Duke, Ohio) that Pasqualoni is capable of losing. Pasqualoni is a better recruiter, but the benefits of that are not yet evident. Pasqualoni will win 3 Big East games, and we will sit here at the end of the season wondering whether UConn had a good year or not, which was a frequent outcome with Edsall.

Agree completely with your analysis of PP and RE. And of course we can do better. And I think the next hire will be better given who is at the controls.

 

[ruskin]

Last year, we all complained about the Vanderbilt loss because we had a walk-on QB, McEntee, throwing in the 4th Q with UConn up 21-14 with 6:30 left to play in the game. McEntee threw an interception that was returned 50 yards for a TD that tied the score and Vandy ultimately won with a FG. Everyone on here was arguing for UConn to run the ball and run out the clock. Go figure.
Against Buffalo, the coaches got too conservative and predictable in the 2nd half. I have been critical of the strategy as Buffalo is not good and you can not allow bad teams to hang around as they will use trick plays (on-side kick, hook and ladder, going for it on 4th down,...) to create big plays.

Some people (not Jim) defending the Buffalo prevent offense strategy have been throwing out the Vandy outcome to back P. The two scenarios couldn't be any more different.

At Vandy, we were on the road at an SEC opponent with a 1-TD lead at midfield halfway through the fourth quarter with a defense that had been playing lights out and a very shaky QB. Yes, at that point, you do sit on it and let the defense win the game.

Against Buffalo, we were home against a low-level MAC team. With 18 minutes left we basically snuffed out our own offensive momentum (which sadly is a common theme with this staff). All we got up 24-7 were straight dives between the guards. No counters, sweeps, or short, safe play action passes from our new, better QB to our 6-6 tight ends.

 

[HuskyHawk]

We can't fire the guy unless Urban Meyer has decided to ditch Ohio State and come to Storrs, or maybe Saban is tired of winning the easy way in Bama and wants a challenge. Or maybe Jon Gruden wants to leave ESPN. You don't fire a coach midseason unless (1) there is a scandal; (2) he's pathetic and terrible and the team quits on him or (3) you have a home-run choice to replace him. None are the case here.

But, the offseason should not pass without serious consideration of whether a coaching change is warranted. This team has a very good defense, and should be bowl eligible with just a mediocre offense. Right now, the offense isn't even meeting that exepectation. There is no excuse for the loss to Western Michigan, which got blown out at home by Toledo over the weekend.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

There is no excuse for the loss to Western Michigan, which got blown out at home by Toledo over the weekend.

Perhaps Toledo was WMU's trap game.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Some people (not Jim) defending the Buffalo prevent offense strategy have been throwing out the Vandy outcome to back P. The two scenarios couldn't be any more different.

At Vandy, we were on the road at an SEC opponent with a 1-TD lead at midfield halfway through the fourth quarter with a defense that had been playing lights out and a very shaky QB. Yes, at that point, you do sit on it and let the defense win the game.

Against Buffalo, we were home against a low-level MAC team. With 18 minutes left we basically snuffed out our own offensive momentum (which sadly is a common theme with this staff). All we got up 24-7 were straight dives between the guards. No counters, sweeps, or short, safe play action passes from our new, better QB to our 6-6 tight ends.

Good correction. The Vandy situation nowhere near similar to Buffalo game. 1. the whole SEC thing, vs UMass at Buffalo where UConn should have run up the score just for practice and confidence boost. 2. At Vandy, UConn had a "walk on" QB (how many walks on start at BCS schools?). Saturday, UConn had a scholarship QB under center.

 

[businesslawyer]

Some people (not Jim) defending the Buffalo prevent offense strategy have been throwing out the Vandy outcome to back P. The two scenarios couldn't be any more different.

At Vandy, we were on the road at an SEC opponent with a 1-TD lead at midfield halfway through the fourth quarter with a defense that had been playing lights out and a very shaky QB. Yes, at that point, you do sit on it and let the defense win the game.

Against Buffalo, we were home against a low-level MAC team. With 18 minutes left we basically snuffed out our own offensive momentum (which sadly is a common theme with this staff). All we got up 24-7 were straight dives between the guards. No counters, sweeps, or short, safe play action passes from our new, better QB to our 6-6 tight ends.

WELL SAID

 

[Carl Spackler]

Wh

Last year, we all complained about the Vanderbilt loss because we had a walk-on QB, McEntee, throwing in the 4th Q with UConn up 21-14 with 6:30 left to play in the game. McEntee threw an interception that was returned 50 yards for a TD that tied the score and Vandy ultimately won with a FG. Everyone on here was arguing for UConn to run the ball and run out the clock. Go figure.

HC.

Brilliant point.

 

[sdhusky]

At this point, I think we can safely assume that with Paul Pasqualoni running this program, that we will never dominate the Big East Conference.

Of course, he did dominate the BE conference when the BE was at its best.

 

[sdhusky]

Ahh ok. Pretty funny. Syracuse went from being a damn good program to being afterthought under Pasqualoni's watch.

Complete. Ignorance. Complete.

 

[pj]

Some people (not Jim) defending the Buffalo prevent offense strategy have been throwing out the Vandy outcome to back P. The two scenarios couldn't be any more different.

At Vandy, we were on the road at an SEC opponent with a 1-TD lead at midfield halfway through the fourth quarter with a defense that had been playing lights out and a very shaky QB. Yes, at that point, you do sit on it and let the defense win the game.

Against Buffalo, we were home against a low-level MAC team. With 18 minutes left we basically snuffed out our own offensive momentum (which sadly is a common theme with this staff). All we got up 24-7 were straight dives between the guards. No counters, sweeps, or short, safe play action passes from our new, better QB to our 6-6 tight ends.

This is exactly what has bothered me about the offensive coaching. Against a peer (Vanderbilt), maximize your chance for a win. Against an inferior opponent when you have a 3-score advantage, maximize the development of your players. I don't understand the coaching and it doesn't make sense to me. It seems the staff was optimistic when they came in and eager to be aggressive (Vandy); now they seem to be coaching from fear (Buffalo). Maybe they are reading the Boneyard too much.

You have to have the courage to do what's right, and the willingness to build for the long term. You can't focus just on this game when there's a 95% chance you win. If so, by late in the season you'll be behind all the teams that focused on development.

 

[BlueDogs]

Another asinine thread to start the new day.

Very insightful. Go get your big "We'e number one" blue foam hand and parade it in front of the Buffalo fans. Yeah, we're just great.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I agree with PJ. You have to look at the situations from a great distance and with tunnel vision in order to claim they were identical.

A one score lead on the road against a BCS opponent (albeit a less than stellar SEC school but obviously our peer) in the fourth quarter when we had all of the (vital) momentum is a different situation than where we were at home, against Buffalo, up three scores with a good amount of the third quarter remaining.

We should have considered working on a handful of things in the passing game (I personally wanted to see a couple more deep seam routes by our TEs). If running click was so important, we could have pounded Hyppolite (or possibly DeLorenzo) at them until they softened up completely. If we were so sure that protecting the lead as they wouldn't score on our defense was the best option, we should have altered our defense slightly in order to conform, by having our CB's give larger than normal cushions and keeping one safety deep over the top. We absolutely never should have allowed it to reach the point where one trick play by UB could have tied the game yet that is exactly what we allowed to happen. All they needed to do was pull something out of their bag of tricks that we wouldn't have been fully prepared for and the game could have ended up in OT and at that point anything could have happened (especially with an offense that had been on ice for the final 1/3 of the game).

 

[ZooCougar]

Complete. Ignorance. Complete.

Well if you disagree with me, then I must be on the right track.