Dear Randy Edsall: It's time for you to go

“i was scared jake, for my people…i’m not anymore” to quote avatar, bahaha

I think you greatly underrate how long it takes, and how hard it is, to build a championship-caliber program, which is the level to which you’re implying Edsall can’t take UConn.

In Florida alone, it took Bobby Bowden 19 years, and Steve Spurrier 8 years to win national titles, drawing on the best base of HS talent in America, and programs with at least some tradition. I’m not saying Edsall is going to win a national title here, but it is friggin hard to get to that level, especially when you’re an outsider program, and I’m wary of writing off anyone who isn’t on a downward trajectory.

This isn’t basketball, where you can just bring in a good coach and a couple stars and be title contenders within 2-3 years. We’re two full cycles of personnel away from the time when we were a 2-9, basically-1AA caliber team. Edsall isn’t a great recruiter, but he – and just about anyone you could realistically bring in here – is going to be hamstrung by the fact that there isn’t much elite talent among New England HS football players.

BRIEF INTERLUDE OF AGREEMENT—-

All that said, Edsall makes 1.55 million a year here. If an upper-half BCS program wants to offer him 2+ million a year to go 7-5 there, then I wish him the best of luck, as you do.

END INTERLUDE

Stepping back and looking at the premise for the post, though, do we actually know Edsall wants to leave? It just seems like an assumption bolstered by rumors that have come up just about every year (GT in 2007, ND in 2009, etc.), or in other words, we have no idea at all.

I have no doubt Edsall would go to Notre Dame, Michigan or Penn State in a nanosecond. Those are stable, traditional powers who can make him rich and famous. What evidence do we have that he’d want to make rid himself of the job security he has here to go to a place like Miami, which has no fan support and a tradition that died with Larry Coker?

All that the rumors mean is that Edsall’s a professional, and while he seems happy here, he’d be nuts not to forage for an even better situation than he’s got here as The Alpha/Omega Of UConn Football. But the fact that he is rumored for every job under the sun doesn’t mean he’s actually planning on getting out.

But even if he does go, even if the timing may never be better – and I would absolutely dispute that as well – you’re going to have to name me the coach who is both 1) willing to come to the college football void that is New England and 2) able to make this the perennial 10-win team that you are hoping for.

Be careful what you wish for.

Very good post. I just happen to disagree with much of it.

I fall a lot closer to Meacham’s position on this. I don’t think any coach at Uconn could recruit much better talent. We’re not the best or most storied program in the NE, we’re not realistically going to contend for conference title every year (although I hope we do), and there’s not the same wealth of HS talent willing to stay local.

I do think Edsall’s a great program builder. To some extent you’re right: he may never be an elite level coach. Then again, he might. Edsall is growing with the program – he has made more aggressive calls this season than he has in the past, despite being hampered with what might be the worst passing game in Uconn history. He brings stability at a high level of play, and I think that’s important for a program still growing. And here, I guess, is the gist of my argument. Uconn is still growing. BCS bowl or not, I think its incorrect to talk about the program as having arrived. Edsall can still do a lot of good work here.

There’s no doubt that Randy Edsall would love to jump to a program like Miami or Penn State. The problem is, I think either of those programs (or any comparable program) would be crazy to hire him at this point.

Randy is a good role model & a good program builder. But he has proven to be a relatively weak recruiter, and (in my mind) extremely limited offensively. This seems like the opposite of what a once-great, yet downtrodden program like Miami needs, especially when recruiting is 10x more competitive in that market.

As far as coaching style, Edsall is not going to go down there, run the ball 50 times a game, and turn that bunch of chumps into good samaritans and academic all-americans. Miami is a high-flying program that is not going to benefit much from the hard-nosed Edsall philosophy. Neither side truly benefits from what the other can contribute (aside from $).

It seems like Edsall would fit right in with a program where he could hone his recruiting in a relatively less competitive market, at a program that valued his approach and still needed to “be built.” Sounds like if Connecticut were hiring, he’d be a very attractive candidate.

It will be interesting to see what happens in this one.

Maybe it is the sweet stink of success from the basketball programs is in the air, but I think the expectations are too high.

We’ve had facilities for 4 years. A stadium for a bit longer. A full compliment of scholarships for a bit longer than that. In hoops you can get 6-7 kids to pull together a magical run… in football it will take 24 to make it work. That’s a lot more building and molding to get it right… and that means 7-5 years, 8-4 years until you can break the 9-3 barrier consistently.

I think Edsall is doing well with what he has, the cards in his pocket are getting stacked in his favor since now he can pull out the ‘BCS’ trump over a few other schools.

I am happy that we graduate the kids, we are building a strong base, and wining some home games. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

died with donovan mcnabb, which makes you about 11 or 12 years removed from relevance. As bad as UConn has looked at times, they straight up stomped on cuse this year. Point being, as sad as football in the NE may be (admittedly so), at least some teams seem to be on the upswing.