Believe it or not, Randy Edsall’s potential return to UConn would make sense.
That’s not to say that I agree with the school’s decision to dismiss Bob Diaco. I don’t. UConn should have given him another season before making a move.
However, since the school did decide to make a leadership change, I’ll go on record as saying that I think Edsall would be the ideal candidate to lead the program.
Make no mistake about it: UConn isn’t the easiest place to win. The Huskies are 94-112 since returning to the FBS level in 2000. During that span, the team finished with a losing record ten times, and dropped eight or more games six times.
In other words: it’s not a job where everyone will succeed. Even a seasoned head coach like Paul Pasqualoni – who went 107-59-1 with four conference championships at Syracuse – had trouble winning consistently at UConn.
That’s what makes Edsall an attractive candidate for this opening. Remember, Edsall guided the Huskies during their transition from FCS to FBS back in 2000. In year three, UConn finished 6-6. The following season, the team went 9-3. The next year, the Huskies finished 8-4, highlighted by an impressive 39-10 victory over Toledo in the Motor City Bowl.
Although UConn would finish with a losing record in each of the next two seasons, Edsall turned the team into a contender in the Big East. In his final four years in Storrs, Edsall led the Huskies to two conference championships, and an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl. The team also won eight or more games in every season during that span, which is why many big name programs tried to lure him away from UConn. Ultimately, he landed at Maryland, where he took the Terrapins to back-to-back bowl games in 2013 and 2014, before getting the boot after a 2-4 start in 2015.
Even though Edsall’s tenure at Maryland wasn’t exactly successful, there’s no reason to think that he couldn’t get UConn back to where it was when he left. Sure, it might take a season or two before the Huskies compete for an AAC championship, but he doesn’t have to rebuild the program from scratch like he did the last time. All Edsall has to do is help a young – but talented – team reach its full potential.
He has already proven that he can do that in Storrs.
