Diaco on rebuilding at UConn... May sound familiar?

[Eagle1855]

Thought this was interesting, given McCarney's statements (which may or may not have been misconstrued)...

“When I first came here there was a conversation about ‘building on’. No, this is not ‘building on’, this is tear down and rebuild and that’s what we’ve been doing. It needs it, and it’s still in the beginning phases.” he told the media.

Diaco went on to explain that the roster he has inherited lacked players with a culture of winning at the high school level and the importance that has on the locker room and as a culture.

“I could stand here for three hours and go through stuff.” Diaco says as the presser starts to wrap up, “What is that, five examples right there? I could name 105.”

Link

[MeanGreenTexan]

If I were a player for this guy, I'd be hurt.

Why am I playing so hard for a guy who doesn't consider us a team capable of winning? I'm a stepping-stone in his 'rebuild'.

[GreenFlag]

I remember Simon saying how small we were, etc.

[UNT90]

Shocked.

Just shocked that a coach at another college would use coach speak to justify a disappointing season.

Shocked, I tell you.

If you were to research every 3rd or 4th year college coach that had a disappointing season, I would bet you would find very similar comments from every single one of those coaches.

I mean, what are they gonna say? Do you seriously think any one of them would say "You know, I really thought I would have recruited better and been a better in game coach. I really need to step it up?"

Really?

Edited November 19, 2014 by UNT90

[untjim1995]

There has to be a middle ground between coach-speak and the reality of what the coach is trying to say about the program. I think Dan McCarney is a fine football coach, someone who you would be glad to have as your head coach, just because of his PR ability. He uses coach-speak alot--but I believe that he also tells the truth. Again, if a guy like Dan McCarney, who for three years has been nothing but motivational, positive, and inspiring when talking to the public about the future here at UNT with the football program, all of a sudden becomes a Darrell Dickey clone, you have to ask yourself why that has happened.

To me, the reasons are varied--some of them are completely on Mac or his staff, some are completely on the school and its apathetic history. His offense is boring. It has zero appeal to a decent throwing QB or one who can make plays with their feet. He wants a busdriver. Plus, for his offense to work, he has to have a strong line--which is supposed to be his strength and was supposed to be a strength this year. But an OL is kinda like a bullpen in baseball--previous results are not indicative of future results because they are a year-to-year proposition. His defenses are hard-hitters if they get decent pressure from the front seven, but that again goes to development. Like it or not, this is the reality of our situation. Zero stars, 1-stars, 2-stars, and a few 3-stars are your recruits. They have to be built up and developed. We don't get the luxury of reloading here. Why? Because recruits aren't jumping up and down to come here. All they have ever known about UNT, if anything, is that we aren't in a P5 league or the AAC. They are then told about the losing, the apathy, and the fact that we are still thought of as a "commuter" school. What we know is that a new stadium, a new experienced head coach, a more recognized conference affiliation, and a bowl win in our backyard still isn't enough for us to avoid the beating of having seasons with 3-4 wins.

I think its a reality that next year isn't going to be much better here than this season. We are gonna have to aim for 2016 at the earliest for the development to be enough to get back to a bowl game. We either have a QB who obviously cannot play FBS football as the starter next year (McNulty) or we have a new QB having to learn how to be a busdriver. That alone won't get us to .500, unless the defensive front seven is just awesome, which I don't think we will be at that level by next season. 2016 would be the year to look at as a potential winning season--assuming we have a QB that can play FBS football and isn't learning on the job. If McNulty starts all of next year, as I suspect he will, then it may very well be 2017 before we have a chance to get back to being a bowl team, since you would have a brand new QB learning the busdriver role that Mac demands. A decent defense next year, with subpar QB play, or vice versa, gets you 3-5 wins with our schedule. One bought win, plus 2-4 wins over SMU and CUSA foes, gets you to that figure. If you have a solid busdriver in place and a defense that has been developed into a strong unit, both physically and mentally, with a typical CUSA schedule, 2016 would be my bet to get back to 7-9 wins again, but that's also hoping against hope that McNulty isn't the starter again next year. I'd rather us have a true freshman at QB who plays in HS right now than McNulty or Greer. I'm just praying that a new OC who can actually judge QB talent will see something in Means and he will be our starter next year. If he cannot play and we go with McNulty all year with no defensive improvement, we won't win 3 games next year. The only reason we have won 3 games this year is because we had SMU, who is having their worst season ever and we bought a win over a terrible FCS school.

Edited November 19, 2014 by untjim1995

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Hey, coaches are people...humans, even. So, at some point, after you give and give and give, you just give up, I suppose.

Isn't the world full of ex-wives for this very reason?

[oldguystudent]

Every job in America makes you indict yourself in writing in a semiannual basis via the "employee evaluation." But not coaching. Why?

[MeanGreenDadx2]

If you were the head coach, what would you do/say?

[Eagle1855]

If you were the head coach, what would you do/say?

The same. Half the coaches in America lose games every week. For every winning team, there's a losing team. But everyone wants to win each and every year. Not possible. So there's an ebb and flow. Some teams do better year in and year out, thanks to investments in program, perceived prestige, and coaching hires. Others consistently do worse (for many of the same reasons, except the opposite).

I guess it takes a perfect combination of recruiting, coaching, and having a schedule of opponents who aren't doing it as well.

UCONN is probably in a tougher position than UNT. They played a tougher schedule (91st vs 117th), and will do so for the foreseeable future because the AAC is probably a better conference, year in and year out (rated 12th vs CUSA's 16th and 17th). Neither had a particularly difficult schedule, however.

Anyways, I didn't present it with any agenda. Just that many other programs suffer the same frustrations week in and week out... and the coaches cite the same reasons.

[oldguystudent]

If you were the head coach, what would you do/say?

Probably a whole lot less than most coaches. I'm not asking for heads on platters, televised confessions or public self flagellation here. I do wish there were less constant "I won a national championship at Florida dontcha know," and "Your contributions to facilities don't mean shit to me," and "The players are too small and that is the responsibility of the last coach," etc. etc. etc.

If I were the head coach, in public discourse, I'd probably keep things to "We need to show improvement." Nothing more, nothing less. The verbal regurgitation generally makes me nauseous.

[MeanGreenTexan]

McCarney came out right after a tough loss @ UAB (where he could easily have flown off the handle and said things he regretted), and said some things about players. He's also said that we were a slow/small team when he got here... many times.

But I haven't seen him really throw his team under the bus like this dude. McCarney really walks a fine line quite well when addressing the media about his team. McCarney not once has said he's tearing anything down (rendering any efforts from his players during the 'teardown' as useless) in order to 'rebuild'.

I'm with OGS. I'm keeping it as vanilla as possible.

[GMG24]

Every job in America makes you indict yourself in writing in a semiannual basis via the "employee evaluation." But not coaching. Why?

Not true, I have filled out an employee evaluation every year I have coached. I am on year 6. Granted I have been at Middle School and High school levels, but those forms carry weight, as do my bosses evaluations of me.

[Cerebus]

Dickey talked shit about a lot of things, but not his players. He made the players feel like they were in the foxhole with him. I may have thought that Dickey got out recruited or out coached at times, but I never felt his players quit on him.

Mac is playing with fire.

[UNT90]

.

If I were the head coach, in public discourse, I'd probably keep things to "We need to show improvement."

This.

This is what should be said, and nothing else. No excuses, no "i won a national title at a P5 school as a position coach," nothing else.

[GrayEagle]

In my opinion, he's not that far below in talent vs. the other CUSA conference teams. Part is due to inexperience at certain positions. That often happens when you keep your regulars in games that are already decided.

Also, remember that he's recruiting to CUSA... not the P5 conferences. I can understand that it might be hard to get a 4-star recruit to come to North Texas but to be that far behind conference opponents? Is it harder to get players to come here as opposed to UTEP? UTSA? LaTech? Middle? Marshall? UAB? We should have a slight leg up on SBC competition. But, most of CUSA and half of the Sun Belt is ranked higher. We all remember how embarrassed we were.

It can't all be laid on the recruiting. When you take all-conference linemen and their getting destroyed to the point that sacks are given up and the rushing yardage sucks something isn't right. Find it and fix it.

[keith]

“It’s like a baby trying to lift a coffee table,” Diaco attempted to explain. “Did the baby get upset because it didn’t lift the coffee table? Probably not. But it’s frustrated…you can see it on its face.”

Ummm, what? That is probably the most bizarre analogy I've ever heard from a coach. Do you think he just came up with that on the spot or was this something he worked on beforehand? Very odd IMHO.

[FirefightnRick]

That's bizarre

Rick

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

“It’s like a baby trying to lift a coffee table,” Diaco attempted to explain. “Did the baby get upset because it didn’t lift the coffee table? Probably not. But it’s frustrated…you can see it on its face.”

Ummm, what? That is probably the most bizarre analogy I've ever heard from a coach. Do you think he just came up with that on the spot or was this something he worked on beforehand? Very odd IMHO.

I like it.

[keith]

I like it.

Yeah, my guess is he has a toddler at home who is going through the coffee table lifting phase of life and this is just something that was top of mind. I love the visual as I remember my kids doing something similar many years ago. Just not the typical "coach-speak" analogy we're accustomed to hearing.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

It's like the old saying goes, "If you've got 12 apples to pick, you don't start with the oranges."

[Eagle1855]

Ummm, what? That is probably the most bizarre analogy I've ever heard from a coach. Do you think he just came up with that on the spot or was this something he worked on beforehand? Very odd IMHO.

I had the same thought. I wondered, is this something people with kids deal with on a daily basis? Then I figured maybe it was just something people said in the Northeast. You know, because it's different up there.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

The rain on the inside of a house is the same as the rain on the outside of a house, until you fix the hole in the roof.

[Eagle1855]

The rain on the inside of a house is the same as the rain on the outside of a house, until you fix the hole in the roof.

I believe it was Abraham Franklin who said it was better to remain silent and be thought a fool than a house guest who smells of fish.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I believe it was Abraham Franklin who said it was better to remain silent and be thought a fool than a house guest who smells of fish.

You can't buy a dollar's worth of anything with four quarters because of the tax.

[FirefightnRick]

Raised two kids of my own, grew up with 15 younger cousins and remember when they were babies, watched 12 niece and nephews grow up from baby age and on and I've yet to watch one try and pick up or flip a table?

I feel I've missed out on something, like cow tipping, only with babies, table tipping?

Rick

Rick