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Randy Edsall

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Randy Edsall
Edsall at an Orioles' game at Camden Yards in May 2011
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamUConn
ConferenceIndependent
Record80–100
Annual salary$1.606 million [1]
Biographical details
Born (1958-08-27) August 27, 1958 (age 66)
Glen Rock, Pennsylvania
Playing career
1976–1979Syracuse
Position(s)Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1980–1982Syracuse (GA)
1983–1984Syracuse (RB)
1985Syracuse (TE)
1986Syracuse (RB)
1987–1988Syracuse (DB)
1989–1990Syracuse (DB/RC)
1991–1993Boston College (DB)
1994–1997Jacksonville Jaguars (D])
1998Georgia Tech (DC/DB)
1999–2010Connecticut
2011–2015Maryland
2017–presentConnecticut
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2016Detroit Lions (Director of football research)
Head coaching record
Overall102–134
Bowls3–4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 Big East (2007, 2010)
Awards
Big East Coach of the Year (2010)

Randy Douglas Edsall (born August 27, 1958) is an American football coach who is currently in his second stint as the head football coach at the University of Connecticut. He was director of football research-special projects for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) previously in 2016. He was the head coach at the University of Maryland from 2011 to 2015. Edsall was previously the head coach at Uconn from 1999 until the 2011 Fiesta Bowl, and oversaw the program's promotion from the NCAA Division I-AA level to Division I-A. He is UConn's all-time leader in wins and games coached.

Coaching career

Early years

A native of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania,[2] Edsall is a protege of former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. Edsall played for Coughlin at Syracuse University and later coached under him at Syracuse, at Boston College, and with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Edsall spent the first 14 years of his adult life at Syracuse as a player and coach. He played quarterback for the Orangemen from 1976 to 1979, with Coughlin as his position coach. He then coached at Syracuse under Frank Maloney and Dick MacPherson from 1980 to 1990 and was a part of the 1987 team that went 11–0–1, including a tie in the Sugar Bowl. He then went on to coach at Boston College with Tom Coughlin and was a part of a turnaround at BC. In 1993, they defeated No. 1 ranked Notre Dame in South Bend. He then followed Coughlin to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars made it to the AFC Championship Game in their second year as a franchise in 1996 and made the playoffs in 1997. In 1998, he became the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech and saw his defense improve greatly from the season before, including a co-ACC championship and a Gator Bowl victory over Notre Dame.

University of Connecticut (first stint)

1999–2003

Edsall was named the 27th head football coach at the University of Connecticut on December 21, 1998 and led the Huskies from Division I-AA into Division I-A. UConn was the first school to ever move from the FCS to the Bowl Championship Series as a member of the Big East. In what has been considered one of the best and fastest building jobs in recent memory, Randy Edsall oversaw a period of unprecedented success at the University of Connecticut. UConn went from Division I-AA into Division I-A, and in only their first year as a full member of the FBS in 2002, Edsall guided the 2002 team to a 6–6 record in its first year with a full Division I-A complement of 85 scholarships. UConn ended the 2002 season impressively with four-straight wins to reach the .500 mark, including season-ending road wins at Navy and at bowl-bound Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference led by Seneca Wallace that was ranked as high as 9th in the country that year, 49–37. The excitement for Edsall and his team continued to swell in 2003 as the Huskies moved into their new home, Rentschler Field, and enjoyed the nation's largest attendance increase with a gain of 21,252 fans per game. Finishing with a 9–3 record, many national media outlets, including Bristol-based ESPN, proclaimed that UConn should have received a bowl berth, a feat highly uncommon for an independent team. Also in 2003, UConn was the only public I-A school to graduate at least 90 percent of its football players.

2004

With their membership in the Big East for the 2004 season, another strong campaign by the Huskies resulted in a bowl berth. UConn went 8–4 against a challenging slate that fall as the program gained its highest ever level of exposure. Behind one of the best players in Connecticut history in Dan Orlovsky, the Huskies capped their historic season with a resounding 39–10 win over Mid-American Conference champion Toledo in the Motor City Bowl. That year saw 2 players get drafted, Dan Orlovsky, and Alfred Fincher.

2005–2006

The 2005–2006 seasons saw a period of transition for the program. After graduating many impactful seniors after the 2004 season, the Huskies finished the 2005 season 5–6. More of the same happened in the 2006 season as the Huskies finished 4–8.

2007

The 2007 season witnessed a new level of excitement in Storrs as the Huskies earned their first ever national rankings, peaking at No. 13 in the BCS standings on November 5. UConn became just the second Big East team to ever go 7–0 at home and defeated three teams there which were ranked in the Top 10 at some point during the season. That year they also beat their first ranked opponent in school history by beating the #11 South Florida Bulls on October 27, 2007, 22–15. The Huskies finished that season at 9–4 with a berth in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, earning Edsall New England Division I Coach of the Year accolades.

2008

The 2008 season was also very successful. After a 5–0 start and a return to the top 25 rankings, the Huskies finished the season at 8–5 and defeated Buffalo in the International Bowl in Toronto, Canada, 38–20. After a record breaking year, Donald Brown became the first first round draft pick in school history.

2009

The 2009 season saw both great success and great tragedy. After defeating the Louisville Cardinals on October 17, 2009, Jasper Howard, a cornerback on the team was stabbed to death the next day outside of a school dance at the UConn Student Union. After this, the Huskies lost 3 games to West Virginia, Rutgers and Cincinnati by a combined 8 points. After a bye week, Edsall's Huskies won their final three regular season games in 2009 – including a historic double-overtime win over Notre Dame on Nov 21 at Notre Dame Stadium, 33–30. In their Bowl game they defeated South Carolina 20–7 in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. UConn posted a 7–5 regular season record facing the 25th-toughest regular season schedule in the country and with their bowl win they finished 8–5.

2010

On September 11, 2010, Edsall became the winningest coach in Connecticut football history with a 62-3 victory over Texas Southern. His 67th victory placed him ahead of the 66 wins compiled by J. Orlean Christian between 1934 and 1949. Edsall led the Huskies to a 33–19 record over his last four seasons there as UConn became the first program ever to go from FBS newcomer to BCS bowl participant in just seven seasons. After a 3–4 start, the Huskies beat West Virginia 13–10 in overtime for their first win over the Mountaineers in program history. UConn won their last five games of the regular season to earn a share of the Big East title, Edsall's second as head coach and UConn's second in four years. By virtue of their overtime win over the Mountaineers, the Huskies represented the Big East in the BCS, the first major bowl appearance in school history. UConn went on to play in the Fiesta Bowl against the University of Oklahoma, losing 48-20. Edsall was named 2010 Big East Coach of the Year.

University of Maryland

2011–2012

Randy Edsall along the sideline during the Terps' 2013 game vs. the Clemson Tigers.

Edsall was hired in 2011 after he led the University of Connecticut to its first appearance in a BCS bowl game. In Edsall's inaugural season, the Terrapins finished with a record of 2–10. In 2012, the Terrapins finished with a 4–8 record. On November 19, 2012, the school announced it was joining the Big Ten Conference and leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference, a conference Maryland cofounded in 1953 with Clemson. The Big Ten is a revenue-sharing conference that, thanks to the success of the Big Ten Network, in recent years, has generated more revenue than any other conference, distributing that money among its members.

2013

Edsall saw steady improvement in his three years as Maryland's coach: going from 2–10 in his first year, to 4–8 in his second. In 2013, his third season as head coach, after defeating West Virginia in one of the program's biggest wins over West Virginia, Edsall led his 4–0 team into the Associated Press top 25 poll, entering at #25. They would fall out of the rankings the following week after a road loss to eventual National Champion, then ranked #8 Florida State. The highlight of the season came in Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech. The Terrapins had multiple starters out due to injury heading into the game. Maryland stunned Virginia Tech and all but ending their ACC Championship hopes by beating them in overtime, 27–24. The victory also made the Terrapins bowl eligible. It was the first time since 1949 that the Terrapins won in Lane Stadium and the first time since 1990 that Maryland had beaten Virginia Tech. The Terrapins finished the regular season 7–5, earning bowl eligibility for the first time under Edsall, a steady improvement from the previous 4–8 season. In the Terrapins final game of the regular season, the team ended on a high note: winning their last conference game as a member of the ACC, 41–21 on the road against NC State. After a successful season in what would be their last in the ACC, the Terrapins were invited to the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland.[citation needed]

2014

In 2014, Edsall guided the Terrapins to a third-place finish in the Big Ten East. Finishing behind Michigan State and the eventual National Champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes. After a 3–1 start, the Terrapins won their inaugural Big Ten game with a victory at Indiana 37–15. They then went on to win their first game at home in the Big Ten, defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes 38–31. The Terrapins biggest win of the season and one of the biggest wins in program history came on November 1, 2014. The Terrapins traveled to State College, Pennsylvania to play the Penn State Nittany Lions. Previously, Penn State had dominated the series and the rivalry with a record of 35–1–1 against Maryland and the Terrapins had never won in Beaver Stadium. Maryland's lone win came at Byrd Stadium in 1961. Brad Craddock, the eventual Lou Groza Award winner, kicked a 43-yard field goal with 51 seconds left to give the Terrapins their first win at Beaver Stadium and their first win over the Nittany Lions since 1961. Trying to build this old regional rivalry back up, in a post-game interview Randy Edsall said "let the rivalry begin".[3] A few weeks later saw another milestone for the Maryland Football program. Maryland had never beaten Michigan in football in 3 prior meetings with the Wolverines. On November 22, 2014, the Terrapins ended that streak by beating Michigan in the Big House 23–16, which assured the Terrapins of back-to-back winning seasons for just the third time in the past 30 years. The Terrapins finished their inaugural Big Ten season 7–5 (4–4) with a third-place finish in the East division. They posted the conference's best road record at 5–1. The Terrapins also made it to back-to-back bowl games as they were invited to the Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, California. It was also announced that the program had its highest APR scores in program history since the APR's inception (973 multi year, 991 single year). This came after losing scholarships upon his arrival because of bad APR scores from the seasons before he arrived in College Park.

2015

On June 30, 2015, it was announced that the University of Maryland and Edsall had agreed upon a 3-year extension through 2019 worth 7.5 million dollars. On October 11, 2015, Edsall was relieved of his duties with offensive coordinator Mike Locksley named as the interim head coach for the rest of the 2015 season.[4]

Detroit Lions

2016

On January 31, 2016, Edsall was named director of football research-special projects for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Lions general manager Bob Quinn was a graduate assistant in the Connecticut athletic department when Edsall was the head coach for the Huskies in 1999.[5]

University of Connecticut (second stint)

2017

After a year of being away from college football, Edsall would return to Connecticut where he had previously been the head coach for 12 years.[6] During his first month back, Edsall created a media backlash by withdrawing a scholarship from linebacker Ryan Dickens, two weeks before signing day, who had verbally committed to Connecticut under fired head coach Bob Diaco.[7] Dickens later ended up at Lafayette, a lower level FCS school, adding to more questions regarding some of Diaco's recruiting and the need for change that brought back Edsall.

2018

In 2018 Edsall was involved in a controversy over nepotism in the Uconn Huskies football program and favoritism in the State General Assembly. The Hartford Courant reported that Public Act 18-175, a bill about State management of online data, included a one paragraph amendment to the end of the 11-page bill that read, “A state employee who is employed at a constituent unit of the state system of higher education and a member of the immediate family of such state employee may be employed in the same department or division of such constituent unit.”[8] It was alleged that this legislation had been introduced on behalf of Edsall so that he could employ his own son, Corey Edsall, against the recommendations of the State Ethics Committee. The plan was reportedly hatched during the Carmen Cozza all-state high school football banquet at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.[9] Joe Aresimowicz introduced the legislation that created a loophole for Edsall’s son after Edsall spoke to him about the matter. Aresimowicz didn’t deny that this was the motivation behind the legislation commented that “As a head coach for over 20 years I’ve talked to other coaches who say Corey is a first class coach and knows what he is doing,” he told the Hartford Courant. “I believe that UConn has the checks and balances in place to ensure that no one is taking advantage of this situation.”[10] In 2017 Uconn and Edsall had appealed the CT State Ethics Board ruling saying they violated the state’s nepotism laws by hiring his son as an assistant coach. After the change in legislation the appeal continued on its own merits.[citation needed]

In November of 2018, A Superior Court judge ruled that UConn did not violate state ethics codes when it hired Corey Edsall to be a coach on his father’s football staff. In a 41-page ruling, Judge Joseph Shortall said the state ethics board “abused its discretion” and was “clearly erroneous” in its key ruling in the case. [11]

Personal life

Edsall has two children, a son Corey Edsall who is now a coach at UConn after spending 2 years on the staff of Colorado, and a daughter, with his wife. He is a graduate of Syracuse University, where he played as a quarterback. His brother, Duke, is an NCAA basketball official.[12] Shortly after being fired by University of Maryland, he put his home in Fulton, Maryland up for sale for $975,000. He had purchased the home for $829,000 in 2011 and the home sold for $950,000 in 2016.[13]

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Connecticut Huskies (Atlantic 10 Conference) (1999)
1999 Connecticut 4–7 3–5 T–6th
Connecticut Huskies (NCAA Division I-A independent) (2000–2003)
2000 Connecticut 3–8
2001 Connecticut 2–9
2002 Connecticut 6–6
2003 Connecticut 9–3
Connecticut Huskies (Big East Conference) (2004–2011)
2004 Connecticut 8–4 3–3 T–5th W Motor City
2005 Connecticut 5–6 2–5 T–6th
2006 Connecticut 4–8 1–6 T–7th
2007 Connecticut 9–4 5–2 T–1st L Meineke Car Care
2008 Connecticut 8–5 3–4 5th W International
2009 Connecticut 8–5 3–4 T–4th W PapaJohns.com
2010 Connecticut 8–5 5–2 T–1st L Fiesta†
Maryland Terrapins (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2011–2013)
2011 Maryland 2–10 1–7 6th (Atlantic)
2012 Maryland 4–8 2–6 5th (Atlantic)
2013 Maryland 7–6 3–5 5th (Atlantic) L Military
Maryland Terrapins (Big Ten Conference) (2014–2015)
2014 Maryland 7–6 4–4 3rd (East) L Foster Farms
2015 Maryland 2–4 0–2 7th (East)
Maryland: 22–34 10–24
UConn Huskies (American Athletic Conference) (2017–2019)
2017 UConn 3–9 2–6 T–4th (East)
2018 UConn 1–11 0–8 6th (East)
2019 UConn 2–10 0–8 6th (East)
UConn Huskies (NCAA Division I FBS independent) (2020–present)
2020 Cancelled
Connecticut/UConn: 80–100 24–47
Total: 102–134
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
  • †Indicates BCS bowl.

References

  1. ^ https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/
  2. ^ Randy Edsall. Nndb.com. Retrieved on November 29, 2011.
  3. ^ "Maryland's Randy Edsall after win over Penn State: 'Let the rivalry begin'". Baltimore Sun. November 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  4. ^ "Edsall Relieved of Coaching Duties – Maryland Terrapins Athletics – University of Maryland Terps Official Athletic Site". Umterps.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  5. ^ Twentyman, Tim (January 31, 2016). "Lions add Randy Edsall to staff". Detroit Lions. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  6. ^ Anthony, Mike (December 28, 2016). "Randy Edsall Back At UConn: Coach Says He Should Have Done Things Differently When He Left". The Hartford Courant. Tribune Corporation. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  7. ^ Payne, Marissa. "Randy Edsall pulls commit's UConn football scholarship 2 weeks before signing day". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "Legislative Leader Slipped Amendment into Bill". courant.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  9. ^ Stuart, Christine. "Plan To Save Edsall's Job Was Hatched At High School Football Banquet". ctnewsjunkie.com. CT News Junkies. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  10. ^ Connolly, Daniel. "New Law May Allow Corey Edsall to Coach with UConn Football Connecticut State legislators sided with Edsall over the state's ethics board". theuconnblog.com. The UCONN blog. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  11. ^ "Judge Rules UConn Did Not Violate Ethics Law". courant.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "Edsall brothers work both sides of the whistle - College Football - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. December 27, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  13. ^ Frank, John. "Fired Maryland Football Coach Randy Edsall Selling $975K House". realtor.com News. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
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