Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)
After five years on the job, offensive coordinator Bill Cubit held a press conference to announce his retirement from coaching. Citing a desire to be closer to his family and son Ryan, the head coach at Western Michigan, the 69-year old Cubit elected to hang it up despite having another year on his contract.
UConn wasted little time deciding on his replacement, making the no-brainer hire in promoting quarterbacks coach Dan Orlovsky to the vacant position about an hour after Cubit announced his decision to Coach Belichick and athletic director Bobby Valentine. Orlovsky’s deal will reportedly be for three years and net him $500,000 per year as a base plus incentives.
Orlovsky who turns 40 later this year, still holds many passing records at UConn and has been the quarterback coach for two seasons. He has already helped coax a record breaking season out of Isaac Jackson during the national title run of 2021 while helping groom Jordan Brown into one of the better signal-callers in the nation. The former NFL veteran has also been key in the recruiting of Alex Ferguson this year, the second-ranked prep quarterback who has a soft verbal to UConn.
“It’s great to have a former pro player on staff to assist our recruiting and get our guys working with someone who has played at the top level before”, commented Valentine at the press conference. “Someone like Dan knows what it takes to play in the NFL and does a great job translating that knowledge and a contagious love of the game to our guys”.
“Of course, it’s a thrill to be back at my alma mater, but taking on a bigger responsibility is an honor”, commented Orlovsky. “I’ve worked well with A.D. Valentine and Coach Belichick so far, and I hope to fulfill the trust they have put in me as we keep working to bring UConn more success”.
Coach Cubit went on to comment how he feels that his position, as well as the program in general, “are in great hands” moving forward.
On the other side of the ball, UConn also announced a contract extension for defensive coordinator Don Pellum. The former Colorado head coach and longtime Oregon assistant joined the staff last year. On a performance level, the defense took a bit of a step back in 2022, but still posted a nation low total in terms of rushing yards per game and ranked in the top half of the nation in total yards allowed and scoring defense.
Pellum will be tasked with breaking in an almost entirely new lineup on defense next year, so Valentine likely thought an extension was justified for the sake of continuity. Pellum’s new four-year deal will net him $800,000 per year plus bonuses for undisclosed incentives.
A Brief History of UConn Coordinators:
OC:
2014-2015 - Mike Cummmings (now: ECU head coach)
2016 - Tim Albin (now: Illinois head coach)
2017 - Mike Denbrock (now: Auburn head coach)
2018-2022 - Bill Cubit (retired)
2023- - Dan Orlovsky
DC:
2014-2016 - Anthony Poindexter (now: Oklahoma defensive coordinator)
2017 - Marty English (now: Tennessee head coach)
2018-2020 - Barry Odom (now: Boise St. head coach)
2021 - Josh Conklin (now: Iowa head coach)
2022- - Don Pellum
We probably are starting to feel comfortable with Stephen Belichick as our head coach, having just completed his second year and with a national title in hand. However, he and athletic director Bobby Valentine have been quiet on a contract extension so far. Valentine addressed this at the press conference, noting that he intends to work on an extension soon, but Belichick has been too busy working on the team to talk just yet. The soon to be 37-year old Belichick signed a three-year deal worth $12 million when he was hired in January 2021, a deal set to expire at the close of next season. The $12 million was a base, and has likely increased in value due to incentives from winning the ACC and national title in his first year. Estimates show that Belichick could receive a raise pushing his salary near $30 million, more than Coach Bob Diaco made in his time at the school.
“Absolutely I want Coach here for the long-term, he’s the best guy for the job”, Valentine commented. “Hopefully he continues to feel comfortable through the next few years and we can get a long-term deal in place very soon”.
Belichick has not commented on a contract other than a statement that he “enjoys being where he is”, a good sign for UConn fans moving forward.
I enjoy doing it and it's a nice way for newer readers like both of you to be in touch with what happened in past seasons, especially as going through this thread is certainly not an easy feat. I also used to not keep career stats, SB, but did exactly what you mentioned, piece together info from past seasons and do some "light" math LOL.
While we did get some nice pieces in the '18 class, it certainly did not live up to what I thought it could be. The 2017 class turned out better and the 2019 class is probably better as a whole also. The 2019 class included Shav Wade, J.P. Byers, Devin Brown, Kevin Jones,Vic Castalanetta and several other quality players with the only real bust being Tony Rush (and maybe Drew Talley, but the jury is still out on him).
I must say, though, that this next year will be a little sad for sentimental people like myself as we'll be graduating the last pieces of the final recruiting class before the thread's hiatus --- September 2015 in real time. Very sad for me anyway...
Cubit announces retirement, Orlovsky promoted; Pellum receives extension
After five years on the job, offensive coordinator Bill Cubit held a press conference to announce his retirement from coaching. Citing a desire to be closer to his family and son Ryan, the head coach at Western Michigan, the 69-year old Cubit elected to hang it up despite having another year on his contract.
UConn wasted little time deciding on his replacement, making the no-brainer hire in promoting quarterbacks coach Dan Orlovsky to the vacant position about an hour after Cubit announced his decision to Coach Belichick and athletic director Bobby Valentine. Orlovsky’s deal will reportedly be for three years and net him $500,000 per year as a base plus incentives.
Orlovsky who turns 40 later this year, still holds many passing records at UConn and has been the quarterback coach for two seasons. He has already helped coax a record breaking season out of Isaac Jackson during the national title run of 2021 while helping groom Jordan Brown into one of the better signal-callers in the nation. The former NFL veteran has also been key in the recruiting of Alex Ferguson this year, the second-ranked prep quarterback who has a soft verbal to UConn.
“It’s great to have a former pro player on staff to assist our recruiting and get our guys working with someone who has played at the top level before”, commented Valentine at the press conference. “Someone like Dan knows what it takes to play in the NFL and does a great job translating that knowledge and a contagious love of the game to our guys”.
“Of course, it’s a thrill to be back at my alma mater, but taking on a bigger responsibility is an honor”, commented Orlovsky. “I’ve worked well with A.D. Valentine and Coach Belichick so far, and I hope to fulfill the trust they have put in me as we keep working to bring UConn more success”.
Coach Cubit went on to comment how he feels that his position, as well as the program in general, “are in great hands” moving forward.
On the other side of the ball, UConn also announced a contract extension for defensive coordinator Don Pellum. The former Colorado head coach and longtime Oregon assistant joined the staff last year. On a performance level, the defense took a bit of a step back in 2022, but still posted a nation low total in terms of rushing yards per game and ranked in the top half of the nation in total yards allowed and scoring defense.
Pellum will be tasked with breaking in an almost entirely new lineup on defense next year, so Valentine likely thought an extension was justified for the sake of continuity. Pellum’s new four-year deal will net him $800,000 per year plus bonuses for undisclosed incentives.
A Brief History of UConn Coordinators:
OC:
2014-2015 - Mike Cummmings (now: ECU head coach)
2016 - Tim Albin (now: Illinois head coach)
2017 - Mike Denbrock (now: Auburn head coach)
2018-2022 - Bill Cubit (retired)
2023- - Dan Orlovsky
DC:
2014-2016 - Anthony Poindexter (now: Oklahoma defensive coordinator)
2017 - Marty English (now: Tennessee head coach)
2018-2020 - Barry Odom (now: Boise St. head coach)
2021 - Josh Conklin (now: Iowa head coach)
2022- - Don Pellum
Belichick, UConn still do not have extension in place
We probably are starting to feel comfortable with Stephen Belichick as our head coach, having just completed his second year and with a national title in hand. However, he and athletic director Bobby Valentine have been quiet on a contract extension so far. Valentine addressed this at the press conference, noting that he intends to work on an extension soon, but Belichick has been too busy working on the team to talk just yet. The soon to be 37-year old Belichick signed a three-year deal worth $12 million when he was hired in January 2021, a deal set to expire at the close of next season. The $12 million was a base, and has likely increased in value due to incentives from winning the ACC and national title in his first year. Estimates show that Belichick could receive a raise pushing his salary near $30 million, more than Coach Bob Diaco made in his time at the school.
“Absolutely I want Coach here for the long-term, he’s the best guy for the job”, Valentine commented. “Hopefully he continues to feel comfortable through the next few years and we can get a long-term deal in place very soon”.
Belichick has not commented on a contract other than a statement that he “enjoys being where he is”, a good sign for UConn fans moving forward.
Next: Coach Carousel/CAC Job Changes
I enjoy doing it and it's a nice way for newer readers like both of you to be in touch with what happened in past seasons, especially as going through this thread is certainly not an easy feat. I also used to not keep career stats, SB, but did exactly what you mentioned, piece together info from past seasons and do some "light" math LOL.
While we did get some nice pieces in the '18 class, it certainly did not live up to what I thought it could be. The 2017 class turned out better and the 2019 class is probably better as a whole also. The 2019 class included Shav Wade, J.P. Byers, Devin Brown, Kevin Jones,Vic Castalanetta and several other quality players with the only real bust being Tony Rush (and maybe Drew Talley, but the jury is still out on him).
I must say, though, that this next year will be a little sad for sentimental people like myself as we'll be graduating the last pieces of the final recruiting class before the thread's hiatus --- September 2015 in real time. Very sad for me anyway...
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