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Rocco made a bad decision and is the biggest loser in all of this

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MountainSpider

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He could have stayed here another year and had decent FBS offers after another run in the playoffs. Nothing is guaranteed him at Delaware and he could easily be mired in mediocrity for a few years. He isn't going to sniff FBS offers that way and even if he eventually turns it around, he will still be that much older then.

In all likelihood Richmond will hire another great coach like Huesman, continue with their planned upgrades, and be just fine.
 
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he said, believe him, it was time to move on, did it at liberty, did it here and will do it again. he builds a program up and then departs. appreciate what and how he did it here but certainly not going to pull for him to do it there.
 
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IMHO, Rocco started talking to Delware as leverage, then Delaware leaked it. Once that occurred he almost had to make the move. I do not think he intended to leave.
 
Delaware is being intentional. Their hire of Rawak stated this loud and clear.

We could find ourselves looking up at UD in the standings fairly soon. Of course I hope that doesn't happen.

UD trucked us in our new house the year after we were one play away from a semifinal against a team whose number we had.
 
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Couldn't agree more with the OP.

Like Choppin said in the other thread, 'it's not me, it's you'...
 
MountainSpider said:
He could have stayed here another year and had decent FBS offers after another run in the playoffs. Nothing is guaranteed him at Delaware and he could easily be mired in mediocrity for a few years. He isn't going to sniff FBS offers that way and even if he eventually turns it around, he will still be that much older then.

In all likelihood Richmond will hire another great coach like Huesman, continue with their planned upgrades, and be just fine.
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What a stupid thing to believe. Rocco is going to awaken Delaware and take them beyond what they used to be and it won't take very long. We are going to get beaten badly by them for a while and Rocco is going to laugh at gill as he trounces us every year. We will not recover from this for a while. Rocco is maybe the 2nd best coach at the FCS level next to the guy at NDSU, we will not be able to replace him. This will not be a fun few years.
 
VT_Spider said:
What a stupid thing to believe. Rocco is going to awaken Delaware and take them beyond what they used to be and it won't take very long. We are going to get beaten badly by them for a while and Rocco is going to laugh at gill as he trounces us every year. We will not recover from this for a while. Rocco is maybe the 2nd best coach at the FCS level next to the guy at NDSU, we will not be able to replace him. This will not be a fun few years.
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That can be and for me is a likely outcome. We'll know pretty quickly. Do you fire an tele commute AD. You hire a real coach and you fix the problem with the facilities
 
I-M-UR said:
That can be and for me is a likely outcome. We'll know pretty quickly. Do you fire an tele commute AD. You hire a real coach and you fix the problem with the facilities
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He doesn't commute he lives right down the street from me in countryside. I think we'll know pretty quickly but unfortunately it's not going to be Huesman and it's going to be somebody that leaves us thinking, "who"?
 
ChoppinBroccoli said:
Wow, with all this "indecision" Coach Rocco sure found time to get into that hype video @DelawareFB.
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The truth always comes out in the end. Our illustrious AD is holding his u know what when it's time to find a coach. This is looking like this was real bad blood and a lot of payback
 
Don't know what the future holds until it happens. Huesman could end up here - we should know tomorrow. As far as the future of where Delaware and Richmond will be in the CAA standings that is a work in progress that has to play out.
 
VT_Spider said:
What a stupid thing to believe. Rocco is going to awaken Delaware and take them beyond what they used to be and it won't take very long. We are going to get beaten badly by them for a while and Rocco is going to laugh at gill as he trounces us every year. We will not recover from this for a while. Rocco is maybe the 2nd best coach at the FCS level next to the guy at NDSU, we will not be able to replace him. This will not be a fun few years.
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Do you always overreact like this?
We will be fine. It is insulting to suggest that a coach has one iota of the importance of a university or even a program. Rocco was a coach, a good one, but just a coach. He was with us for a while. Now he is not. We will replace him and endure the temporary difficulties inherent in any change of coaches. Thereafter, we will be better than ever.
 
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iSpider said:
Do you always overreact like this?
We will be fine. It is insulting to suggest that a coach has one iota of the importance of a university or even a program. Rocco was a coach, a good one, but just a coach. He was with us for a while. Now he is not. We will replace him and endure the temporary difficulties inherent in any change of coaches. Thereafter, we will be better than ever.
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I don't see how you can think we will be better than ever after this. If we hire Huesman then there is a chance that we could be but if not then we will slip into obscurity very quickly. Rocco is the reason that we are where we are now and losing him means we could fall back where we were before.
 
VT_Spider said:
What a stupid thing to believe. Rocco is going to awaken Delaware and take them beyond what they used to be and it won't take very long. We are going to get beaten badly by them for a while and Rocco is going to laugh at gill as he trounces us every year. We will not recover from this for a while. Rocco is maybe the 2nd best coach at the FCS level next to the guy at NDSU, we will not be able to replace him. This will not be a fun few years.
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You were ready to throw in the towel on this season after we lost to JMU. You're emotional -- give yourself time to process the news and you might have a different perspective.

I'll say it again -- Rocco is guaranteed nothing at Delaware and will probably be dealing with a different type of student-athlete than he is used to.

As for us, even if KG is not a very good AD, he can probably still manage to find us a top notch coach. If that doesn't happen, then I'll be worried.
 
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VT_Spider said:
I don't see how you can think we will be better than ever after this. If we hire Huesman then there is a chance that we could be but if not then we will slip into obscurity very quickly. Rocco is the reason that we are where we are now and losing him means we could fall back where we were before.
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fall back where? the 1 year before we were bad you're right. 1 year. Quite a long time. Go back 3 years prior to Rocco - 3 whole years - and we were coming off a national title and 17 straight wins.

Look Rocco can coach, I wish it didn't go the way it did with admin etc., but he's gone. There are lot of good coaches & now we need one. My expectation is we'll get it, if we don't then yes we'll be in trouble.
 
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GKiller said:
fall back where? the 1 year before we were bad you're right. 1 year. Quite a long time. Go back 3 years prior to Rocco - 3 whole years - and we were coming off a national title and 17 straight wins.

Look Rocco can coach, I wish it didn't go the way it did with admin etc., but he's gone. There are lot of good coaches & now we need one. My expectation is we'll get it, if we don't then yes we'll be in trouble.
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The one losing year in the past 12, when our coach resigned got fired the week before the season began.
 
sdspider said:
The bottom line in all of this is we should not lose one of our best coaches to a lateral move in the same conference. Something is not right in Richmond.
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Rocco did not leave Richmond, Richmond (specifically Gill and the higher ups) left Rocco. He did not want to leave, promises were made and not delivered, the upgrades in the RC have been promised since he got to Richmond and are no closer to reality today than they were 5 years ago. Other things like scholly's not covering summer school, lack of gear, etc. ultimately became too much for Rocco. When you continue to fight the same fights with your bosses every year, eventually you get tired and look for employment elsewhere.
Yes, UR is a great school, it has a lot to offer recruits, it most likely will hire a quality coach who will be successful to a degree, but he will eventually grow tired of the restrictions Rocco grew tired of and move on. You can only sell so many 18 year olds on the superior education of UR when they go to JMU, W and M, and other FCS schools and recruiters tell them, "Yea UR is a good school, but we pay for your summer school," or "Yea, but look at the gear you get every year here compared to Richmond," or " Yea, but look at our weight room and locker room compared to Richmond". These are the realities any new coach will face just like Rocco and his staff did. I guess what I'm saying is this should be a wake up call to the powers-that-be that they better be ready to step up and not just pay lip service to improving these things. Time will tell if Gill's press conference today was merely PR spin and lip service, or hopefully something much more.
 
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VT_Spider said:
What a stupid thing to believe. Rocco is going to awaken Delaware and take them beyond what they used to be and it won't take very long. We are going to get beaten badly by them for a while and Rocco is going to laugh at gill as he trounces us every year. We will not recover from this for a while. Rocco is maybe the 2nd best coach at the FCS level next to the guy at NDSU, we will not be able to replace him. This will not be a fun few years.
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If Rocco was so great, why is he now taking his 3rd HC job at the FCS level? Also consider DR coached the three biggest playoff losses in Richmond history! Embarrassing playoff losses at Coastal Carolina, NDSU and EWU!!
 
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Spidergate said:
If Rocco was so great, why is he now taking his 3rd HC job at the FCS level? Also consider DR coached the three biggest playoff losses in Richmond history! Embarrassing playoff losses at Coastal Carolina, NDSU and EWU!!
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If you cannot recognize that Rocco is a great coach , I can't help you. He is the only coach in UR history to go to the playoffs 3 straight years, he won friggin' 20 games in the last 2 years, anyone who knows football and saw what he did this year with the injuries and adversity he faced knows he is a great one. Call him a quitter, two faced, a Benedict Arnold, whatever (none of which are true BTW), but not a great coach? You've got no idea what you're talking about.
 
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Liberty fans said the knock on him was that he could not win the big one.
 
WolfSpider said:
If you cannot recognize that Rocco is a great coach , I can't help you. He is the only coach in UR history to go to the playoffs 3 straight years, he won friggin' 20 games in the last 2 years, anyone who knows football and saw what he did this year with the injuries and adversity he faced knows he is a great one. Call him a quitter, two faced, a Benedict Arnold, whatever (none of which are true BTW), but not a great coach? You've got no idea what you're talking about.
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Wolf...you didn't answer the question.....if a great coach why is he taking the third straight HC job at FCS level. And just maybe .....assistant coaches deserve a huge amount of credit????
 
Spidergate said:
Wolf...you didn't answer the question.....if a great coach why is he taking the third straight HC job at FCS level. And just maybe .....assistant coaches deserve a huge amount of credit????
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I aswered the question of whether he was a great coach. Also, he's never had a losing season. Why it's his third FCS job after two five year stints elsewhere? That's a separate question. Has nothing to do if he's a great coach. Why he left Liberty? I have no idea. Why he left UR? I think I was pretty clear on why I think he did.
No doubt his assistants deserve a huge amount of credit, that's why he's taking most of them with him to UD. Also great coaches attract great, quality assistants. It's another example of why Rocco is a great coach. Thanks for helping me to prove my point.
 
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no question that DR is a very good coach and proud of how he built our program back up and the way in which he did it but we had DC, my fav, and he took us to new heights and then ML who won a national championship. both guys departed for power 5 conf jobs before they could do even more. hopefully we will obtain a guy who can keep this train running and keep us up at the top. you doom and gloom people ought to move on
 
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I know lot's of folks in the Hill City. Danny had a falling out with their AD as well. It all started with his reinstatement of a player who broke some school rules. Sound familiar? Eerily so. Look it up.
 
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WolfSpider said:
I aswered the question of whether he was a great coach. Also, he's never had a losing season. Why it's his third FCS job after two five year stints elsewhere? That's a separate question. Has nothing to do if he's a great coach. Why he left Liberty? I have no idea. Why he left UR? I think I was pretty clear on why I think he did.
No doubt his assistants deserve a huge amount of credit, that's why he's taking most of them with him to UD. Also great coaches attract great, quality assistants. It's another example of why Rocco is a great coach. Thanks for helping me to prove my point.
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Not so fast Wolf......he had three Offensive coordinators in 3 years! Lost his def. coordinator also last year. Remains to be seen who stays at UR or goes to become a Hen with Rocco.
 
whampas said:
I know lot's of folks in the Hill City. Danny had a falling out with their AD as well. It all started with his reinstatement of a player who broke some school rules. Sound familiar? Eerily so. Look it up.
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Yeah and he had all the great facilities and weight room at LU that he cried about to John O'Connor......not much sympathy here for Coach's digging himself a hole!!
 
Have you seen the new UD Promo Video? Guess Coach had time to film his segment while he was "taking time to examine his options..." it's on the UD Twitter feed..
 
College Drive said:
Have you seen the new UD Promo Video? Guess Coach had time to film his segment while he was "taking time to examine his options..." it's on the UD Twitter feed..
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Think Rocco made the UD promo before or after Temple told him to beat it?
 
Spidergate said:
Not so fast Wolf......he had three Offensive coordinators in 3 years! Lost his def. coordinator also last year. Remains to be seen who stays at UR or goes to become a Hen with Rocco.
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What's your point? Two OC's left to go to their FBS Alma Maters (Clemson and Air Force - don't forget Steed!), one left to take an FCS head coaching job, and we now have (had) Garrett, a former FBS OC at Oregon State. It's been widely reported that Trott left for 25k more a year and a three year contract that Gill wouldn't match, much to Rocco's chagrin. Good assistants left for good reasons, good assistants came. Good coaches have assistants leave for better jobs and attract good assistants to replace them. This is Rocco.
I personally hope that all of Rocco's assistants stay. Who wants to move from Richmond to Delaware? It's not realistic though, most will go because he's a good head coach, is a good leader, and creates a good work atmosphere. Coaching is a fraternity and Rocco has a reputation of a HC you want to work for.
 
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We just spent a ton of money renovating the Robins Center. Upgrades are forthcoming at Pitt Field. We've upgraded facilities on the WC side of campus. Before than, we spent millions building an on-campus FB stadium.

I have no doubt that in the near future football will get its new locker room/weight room, etc. But sometimes you have to wait your turn.

As for complaints about gear, etc., I have never heard boo about this until this past week. The adult in me asks, "What prepares you better for a successful future, an unlimited supply of gloves at JMU, or a UR education?", but kids see things differently than we old geezers. They often choose glitz over substance.

He is an excellent coach. And I believe he thought he could never win a national title given our recruiting parameters, and started looking for a place where he could get almost anyone he wanted into school. Delaware just happened to be the first opportunity. Everything else is a smokescreen.

To say he did not want to leave is a falsehood. He chose to leave, so I can only assume it was because he wanted to.

Thanks for your service, good luck, and we'll do fine without you.
 
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I think the tweets from former student-athletes is very telling. I know they were made in the heat of the moment, but they all were level-headed tweets. I think Gill is either an empty suit or an incredible salesmen of himself to get the job in the first place. this is his first real big decision he's had to make. today didn't give me any confidence.

We don't know how much Rocco is making at Delaware. If it's double what he was making here, then he moved for the money, plain and simple. Maybe he doesn't have high aspirations, and at his age , he didn't want to go through the song and dance at an FBS university. Delaware gave him an opportunity and his agent opened the door for him. This seems like a scenario where the morale is low at your current job, and you just want to move for the sake of moving to a different company to start over. To me, Rocco did just that. Anyone who says that morale is high at the UR athletic shop is either a super homer or hasn't been paying attention.
 
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iSpider said:
Do you always overreact like this?
We will be fine. It is insulting to suggest that a coach has one iota of the importance of a university or even a program. Rocco was a coach, a good one, but just a coach. He was with us for a while. Now he is not. We will replace him and endure the temporary difficulties inherent in any change of coaches. Thereafter, we will be better than ever.
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You have faith in Gill to make this hire? He hasn't had to make a tough decision yet in his job other than to approve what color napkins go in the Presidents suite. He seemed ill prepared at the press conference today that HE called.
 
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WolfSpider said:
What's your point? Two OC's left to go to their Alma Maters (Clemson and Air Force - don't forget Steed!), one left to take an FCS head coaching job, and we now have (had) Garrett. It's been widely reported that Trott left for 25k more a year and a three year contract that Gill wouldn't match, much to Rocco's chagrin. Good assistants left for good reasons, good assistants came. Good coaches have assistants leave for better jobs and attract good assistants to replace them. This is Rocco.
I personally hope that all of Rocco's assistants stay. Who wants to move from Richmond to Delaware? It's not realistic though, most will go because he's a good head coach, is a good leader, and creates a good work atmosphere. Coaching is a fraternity and Rocco has a reputation of a HC you want to work for.
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AND it comes with more$$&&. Delaware had to sweeten the asst coaches salary pot. Their AD is very aggressive (does she have a sister)
 
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