2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeFB | Wanted
Many have pegged Randy Edsall as a logical choice for SU's next coach
By Andy McCullough
Posted: 11/13/08, 11:31 PM EST Section: Sports
Randy Edsall was always smart. Dick MacPherson, his former boss, remembers that much. Edsall spent 10 years as an assistant when MacPherson was head coach of the Syracuse football team from 1980 to 1990.
Edsall trailed around all the future head coaches on MacPherson's staff, the youngest talented assistant on a staff full of young talented assistants over the years.
"Wherever Jimmy Tressel went, wherever Gary Blackney went, he followed," MacPherson said. "And when they left here in two years - they both went to Ohio State - he learned how to operate. And did."
Edsall also worked with current Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and Central Florida head coach George O'Leary. Before he got a chance to run his own program, Connecticut, he learned in their presence.
During his last 10 years as head coach, he's molded the Huskies into a Big East contender. Syracuse gets to see the fruits of Edsall's labors when the Orange (2-7, 1-4 Big East) plays Connecticut (6-3, 2-2 Big East) on Saturday at the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m.
Edsall left SU in 1991, tagging along with fellow Syracuse alum Coughlin to Boston College. Edsall hasn't come back since. He followed Coughlin to the Jacksonville Jaguars, spent a year at Georgia Tech with O'Leary, and then took over at UConn in 1999.
But his name continues to circulate in Central New York. With head coach Greg Robinson's fate at Syracuse more or less decided - he is 9-35 as a head coach these past four years - Edsall is at the top of many SU fans' wish lists.
Late last month, The New York Times reported that Syracuse, through a consulting firm, gauged Edsall's interest in replacing Robinson at season's end. Both the Syracuse athletic department and the consulting firm, Neinas Sports Services, denied the report to The Daily Orange.
"I never comment on any clients, unless they announce it," said Chuck Neinas, head of Neinas Sports Services. "And so anything that you would hear would be pure speculation."
Edsall trailed around all the future head coaches on MacPherson's staff, the youngest talented assistant on a staff full of young talented assistants over the years.
"Wherever Jimmy Tressel went, wherever Gary Blackney went, he followed," MacPherson said. "And when they left here in two years - they both went to Ohio State - he learned how to operate. And did."
Edsall also worked with current Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and Central Florida head coach George O'Leary. Before he got a chance to run his own program, Connecticut, he learned in their presence.
During his last 10 years as head coach, he's molded the Huskies into a Big East contender. Syracuse gets to see the fruits of Edsall's labors when the Orange (2-7, 1-4 Big East) plays Connecticut (6-3, 2-2 Big East) on Saturday at the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m.
Edsall left SU in 1991, tagging along with fellow Syracuse alum Coughlin to Boston College. Edsall hasn't come back since. He followed Coughlin to the Jacksonville Jaguars, spent a year at Georgia Tech with O'Leary, and then took over at UConn in 1999.
But his name continues to circulate in Central New York. With head coach Greg Robinson's fate at Syracuse more or less decided - he is 9-35 as a head coach these past four years - Edsall is at the top of many SU fans' wish lists.
Late last month, The New York Times reported that Syracuse, through a consulting firm, gauged Edsall's interest in replacing Robinson at season's end. Both the Syracuse athletic department and the consulting firm, Neinas Sports Services, denied the report to The Daily Orange.
"I never comment on any clients, unless they announce it," said Chuck Neinas, head of Neinas Sports Services. "And so anything that you would hear would be pure speculation."
Be the first to comment on this story