[h1]Mark Whipple Interested in UConn Job[/h1][h2]He Coached At New Haven, UMass And In The NFL[/h2]Naturally,
Mark Whipple, a former head coach at New Haven and UMass, is interested in the
UConn job.
"I'd be very interested. It's a great place," Whipple said by phone Wednesday. "I lived there awhile back. It's a great state."
Whipple would not say if he has been contacted about the job.
"I haven't been back there since a few years ago, but I know they've done great things at UConn. I've seen Rentschler [Field] and the new facility. Everything I've been seeing is great."
Whipple, 53, known as an imaginative offensive coach, spent the past two seasons at the
University of Miami as an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, but he was not retained when Al Golden was hired to replace
Randy Shannon as the Hurricanes' coach.
His son, Spencer, is a backup quarterback for Miami, which finished 7-5 this past season and was 9-4 in 2009.
"We didn't win a national championship," Whipple said. "That's what you go there for. It was great. Great kids, great place. We were pretty good, not good enough, and the clock ran out on us. But that's in the past. You move forward. It's the nature of the beast nowadays."
Whipple is certainly moving forward. Some close to the search say Whipple is more than just interested in replacing
Randy Edsall at UConn.
The word is he's extremely interested.
"I think Randy Edsall did a tremendous job," Whipple said. "When I was at UMass, UConn made the move [to upgrade the program] in 2000. I liked the vision they saw for the future. Yeah, it's a great place, a great place to live, great state. My two children were born in Connecticut — a lot of positives."
Whipple has spent nearly 30 years at the collegiate and pro levels. In 2008, he was an assistant coach with the
Philadelphia Eagles, who reached the
NFC Championship Game. As the quarterbacks coach for the
Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004-06, he was instrumental in the development of
Ben Roethlisberger, who was undefeated (13-0) as a starter in 2004 — a first for an
NFL rookie — and led his team to a
Super Bowl championship the following season.
But folks around these parts are more familiar with Whipple's record in New England. He is 121-59 after stops at UMass, Brown, his alma mater, and New Haven.
At UMass, Whipple was 49-26 in six seasons (1998-2003) and led the Minutemen to the Division I-AA national championship in his first year, posting a school-record 12 wins. He was named national coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association in 1998 and received Atlantic10 coach of the year honors in 2003. He was picked as the New England coach of the year by the New England Football Writers and the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston in '98 and '03. Nine of his players were I-AA first-team All-Americans.
Whipple was 24-16 at Brown from 1994-97 and didn't have a losing season. He coached Division II New Haven to a 48-17 record from1988-93, leading the Chargers to back-to-back playoff appearances in 1992 and '93.
Whipple's offenses have put up big numbers every place he has been. In 2009, his first season at Miami, the Hurricanes had more than 5,000 yards of total offense for the first time since winning the national title in 2001. Last season, Miami's rushing offense improved to 26th nationally and the passing offense ranked 49th. But UM quarterbacks also led the nation in interceptions.
At UConn, Whipple knows recruiting would be critical, but he's confident he has the solid connections.
"Recruiting is tough everywhere," Whipple said with a laugh. "There are great coaches out there everywhere, great recruiters, so whether you're in New England or Los Angeles, wherever it is, it's such a competitive business. So it's all about building relationships."
And not so much about leaning on history or tradition to land players.
"I think kids don't know history that well," he said. "More kids will know UConn played Oklahoma in the Fiesta bowl then will know **** Jauron was a great player at Yale. That's just how they are.
"I think [coaching is] about people and relationships. Good players are everywhere; there are a lot of good players in New England. It's how you coach them and how you treat people."
Whipple said when he thinks about UConn, he often reflects on the upgrade to Division I-A.
"No question it was a tremendous move," he said. "You get a chance to play in a
BCS game, be in the
Big East Conference, a BCS conference … the exposure they get. I think they had great vision. And all the planning and thoughts they had are coming to fruition. I think it's a tremendous place and they are doing a lot of tremendous things with athletics, academics. It seems like every time you go there, there's a new building or some new construction going in — very progressive atmosphere up there."
