The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)

Spanos, UConn coaches receive terminatio­n notices

- By Paul Doyle

UConn’s interim head football coach Lou Spanos is dutifully leading a winless team through a difficult season, yet his employment status at the school will expire in just over five months.

Spanos and the entire UConn coaching staff was notified on Sept. 27 that their employment agreements will be terminated after the season. Spanos was elevated from defensive coordinato­r to interim head coach when Randy Edsall resigned on Sept. 6.

But two weeks later, the coaches received a letter from athletic director David Benedict informing them that will not be retained when the season ends. UConn is conducting a search for a new head coach, who will hired his own coaching staff.

Spanos and offensive coordinato­r Frank Giufre had contracts that ran through Jan. 14, 2023. But the letters from Benedict — obtained by Hearst Connecticu­t Media via a Freedom of Informatio­n request — notified the coaches that they “will be terminated on March 26, 2022” in accordance with the employment agreement and the collective bargaining agreement between the school and the union representi­ng the coaches.

“Your salary and benefits, including your car allowance, will be continued through March 26, 2022,” the letters to Spanos and Giufre state. “You will be required to resign from UConn, however, and forfeit any remaining salary and benefits before commencing full-time employment elsewhere before March 26, 2022.”

The contracts for the rest of the staff ran through Jan. 14, 2022. All but three — co-recruiting coordinato­r and defensive line coach Dennis Dottin-Carer, corecruiti­ng coordinato­r and wide receivers coach Aaron Smith, and tight ends coach Corey Edsall — were informed their contracts would not be renewed beyond Jan. 14. Dottin-Carter, Smith and Corey Edsall were told their contracts will not be renewed beyond Jan. 25.

Corey Edsall is the son of former head coach Randy Edsall.

The letters did mention

the possibilit­y that the coaches could be hired by the next coach.

“This decision is based on the recent change in Head Coach and you may be eligible for rehire or continuati­on at the discretion of the new Head Coach in consultati­on with me,” Benedict wrote.

According to the collective bargaining agreement between UConn and the

school’s chapter of the American Associatio­n of University Professors (AAUP), employees with at least a year of service must be given 180 calendar days of notice if they are terminated following a head coach terminated before the end of their contract. Employees with less than a year of service require 90 days notice.

UConn is 0-6 and set to face winless UMass Saturday in Amherst. The Huskies began the season with a 45-0 loss at Fresno State

before falling to Holy Cross of the lower-level Football Championsh­ip Series.

Edsall left after the Holy Cross loss. UConn lost 49-0 to Purdue and 52-21 at Army.

But the team has shown a spark under Spanos with a 24-22 loss to Wyoming and a last-second 30-28 loss at Vanderbilt, an SEC program.

Spanos came to UConn in 2019 after working at Alabama following a fouryear stint as an analyst with the NFL’s Tennessee

Titans. He was defensive coordinato­r for UCLA and previously worked for Washington and Pittsburgh in the NFL.

Giufre came to UConn as offensive line coach in 2018 and was promoted to offensive coordinato­r in 2019. With the offensive struggling to score points, UConn has been using analyst Noel Mazzone — a longtime college offensive coach — as a consultant.

 ?? Mark Humphrey / Associated Press ?? UConn coach Lou Spanos talks to field judge Jay Brown during Saturday’s loss at Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Mark Humphrey / Associated Press UConn coach Lou Spanos talks to field judge Jay Brown during Saturday’s loss at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States