The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
McCarthy settling in as coach
Former offensive coordinator ignores ‘interim’ tag
His professional life changed in late January, when Ryan McCarthy was handed the keys to the program after Central Connecticut head coach Pete Rossomando left for an assistant coaching job at Rutgers.
McCarthy, Central’s offensive coordinator, was named head coach. Make that “interim head coach.”
Seven months later, the Blue Devils are set to open their season at Fordham (Saturday, 6 p.m.) and McCarthy is feeling upbeat about his team. He talks about the leadership and experience, the talent and the poise on his roster, and just how well his players have practiced leading up to the season.
One word not rattling around his head? Interim.
“To be honest with you, I don’t even know what interim means,” McCarthy said. “I’m in the head coach’s chair right now. That’s the way I approach it.”
McCarthy, a Vermont native, is marching ahead as if he’ll be in that chair for a long time. He’s embracing the demands of the big job — he’s now the face of the program — and is enjoying a position he’s aspired to fill throughout his coaching career.
Really, he’s been preparing for years.
As a 13year assistant at Albany, McCarthy rose to associate head coach under longtime coach Bob Ford. He was viewed as the head coaching waiting as Albany posted 17 wins over two seasons with McCarthy as
the associate coach.
But a 111 season in 2013 sent the administration down another path. Greg Gattuso, an assistant under Randy Edsall at Maryland, was hired. McCarthy was retained as an assistant, but he departed for Central in 2015.
Fast forward to 2019 and another opportunity emerged.
“I had been preparing to be a head coach, but until you’re put in that position you don’t really know,” McCarthy said. “There are so many things that go into it. Things you do behind the scenes. My world went from being 10 percent administration and 90 percent football. Now it’s the opposite.”
Central is coming off a 65 season after an 8win campaign in 2017. McCarthy’s presence was notable as the man in charge of an offense that produced quarterback Jake Dolegala (8,129 yards, 48 touchdowns in four years), who is bidding for a roster spot with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The replacement will be Aaron Winchester, a graduate transfer from Georgia Southern. Winchester was a backup at Georgia Southern, yet he served as a captain.
And even though he’s only been in New Britain since the spring, his new teammates have voted him captain.
“He’s exactly what we had hoped he would be,” McCarthy said. “He was knocking on the door Memorial Day weekend to start watching film. It hasn’t changed since that day. He’s a student of the game, highly attentive, great leadership skills. … He brings that much needed command of the offense. He’s been here a short period of time but he’s like having another coach on the field. He’s very intelligent.
“Thank God we have him. Obviously the kid going out the door had a lot of experience and there was a lot of talent going out that door. But I think this kid is a good football player.”
Central has an experienced offensive line — anchored by FCS preseason AllAmerican and Norwich native J’Von Brown — and McCarthy is confident in the talent at the skill positions. The defense is also experienced, with Anonsia’s Tajik Bagley leading the backfield.
Brown, Bagley, offensive linemen Connor Mignone (Redding) and Cole Phelps (Wolcott), and receiver Tyshaun James (Middletown) are among 39 Connecticut players on the Central roster. The Blue Devils, picked to finish third in the Northeast Conference, have mined the state for talent year after year, a recruiting tactic that won’t change under McCarthy.
“It all starts with recruiting from the inside out in Connecticut,” McCarthy said. “If you look at our roster, it’s flooded with Connecticut kids. … I think the quality of the football in terms of the coaching and the talent in Connecticut is really good.”
Even Central’s coaching staff has some state presence — Hamden’s Abbott Burrell joined McCarthy after 21 years at Brown. Burrell, part of the state’s athletic first family, is defensive backs coach/academic coordinator.
Burrell played football at UConn in the 1980s, back when the program was Division IAA and chasing the best players in the state. UConn continued to pursue instate talent as it moved to Division IA under Edsall, but the emphasis on state recruiting drifted in recent years.
McCarthy sees that changing.
“I think when (former coach Bob) Diaco was there, they probably didn’t recruit as hard in the state as Randy (Edsall) is right now,” McCarthy said. “We were able to get some of those guys that UConn may have taken a shot on. That’s helped us. … But there a lot of good players. You just have find them.”