Re: UNH Wildcats 2017/2018 - Umile's Last Stand - The Grand Finale
Serious question, from a different viewpoint ... does Coach Umile have a legitimate basis to be disappointed (at the very least) with the performance to date of Coach Souza? And to a lesser degree, Coach Stewart??
Several of us (myself included) were pushing Coach Umile to bring in new blood in the latter years of his tenure. Maybe he was late to the party, and maybe it was pushed on him by BS35+5 ... and clearly, the choice of Souza over Stewart (and to bypass a national search) has to be laid at Coach Umile's doorstep. But considering all that ... I can't help but think that down deep, Umile has to be disappointed at just how little support he's gotten from his current assistants - and especially from Souza. Thoughts?
Again, guessing from tea leaves. First, I doubt Marty knew who Souza was, so the choice was driven by, not pushed on him, Umile. From the snippets we heard, my current understanding is that Umile had a "lifetime" contract, which sounds like it was a 10 year deal in 2000, followed by automatic (Mutual options?) five year renewals. After 2010, Borek thought he was next in line after the five year deal expired and Umile retired. Instead, Umile wanted to stay on in 2015, and as a compromise to a five year renewal, Marty got him to agree to a three year deal but with the promise it had to have a fixed transition. Umile picked Souza and Borek left.
Second, Umile has never mentored any young coaches. He has given fatherly advice, been the Don to put in a good word for former players at Brown, but has never (to my knowledge) actually worked with youngsters, as volunteer assistants (I think Bragnalo might have had that title one year, but was mostly administrative). So Umile really had no sense of how these guys actually coach. He plays golf with them, etc. Not sure what expectations he had, other than what we hear from Souza, who seems to share Umile's view that the program is on autopilot, and will succeed regardless of recruiting effort. (Notice the recent article of Tirone while talking up his relationship with Umile, says he barely spoke to him before he arrived at UNH, and that it was Borek who was his sole contact. That is entirely consistent with a view that "someone" brings guys onto campus, and Umile just gets on the ice five times a week, and whistles sharply two days a week.) Does he have any expectations about Souza, or could he even mentor him about how to recruit? I mean hell, we put ourselves back into our fourth year in our profession, and think about all of what you didn't know, let alone becoming (a) the face of the program while (b) being deferential to the guy who got you the job. It was an impossible situation.
So, to be disappointed, Umile would have had to have some comprehension of what is needed (which he didn't have), and some expectation from working with him (which he didn't have), and have some tolerance for an alfa male who would assert his own stamp on the program (which it seems neither Umile nor Souza actually expected to happen in the three years -- the thing would just roll along and at year 3 Souza would be handed the keys of a purring engine.)
Edit: the basic error in 2015 was how they viewed the succession. You either try for continuity, or "new sherif." UNH saw itself as on a good track so needing continuity. Most of us saw a downward trend, needing a "new blood."
They are now locked into a "continuity" narrative, with a guy making efforts to see lots of recruits everywhere (effort is not the issue), but who is trying to hand out business cards thinking UNH will sell itself, and selling a "continuity" to recruits who want no part of that. If you read Souza's recruiting interview, he thinks they are a "blue chip" not a "dot com," not realizing they are Kodak dying blue chip, and need to become Snapfish "dot com." They need someone to come in from the outside who can claim to be coming in to clean up the mess. That is where Lassonde and his estrangement from this mess would come in.
But I will say this; no more missives from me; I don't want to be judged as a "bad fan". 
I've said what I wanted to say and that's it. Took me 5 seasons but really that's all I got.
! Anything good we can salvage out of this season will have to be enough and as they say "hope Springs Eternal". Honestly despite the optimism I do not feel I was unrealistic. Once we hit the tougher part of the schedule, the injury period we had I felt it wasn't going to be a banner year.