The 2021 UConn football season is in the books, and after a disappointing 1-11 campaign, all eyes turn toward the future of the program. Though the hiring was announced a few weeks ago, the school "formally" introduced Jim Mora as the new head coach prior to Saturday's game against Houston.
There's certainly been an injection of life into the program, as Mora has made the rounds at UConn games, fan events and, perhaps most importantly, high school football games around the state. And he's already made a bunch of staffing decisions. Though there were rumors that he would keep on interim head coach Lou Spanos (his old defensive coordinator at UCLA) and Noel Mazzone (his old OC), it was announced that none of the 2021 coaches will be retained.
Instead the Huskies have four new coaches already, with a rumored fifth on the way. And they all pretty much fit a certain description: young, energetic and full of promise. Let's meet the newest UConn coaches:
CONFIRMED
Siriki Diabate (Linebackers coach): The lone defensive staffer announced, Diabate is a 30-year-old who comes to Storrs from Middle Tennessee, where he held the same position. A Syracuse grad, Diabate was an All-Big East player a decade ago and in Murfreesboro worked under his old head coach in Scott Schafer, who is now the Blue Raiders' defensive coordinator.
John Allen (Wide receivers coach/Passing game coordinator): Another Conference-USA guy, Allen spent the last two years with former UConn coach Skip Holtz at Louisiana Tech. He's one exception to the mold of otherwise young assistants, as he's had a very wide-ranging career since his graduation from James Madison in 1994. He's been a head coach at the Division II (Lock Haven in Pennsylvania) and NFL Europe levels (Berlin Thunder), spent time at Penn State after that, and has been with Delaware State, Old Dominion and La Tech since.
EJ Barthel (Running backs coach): Barthel has plenty of Northeast ties, which would hopefully bode well in recruiting. Most recently he worked as an offensive assistant for the Carolina Panthers under OC Joe Brady (you know, the wunderkind who helped LSU win a national title in 2019). The New Jersey native started his college career at Rutgers before transferring to UMass, and as a coach started at Temple under Matt Rhule, moved to Penn State in 2016 and has also worked at the FCS level for Albany, Howard and William & Mary. The only hard part would appear to be keep him for more than two years.
John Marinelli (Tight ends coach): An in-state guy, Marinelli has spent the past three seasons at Arizona and, in 2021, Illinois as an analyst. A Trinity grad, his dad is the legendary New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli, who just completed his 40th season this year. John won two state titles as a player under his dad, then added a third at New Canaan's expense as the head coach at Greenwich in 2018, where he spent four seasons. Mora has appeared to put a big emphasis on reconnecting with programs in the state, and Marinelli's hire only adds to that.
RUMORED:
Nick Charlton (Offensive coordinator): The current head coach at Maine, the 32-year-old is reportedly making the jump to the FBS level to join the staff. Another coach with heavy local ties, Charlton went to Boston College and spent three years there as a grad assistant before moving on to Maine in 2015, where he worked his way up. First the wide receivers coach, then special teams, then the OC/quarterbacks coach before becoming the head coach in 2019, becoming the then-youngest coach in Division I football at age 30.
Maine was known for its international recruiting under Charlton and, in general, the Black Bears took big strides on the trail, which UConn obviously needs to do.
Ryan Osborn (Defensive line coach): Per FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman, Mora will bring on Osborn, who is currently an offensive analyst at Michigan. Prior to that, he was the D-line coach at UT-Martin.
Dalton Hilliard (Defensive coach): Currently at Arkansas State, Hilliard is set to join his old college coach. A 2012 UCLA grad, Hilliard appeared in 42 games in his Bruins career as a defensive back.