UConn Coach Randy Edsall To Step Down Immediately

UConn announced on Monday that coach Randy Edsall will step down immediately, just one day after the coach originally said he will coach the remainder of the season before retiring.

Defensive coordinator Lou Spanos will serve as UConn’s interim head coach for the rest of the 2021 season.

“Upon further reflection by both Randy and I, and after having the opportunity to visit with Randy today, we are both in agreement that it is in the best interest of our student-athletes to have a new voice leading UConn football,” athletic director David Benedict said Monday in a news release.

The sudden change comes after the Huskies lost to 38-28 to Holy Cross, an FCS team from the Patriot League, in Week 1.

“I have gotten to know Lou over the last two years and have great respect for him as a person and for his football acumen,” Benedict said, per The Athletic. “There is no doubt that Lou has the respect of the players, and I look forward to supporting him and the team for the remainder of the 2021 season.”

Spanos has been UConn’s defensive coordinator since the 2019 season and has previously worked as an analyst at Alabama (2018) and as an assistant with the Titans (2014-17), UCLA (2012-13), the Washington Football Team (2010-11) and the Steelers (1995-2009).

The Athletic reports Edsall went 6-32 after being hired by the Huskies in 2017, including an 0-2 mark this year. He previously coached UConn from 1999-2010, going 74-70 as he guided the program from Division I-AA status and into the Big East, which he won twice, the outlet reports. He was fired from Maryland in 2015 after going 22-34 in five seasons.