Four years into a second stint at UConn that hasn’t gone nearly as well as the first, Randy Edsall announced on Sunday that he will retire at the end of this season.
The announcement comes roughly 24 hours after the Huskies lost to Holy Cross, an FCS program, dropping to 0-2 on the season. Their other loss was 45-0 to Fresno State.
UConn, which did not play football last season due to COVID-19, is 6-32 under Edsall since 2017. And that’s a far cry from the success he experienced his first time around with the Huskies.
He once led the program from Division I-AA into Division I-A, now known as the FBS, becoming a fixture during bowl season along the way. UConn went 74-70 and reached five bowl games during that tenure.
Edsall, 63, left in 2011 to take over at Maryland but was fired midway through his fifth season, having compiled a record of 22-34 with the Terrapins. He returned to Storrs in 2017.
“After 17 years of service at the University of Connecticut as its head football coach, I’ve decided to retire at the end of the season,” Edsall said in a statement. “Back in 2017, I made a commitment to the university, but felt it was better to make this announcement now rather than the end of the year, to allow the university ample time to prepare for the future of the football program.
“All my focus and attention for the rest of the season will be to prepare our players and coaches to go out and win as many games as possible.”
Athletic director David Benedict lauded UConn’s graduation rate under Edsall, how it produced NFL talent and made an appearance in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.
“While the program has been unable to recapture that level of success on the field during Randy’s second stint as our head football coach, the decision to retire at the end of the season was made by Randy,” Benedict said. “As is the case with all our teams, I am constantly evaluating the football program and will continue to make decisions that I feel are in the best interest of our student-athletes.”
In the statement, the school said a national search for Edsall’s replacement will begin immediately.
UConn hosts Purdue (1-0) on Saturday.