Connecticut went 1-11 in 2018, following a 3-9 debut in his second stint at the helm of all things Huskies football. But if there was any thought the 60-year-old would cut his losses and hand the program to someone else, that thought would be exactly wrong.
Edsall hired Lou Spanos as his defensive coordinator, then promoted offensive coordinator John Dunn to assistant head coach. Edsall wanted to match Dunn's increase an responsibility with a commensurate increase in salary, and to do so he put his money where his mouth was.
Dunn's salary will increase by $150,00 (from $300,000 to $450,000)... and Edsall's will decrease by $150,000, according to documents obtained by the Hartford Courant. It's an investment of financial and human capital by Edsall who, according to the Courant, plans to coach two to three more years, then hand the program off to Dunn.
Edsall will still be a very rich man, but not rich according to the neighborhood he lives in. His salary will drop from roughly $1.15 million to $1 million, the same pay he earned upon re-taking the UConn head job ahead of the 2017 season. That's 10 percent of his salary, statistically equivalent to Nick Saban floating $830,000 of his $8.3 million salary directly to his assistants -- except not really, because Saban would still have nearly $7.5 million left for himself in that scenario.
Additionally, Edsall announced recently his plan to match 10 percent of all donations toward a necessary renovations to UConn's football facilities.
Let's hope he's also donating those $3,000 bonus checks he receives when UConn holds a higher punting average than its opponent in a game the Huskies lost 45-16, seemingly a weekly occurrence in 2018. (And you think I'm joking.)
It's admirable for Edsall to go above and beyond for his program. While he's still extremely well-paid in the normal world, he'll be the lowest-paid AAC head coach in 2019 while still giving six figures back to his program in one form or another. But it's alarming that Edsall has to be so generous in the first place. Saban doesn't personally cover his assistants' raises because the program does it for him. He have to make pledges to solicit donations for facility upgrades because Alabama boosters have it covered. As for UConn?
Oh.