Bob Diaco: Man on a Mission

Get an insider's look into the philosophies guiding new UConn head football coach Bob Diaco as he seeks to take the Huskies to a new level.

"We've had benchmarks where there’s an evaluation and a successful moment, and it’s celebrated. So we didn’t just end camp, we broke camp. They won that moment. Then we celebrated. There have been 100 different moments like that, where we’ve tried to reset the energy and belief system.” (Stephen Slade '89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)

This article was first published in the Fall 2014 print edition of UConn Magazine. To read more stories like this, visit s.uconn.edu/fall14 or download UConn Magazine’s free app for iPads.

“The mission of cultivating and developing young men is what drives me personally. I don’t make all the right decisions. I make mistakes every single day. I’m going to make a bunch today. But I’m going to work, and I’m not going to duplicate them tomorrow.” (Stephen Slade '89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)
“The mission of cultivating and developing young men is what drives me personally. I don’t make all the right decisions. I make mistakes every single day. I’m going to make a bunch today. But I’m going to work, and I’m not going to duplicate them tomorrow.” (Stephen Slade ’89 (SFA)/ UConn Photo)

First-year UConn head football coach Bob Diaco likes to say he doesn’t have a job. Instead, he insists, “I have a mission.”

From the outside, that mission may seem fairly straightforward: Take the Huskies to new heights as a nationally competitive program.

The 41-year-old New Jersey native, who was named to his first head coaching job last year after a successful stint as defensive coordinator and assistant coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, says his mission — indeed, his vision for Husky football — goes far beyond playing on the field. It is a philosophy that has guided Diaco, a 1995 Iowa graduate and linebacker, throughout his life: Reject fear, embrace simplicity, put your head down, and work.

“Think about if today is going to be your last day. What would it look like?” he asks. “Know yourself. Know what you’re competing against and know the terrain, and you’ll have no reason to fear.”

“We have respect and love and care built as a baseline in the foundation. Listen: If you’re going to berate and demoralize and dehumanize and emasculate and you’re going to communicate like that, no one is going to listen to you.” (Stephen Slade '89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)
“We have respect and love and care built as a baseline in the foundation. Listen: If you’re going to berate and demoralize and dehumanize and emasculate and you’re going to communicate like that, no one is going to listen to you.” (Stephen Slade ’89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)
“I’m not going to let anything go. The players have to go to class. They don’t go to class, they’re not going to play. Period. … If a key starter doesn’t go to class this week, then he’s not going to play.” (Stephen Slade ’89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)

From the time he gets into his office before dawn to begin prepping for the next game, through the team meetings and meals and practices, Diaco says he tries to embrace a kind of emotional asceticism to cut down on whatever distracts him from his goals.

“Try it yourself,” he says. “Need less. Need fewer pats on the back from people. Need fewer things that get between you and achievement.”

Diaco, who dazzled Connecticut residents in his first UConn press conference with off-the-cuff Latin and classical quotations, is under no illusions about miraculous reversals of fortune: Progress takes time. It is a message he has delivered throughout his first year as he speaks on campus and as he travels around the state speaking to fans, business leaders, and anyone else interested in UConn football.

“No one in this building is under false pretenses,” he says. “Everybody here understands the work that’s needed.”

 

“You tell them the truth, and you show them the truth. You don’t blow smoke. You don’t make stuff up. You show them the truth and you tell them, and in doing that, they’re going to see a lot of positives. A lot of new positives.” (Stephen Slade '89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)
“You tell them the truth, and you show them the truth. You don’t blow smoke. You don’t make stuff up. You show them the truth and you tell them, and in doing that, they’re going to see a lot of positives. A lot of new positives.” (Stephen Slade ’89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)
“We’ve had benchmarks where there’s an evaluation and a successful moment, and it’s celebrated. So we didn’t just end camp, we broke camp. They won that moment. Then we celebrated. There have been 100 different moments like that, where we’ve tried to reset the energy and belief system.” (Stephen Slade ’89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)
“We’re just getting started with our program. We’re in an incredible development phase. We’re taking over a downtrodden, losing program that was losing in almost every area. It’s going to take some time, and everybody understands how far we have to go. We have a long way to go.” (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
“That’s why we’re building a strong foundation. How long it takes to get that foundation, we’ll see, but this is not being built on sand. This is not a house of cards. This is not sticks and timbers that the big, bad wolf is going to blow down.” (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)