UConn's Edsall to Step Down Immediately After Announcing Plan to Retire at End of Season

Defensive coordinator Lou Spanos will serve as interim head coach after Randy Edsall's immediate departure.

UConn has announced that coach Randy Edsall will step down immediately as the football program's head coach. On Sunday, Edsall said he would retire at the end of the season. Defensive coordinator Lou Spanos will serve as interim head coach. 

"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," UConn athletic director Davi Benedict said in the statement. 

An era in UConn abruptly came to an end after just two games into the season. This was Edsall's second stint with the Huskies. He went 74-70 at UConn from 1999 to 2010 before leaving for Maryland where he went 22-34. 

Since returning in 2017, the Huskies are 6–32 with Edsall at the helm, including a 45-0 loss to Fresno State and a 38-28 loss to Holy Cross, an FCS school, to start the 2021 season. 

"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,” Edsall said in a statement on Sunday.

“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."

Spanos has never served as a head coach before and has been UConn's defensive coordinator since 2009.