Just heard it on the news.

Weist will be interim coach

STORRS -- Heading into the 2013 football season, UConn athletic director Warde Manuel believed he saw progress being made under head coach Paul Pasqualoni.
But that belief quickly faded.
Expecting to see passion and intensity, Manuel saw only mistakes and mediocrity. From a disappointing opening loss to Towson to a flat-out embarrassment at the hands of Buffalo, the football program was floundering and in danger of taking a major step backwards.
They say that drastic times call for drastic measures and in the wake of that 41-12 loss to Buffalo, Manuel pulled the drastic measure and fired Pasqualoni Monday morning.
"This was a tough decision," Manuel said in a late afternoon press conference to discuss the firing. "I want to thank Paul for his hard work and dedication at UConn. The timing of change is never perfect. But change was necessary."
Associate head coach and offensive line coach George DeLeone also was reliveed of his duties. Offensive coordinator T.J. Weist was named interim head coach and will direct the squad for the rest of the season.
"I'm changing now because we have to have different leadership to get different results," Manuel said. "I told the team that I'm not throwing in the towel on the season. To the contrary, I want this team to wake up, play hard, play tough and play the exciting football that we've come to know. We have players that can win, but we have to return to the fundamentals that led to our success."
UConn is 0-4 as they head into a bye week before taking on South Florida on Oct. 12 at Rentschler Field. Overall, Pasqualoni's record was 10-18. He posted 5-7 seasons in both 2011 and 2012.
After watching the Buffalo game, Manuel called UConn president Susan Herbst Sunday morning and then called her again around 6 p.m. to tell her of his decision. At 8:30 Monday morning, Manuel called Pasqualoni.
"A decision has been made and it's now time to move on to a stronger future that starts today," Herbst said in a statement. "What this team needs now as much as anything is the support of Husky fans everywhere. As we saw at our last home game (Michigan), the amazing energy and highly charged spirit of our fans breathes life into this team and that must continue and be repeated again and again. There is no substitute. Support from fans lifts players up and keeps a team going. It is essential to competing and achieving the levels of excellence we demand at UConn."
Pasqualoni will receive a $750,000 buyout to fulfill the financial obligations of his contract.
The news surprised the players.
"It realty was a shock to all of us. We didn't know that this would be the decision that would be made, especially during mid-season, but we have to move on from here," cornerback Byron Jones said. "It's tough to have anyone lose their job like that, especially during mid-season. He really loved football and was very passionate about it but at the end of the day, it was unfortunate."
Added receiver Geremy Davis. "We have to start over, forget those first four games. We've got conference play coming up, so we have to build a new mentality. Let's move forward and forget about the past. I don't want to wish bad for him (Pasqualoni), he was a great guy, great coach but something had to change and, unfortunately, it was a man losing his job. I guess that what comes with it."
UConn opened the season with a shocking 33-18 home loss to Towson, a FCS school, before being beaten by Maryland 32-21 and former head coach Randy Edsall at Rentschler. Next, came an inspired effort in a 24-21 loss to Michigan -- a game UConn lead 21-7 in the third quarter -- but any momentum found against the Wolverines was lost in that pounding by theBulls.
When asked what he wasn't comfortable with watching the Huskies over the opening four games, Manuel pulled no punches.
"I wasn't comfortable with losing," he said. "I felt that coming off the Michigan game that the team had performed exceptionally. And I thought our performance at Buffalo did not meet those same expectations. Was it the only reason I made the change? No. This is over the course of observations over the last 18 months since I been in this job. I don't think this team ever quit, but I thought it was time to stop talking about what we should do and to make a change that sent a statement to our coaches, our team and our fans, that we expect more."
Pasqualoni, 10-18 in his two-plus seasons in Storrs, spoke to his players before leaving the complex Monday morning. That talk was followed by Manuel and finally Weist, who called this a "great opportunity" for this team.
"In our minds, we're starting over, we're 0-0," Weist said. "We're 0-0 in the conference, it's a great opportunity for us to refocus on the fundamentals we need to do to get better and re-evaluate everything to see what fits best. I'm planning to win. In everything we do, I'm planning to win."
And while there is an "interim" tag on Weist's job, there is a chance -- as what happened when men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie -- that Weist could earn the job permanently.
"All he has to do is win," Manuel said..
Weist is prepared for the challenge.
"I definitely think I'm prepared for this," Weist said. "And I want it and I'm ready for it."