All eight new assistants hired by Bob Diaco worked
 with the new UConn coach in past seasons 

Familiarity was obviously pretty important as new UConn football coach Bob Diaco put together his first coaching staff as the eight new assistant coaches worked with Diaco in the past.

He brought Josh Reardon, who is the co-special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach, and Ernest Jones, who will coach the running backs, with him from Notre Dame.

Diaco worked with new defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Vincent Brown and special teams coordinator/receivers coach Wayne Lineburg at Virginia. Offensive coordinator Mike Cummings worked with Diaco at two different stops and quarterbacks coach Don Patterson also coached with Diaco at two different schools. Running backs coach Ernest Jones also worked with Diaco at Central Michigan and Notre Dame and has the added bonus of being the head coach at Alcorn State in 2008.

Cummings spent the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach where one of his star pupils was Eric Fisher, who went from being an under the radar recruit, to being taken first overall in the 2013 NFL draft. Although Cummings did not call the plays, he was instrumental and putting the staff together.

Cummings worked with Diaco on the staffs at Central Michigan and Western Michigan while Patterson was on the Iowa and Western Illinois staffs with the new UConn coach. Patterson spent 11 seasons as the head coach at Western Illinois, compiling a 63-47 record.

Lineburg worked with Diaco at Virginia where he spent time working with receivers for two seasons and running backs for a year before leaving to join the staff at Richmond. Lineburg was the Spiders’ interim coach during the 2011 season and when he did not get the head coaching job, he was retained by new coach Danny Rocco.

Kevin Wolthausen, who will coach the defensive line and be the recruiting coordinator, was on the 2002 Eastern Michigan staff. Wolthausen had three stints as a professional coach including spending the 2007 season coaching the defensive line for the Atlanta Falcons.

Poindexter was the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1998 and was a member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl championship team. After he was released, he was hired at his alma mater to coach the safeties.

Brown spent eight seasons as a linebacker with the New England Patriots before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Virginia in 2007 where Diaco was one of the assistants. He took a job at Richmond and was on the staff when the Spiders won the 2008 FCS national title.

Mike Foley is the only holdover to remain with the staff and he will handle the offensive line which he did for the final eight games of the season.