Frank Verducci has been hired as the new UConn offensive coordinator as Bob Diaco completed the promised makeover of his offensive coaching staff.

Verducci had multiple stops in the NFL and worked with UConn coach when Diaco was a player and graduate assistant at Iowa when Verducci was coaching there.

Verducci, like Diaco, came from the coaching tree of former Iowa coach Hayden Fry. Verducci coached at Iowa from 1989-98. He headed to the NFL, first with the Cincinnati Bengals as the tight ends/assistant offensive line coach from 1999-2001 helping the Bengals finish second in the NFL in rushing one season. He was the offensive line coach with the Dallas Cowboys when Emmitt Smith became the NFL's all-time leading rusher He coached the tight ends with the Buffalo Bills in 2004 and worked with the offensive line the following season before being on the Cleveland Browns staff during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He headed back to college when he joined the Notre Dame staff and also spent a season on the staff at Florida.

"Frank brings 31 years of coaching experience on the offensive side of the ball to our UConn football program with a laundry list of personal and team accolades that are very special,' Diaco said in a statement.“Another aspect of Frank that separated him from others is his experience on coaching the offensive front. I now have great balance on my offensive staff with three experts in the passing game and two experts in how to attack a defensive front. I thought it was important to have that balance rather than adding someone who specifically knows wide receivers or quarterbacks.

“Frank and I have a long-standing relationship because of the type of person he is. We come from the same coaching tree and we have the same philosophies on the development of young men."

I spoke to an NFL source who has dealt with Verducci for the last decade or two and he said "it is a great hire, they are jumping in big time with this hire. He'll bring in the third he learned at Notre Dame, Florida and in the NFL and you will see a lot of changes."

Verducci replaces Mike Cummings as UConn's offensive coordinator. Cummings will stay on the staff and coach the offensive line. Verducci will work with the running backs and that resulted in a bit of domino effect as running backs coach David Corley will now coach the receivers, receivers coach Wayne Lineburg moves to coach the quarterbacks and quarterbacks coach Don Patterson will work with the tight ends.