Storrs — Randy Edsall walked to the podium at exactly 1:30 p.m. Friday. He remains Tom Coughlin-like for punctuality. And if it weren't entirely unprofessional, the gathering at UConn Football Media Day would have given him a standing ovation.

Not necessarily for who he is — although he's the only football coach who has ever succeeded here at the big time level — but for who he is not: a phony, like his predecessor.

Who knew? A news conference filled with earnest information, thoughtful answers and without verbal barn droppings. Alas, Bob Diaco is Nebraska's problem now. Bon chance, children of the corn. You'll need it.

Edsall didn't make one reference to fish cakes, Batman, Molotov Cocktails, Emerson, Thoreau, Balto or the Civil Conflict. He didn't name anyone offensive coordinator, call him an icon ... and then watch as his team get shut out the next two games. He didn't mention "a spectacular level of insulation."

All Diaco-isms that helped derail a program that had veered into oncoming traffic long before he arrived.

Nothing major was said or happened Friday. A chance to chat with the coaches and players. All is rosy, finally, under the roof of the palatial Burton Family Football Complex. Heck, we even have one of our guys — Billy Crocker — calling the defensive signals. As defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi said of whiz from Waterford, "that guy has some serious energy."

UConn football: from a crock ... to Crocker.

Edsall's job here is Herculean nonetheless. He's assuming the reins of a program that went 11-26 under Dr. Strange and wasn't exactly Alabama with Paul Pasqualoni either. It is not a coveted job. Because right now, after the Burton Complex, what's left? A roster with some players who might not be good enough, tepid fan support, a league no one cares about and a stadium decorated in Early Concrete 20 miles from campus. Not exactly Ann Arbor.

And not to be fatalistic here, but if the only guy who ever won here can't win, would we not be justified in asking why there needs to be a football program here at all? Not a pleasant sentence to write. Certainly something not imminent. Edsall gets a deservedly long leash. But if a few years down the road, if UConn football has perfected the 4-8 record in front of the half-empty Rent and still not privy to mondo football revenues, do we consider pulling the plug?

What, we can't ask?

For now, though, we rejoice. We celebrate the Diaco Era's end. No more musings of the cross between Vivian Stringer and Casey Stengel. No more twisted streams of consciousness. A good guy head coach who stands for all the right things.

Edsall spoke for more than 30 minutes, but nothing else stood out more than this:

"I'm not so much worried about the talent level. I'm more worried about (the players) taking ownership. I know we can be a good team, because I know as coaches we're going to hold them accountable."

Then he paused and said, "But if we are going to be great, they have to hold themselves accountable. If we going to do these other things where we're not going to be individuals, we're going to be unselfish, we're going to hold each other accountable? If we do that, we'll win. If we don't do that, I don't care how much talent we have, we won't."

The general feeling Friday is that there's enough talent here to be decent with a schedule that isn't punitive. At least now there's stability at the top. This will be done Edsall's way. The message — to the kids and the fans — will be concise. No more baloney.

The right man is here. It began Friday at the podium with glorious honesty. A good start.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro