University of Connecticut head football coach Randy Edsall was set up to fail and it is hard to imagine how any future coach can succeed unless the administration gets its act together when it comes to the struggling football program.

When in 2019 Connecticut athletics announced its plan to return to the basketball-oriented Big East, we noted in our editorial the university was not "offering a good explanation as to what is to become of the football program."

Two years later an explanation and a plan are still lacking.

Recall that it was a desire for UConn to enter the realm of big-time college football, with its potential for large TV revenues and a national profile, that drove the athletic program from the Big East and eventually into the American Athletic Conference. Entering the FBS — the top tier of college football — was also offered as the rationale to invest $91 million to build Rentschler Field, opening in 2003.

But by 2019 the university again switched course, admitting the move to the American Athletic Conference had come at the expense of diminishing the luster of its premiere programs, men's and women's basketball, particularly the men's program. So back to the Big East they went.

It left the football program without a conference, or any clear indication that it was building toward something greater. Instead, it was adrift. Then came a year off due to the pandemic, creating more uncertainty. Paul "Bear" Bryant and Frank Leahy would have had trouble recruiting under those circumstances, never mind Randy Edsall.

So while moving on from Edsall may make some UConn fans feel good, he is not the problem. Yes, Edsall had to go. He capped off a sorry record of 6-32 since returning to the Huskies in 2017 with a low-point, home-opener loss Saturday to second-tier FCS team Holy Cross, 38-28. But Edsall showed he could coach during his first stint at UConn from 1999 to 2010, transitioning them to the FBS, getting to bowl games, and achieving a record of 74-70.

After the Holy Cross loss Edsall announced he would retire at season's end. Athletic Director David Benedict suggested he instead leave immediately.

UConn has to prove that it is committed to FBS football by making a quality head-coach hiring and finding a conference. Either that or drop back to the FCS tier and become competitive there. But do something because this is a disaster.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.