Randy Edsall has never been one to shy away from a challenge. All throughout his coaching career, he has been part of coaching staffs that have attacked their jobs with a ferocity seldom seen and reached heights in those positions that none before them had achieved

The challenge at the University of Connecticut began in December of 1998 as his greatest to date. He took over a program that was coming off the most successful season in the 100-season history of the program and reached the Division I-AA playoffs for the first time ever. In year two of the Edsall Era, the challenge became even greater as the program made the transition to Division I-A status. Since that time, the program has continued to achieve unprecedented success under Coach Edsall’s guidance. The 2002 team finished the year with a 6-6 record, including victories in the last four contests. In 2003, the Huskies moved into Rentschler Field, UConn’s brand new, state-of-the-art, 40,000 seat stadium in East Hartford, CT. In addition to opening the new stadium, the team finished the season with a 9-3 mark. 2004 would see the Huskies charge into the Big East Conference and come away with an 8-4 record including the school’s first ever bowl appearance and championship by capping the year with a 39-10 win in the Motor City Bowl.
It is all a challenge that Edsall seems to relish. "I pride myself on taking advantage of opportunities and attacking challenges head on," says Edsall. "I see this as a great opportunity. An opportunity to take a program to the Division I-A level and being able to put my stamp on it, along with Lew Perkins and everyone else here, and building it into something that the entire University and the state of Connecticut can be proud of."

Edsall was named the 27th head football coach at the University of Connecticut on December 21, 1998.

"We are thrilled to announce the hiring of one of the top coaches in the country," said Connecticut Director of Athletics Lew Perkins at the time of the hiring. "In talking with many different people during this search process, there was one name that always came up and that was Randy Edsall. He brings a great background at the Division I-A collegiate level and his success in the NFL is also well-documented. We think he is a perfect fit for the University of Connecticut and the football program."

Edsall brings 20 years of coaching experience to the Husky program, including 16 seasons at the Division I-A collegiate level and three seasons in the National Football League. Edsall joined the Huskies after completing the 1998 season as the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, where he helped the No. 14 nationally-ranked Yellow Jackets complete a 9-2 campaign and earn a New Year's Day win in the Gator Bowl over Notre Dame. Georgia Tech finished 7-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and earned a share of the league championship with Florida State.

"It is with great pleasure that I accept the head coaching position at the University of Connecticut," said Edsall at the time of his hiring. "I look forward to the challenges that are ahead of us and the opportunity to work with the many great people that make up the university community. The support of the staff, student-athletes and the people of the state of Connecticut has played a big part in the well-documented success of the university and its athletic programs. I am anxious to get started and continue building upon the foundation this football program has had put in place over the past several seasons."

Prior to joining the staff at Georgia Tech, Edsall spent three seasons as the secondary coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. In his three seasons on Tom Coughlin's staff, Edsall was a part of one of the most successful expansion franchises in the history of the NFL. The Jaguars reached the playoffs in 1996 and 1997, including a berth in the AFC Championship Game in 1996. During that 1996 playoff run, Edsall's secondary allowed an average of only 217 yards passing to three of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, Buffalo's Jim Kelly, Denver's John Elway and New England's Drew Bledsoe.

Edsall began his coaching career in 1980 at his alma mater, Syracuse University. A former quarterback for the Orangemen, Edsall started as a graduate assistant from 1980-1982. In 1983, coach Dick MacPherson named Edsall running backs coach. He coached the running backs for three seasons at Syracuse (1983-84 & 1986) and coached the tight ends in 1985 before making the switch to the defensive side of the ball. He coached the Syracuse defensive backs from 1987-1990 and during that period the Orangemen were ranked among the National I-A leaders in pass defense.

In 1991, Edsall moved on to Boston College and joined the staff of Tom Coughlin. He coached the Eagle defensive backs for three seasons (1991-1993) and had his secondary ranked among the National Top 20 in pass defense in two of those three seasons. He then moved with coach Coughlin to the NFL in 1994.

Success has followed Randy Edsall at every stop along his playing and coaching journey. He has been a part of nine different teams (eight as a coach) that made bowl appearances and came away with a victory six times. The Jacksonville Jaguars advanced to the NFL Playoffs in two of his three seasons, including an AFC Championship Game appearance in 1996. From 1985 to 1993, Edsall was a part of seven teams that made bowl appearances and in 1993 Boston College upset three Top 10 teams on the road in Notre Dame, Penn State and Syracuse.

Edsall was a three-year letterwinner in football, basketball and baseball at Susquehannock High School in Glen Rock, PA. He was an All-State selection in all three sports in his senior season. He then went on to Syracuse University, where he was a member of the football team and earned one varsity letter as a quarterback for the Orangemen. He was a member of the Syracuse squad that captured the 1979 Independence Bowl under head coach Frank Maloney.

Edsall is a native of Glen Rock, PA and earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Syracuse in 1980 and added a master's degree in health and physical education in 1982. He and his wife, Eileen, a former basketball and volleyball letterwinner at Syracuse, have a daugther, Alexi, and a son, Corey.