This article was first published in the Fall 2014 print edition of UConn Magazine. To read more stories like this, visit s.uconn.edu/fall14 or download UConn Magazine’s free app for iPads.

First-year UConn head football coach Bob Diaco likes to say he doesn’t have a job. Instead, he insists, “I have a mission.”

From the outside, that mission may seem fairly straightforward: Take the Huskies to new heights as a nationally competitive program.

The 41-year-old New Jersey native, who was named to his first head coaching job last year after a successful stint as defensive coordinator and assistant coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, says his mission — indeed, his vision for Husky football — goes far beyond playing on the field. It is a philosophy that has guided Diaco, a 1995 Iowa graduate and linebacker, throughout his life: Reject fear, embrace simplicity, put your head down, and work.

“Think about if today is going to be your last day. What would it look like?” he asks. “Know yourself. Know what you’re competing against and know the terrain, and you’ll have no reason to fear.”

From the time he gets into his office before dawn to begin prepping for the next game, through the team meetings and meals and practices, Diaco says he tries to embrace a kind of emotional asceticism to cut down on whatever distracts him from his goals.

“Try it yourself,” he says. “Need less. Need fewer pats on the back from people. Need fewer things that get between you and achievement.”

Diaco, who dazzled Connecticut residents in his first UConn press conference with off-the-cuff Latin and classical quotations, is under no illusions about miraculous reversals of fortune: Progress takes time. It is a message he has delivered throughout his first year as he speaks on campus and as he travels around the state speaking to fans, business leaders, and anyone else interested in UConn football.

“No one in this building is under false pretenses,” he says. “Everybody here understands the work that’s needed.”