After starting the season 6-1 and getting his team ranked for the first time since 2006, Ryan McCarthy was officially announced as head coach for the Blue Devils’ football program last Wednesday after serving under the interim title since February.

Brian Barrio, Central Connecticut’s Director of Athletics said that the program has agreed to a multi-year deal with McCarthy that makes him the 14th head coach in school history and should keep him here for the foreseeable future.

The product on the field has definitely been there for McCarthy, and through seven games in 2019 he’s proven himself to be deserving of this promotion. Central is averaging 34.4 points per game and allowing an average of only 19.7 points per game.

The one loss this season came against Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Eastern Michigan. Against said FBS opponent, Central fell short after a blocked punt returned for a touchdown with less than 20 seconds remaining, the only thing keeping the Blue Devils from an undefeated record.

“What I love about Ryan is more of what I see Monday through Friday than I do on Saturday,” Barrio said. “He’s recruiting the right kind of kids, he’s brought stability to the program and he’s an incredibly positive addition to our department.”

“He was my guy from day one and he’s a coach I can picture holding up the trophy at the end of the year.”

According to Barrio, in addition to his support for McCarthy since the beginning, the players also wanted him to receive the job as well.

“When I first met with the team in February after Pete left, [the players] were very clear about what they wanted to happen and while that’s not the deciding factor, that weighs a lot in the decision making,” Barrio said. “How much these guys respect him means a lot to me.”

When Central’s former head coach Pete Rossomando decided to step down and accept the offensive line coaching position for Rutgers Univerity, it came as a surprise to many, including McCarthy.

“I didn’t know in advance,” McCarthy said. “But when he informed me he was leaving, he sat me down and told me, ‘I’m going to recommend you for the head coaching job.'”

“I said to him ‘how do you know I’m ready?’ and he said ‘I don’t, but you’ll have to work yourself into the job.'”

“It was obviously a lot at once but as things progressed I got more settled in and having a really strong staff helped tremendously.”

“The staff is critical, whatever message I’m conveying, it starts from the top and it works it’s way down and the staff has done a great job of following the core philosophies of the program that Pete instilled.”

At that time, McCarthy might not have been ready for such a drastic change but believes that, “If the opportunity presents itself, you have to make the most of it. I knew initially when I first got the job that it would be a lot at once because there were things that I never had to do, but you have to take that step in the direction.”

His journey to become a head coach has spanned for nearly two decades and his wife Jennifer has seen the work ethic that led her husband to this point since 2005.

“We met back at the University of Albany in 2005 where we were working alongside each other and he was always the first one in the office and the last to leave,” McCarthy said. “Now, as his wife, I can say he does the same thing. He’s a relentless worker, there is no doubt he has put in the time to earn this.”

McCarthy still keeps in touch with Rossomando, talking every week. McCarthy is thankful for the job his predecessor had done with the team prior to his departure.

“The program was in a really good place when I took over, I didn’t have to build,” McCarthy said. “[We have] a lot of returning football players that Pete recruited.”

Despite his relationship with Rossomando, McCarthy has established his own style as a coach that appears to be working.

“He’s been doing this for quite a while now and he’s had some great mentors,” Jennifer said. “I think first and foremost, he cares about [his player’s] well being as people [first], students [second] and I think athletes third.”

“As much as it’s important to win on game day, I think he’s probably most excited about the opportunity to shape young lives and hope they turn out to be successful men in life.”

“I would definitely call him a players coach,” junior running back Aaron Dawson said. “He’s just a great guy, man. With everything that I’ve been through this season, he’s always been in my corner. He’s always there for us to make sure we’re good on the field and off of it.”

Dawson was projected to be the starting running back this season after a breakout sophomore season, but has been dealing with a right foot injury that has kept him out through the team’s first seven games.

He admits McCarthy has been different than any other coach he has had. “I feel like I can connect to coach [McCarthy] more, I feel like we talk more and we just have a better relationship [compared to others coaches].”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a closer relationship with a coach,” graduate transfer quarterback Aaron Winchester said.

“During my recruitment, I remember him calling me and there was just a bunch of noise coming from the back and he told me ‘my bad, my three sons are acting up.'” Winchester said. “I just remember thinking ‘this man is taking time out from his family to call me and that really just showed me that he cares. It’s the little stuff like that, I think.”

Earlier in the season, Winchester admitted that after Rossomando announced he was leaving the program, he was hesitant on his commitment to CCSU, but his belief in McCarthy was the deciding factor in him staying committed.

McCarthy’s philosophies and game plans seem to be working for Winchester, and the relationship with his coach might be a factor behind his career-highs up to this point of the season.

Winchester has 2,050 total yards (1492 passing, 558 rushing) through seven games and a total of 13 touchdowns (nine passing, four rushing).

“When you have a guy who cares about you, both on and off the field, it’s easy to go out there and run through a brick wall for him.”

“[I have] a closer relationship with him because I play quarterback,” Winchester said. “I see the extra work that he puts in and it’s definitely a reassuring thing knowing that we have a guy who is going to work his butt off and is going to give us the best opportunity to win games.”

“He just has a game plan for everything. He’s always grinding,” Dawson said. “I remember when we were flying to Eastern Michigan and he was always on his laptop. I don’t think he sleeps. That’s the definition of a grind right there.”

After the nearly undefeated start to the season, players said that they expected the head coaching move for McCarthy and even have a slogan for the season.

“In Mac We Trust.”

“In Mac We Trust, man,” Winchester said. “We can overcome [anything] throughout the season, highs and lows. He’s come through plenty of times and he’ll continue to come through and we’ll continue to come through for him.”

“Whatever he says, whatever he does, we all know that it’s going to work,” Dawson said. “He’s a brilliant guy, one of the smartest, if not the smartest coach I’ve ever had on the football field.

The news of his promotion and Central being ranked #25 in the STATS FCS National Poll for the first time since 2006 all came in the same week, but McCarthy has been sure to keep his focus.

“To me, honestly, it was just another week,” McCarthy said. “There was a lot of external things going on outside and I talked to the team to maintain our focus, it’s just another week.”

McCarthy and his football program will look to continue the dominant year by closing out the season with five more conference games, three of them at home.

“[In the future] hopefully you’re going to see a hard nose football team that controls the ball on the ground on offense and controls the other side of the football on level one,” McCarthy said.