University of Connecticut Athletics
Rob Ambrose Named Offensive Coordinator
12/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, Conn. (December 20, 2005) - University of Connecticut head football coach Randy Edsall announced on Tuesday that he has promoted assistant coach Rob Ambrose to the position of offensive coordinator. The position was left vacant after Norries Wilson left on Dec. 12 to be the head coach at Columbia University.
Ambrose is entering his fifth year as an assistant at UConn under Edsall. His first three years in Storrs (2002-04) were spent as the team’s quarterbacks coach while the 2005 campaign saw him add the title of passing game coordinator in addition to continuing his work with the Husky quarterbacks.
“Naming Rob as the offensive coordinator allows us to maintain the offense we have in place and also continue to take the offense to new heights,” Edsall says. “Rob has done a tremendous job the past four years with our quarterbacks and passing game and has been instrumental in the success of our offense since he arrived at UConn. Rob has an excellent mind for the game and has experienced success as an offensive coordinator and play caller in his previous jobs. We will continue to be a multiple offense and grow the offense to suit our personnel that we have in place as we look ahead to 2006 and beyond. Rob has had good success as an assistant in our system and I expect to see that continue with him coordinating it.”
Ambrose’s quarterback coaching skill was evidenced quickly in 2002 as Dan Orlovsky dramatically improved his freshman year stats to post one of the best passing seasons in UConn history. In 2003, with further guidance, Orlovsky shattered several UConn seasonal passing records and ranked amongst the top 10 quarterbacks in the nation of several major passing categories.
Orlovsky, after three years of Ambrose’s tutelage, guided the Huskies through their inaugural season in the BIG EAST Conference. In 2004, UConn ranked second in the league in passing offense and the signal caller found himself drafted by the Detroit Lions following the season, a pick made by quarterback guru Steve Mariucci, Detroit’s head coach at the time.
Ambrose had a tough row to hoe in 2005 as injuries forced the Huskies to start three different quarterbacks this past season, including a true freshman. Through it all, UConn still managed to finish sixth in the BIG EAST in passing offense, ahead of bowl-bound South Florida and conference champion West Virginia.
Prior to UConn Ambrose served in 2001 as the head coach at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. as the Cardinals went 3-7. Before coaching at Catholic, Ambrose was an assistant coach in a variety of capacities at Towson State for eight seasons (1993-2000). Ambrose served as the receivers coach and the recruiting coordinator at Towson for the 1993-97 seasons. From 1994-97 he was also the passing game coordinator. Ambrose served as the quarterbacks coach and was the youngest Division I offensive coordinator in the country from 1998-1999. He also added the title of associate head coach during the 2000 season.
During the 1999 season at Towson State, the Tigers featured the top-ranked passing offense in NCAA Division I-AA with 381.2 yards per game through the air while also ranking fifth in total offense. Towson set school and Patriot League records in 1999 for most passing yards in a game and most passing yards in a season. Towson was ranked sixth in the country in scoring offense in 1993, and in 1994 the Tigers were ranked eighth in scoring offense and ninth in passing offense. Towson State produced five All-Americans at either wide receiver or quarterback under his watch.
Born in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Ill., Ambrose was raised in Middletown, Md. He graduated from Towson State in 1993 with an English degree. He played both quarterback and wide receiver for the Tigers before suffering a career-ending injury in the spring of 1992. He spent his senior season as a student assistant coach at Towson.
