HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut has hired former Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni as its head football coach.

The school says a news conference introducing Pasqualoni would be held a 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Pasqualoni, the Dallas Cowboys interim defensive coordinator, was fired by Syracuse after the 2004 season.

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett released a statement Thursday evening saying UConn was getting “everything that a college program would want from a leadership perspective.”

The 61-year-old native of Cheshire replaces Randy Edsall, who took the head coaching job at Maryland after leading UConn to an 8-5 season and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl, where the Huskies lost to Oklahoma 48-20.