BleedGopher
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per Joe:
Year 1 of Tracy Claeys’ tenure as Gophers head coach began before dawn last Oct. 28, when his close friend and longtime boss, Jerry Kill, resigned because of health reasons.
While Minnesota came to grips with the shocking news, Claeys took over as acting head coach, with three days to prepare for Michigan. The next 12 months brought Claeys some tantalizingly close losses, some too-close-for-comfort wins, a new contract and a new athletic director.
On Saturday, Claeys begins Year 2 with a game at Illinois, another seemingly critical test for him and his staff as they look to gain the confidence of Gophers fans.
Coming off last week’s unsettling 34-32 victory over Rutgers, the Gophers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) are nine-point favorites heading to Champaign, Ill., with a chance to become bowl-eligible.
“Everybody wants you to win by 21 points every week,” Claeys said. “I’m just still awfully proud of the way we compete, and we play physical. We’re a better football team than we were a year ago. I mean, I believe that.”
Claeys has gone 7-6 as a head coach after Kill went 29-29 overall with the Gophers, and 6-7 in his final 13 games.
http://www.startribune.com/one-year-in-the-verdict-is-still-out-on-tracy-claeys/399118341/
Go Gophers!!
Year 1 of Tracy Claeys’ tenure as Gophers head coach began before dawn last Oct. 28, when his close friend and longtime boss, Jerry Kill, resigned because of health reasons.
While Minnesota came to grips with the shocking news, Claeys took over as acting head coach, with three days to prepare for Michigan. The next 12 months brought Claeys some tantalizingly close losses, some too-close-for-comfort wins, a new contract and a new athletic director.
On Saturday, Claeys begins Year 2 with a game at Illinois, another seemingly critical test for him and his staff as they look to gain the confidence of Gophers fans.
Coming off last week’s unsettling 34-32 victory over Rutgers, the Gophers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) are nine-point favorites heading to Champaign, Ill., with a chance to become bowl-eligible.
“Everybody wants you to win by 21 points every week,” Claeys said. “I’m just still awfully proud of the way we compete, and we play physical. We’re a better football team than we were a year ago. I mean, I believe that.”
Claeys has gone 7-6 as a head coach after Kill went 29-29 overall with the Gophers, and 6-7 in his final 13 games.
http://www.startribune.com/one-year-in-the-verdict-is-still-out-on-tracy-claeys/399118341/
Go Gophers!!