STrib: Decision time for Gophers' Mark Coyle on contracts forLucia, Stollings, Pitino

BleedGopher

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per Joe:

Longer with Lucia?

Contract info: Coyle gave Lucia a two-year extension in October 2016. Lucia is making $612,500 this season. To buy him out after this season would cost $315,000.

Decision time: Lucia, 58, is in his 19th season at Minnesota and has given no indication he’s ready to quit. The Gophers are surging with a 6-1-1 record in their past eight games. To bring Lucia back without an extension could damage recruiting, creating too much uncertainty.

The case for: Lucia led the Gophers to NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003 and had them back in the NCAA championship game as recently as 2014. His players continue to thrive in the classroom. The team’s most recent multiyear APR (academic progress rate) was a perfect 1,000.

The case against: The Gophers haven’t won an NCAA tournament game since 2014, when they lost the title game to Union. Attendance is dropping. The proud program has advanced to the Frozen Four just twice in the past 12 seasons. The Gophers suffered first-round NCAA exits in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

Forecast: Lucia could quiet, if not silence, critics with one NCAA tournament win. Two would send the Gophers to the Frozen Four in St. Paul. Another year without an NCAA tourney win, however, would elicit more calls for change.

http://www.startribune.com/decision...a-marlene-stollings-richard-pitino/474864373/

Go Gophers!!
 

Forecast: Lucia could quiet, if not silence, critics with one NCAA tournament win. Two would send the Gophers to the Frozen Four in St. Paul. Another year without an NCAA tourney win, however, would elicit more calls for change.

Go Gophers!!

It'll take more than one win.
 

It'll take more than one win.

And if that is true, well, it's kind of pathetic, imo. No other coach out there is tearing up Men's Div 1 college hockey. He's arguably the most successful coach in Div 1 Men's College hockey, if you look at Frozen Fours as being a minimum standard of measurement. No one in college hockey ever uses the term Elite 8. This isn't cbb where 68 teams make the NCAA tourney and getting to an Elite 8 is a worthy accomplishment. Mention to a UND fan that Minnesota has more NCAA tourney wins than UND and they will respond that UND has more Titles. A BC fan will respond that BC has been to more Frozen Fours. No one cares about the # of NCAA tourney wins if they don't deliver a program at least a Frozen Four appearance.

And so looking at the # of FFs coaches have led their teams to in the last 7 years, where does Lucia rank? Higher than all but York and Lucia has a much better chance of catching York this season than York has of even getting into the NCAA tourney this year.
 

per Joe:

Longer with Lucia?

Contract info: Coyle gave Lucia a two-year extension in October 2016. Lucia is making $612,500 this season. To buy him out after this season would cost $315,000.

Decision time: Lucia, 58, is in his 19th season at Minnesota and has given no indication he’s ready to quit. The Gophers are surging with a 6-1-1 record in their past eight games. To bring Lucia back without an extension could damage recruiting, creating too much uncertainty

This IS Minnesota, isn't it? A large percentage of players come here just because its The Minnesota Golden Gophers, not because it's the great Don Lucia coaching the team. Normally I'd agree with the whole thing about bringing a coach back without an extension would damage recruiting, but if any program in the nation could get away with bringing a coach back without an extension it would be this Gopher Hockey program. And there might not be another program out there that could recover from one bad recruiting class faster than the Gophers if waiting one more season allows for the U to figure out for sure whether or not they want to get rid of Lucia and/or who the right guy might be to come in and take over.

And one things for sure, no way a decision is made before we know what Lucia & Motzko do at this year's NCAA tourney and if Potulny can get his team there first, and then how he does once there if he does get there.
 




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