Rand: Gophers AD Mark Coyle preaches preparedness in his coaching searches

BleedGopher

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per Rand:

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle is not the most dynamic speaker or a dominant personality, but the man knows how to play to his strengths.

Chief among them is preparation, particularly when it comes to coaching searches — and that attribute is setting Minnesota up to win. Talking to reporters after the introduction Friday of his latest high-profile hire — new women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen — Coyle explained his process without patting himself on the back.

“I like to be very prepared. I have a short list of coaches. If you came to my house in St. Paul, I can open up a desk drawer and I’ve got green files of every sport, coaches we want to go after,” Coyle said. “We constantly update that list because you never know when something is going to happen. When something happens, I believe you have to go quickly.”

Those last two sentiments are important because in college sports, and particularly at Minnesota, it seems as though something always happens. And past searches under his predecessors have not always been so smooth or quick.

Coyle has hired six head coaches in less than two years as AD, including three of the school’s highest-profile programs.

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...paredness-in-his-coaching-searches/479828043/

Go Gophers!!
 

So...we have a relative newbie in Pitino (not a Coyle hire), a guy with a little experience at the MAC who did well there, a complete newbie jumping right into a P5, D1, head coaching job and a guy who made St Cloud competitive and represents the past at UMN. Is that the mark of someone who is prepared? Convince me that is Mark, the snake, Coyle's strength. [emoji216]
 

So...we have a relative newbie in Pitino (not a Coyle hire), a guy with a little experience at the MAC who did well there, a complete newbie jumping right into a P5, D1, head coaching job and a guy who made St Cloud competitive and represents the past at UMN. Is that the mark of someone who is prepared? Convince me that is Mark, the snake, Coyle's strength. [emoji216]

I do not know how many (or even IF any) of these HC moves will work out, but I prefer the hiring process how it's gone then with past ADs. Identify who you want then move to get him/her.

Kill worked out, but he was probably the 5th or 6th choice. Pitino came after being turned down by Saunders, Smart et al.
 

People can hate on Coyle for plenty of reasons, but anyone who complains about how he has run his coaching searches just likes to complain.
 

People can hate on Coyle for plenty of reasons, but anyone who complains about how he has run his coaching searches just likes to complain.
No one knows how he runs his searches. What we know is he slithers around whispering in ears while he attempts to push the present occupant of the nest out. He apparently gives promises to others even while the position is occupied.
The snake's ethics are highly questionable. [emoji216]
 


People can hate on Coyle for plenty of reasons, but anyone who complains about how he has run his coaching searches just likes to complain.

What?

The only way to judge a search is by the results. I can appreciate that he did not use a committee, but the Claeys fiasco is handled poorly and we haven't had much success yet.

So the jury should still be out on his ability to run a coaching search.
 

What?

The only way to judge a search is by the results. I can appreciate that he did not use a committee, but the Claeys fiasco is handled poorly and we haven't had much success yet.

So the jury should still be out on his ability to run a coaching search.

I would disagree. While the result is the most important thing, I don't consider that to be the same as how the search is run. You can have a well-run process that produces poor results. Coyle has shown the ability to run a search that is efficient, lacking in media leaks, and has produced hires that grade out well on paper. Obviously, what the coach is ultimately able to accomplish in his/her time here is the most important thing. But the process Coyle uses for hiring a coach has always been very smooth.

And with the Claeys fiasco I am only looking at the search part. Meaning from the time Claeys was let go to the time PJ was hired. People can disagree with why or how Claeys was fired, but the reality is that after he was fired we had a three day search that produced probably the best realistic name on the market at the time. And while some may think it is easy, look no further than the Tennessee football coaching search which basically made everyone involved including the fans look really stupid.
 

Is it true Coyle: "lies still in the grass...all coiled up and hissing..." when he recruits...buys out and fires and then hires his coaches at Minnesota, MennoSota? At least that's what REO SPEEDWAGON used to sing about someone they knew way back in 1980. Maybe they saw the future. Of course, Joel Maturi was a real mentor for Mr. Coyle. That connection alone is a bit like rolling snake eyes for an AD at Minnesota.
 

I do not know how many (or even IF any) of these HC moves will work out, but I prefer the hiring process how it's gone then with past ADs. Identify who you want then move to get him/her.

Kill worked out, but he was probably the 5th or 6th choice. Pitino came after being turned down by Saunders, Smart et al.

How is it viewed that Kill worked out ? Seemed like a great guy but when i look at at that record i just do not see it. Works out when you win a conference title or at least the division.
 



How is it viewed that Kill worked out ? Seemed like a great guy but when i look at at that record i just do not see it. Works out when you win a conference title or at least the division.

Not sure if you are aware of the Gophers history, but since 1967 they have not won a Big 10 title. Under Kill, they won several trophy games vs Penn St, Nebraska (including at Lincoln) and Iowa. They played in a January Bowl for the first time since the 1961 season, played in front of mostly full crowds at TCF Bank, had a stellar APR and at least got them to a play-in game vs the Badgers.

Those achievements may be modest when compared to other programs, but in my lifetime (pushing 50) is as good as it has ever been.
 




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