Claeys resigns from WSU

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I was mildly surprised when Claeys took the DC job under Leach. Kill's philosophy (ball control) that Claeys was so successful under couldn't be more different from Leach's philosophy. Regardless, it was a great opportunity for Claeys to work in one of the most creative systems in the last couple decades and under a semi-legendary head coach.

Both Leach and Claeys have similar non-traditional coaching backgrounds and both are known to be creative, so that probably had a factor in his job there.

I wish him well.
 

PitinoFan said:
Other than a couple of slightly above average seasons, there’s been a lot of mediocre to bad defense played here. Kill/Claeys were a big improvement over Brewster and Mason, but I wouldn’t necessarily say we’ve seen a huge drop off under the current regime. We’ve seen good, bad and ugly, depending on the week, but the current situation isn’t as bad as some are making it out to be. It obviously needs to get better to get where they want to be, but I don’t see any reason why it can’t. It’s not as though they need a major overhaul.

Defensive ranking (FBS) by total yards per game:

Fleck

2019: 40
2018: 54
2017: 32

Kill/Claeys

2016: 21
2015: 24
2014: 40
2013: 42
2012: 33
2011: 77

Brewster

2010: 76
2009: 63
2008: 81
2007: 120

Mason

2006: 113
2005: 80
2004: 76
2003: 34
2002: 49
2001: 92
2000: 57



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Thanks for pulling the historical stats. I love that stuff.

BTW, Mason's 1999 defense was pretty good at #22. That was a fun year. Got blasted at the Sun Bowl with Y2K that night. The world didn't collapse after all.
 

Word said:
I know a former player that played under Kill with Claeys as DC. He was a defensive starter. He's always said Sawvel was a good coach, but Claeys was a defensive genius.
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Safe to say the former player you know doesn’t post on GH under the name John Galt?


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Spoofin said:
Safe to say the former player you know doesn’t post on GH under the name John Galt?


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giphy.gif
 

Spoofin said:
Safe to say the former player you know doesn’t post on GH under the name John Galt?
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Pretty safe assumption. It's also not Highwayman (in case you were wondering).
 


Mulligan said:
I hate to see this happening. I think Tracy is basically a really good guy and hope he gets another chance as DC at a major school.
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This sort of sentiment is not appropriate here. This thread is for the ****** crowd to poke fun and express smug glee that it didn't work out for Claeys. It is their silly way of showing that they are the biggest Fleck fans.
 

Strange situation but sounds like he and Leach came to loggerheads and this was perhaps a pre-emptive resignation. I can see Leach being an ass to work for and Claeys feeling it really isn’t necessary to be in a situation like that - he’s a modest guy and already set for this life and the next. WSU seemed to be hot and cold on defense and the UCLA collapse probably set Leach off...understandably.

I don’t understand the shots on Claeys coaching acumen. The second half defense under his regime was as reliably good as the first quarter softness was. Those defenses could tackle, didn’t look confused half the time, turned a lot of nobodies into stars, confused opposing QBs, and kept the team in a lot of close games. There is a reason Leach hired him in the first place.
 

Seems fairly obvious that Claeys and Leach could not agree on how to address the defensive issues. In those cases, the head coach usually wins.

So, you can say Claeys is being subborn, but it appears that he did not want to continue coaching at WSU if he could not run the defense his way.

Claeys is not perfect. I'm not perfect. But I just liked the guy. I'm a small-town guy - Claeys is a small-town guy. He just seems like the kind of guy I used to wait on in my Mother's restaurant. The kind of guy you'd BS with while you were giving him a refill on coffee and bringing him some pie for dessert. that is how I relate to Claeys.

And again - if another coach fails, or does not have success, that does not make Fleck look better. Claeys will stand or fall based on his resume. Fleck will stand or fall based on his resume. I hope they both succeed.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Seems fairly obvious that Claeys and Leach could not agree on how to address the defensive issues. In those cases, the head coach usually wins.

So, you can say Claeys is being subborn, but it appears that he did not want to continue coaching at WSU if he could not run the defense his way.

Claeys is not perfect. I'm not perfect. But I just liked the guy. I'm a small-town guy - Claeys is a small-town guy. He just seems like the kind of guy I used to wait on in my Mother's restaurant. The kind of guy you'd BS with while you were giving him a refill on coffee and bringing him some pie for dessert. that is how I relate to Claeys.

And again - if another coach fails, or does not have success, that does not make Fleck look better. Claeys will stand or fall based on his resume. Fleck will stand or fall based on his resume. I hope they both succeed.
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I do think that offense and defense are very connected and being a D-coordinator in the air raid would be very difficult. And as talented as Claeys is, I don't think his is the right type of fit for what Leach wants to do on defense. Leach wants a defense that is like his offense. Take big chances and try to force turnovers.
 



I’d take Claeys over Rossi in a heartbeat.


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I supported the team moving on from Claeys as the head coach. But he was an excellent defensive coordinator for the Gophers. His in game adjustments were great. The team always came out of the half with excellent changes
 

RememberMurray said:
My only points regarding Claeys as Gopher coach: He won 9 games in a single season here, and that's a rare accomplishment at Minnesota.
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I read somewhere it took him 6. Seriously.


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He he

WoodburyTim said:
This sort of sentiment is not appropriate here. This thread is for the ****** crowd to poke fun and express smug glee that it didn't work out for Claeys. It is their silly way of showing that they are the biggest Fleck fans.
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Take a pill, and quit being a smug poster boy.
 



Spoofin said:
Is Rossi the HC or DC?
Follow along - I’m going as slowly as I can.


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Rossi is the DC who you said you prefer Claeys to. Fleck is the HC who you seemed to prefer Claeys to as well. Get it?
 

btowngopher said:
Rossi is the DC who you said you prefer Claeys to. Fleck is the HC who you seemed to prefer Claeys to as well. Get it?
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No I don’t get it.
You are connecting a lot of dots that don’t exist in this thread. Why? I said I would take TC over Rossi and somehow you see a logical connection to that meaning I prefer him to PJ as HC??? Boy o boy you Flecksters see slights everywhere. Your boy did well tonight - enjoy it. I am.


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Spoofin said:
No I don’t get it.
You are connecting a lot of dots that don’t exist in this thread. Why? I said I would take TC over Rossi and somehow you see a logical connection to that meaning I prefer him to PJ as HC??? Boy o boy you Flecksters see slights everywhere. Your boy did well tonight - enjoy it. I am.


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Well I apologize then. I thought you were part of that group that that preferred Claeys to Fleck. I wasn't basing that on this thread.
 

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