Coyle did a great job with the PJ Fleck hire

Gold Rush

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With the Gophers 8-0 start, we have been reflecting a lot on some of the other coaches we have had, how successful they were and what their records were. I think everyone has been very happy with the team so far this year and we are all very hopeful this success can continue. We are one of the most pleasant surprises of the year, ranked #13 and PJ Fleck is becoming the toast of the town.

Coaching records can be a little misleading. Someone said that Kill was a mediocre coach with a mediocre record but Kill needed a little time to right the ship and came into a difficult situation. Brewster was fired after going 1-6 halfway through the season in 2010 but I thought Kill did a good job of leaving the program in better shape than when he had left it. When Lou Holtz was here his record was an unremarkable 10-12, but when you saw what he had to deal with and where he left it in just 2 years you can see what a great coach he was. Those were both successful hires as a result.

With Jerry Kill and Tracy Klaeys, they were both very good coaches - they knew what they were doing and certainly several steps ahead of the previous regime but they were both very vanilla and I don't think they would ever have taken this program any further. There is no way they were going into a recruit's home and getting that top prospect away from Alabama or Clemson if they wanted them badly enough. I always thought the Gophers should swing for the fences and go for that guy who just might be able to take this program to the next level. That is why I wanted Mike Leach at the time Brewster was fired - he was very risky but he was that kind of guy who could win big at a place that hadn't enjoyed a great deal of success. He indeed proved that at Washington St. We won't know if he would have won here but I think he would have done quite well. That ship has sailed a long long time ago and it is gone. Another one was Bobby Ross who badly wanted the Gopher job after Lou Holtz left but they decided to go with John Gutekunst because they felt he would be a good continuation from what they had. Ross went on to win a national championship at Georgia Tech a few years later (as Lou Holtz did too) but Gutey just couldn't continue the momentum. He was another vanilla coach who knew what he was doing but was uninspiring. These decisions were similar in they went for the nice safe pick who was a good coach that knew what they were doing but were only going to take it to a certain level.

Enter into the equation PJ Fleck. Fleck was probably one of the top 2 hottest up and coming coaches when he came here. He was NOT that safe, vanilla pick that Gutekunst or Kill were. He was dynamic and talked a lot of smack which immediately scared a lot of the Gopher faithful because he sounded like Tim Brewster or further back Jim Wacker and both those regimes ended in disaster. It took a while for many Gopher fans to warm up to him as they were very cautious, but they are starting to come around in a big way. If they can keep him here there could be very big things ahead for the Gophers. If you are a fan of Iowa, Nebraska or Wisconsin you have to be very concerned about what is happening here at Minnesota.

Coyle diverted greatly from typical Gopher football coaching changes. Usually, a search committee is developed and they go over all the applicants and weeks if not months later, a new coach is named. This usually goes on long enough to completely destroy a full recruiting season. Old timers like me remember the disaster following the Joe Salem firing. They named a committee and they went over all the applicants and mid December finally named Les Steckel as their choice. Steckel turned it down so I believe they offered the job to BYU coach Lavalle Edwards, who was a great choice. Unfortunately - he hadn't even put in for the job!!! They announced they were starting all over again. This would have dragged into January or February but they were fortunate that Arkansas fired Lou Holtz and somehow got lucky he accepted. Instead, Coyle acted swiftly and instead of going for a single he swung for the fences and got a guy who just might be that home run hire Gopher fans have wanted forever.

This game with Penn St. is a big one but at the end of the day win or lose we put it behind us and get ready for Iowa. I think we are in very good shape for the future here!!
 
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I considered him a snake at the start, but he's our snake.

Agree on all offered.
 

As of right now, the hiring of Fleck looks like an unqualified success.

However, I think there are still some unanswered questions about the hiring process.

In early December, 2016, according to the Strib: Coyle was quoted as saying - about Claeys - “He is our head football coach. … He has my full support.”....Multiple sources told the Star Tribune that Claeys and his assistant coaches will get contract extension offers.

Then, of course, you had the suspensions, threatened player boycott, etc, starting December 13th.

The Gophers win the Holiday Bowl on December 27th. Asked about Claeys' future, Coyle said they would "take time to reflect on the season."

On January 3rd, 2017, Coyle announced Claeys was fired. Coyle said the firing was not just about the boycott, but reflected concerns he had formed about the program over the previous 6 months. So, in one month, it went from vote of confidence to concerns about the program.

On January 6th, the U of MN announced that Fleck had been hired.

so - you can believe that the entire process to hire Fleck lasted 3 days..........or you can believe that some back-channel communications were going on before the Claeys firing was announced.

Again - the result turned out fine for the Gophers - but I think it's fair to question the process that Coyle used to arrive at that result.
 

As of right now, the hiring of Fleck looks like an unqualified success.

However, I think there are still some unanswered questions about the hiring process.

In early December, 2016, according to the Strib: Coyle was quoted as saying - about Claeys - “He is our head football coach. … He has my full support.”....Multiple sources told the Star Tribune that Claeys and his assistant coaches will get contract extension offers.

Then, of course, you had the suspensions, threatened player boycott, etc, starting December 13th.

The Gophers win the Holiday Bowl on December 27th. Asked about Claeys' future, Coyle said they would "take time to reflect on the season."

On January 3rd, 2017, Coyle announced Claeys was fired. Coyle said the firing was not just about the boycott, but reflected concerns he had formed about the program over the previous 6 months. So, in one month, it went from vote of confidence to concerns about the program.

On January 6th, the U of MN announced that Fleck had been hired.

so - you can believe that the entire process to hire Fleck lasted 3 days..........or you can believe that some back-channel communications were going on before the Claeys firing was announced.

Again - the result turned out fine for the Gophers - but I think it's fair to question the process that Coyle used to arrive at that result.

It was indeed an unorthodox way to handle things and certainly not the way things are done at the U of M. That was a risky move by Coyle because if Fleck doesn't pan out then it's HIS neck on the line, too. The timeline that you present sure looks like the boycott played a major role in the firing. My guess is Coyle was talking to Fleck somewhere between Dec. 27th and Western Michigan's New Year's Bowl game. When a coach gets the dreaded vote of confidence that usually means bad news for the coach! I think Coyle had Fleck locked down when Claeys got fired - almost positive on that one.
 

As of right now, the hiring of Fleck looks like an unqualified success.

However, I think there are still some unanswered questions about the hiring process.

In early December, 2016, according to the Strib: Coyle was quoted as saying - about Claeys - “He is our head football coach. … He has my full support.”....Multiple sources told the Star Tribune that Claeys and his assistant coaches will get contract extension offers.

Dec 5th. Jeff Brohm Hired. PJ Not Hired or PJ cooled.

Then, of course, you had the suspensions, threatened player boycott, etc, starting December 13th.

The Gophers win the Holiday Bowl on December 27th. Asked about Claeys' future, Coyle said they would "take time to reflect on the season."

On January 3rd, 2017, Coyle announced Claeys was fired. Coyle said the firing was not just about the boycott, but reflected concerns he had formed about the program over the previous 6 months. So, in one month, it went from vote of confidence to concerns about the program.

On January 6th, the U of MN announced that Fleck had been hired.

so - you can believe that the entire process to hire Fleck lasted 3 days..........or you can believe that some back-channel communications were going on before the Claeys firing was announced.

Again - the result turned out fine for the Gophers - but I think it's fair to question the process that Coyle used to arrive at that result.

Added a date in red.
My belief on or around December 5th Coyle and Fleck spoke.
 


Added a date in red.
My belief on or around December 5th Coyle and Fleck spoke.

This would have been even before the player boycott! If that's the case I bet that was the final nail in the coffin. Claeys was probably already on very thin ice.
As soon as Coyle had the agreement with Fleck, Claeys was gone.
 

One thing I have noticed about Coyle; he doesn't waste much time in hiring coaches.

The 3 biggest hires he made (Fleck, Trachsel, and Whalen) were made within 2 weeks of the jobs coming open. Fleck was even quicker than that.
 

He does decide quickly and I really like all of the above 3 hires.
 

Fleck was the no brainer hire, at or near the top of all potential coach lists. Really not very out of the box. I am thrilled we hired him but it was definitely the easy choice.

Same goes for Motzko.

Whalen is the one out of the box hire but seemed to make sense as well.

I guess previous administrators have screwed up hiring so bad we have low expectations.

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Fleck was the no brainer hire, at or near the top of all potential coach lists. Really not very out of the box. I am thrilled we hired him but it was definitely the easy choice.

Same goes for Motzko.

Whalen is the one out of the box hire but seemed to make sense as well.

I guess previous administrators have screwed up hiring so bad we have low expectations.

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I don't necessarily disagree that Fleck and Motzko were "at or near the top" of everyone's list, but who is the last AD here who got the people who everyone else wanted? Coyle closed the deal on both and he did it fast.
 

I don't necessarily disagree that Fleck and Motzko were "at or near the top" of everyone's list, but who is the last AD here who got the people who everyone else wanted? Coyle closed the deal on both and he did it fast.
I think the administration and president are to thank for opening up the checkbook finally.

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I think the administration and president are to thank for opening up the checkbook finally.

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Fleck seems to really like Coyle. Could just be smoke and mirrors but I think part of the reason Fleck took the job was because of Coyle. Do other programs give him the freedom with RTB that he is getting at MN?
 

I think the administration and president are to thank for opening up the checkbook finally.

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So no credit to Coyle for identifying the people he wanted (because everyone knew those were the right people) or for going to the administration and saying "these are the right people, we need to pay up if we want them" and then getting the administration to authorize the increase in budget to get Fleck?
 



Low expectations are the bread and butter of Minnesota sports.
 

I don't necessarily disagree that Fleck and Motzko were "at or near the top" of everyone's list, but who is the last AD here who got the people who everyone else wanted? Coyle closed the deal on both and he did it fast.

I totally agree with this and it was refreshing to see. I loved how fast this was done. He got it right and he got it done fast - there wasn't even time for speculation. Usually our AD's have made the WRONG choice and they did it painfully slowly too. Maybe we finally got the right guy for A.D. too!!
 

So no credit to Coyle for identifying the people he wanted (because everyone knew those were the right people) or for going to the administration and saying "these are the right people, we need to pay up if we want them" and then getting the administration to authorize the increase in budget to get Fleck?

I think any competent AD would have done it. So Coyle gets credit for doing his job, but that's what he gets paid to do. Again, we've had such lousy hires over the years that our expectations for an AD are really low.
 

No idea. We might be at the peak Fleck.
Could finish 8-4 And never have a winning season again


But at a minimum

The search seemed to be well run and competent. So Coyle is better than previous AD
 

Best AD the U has ever had. Hands down.
 

Best AD the U has ever had. Hands down.

Yeah - he made a good hire for FB coach. That’s all that matters - let’s forget that he still can’t raise all the $ for the AV, that he communicates at a lower level than a tree, that he has stated multiple falsehoods to the public and that he couldn’t have possibly handled the scandal any worse than he did. He hired PJ - best AD ever!


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Yeah - he made a good hire for FB coach. That’s all that matters - let’s forget that he still can’t raise all the $ for the AV, that he communicates at a lower level than a tree, that he has stated multiple falsehoods to the public and that he couldn’t have possibly handled the scandal any worse than he did. He hired PJ - best AD ever!


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I doubt his tongue is as big as the last AD's too!
 


Yeah - he made a good hire for FB coach. That’s all that matters - let’s forget that he still can’t raise all the $ for the AV, that he communicates at a lower level than a tree, that he has stated multiple falsehoods to the public and that he couldn’t have possibly handled the scandal any worse than he did. He hired PJ - best AD ever!


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Agree 100%


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Yeah - he made a good hire for FB coach. That’s all that matters - let’s forget that he still can’t raise all the $ for the AV, that he communicates at a lower level than a tree, that he has stated multiple falsehoods to the public and that he couldn’t have possibly handled the scandal any worse than he did. He hired PJ - best AD ever!


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Yup!!
 

As of right now, the hiring of Fleck looks like an unqualified success.

However, I think there are still some unanswered questions about the hiring process.

In early December, 2016, according to the Strib: Coyle was quoted as saying - about Claeys - “He is our head football coach. … He has my full support.”....Multiple sources told the Star Tribune that Claeys and his assistant coaches will get contract extension offers.

Then, of course, you had the suspensions, threatened player boycott, etc, starting December 13th.

The Gophers win the Holiday Bowl on December 27th. Asked about Claeys' future, Coyle said they would "take time to reflect on the season."

On January 3rd, 2017, Coyle announced Claeys was fired. Coyle said the firing was not just about the boycott, but reflected concerns he had formed about the program over the previous 6 months. So, in one month, it went from vote of confidence to concerns about the program.

On January 6th, the U of MN announced that Fleck had been hired.

so - you can believe that the entire process to hire Fleck lasted 3 days..........or you can believe that some back-channel communications were going on before the Claeys firing was announced.

Again - the result turned out fine for the Gophers - but I think it's fair to question the process that Coyle used to arrive at that result.

Right or wrong, this is literally how every AD handles job security questions. Otherwise you could impact the team, recruiting, ticket sales and so on. The public vote of confidence is universally viewed as the kiss of death for a coach. As far as the hiring process, ADs are not waiting until they officially fire a coach to put out feelers to agents. Derek Mason is still coaching at Vandy but the Jeff Fisher rumors aren’t coming out of thin air. There’s always talk in the background. This is how the game works.

In the end, Claeys got burned because he was too thick upstairs to hire an agent that could have negotiated a better contract with a higher buyout which would have made letting him go that bit more difficult. His arrogance and naivete cost him. That’s where a lot of that bellyaching on the way out came from.
 

I was not sold on Fleck at the beginning. I have come to appreciate what he has accomplished. I hope that the trajectory upward continues.

My unanswered/unanswerable question is, "What would the U of M Football program look like if Kill and Co had come to campus following Mason?" This would have skipped Brewster. Even with Kill's health concerns occurring at the same time, would not this program be having an expected year this year as opposed to it being somewhat historic.

The Brewster experiment was an unprecedented circus that could/should have been avoided.
 

With the Gophers 8-0 start, we have been reflecting a lot on some of the other coaches we have had, how successful they were and what their records were. I think everyone has been very happy with the team so far this year and we are all very hopeful this success can continue. We are one of the most pleasant surprises of the year, ranked #13 and PJ Fleck is becoming the toast of the town.

Coaching records can be a little misleading. Someone said that Kill was a mediocre coach with a mediocre record but Kill needed a little time to right the ship and came into a difficult situation. Brewster was fired after going 1-6 halfway through the season in 2010 but I thought Kill did a good job of leaving the program in better shape than when he had left it. When Lou Holtz was here his record was an unremarkable 10-12, but when you saw what he had to deal with and where he left it in just 2 years you can see what a great coach he was. Those were both successful hires as a result.

With Jerry Kill and Tracy Klaeys, they were both very good coaches - they knew what they were doing and certainly several steps ahead of the previous regime but they were both very vanilla and I don't think they would ever have taken this program any further. There is no way they were going into a recruit's home and getting that top prospect away from Alabama or Clemson if they wanted them badly enough. I always thought the Gophers should swing for the fences and go for that guy who just might be able to take this program to the next level. That is why I wanted Mike Leach at the time Brewster was fired - he was very risky but he was that kind of guy who could win big at a place that hadn't enjoyed a great deal of success. He indeed proved that at Washington St. We won't know if he would have won here but I think he would have done quite well. That ship has sailed a long long time ago and it is gone. Another one was Bobby Ross who badly wanted the Gopher job after Lou Holtz left but they decided to go with John Gutekunst because they felt he would be a good continuation from what they had. Ross went on to win a national championship at Georgia Tech a few years later (as Lou Holtz did too) but Gutey just couldn't continue the momentum. He was another vanilla coach who knew what he was doing but was uninspiring. These decisions were similar in they went for the nice safe pick who was a good coach that knew what they were doing but were only going to take it to a certain level.

Enter into the equation PJ Fleck. Fleck was probably one of the top 2 hottest up and coming coaches when he came here. He was NOT that safe, vanilla pick that Gutekunst or Kill were. He was dynamic and talked a lot of smack which immediately scared a lot of the Gopher faithful because he sounded like Tim Brewster or further back Jim Wacker and both those regimes ended in disaster. It took a while for many Gopher fans to warm up to him as they were very cautious, but they are starting to come around in a big way. If they can keep him here there could be very big things ahead for the Gophers. If you are a fan of Iowa, Nebraska or Wisconsin you have to be very concerned about what is happening here at Minnesota.

Coyle diverted greatly from typical Gopher football coaching changes. Usually, a search committee is developed and they go over all the applicants and weeks if not months later, a new coach is named. This usually goes on long enough to completely destroy a full recruiting season. Old timers like me remember the disaster following the Joe Salem firing. They named a committee and they went over all the applicants and mid December finally named Les Steckel as their choice. Steckel turned it down so I believe they offered the job to BYU coach Lavalle Edwards, who was a great choice. Unfortunately - he hadn't even put in for the job!!! They announced they were starting all over again. This would have dragged into January or February but they were fortunate that Arkansas fired Lou Holtz and somehow got lucky he accepted. Instead, Coyle acted swiftly and instead of going for a single he swung for the fences and got a guy who just might be that home run hire Gopher fans have wanted forever.

This game with Penn St. is a big one but at the end of the day win or lose we put it behind us and get ready for Iowa. I think we are in very good shape for the future here!!

Mike Leach would have been a disaster here...
 




Right or wrong, this is literally how every AD handles job security questions. Otherwise you could impact the team, recruiting, ticket sales and so on. The public vote of confidence is universally viewed as the kiss of death for a coach. As far as the hiring process, ADs are not waiting until they officially fire a coach to put out feelers to agents. Derek Mason is still coaching at Vandy but the Jeff Fisher rumors aren’t coming out of thin air. There’s always talk in the background. This is how the game works.

In the end, Claeys got burned because he was too thick upstairs to hire an agent that could have negotiated a better contract with a higher buyout which would have made letting him go that bit more difficult. His arrogance and naivete cost him. That’s where a lot of that bellyaching on the way out came from.

Glen Mason has said this numerous times.
 




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