10 most interesting options to replace Richard Pitino

We really have a Clontarf? That sounds like a dirty body part.
We really do. No idea if this is true, but supposedly the bar in that town has menus in Norwegian? I heard this second hand from some friends.
 

Reusse was on the Strib's "Daily Delivery" podcast yesterday to talk about Pitino. There were two interesting nuggets (take with a grain of salt). The first was that someone who Reusse described as "lets just say extremely connected to the world of college basketball" has told him that Musselman is interested in the job. The second was that Reusse said "you hear from people that Coyle doesn't want to go big on this, he doesn't want to go above 2 (million)".

Because most of you are Minnesotans, you are far more likely to belive the latter nugget than the former. Two million obviously takes us out of the running for any sitting head coach at a high major and any accomplished coach currently sitting out (Beilein, Matta, etc). That said, it's enough to get most any mid major coach that Coyle is interested in. For reference, Mike Young at Virginia Tech and Juwan Howard make $2 million. From the research this amount seem completely in line with hiring a mid major or unproven coach.
If Musselman is interested and we turn him down over an extra million bucks, that will be the most Gopher thing ever. Get it done if it's possible, Coyle.
 


On DeVries: He has a son that's ranked around #90 in the country committed to play for him next year. I would assume it would be attractive to DeVries to at least triple his salary and have his son play at a high major with his peers if he had that opportunity.

I do think it's likely that DeVries would prefer to coach in Iowa if possible. His staff is made up of Iowans and he himself grew up in Iowa and played at UNI. His brother was a really good defensive lineman at Iowa. There is a chance Iowa State could open. Would Iowa State be interested when his mentor's (McDermott) tenure there did not go well? Would DeVries be hesitant of ISU because of McDermott's experience? Don't know. There is a small chance Iowa opens too (would probably require Brey to be out at Notre Dame and for the Irish to want Fran) so a high major in Iowa could be on the table for him. I think it's a bit ridiculous to expect any mid major coach to turn down high majors for years hoping that a job comes open in their home state. One or two bad years at a mid major and you are off the grid of that 3X pay raise. Look at what happened to someone like Chris Lowery at SIU.

The other issue is the Drake staff was not happy with how the Liam Robbins transfer went down. Now there is a lawsuit that I believe is still pending involving a Drake coach allegedly telling a player to lie about a shooting. There are questions on both sides here: Does DeVries have hostility toward the Gopher program as a whole or just the coaching staff? and How does Coyle view the situation? He's a big culture guy and it's certainly possible DeVries isn't even on his list depending on how he viewed the Robbins transfer and that lawsuit situation.
Well and good ... but DDV should be a backup option if the Mountain West guys don’t work out.
 

If Musselman is interested and we turn him down over an extra million bucks, that will be the most Gopher thing ever. Get it done if it's possible, Coyle.
He’s interested. Oh yeah, just ask his agent!
 


"Oh...that guy would be perfect! But, no connection to the school. Lets move on from him to someone who's grandma is from Clontarf."
Has a lil' something to do with Lou Holtz, maybe. It's not so much the connections that are important, rewally... it's the fact that with some connections, maybe Minnesota won't be the stepping stone to another job.

Look at Brian Dutcher... He clearly wants to be here. Has those connections. Minnesota definitely wouldn't be a stepping stone to another job. If Coyle can't land Musselman, I'd love to see the Gophers bring Dutcher in. I'd be even happier if they'd bring Ben Johnson back from Xavier as an assistant head coach, as well... Tell him he's the heir apparent. Dutcher is 61, after all.
 







A friend with some inside sources just told me Niko Medved, Dennis Gates and Craig Smith have been contacted about the Gopher job.

Allegedly Smith will take the job if offered.

I'm also told this source is very credible. Take it FWIW
Jibes with other sources
 

A friend with some inside sources just told me Niko Medved, Dennis Gates and Craig Smith have been contacted about the Gopher job.

Allegedly Smith will take the job if offered.

I'm also told this source is very credible. Take it FWIW
Muss, Dutcher... he say anything regarding them? Anything else of interest?
 

Muss, Dutcher... he say anything regarding them? Anything else of interest?

Gates is interested in MN but he's also interested in BC because his wife is a professor there.

Some like Medved because he's a player in the MN High School BB scene and would bring Dave Thorson with him. The thinking is that duo could recruit MN better than others.

No steam on Dutcher, Mussleman or Matta

Keep in mind that people leaking info right now have agendas
 



Gates is interested in MN but he's also interested in BC because his wife is a professor there.

Some like Medved because he's a player in the MN High School BB scene and would bring Dave Thorson with him. The thinking is that duo could recruit MN better than others.

No steam on Dutcher, Mussleman or Matta

Keep in mind that people leaking info right now have agendas
Is it really true Thurston comes with Medved? Thorson would LOVE to take over at Colorado State and be a head coach.
 

Last Gopher head coach to leave on their own for a better job is??? Serious Q
 

Is there something I don’t know about Gates? He appears to be under .500 as a head coach.
 

Is there something I don’t know about Gates? He appears to be under .500 as a head coach.

Kinda have to look at the program he took over and their record in his 2nd year. It's not like he has 5+ years of being a HC. He also has 16 years of assistant experience and was a solid D1 player. There is more to him than his short record as a HC. He will get a P5 job this cycle.
 

Is it really true Thurston comes with Medved? Thorson would LOVE to take over at Colorado State and be a head coach.

Not gonna act like I know the answer to that. Obviously would be the hope if they hired Medved
 

Is there something I don’t know about Gates? He appears to be under .500 as a head coach.
He's extremely unproven but there's something about him which makes you feel like he might be the next big thing. Seems like there would be more of a pull towards BC with his wife there and accustomed to the ACC.

If Musselman wants the job let's go.
 
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A friend with some inside sources just told me Niko Medved, Dennis Gates and Craig Smith have been contacted about the Gopher job.

Allegedly Smith will take the job if offered.

I'm also told this source is very credible. Take it FWIW
I like that news!!! Offer Smith and let’s go!!! The guy wants to be here and is probably the best candidate anyhow. Tough when BC is looking at Gates and his wife is a professor there. I like Gates too. We’ve got very good choices.
 


He's extremely unproven but there's something about him which makes you feel like he might be the next big thing. Seems like there would be more of a pull towards BC with his wife there and accustomed to the ACC.

If Musselman wants the job let's go.
Huge factor in 4 straight top 15 recruiting classes at Florida St.
 


He has ascended to a good job at SDSU and his team is good! He has nine years big 10 experience as an assistant at Michigan He also has name recognition and WANTS to come here.
And he was 30 and 2 last year And a 1 seed most likely
 

Gates is interested in MN but he's also interested in BC because his wife is a professor there.

Some like Medved because he's a player in the MN High School BB scene and would bring Dave Thorson with him. The thinking is that duo could recruit MN better than others.

No steam on Dutcher, Mussleman or Matta

Keep in mind that people leaking info right now have agendas
IF Medved came here with Thorson, they'd definitely hit the ground running recruiting locally. I'd said that Musselman would have the best chance to snag Holmgren, but a Medved/Thorson tandem would be a knockout team, too.
 

In alphabetical order, the 7 that interest me the most that I think are "gettable". Niko Medved is at the top of my list. Coyle might surprise us, though. He's had a lot of time to work on his list.

Dane Fife (Michigan State associate head coach)
Dennis Gates (Cleveland State)
Niko Medved (Colorado State)
Porter Moser (Loyola-Chicago)
Scott Nagy (Wright State)
Craig Smith (Utah State)
Dwayne Stephens (Michigan State associate head coach)
If they don't have HC experience...not interested
 

He's extremely unproven but there's something about him which makes you feel like he might be the next big thing. Seems like there would be more of a pull towards BC with his wife there and accustomed to the ACC.

If Musselman wants the job let's go.
Gates might be awesome, but I feel like for good or bad, the odds he will be our coach in 6 years aren't very good.
 

Archie's in big trouble at IU. It would be nice to pin this down early before the carousel is spinning too fast....
 

Gates might be awesome, but I feel like for good or bad, the odds he will be our coach in 6 years aren't very good.
Very good point. I was just texting a friend that. Gates leaves much easier than Smith in my opinion.
 





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