Blame Continues to Fall Squarely on Gophers Admin

Donate To GopherHole
GopherWeatherGuy said:
Mistake #1: hiring coaches based on recruits opinions. How many highly recruited players have panned out for the Gophers over the past 10 years? Or better yet, how many top rated recruits from MN have panned out anywhere over the past 10 years?
Click to expand...

May be true, but post doubted recruits would have cared whether we hired TC or someone else. In their own words they did.
 

Given the situation, the University did about the only thing they could do in hiring Claeys. Let's see how this year's recruiting class holds together and how we fare next year with a schedule similar to what Iowa had this year. They can always buy-out Claeys at a reasonable expense if he fails or some amazing coach falls into our laps due to a relationship with the new AD. To think that we could have found a top notch, nationally recognized coach that would suddenly fall from the sky and take the job is beyond delusional.
 

50PoundHead said:
I'll admit the jury is out on Gutekunst, but there is no "what Lou Holtz built" if you bring in a whole new set of coaches. We likely lose half of this recruiting class and a number of guys may transfer. We have a light recruiting year and it's back to square one. Now if you want to hire Gene Stallings--which would be the longest of long shots--it might be different. I just don't see anyone out there who would be markedly better than Gutekunst at this juncture. If you want to tear it all down again, have at it because it would all be torn down.
Click to expand...

I translated this into 1980s Gopher Football Booster speak for everyone.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

saintpaulguy said:
Jerry built 2 and 6. So many excuses made back when in the Kent State game, but the signs were there. It wasn't Jerry playing conservatively, it was this team not being that good.
Click to expand...
+1

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

Spoofin said:
May be true, but post doubted recruits would have cared whether we hired TC or someone else. In their own words they did.
Click to expand...

I am sure the recruits wanted the staff to stay since those are the coaches that they have built relationships with.

However if a new staff had been hired the recruits that keep their commitment to the U would've moved on quickly from Clayes and his staff. Just how it goes.
 


Ewert86PC said:
I translated this into 1980s Gopher Football Booster speak for everyone.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

+1-- that was pretty good. I was only in HS when that transpired so I never paid attention to that transition
 

builtbadgers said:
It started with hiring Pat Richter who decided to use his vast football contacts for the feedback that led to Alvarez. Then when Stu Jackson did not work out he relied on the feedback of Al Maguire, Bob Knight, Coach K and they pointed to Bennett. Leadership starts at the top.
Click to expand...
+1 The Gophers Are Too Afraid To Do that.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Mistake #1: hiring coaches based on recruits opinions. How many highly recruited players have panned out for the Gophers over the past 10 years? Or better yet, how many top rated recruits from MN have panned out anywhere over the past 10 years?
Click to expand...

Probably no different than recruits in general. Some have panned out like Onwualu, Henderson and Floyd while others haven't like Davidson, Mobley, and Maresh.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Probably no different than recruits in general. Some have panned out like Onwualu, Henderson and Floyd while others haven't like Davidson, Mobley, and Maresh.
Click to expand...

4 and 5* recruits from MN according to rivals since 2005:
Walker Ashley
Rafael Eubanks
Joey Hiben
Matt Carufel
Jordon McMichael
Brandon Hoey
Anthony Jacobs
Michael Floyd
Willie Mobley
Sam Maresh
Bryce McNeal
Seantrel Henderson
Jimmy Gjere
Lamonte Edwards
Nick Davidson
James Onwualu
Keelon Brookins
Jeff Jones
J.C. Hassenauer
Jashon Cornell

Without factoring in the last 2 years, that's about an 80% failure rate. You don't hire coaches based on recruiting classes.
 



Next year the Gophers play about the easiest Big Ten schedule they can get.

PSU
Iowa
MD
Rutgers
Illinois
Purdue
Nebraska
NW
Wisc

Are we going to get all pumped up about beating Illinois, Purdue, and Rutgers?
 

Maroon92 said:
what I am most disappointed about is the expectations of many heading into this year was much high than Mason had, Who would have thought are only conference wins would have been against Purdue and Illinois and be dominated by NW, NEb and WI.
Click to expand...
Some of us were thinking five or six wins because of the losses to the NFL and the tougher schedule. But we didn't know Iowa would be that good - or Northwestern. People predicting 8 or 9 wins were not in touch with reality.
 

Face The Facts said:
Next year the Gophers play about the easiest Big Ten schedule they can get.

PSU
Iowa
MD
Rutgers
Illinois
Purdue
Nebraska
NW
Wisc

Are we going to get all pumped up about beating Illinois, Purdue, and Rutgers?
Click to expand...

You're just trolling now aren't you? Ask Iowa fans after going 7-6 last year while losing 4 of their last 5 , if they are "pumped-up" now with their schedule including Illinois State and North Texas and featuring those two difficult crossovers of Indiana and Maryland.

Yeah, that 2016 schedule looks just fine.
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
Some of us were thinking five or six wins because of the losses to the NFL and the tougher schedule. But we didn't know Iowa would be that good - or Northwestern. People predicting 8 or 9 wins were not in touch with reality.
Click to expand...

Coming into the season the schedule was pretty much the same as in 2014. As you said, most didn't think Iowa or Northwestern would be as good as they were this year. At the same time, I don't think Wisconsin and Nebraska are as good this year as they were last year.
 



Iceland12 said:
You're just trolling now aren't you? Ask Iowa fans after going 7-6 last year while losing 4 of their last 5 , if they are "pumped-up" now with their schedule including Illinois State and North Texas and featuring those two difficult crossovers of Indiana and Maryland.

Yeah, that 2016 schedule looks just fine.
Click to expand...

The schedule is fine, but if the Gophers don't win at least 9 or 10 games next year, it should be considered a failure.
 

Face The Facts said:
Next year the Gophers play about the easiest Big Ten schedule they can get.

PSU
Iowa
MD
Rutgers
Illinois
Purdue
Nebraska
NW
Wisc

Are we going to get all pumped up about beating Illinois, Purdue, and Rutgers?
Click to expand...

of course we will and we should! as should iowa. you beat the teams on your schedule, that's it.
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
People predicting 8 or 9 wins were not in touch with reality.
Click to expand...

Oh, stfu. Some people just prefer to not be self-loathing pessimistic dbags all of the time. Predicting 8 wins going into this season was not at all unrealistic. Now that almost everything that could've gone against us this year actually did, try to contain your throbbing erection if possible.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Oh, stfu. Some people just prefer to not be self-loathing pessimistic dbags all of the time. Predicting 8 wins going into this season was not at all unrealistic. Now that almost everything that could've gone against us this year actually did, try to contain your throbbing erection if possible.
Click to expand...

"Think you used enough dynamite there Butch?"
 

This season was an utter disappointment. There's really no way to sugarcoat it. Lose all the trophy games, 2 conference wins. Only way Gophers get a bowl is if it's a gift (not enough bowl eligible teams)?

Need to take advantage of the favorable schedule next year. 2016 will tell us which way this program is going.
 

Some random thoughts:

I wholeheartedly agree that it starts with strong leadership at the top ala Chancellor Donna Shalala/AD Pat Richter at Wisconsin. As was previously mentioned, they hired Barry Alavarez using Richter's extensive contact.

This put Wisconsin on the winning trajectory for decades. Make a mistake on the AD & football coaching hires, and it may set us back many years to come.

Imagine what the Gophers football program would have been like today had Lou Holtz decided to stay in Minnesota.
However, the call of Notre Dame was too great.

Getting a good AD is critical. I still don't get how the administration & BOR even with the so called "professional" search firm botched the Woody hire. We cannot afford to screw up like this.

Are there really problems about the culture within the Gopher Administration like former player Carter was saying? Is this something that will prevent good ADs from coming to MN? If there is no accountability like he was saying, we have a huge problem.

-------

Don't be too sure about a "soft" schedule next season. Other teams in the B1G West have improved, and as this season has demonstrated you are a few injuries away from a bad season. NW had this two seasons in a row, and Iowa was on a losing streak at the end of last season with Iowa fans calling for Kirk Ferentz's head.

-------

It is all about the money in the end. With revenue generated from winning at stake and the state of facilities cold war, there is huge pressure to win more than ever. Schools like Minnesota rely on primarily football revenue to fund other athletic programs. Throw into the mix the Title IX requirements, and you have a very complicated matter. I wonder if athletic departments who cannot foot a winning football team around the country are starting to accumulate huge debts. Winning brings in more money and donors in general

-------

Recruiting is everything. This goes for scholarship players and PWOs. We'll soon find how good Claeys and staff are in the recruiting game soon without Jerry Kill. They've got their work cut out.

Claeys has huge retooling jobs in both the offense and defense to do. We need good size, strength and speed on the defensive line. We need consistent o-line play to launch the offense.

We've lost the recruiting wars so far on DT - Mike Panasiuk (MSU), JoJo Garcia (hung up cleats after JK's retirement), and Walvenski Aime (FSU).

Let's hope they can get commitments that stick from the likes of Meritt Jackson (JC) and Amir Watts (Chicago area).

-------

I don't think Claeys will be like John Gutekunst at MN. I hope not. Losing some of Lou Holt's recruits to Notre Dame, and then the inability to recruit like Holtz ultimately let to his firing. He lasted six seasons. He did have two 5-3 Big Ten seasons.

I hope that the last two recruiting classes start showing dividends on the playing field next season.
 


Strong Leadership at the U is needed to change this culture. We're not even close to what Wisconsin has built (like mentioned above...Chancellor Donna Shalala/AD Pat Richter at Wisconsin). They figured it out years ago. We're lagging so far behind now....it's laughable. I'd like to hold on to some hope that things could change here...but it's starting to look grim again. Too much turmoil all around and there's no progression. I'm really sorry for adding this post...but I wanted to add my thoughts for the morning here.

I've enjoyed reading this message board over the years. I wish you all the best and good Luck in the future.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Oh, stfu. Some people just prefer to not be self-loathing pessimistic dbags all of the time. Predicting 8 wins going into this season was not at all unrealistic. Now that almost everything that could've gone against us this year actually did, try to contain your throbbing erection if possible.
Click to expand...

I couldn't love this post more. Thank you!
 

Like it or not Claeys is the coach now. Let's see where he leads us and support him along the way.

This year sucked for all the reasons mentioned over and over. But it's done. We're on to Oregon State.

We've added good players in recent years and now we need to add depth so injuries don't decimate us to the extent of this year. Hopefully our incoming class is a boost toward this goal.

Oh and we still have new facilities coming down the road. (Remember those?)

Time to put this year behind us and look to next year. And if the team does somehow play in a bowl game, I'll be watching and hoping for a win just like any other game.

In closing, a big F U to 2015 and on to 2016!!
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The schedule is fine, but if the Gophers don't win at least 9 or 10 games next year, it should be considered a failure.
Click to expand...

You're counting on our weaknesses getting better and our opponents not improving or getting worse.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 


RE: the AD situation. Whatever you think of the U of M administration (personally not a big fan), the U made it very clear about their timeline - resolve the internal investigation of MegaTongue and sexual harassment; then resolve the ongoing Title IX issues; then look at hiring a new permanent AD. Then, Kill retires, and puts the U in a tough spot. Hiring Claeys was the safer choice for the short-term, and we'll see how it works out.

I maintain a lot of top coaching candidates would not have considered the Gopher job without a permanent AD in place. Claeys has a 3-year contract with a manageable buyout. So, once a new AD is in place - whether it's Goetz, O'Brien or an outsider, they will make the ultimate judgement on the FB coach.
 

Ewert86PC said:
I translated this into 1980s Gopher Football Booster speak for everyone.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I get the Gutekunst reference. I brought it up myself when Kill left and Claeys became the likely successor. I don't think it's an apples-to-apples comparison and let's remember it was pretty much the players who scared off Bobby Ross. It's difficult to find a Bobby Ross t scare off in the situation the Gophers were in.
 

50PoundHead said:
I get the Gutekunst reference. I brought it up myself when Kill left and Claeys became the likely successor. I don't think it's an apples-to-apples comparison and let's remember it was pretty much the players who scared off Bobby Ross. It's difficult to find a Bobby Ross t scare off in the situation the Gophers were in.
Click to expand...
We're we coaching up players at that point? The only difference I see is that we are, marginally, losing few players to othe outstate schools.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

Holtz was certainly coaching up players. I can't think of many who were better at it. Also, when Holtz left, he took Tony Rice with him. That's really all you have to know. If there is a difference between this situation and the Gutekunst situation is that Claeys has been here five years and Gutekunst had only been here two years. Claeys and the rest of the assistants have a track record both here and nationally. That's neither here nor there to some extent, but I think this staff has really built up the in-state recruiting. We are still going to have to go elsewhere for the skilled position players, but Claeys has a firmer foundation in the state than Gutekunst did in a similar situation.
 

beatles said:
I agree 100%. Hiring Claeys was a short sighted knee jerk reaction that did not need to be made when it was and it will kill this program's momentum for years. People who think we couldn't have found anyone better after these last 5 years knows nothing about college football. I don't care if we currently have an AD or not that's no excuse. If anything you entice a good head coach applicant by allowing him to have a major say in who we hire as his AD and work it to your advantage. I fear we're entering a very dark time again for Gopher football and it's 100% due to the idots running our University.
Click to expand...

Lets keep in mind that we simply would NEVER pay enough to get a big time coach. It's not our reality. So you want to give some up-and-coming college football coach pull on hiring an AD? That's the definition of "short-sighted".
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom