The coaches I thought we shoul've hired

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Go Gophers Rah

Go Gophers Rah

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When Glen Mason was fired, I recall the following coaches being on the list of people that I thought we should have considered (in the order that I wanted them) and how things are currently going for them:

Bo Pelini: Had a very good year at Nebraska last year, but the Huskers are pretty erratic this year. The problem with Pelini is that he wouldn't have stayed here if he was successful.
Steve Kragthorpe: In the orange Bowl the year prior to his hiring, Louisville has gone 4-14 in Big East play since.
Gary Patterson: Obviously he's had a few great years at TCU. My (foggy) recollection is that Maturi tried him but he wasn't interested.
Ron English: Eastern Michigan is the 119th team in the nation.
Al Groh: 2009 will be the second consecutive losing season at Virginia.
Lane Kiffin: Will probably take Tennesee to a low-level bowl, but I'd rather be mediocre with Brew than win with that jerk.

I'm sure that many of the more critical posters on this board will respond saying that they thought Brian Kelly or Steve Sarkisian or some other "hot" coach was their preferred candidate. I'd love to go back and read all the names being tossed about by fans on the Gopherhole in January 2007. My guess is that most of those coaches A) whould have (or did) say no, B) would've gone Lou Holtz on us if they were successful, or C) turned out to be not so good.

I was not a big fan of the Brewster hire in 2007, but I accepted it at the time and - in retrospect - think that he was probably a pretty good hire with the salary we could offer (since we still had Monson & Mason on salary). Unless the team is HORRID (like 3 2007 seasons) or a violator of NCAA rules, my patience for a college coach is guaranteed for at least 4 years. I'm willing to stick with Brew until the majority of the starters are Brewster recruits with at least 2 years of game-experience (not necesarrily starters - but contributors) under their belts.
 

Chris Petersen was mentioned here back then. Charlie Strong was interviewed.

Sid wanted Marc Treastman just like he's wanted him for every football opening in the last 20 years.
 

At the time I thought they should have gone after Paul Johnson while he was with Navy. I thought that they way he ran the ball their would have been a good fit with the talent we currently had here and he could have been successful sticking with a strong running game. But his name never really came up much but he sure looks good at Georgia Tech now.
 

I was (am) a Paul Johnson fan too. I'm surprised that more 2nd tier teams (such as Georgia Tech and us) don't try their hand at the option. It sure seems to work well at Air Force, Navy & GT.
 

Go Gophers Rah said:
I was (am) a Paul Johnson fan too. I'm surprised that more 2nd tier teams (such as Georgia Tech and us) don't try their hand at the option. It sure seems to work well at Air Force, Navy & GT.
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I agree 100% that it would have been a smoother transition with Paul Johnson. We still had some talent in the backfield and quick, smart, athletic linemen that could play in space. Plus it would have sustained the TOP advantage from the Mason years.

However, I think there is probably a ceiling on the kind of talent you can recruit running the option. Remember Paul Johnson is working with guys he inherited at Georgia Tech. That's not to say it won't work well for them over time, but it will be interesting to see what they look like when Dwyer and co. are gone. They do have the added advantage of playing in a very weak ACC. The thing is, I think Maturi and Brewster see the U of M as a sleeping giant. The new stadium is immediately a premier facility and Minneapolis is an attractive place to go with a lot of stuff for young people to do. Remember, this is one of very few schools that can boast 6 National Titles and 18 Big Ten championships in its illustrious past.MarQueis Gray would never have considered coming here with an option offense. I believe they intend to build Minnesota into a place like Oregon that recruits great talent sans the depth across the board you see at Ohio State or USC. The kind of team that can contend for the conference title more often than not, and wins one from time to time.

So in conclusion, Paul Johnson would have gotten us more wins in the short run, but I believe the current strategy will bear more fruit over the long haul
 



Does anyone have a list (official or unofficial) of the coaches that were interviewed for the opening that Brewster filled? Who was really under consideration?
 






Go Gophers Rah said:
Unless the team is HORRID (like 3 2007 seasons) or a violator of NCAA rules, my patience for a college coach is guaranteed for at least 4 years. I'm willing to stick with Brew until the majority of the starters are Brewster recruits with at least 2 years of game-experience (not necesarrily starters - but contributors) under their belts.
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I fully agree with this line of thinking.

When we're coach hunting back in early 2007, I was on the Frank Solich (formerly at Nebraska, currently at Ohio University) bandwagon. He's been 0.500 since he got there in '05, and not done much there since a bowl berth in '06.
 


Go Gophers Rah said:
When Glen Mason was fired, I recall the following coaches being on the list of people that I thought we should have considered (in the order that I wanted them) and how things are currently going for them:

Bo Pelini: Had a very good year at Nebraska last year, but the Huskers are pretty erratic this year. The problem with Pelini is that he wouldn't have stayed here if he was successful.
Steve Kragthorpe: In the orange Bowl the year prior to his hiring, Louisville has gone 4-14 in Big East play since.
Gary Patterson: Obviously he's had a few great years at TCU. My (foggy) recollection is that Maturi tried him but he wasn't interested.
Ron English: Eastern Michigan is the 119th team in the nation.
Al Groh: 2009 will be the second consecutive losing season at Virginia.
Lane Kiffin: Will probably take Tennesee to a low-level bowl, but I'd rather be mediocre with Brew than win with that jerk.

I'm sure that many of the more critical posters on this board will respond saying that they thought Brian Kelly or Steve Sarkisian or some other "hot" coach was their preferred candidate. I'd love to go back and read all the names being tossed about by fans on the Gopherhole in January 2007. My guess is that most of those coaches A) whould have (or did) say no, B) would've gone Lou Holtz on us if they were successful, or C) turned out to be not so good.

I was not a big fan of the Brewster hire in 2007, but I accepted it at the time and - in retrospect - think that he was probably a pretty good hire with the salary we could offer (since we still had Monson & Mason on salary). Unless the team is HORRID (like 3 2007 seasons) or a violator of NCAA rules, my patience for a college coach is guaranteed for at least 4 years. I'm willing to stick with Brew until the majority of the starters are Brewster recruits with at least 2 years of game-experience (not necesarrily starters - but contributors) under their belts.
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I will say that the struggles of Nebraska this year have all been attributed to offensive issues. They had the incoming starting QB transfer to Yale in the spring and since then have been playing with his backup and when he struggled a true freshman at QB. Add to the fact that their starting RB has been hampered by a nagging injury all year, they kicked the second team RB off the team for violation of team rules, and the third string RB(true freshman) has now missed the last few weeks with a foot injury. They are a really young team but they have still been able to remain competitive and will likely be playing Texas in the Big 12 championship. They are starting to get the recruits that they need however and with a top 10 defense will always be in every game. Would Pelini have stayed, who knows but I don't buy that Brewster would stay if a better opportunity came along as well. Brewster has no ties to Minnesota either and just don't get why people believe he would stay. In regards to Gary Patterson, he would have been a great hire and I do believe he was offered the job but turned it down. I also liked Charlie Strong and it appears that he is being talked about for the Virginia job once Al Groh is canned. Another guy that I am really impressed with is Bud Foster who has been the very successful DC at Virginia Tech for quite some time.
 



Though personally I am happy with Brewster......

Go Gophers Rah said:
When Glen Mason was fired, I recall the following coaches being on the list of people that I thought we should have considered (in the order that I wanted them) and how things are currently going for them:

Bo Pelini: Had a very good year at Nebraska last year, but the Huskers are pretty erratic this year. The problem with Pelini is that he wouldn't have stayed here if he was successful.
Steve Kragthorpe: In the orange Bowl the year prior to his hiring, Louisville has gone 4-14 in Big East play since.
Gary Patterson: Obviously he's had a few great years at TCU. My (foggy) recollection is that Maturi tried him but he wasn't interested.
Ron English: Eastern Michigan is the 119th team in the nation.
Al Groh: 2009 will be the second consecutive losing season at Virginia.
Lane Kiffin: Will probably take Tennesee to a low-level bowl, but I'd rather be mediocre with Brew than win with that jerk.

I'm sure that many of the more critical posters on this board will respond saying that they thought Brian Kelly or Steve Sarkisian or some other "hot" coach was their preferred candidate. I'd love to go back and read all the names being tossed about by fans on the Gopherhole in January 2007. My guess is that most of those coaches A) whould have (or did) say no, B) would've gone Lou Holtz on us if they were successful, or C) turned out to be not so good.

I was not a big fan of the Brewster hire in 2007, but I accepted it at the time and - in retrospect - think that he was probably a pretty good hire with the salary we could offer (since we still had Monson & Mason on salary). Unless the team is HORRID (like 3 2007 seasons) or a violator of NCAA rules, my patience for a college coach is guaranteed for at least 4 years. I'm willing to stick with Brew until the majority of the starters are Brewster recruits with at least 2 years of game-experience (not necesarrily starters - but contributors) under their belts.
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Back then I was thinking:

Steve Kragthorpe: I liked what he was doing at Tulsa. I also thought he could recruit Texas and the Texarkla area well.

Charlie Strong: Florida, and knew defense.

Leslie Frazier: If Tony Dungy recommends him IMO you should listen. Besides he knows defense.

In retrospect, I should be happy we didn't get Kragthorpe.
 

Clyde Tester said:
Does anyone have a list (official or unofficial) of the coaches that were interviewed for the opening that Brewster filled? Who was really under consideration?
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I kept a spreadsheet. It wasn't a complete list by any stretch but here's what I had marked down:

Interested candidates (per interviews, articles, etc) & their positions at the time
Dan McCarney, Former Head Coach, Iowa State
Frank Solich, Head Coach, Ohio
Bo Pelini, D-Coordinator, LSU
Mike Tice, Offensive Coach, Jacksonville Jaguars
Mark Trestman, O-Coordinator, NC State
Craig Bohl, Head Coach, NDSU
Larry Coker, Former Head Coach, Miami
Gary Barnett, Former Head Coach, Colorado
Lane Kiffen, O-Coordinator, USC
Bobby Hauck, Head Coach, Montana
Tim Brewster, TE Coach, Denver Broncos
Mike Haywood, O-Coordinator, Notre Dame
Charlie Strong, D-Coordinator, Florida
Mo Forte, Head Coach, Arkansas Pine-Bluff

I have the following as having interviewed for the job:
Craig Bohl
Lane Kiffen
Bobby Hauck
Tim Brewster
Mike Haywood
Charlie Strong
 

Didn't Venables the Oklahoma DC also interview or have some interest.
 


I had heard that Mike Grant interviewed also, or was at least said to be interested in the Gophs. Not sure if it was mutual interest.
 

I heard that Tony Dungy is an alumni and we should go after him.
 

Re "the sleeping giant." This is a headline on an article in Look magazine in 1951 by their senior football writer, Tim Cohane: "Can Fesler Rouse the Sleeping Giant of the North?"

The giant is still sleeping.

P.S. I was for Paul Johnson, too.
 

kiffin is the only guy i have heard of. be thankful we didnt take a chance on the ndsu guy, he cant recruit and they have only won 1-2 games this year.
 

Bo Pellini was not interested in the job after his first interview. I heard he sat around in a room with 3 people who didn't ask him a single football question. After that, he took his name out of the hopper.
 

Art Briles

Jan. 10 (2007)--NCAA officials have confirmed that Houston's Art Briles has been contacted by representatives from the University of Minnesota to discuss the Golden Gophers' football coaching vacancy.

But Briles, who was named Conference USA Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, decided Tuesday to decline an interview.

"Art continues to tell me that he wants to be here at Houston," UH athletics director Dave Maggard said. "We have agreed on a contract, so I expect him to be here."

That contract is a new five-year extension, the terms of which have been agreed upon but are being reviewed by the University of Houston legal department before final approval.
 

Josh Heupel was also considered a dark horse candidate. I think a lot of people were pining for him iirc.
 

Handsome Pete said:
Bo Pellini was not interested in the job after his first interview. I heard he sat around in a room with 3 people who didn't ask him a single football question. After that, he took his name out of the hopper.
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False, Pelini was interested from beginning to end.
 

GopherGod said:
False, Pelini was interested from beginning to end.
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That's how I remember it.

There were seperate articles written that included quotes from Pelini and Kiffin. Both expressed disappointment over not getting the job, and both suggested they thought it was a very unique opportunity. (Two of college football's top coordinators.) As Kiffin said, "It's a gold mine." I remember it because their forthrightness seemed unusual, and their comments caused minor uproars on the LSU and USC fan boards.

I couldn't find a link though.
 

Go Gophers Rah said:
I was (am) a Paul Johnson fan too. I'm surprised that more 2nd tier teams (such as Georgia Tech and us) don't try their hand at the option. It sure seems to work well at Air Force, Navy & GT.
Click to expand...

I am a Paul Johnson superfan, and at the time was told that his option spread wouldn't work at a BCS AQ-conference level. I am glad he has proven them all wrong. I don't know how hard it would have been to get decent talent up here in a system like that, but the transition would have been easier for the smallish Mason era zone blocking offensive line.
 

Paul Johnson

Lakerfootball54 said:
At the time I thought they should have gone after Paul Johnson while he was with Navy. I thought that they way he ran the ball their would have been a good fit with the talent we currently had here and he could have been successful sticking with a strong running game. But his name never really came up much but he sure looks good at Georgia Tech now.
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Paul Johnson was my choice. He is a terrific coach who can get everything out of his players. I agree that his systems would work well with the kind of talent we can recruit in the Midwest. He is doing a great job at Georgia Tech.
 


From what I remember I thought we were after Johnson pretty hard but it all fell apart due to what Johnson was asking for.

I do believe we are doing things the right way this time around...with a coach like Mason (at one time was the second highest paid Big Ten coach) we didn't have anything left to pay our assistants. Even though we've had turnover at our coordinator positions under Brewster we've been able to get guys like Ted Roof. Now I know what everyone will say, but having this money allows the gophers to keep the assistants like Lee, Davis and Butler. We need the ability to keep these guys here 5-10 years.
 

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