Coaching... round and round we go

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Schnauzer

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The discussion about Father Sports' most recent column reminded me what the prime ingredient the next coach should have. The U keeps trying to address the red flags from each coach with new coaches that are exactly opposite.

Gutey... too boring and uninspired
Wacker... very inspired and upbeat (but poor sytem and unable to build)
Mason... proven track record of building, and solid x and o's (but aloof and a lazy recruiter)
Brewster... anything but aloof and big time recruiter (but no head coaching experience)
next coach... will clearly have head coaching experience (or at the very least, a big time coordinator experience)

So, if things go like they have gone in the past... it is time to hire Gutey!

Just kidding. The one glaring thing that has not been done in any of the hirings of coaches that were later fired, was HIRING A COACH WITH A CLEAR WINNING RECORD.

GMAN so perfectly listed this in the Sid thread:

Coach - Prev D-I school(record) - MN Record
------------------------------------------------------------
Cal Stoll - Wake Forest(15-17) - 39-39
Joe Salem - None - 19-35-1
Lou Holtz - Arkansas(60-21-2) - 10-12
John Gutekunst - None - 29-37-2
Jim Wacker - TCU(40-58-2) - 16-39
Glen Mason - Kansas(47-54-1) - 64-57

With the exception of Lou Holtz (who fell in to the U's lap and was the only coach on this list that left on his own), The U has managed to go through FIVE coaching hires without selecting a HEAD coach with a winning record!

How refreshing would it be to have a proven winning head coach take over?
 

Some of the head coach names that have been tossed around (for comparison):

Al Golden - Temple (22-31)
Randy Edsall - UConn (67-66)
Mike Leach - Texas Tech (84-43)
Jim Leavitt - USF (94-57)
Kevin Sumlin - Houston (20-9)
Mark Richt - Georgia (91-30)
 



Someone should call in to Sid's show on Sunday and read these stats.
 


Gopher07 said:
Some of the head coach names that have been tossed around (for comparison):

Al Golden - Temple (22-31)
Randy Edsall - UConn (67-66)
Mike Leach - Texas Tech (84-43)
Jim Leavitt - USF (94-57)
Kevin Sumlin - Houston (20-9)
Click to expand...

Mike Bellotti - 137–80–2
Jim Harbaugh - 21–20 ( 50-26 ...includes Pioneer League HC stint)

I like the Bellotti idea more....not sure if he would come here or not.

GM
 


Richt has gone 91-30 at Georgia. Wow.
 




Gopher07 said:
Al Golden - Temple (22-31)
Click to expand...

To be fair to Golden (admitting my bias, he is my #1 candidate):

Temple's record, 1983-2004 (encompassing their 3 pre-Golden coaches who were all terrible):

59-151 (.281)

Golden, 2006-present:

22-31 (.415)

Golden, 2009-present:

12-5 (.706)

(Seriously, 28.1% over 22 seasons. That is just pathetic. You almost have to be trying to lose to be that bad in modern collegiate football.)
 

Gopher07 said:
Some of the head coach names that have been tossed around (for comparison):

Al Golden - Temple (22-31)
Randy Edsall - UConn (67-66)
Mike Leach - Texas Tech (84-43)
Jim Leavitt - USF (94-57)
Kevin Sumlin - Houston (20-9)
Mark Richt - Georgia (91-30)
Click to expand...

Add Bronco Mendenhall of BYU who is 50-16. Young fire breather who obviously can coach the game. Holds a Masters.
 

dpodoll68 said:
To be fair to Golden (admitting my bias, he is my #1 candidate):

Temple's record, 1983-2004 (encompassing their 3 pre-Golden coaches who were all terrible):

59-151 (.281)

Golden, 2006-present:

22-31 (.415)

Golden, 2009-present:

12-5 (.706)

(Seriously, 28.1% over 22 seasons. That is just pathetic. You almost have to be trying to lose to be that bad in modern collegiate football.)
Click to expand...

He's THE guy that you throw money at, if we have that capacity.
He may be waiting for JoePa, BUT I've checked into it as much as I can, he's not the consensus favorite to take over. Many fans seem to want an inside hire. Remains to be seen if they are reflective of the administration there.
He's just built to win in the BIG10 though, a very impressive resume' all around.
Even has the perfect name.:cool:

I have to think Sumlin will be considered, as well as some top coordinators like Brent Venables of OK and Bryan Harsin of Boise. Trestman will probably get an interview too.
We're not getting anyone established or accomplished at a BCS program, including Big East programs, it's not going to happen. Richt considers coming here ONLY if he's burnt out, and we might not want him then anyway.
 

I met Gutey and I can honestly say he is one heckuva guy. But when you're the head football coach at the University of Minnesota and you're standing outside a State Capitol hearing room getting ready for a hearing and no one recognizes you (there were people milling around and he was all by himself), it does say something about one's charisma. I recognized him and said "hi" and talked with him for a couple of minutes and he was genuinely a nice, unassuming guy.

As for the new guy, I hope we just don't mess around. If someone like Richt becomes available, he's a no-brainer. I would prefer Golden to Richt, but we need to get a bona fide up-and-comer or someone who is already established.
 



Oneoldgopher said:
Add Bronco Mendenhall of BYU who is 50-16. Young fire breather who obviously can coach the game. Holds a Masters.
Click to expand...

I'm sure Bronco is looking forward to coaching BYU as they transition to independent. New contract with ESPN. Games against Texas, Notre Dame, West Virginia at Fed Ex Field.
 

Mendenhall - redeux

His team had one penalty for 5 yards last week. The first team penalty in SEVEN YEARS.
 

Ole said:
Even has the perfect name.:cool:
Click to expand...

I can see the pitch now... "We're the Minnesota Gophers, but if you come and be our coach, we'll change it to the Minnesota Golden Gophers..." Sweeten the deal. :clap:
 

Oneoldgopher said:
His team had one penalty for 5 yards last week. The first team penalty in SEVEN YEARS.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? He ain't Chuck Norris. BYU has 19 penalties this year (3 less than the Gophers) and last year had 94 (14 MORE than the Gophers).
 


dpodoll68 said:
To be fair to Golden (admitting my bias, he is my #1 candidate):

Temple's record, 1983-2004 (encompassing their 3 pre-Golden coaches who were all terrible):

59-151 (.281)

Golden, 2006-present:

22-31 (.415)

Golden, 2009-present:

12-5 (.706)
Click to expand...

DP, That sounds familiar to me....

Kent State Football 1955-1985
100-163-4 (.375)

Glen Mason 1986-1987
12-10 (.545)

Glen took over a program that wasn't quite as bad as Temple and turned them into a little bit better than Temple is now, in less time than Golden has had.

I want someone who is a proven winner in a big-time conference. Mark Richt fits the bill.
 

josh087 said:
DP, That sounds familiar to me....

Kent State Football 1955-1985
100-163-4 (.375)

Glen Mason 1986-1987
12-10 (.545)

Glen took over a program that wasn't quite as bad as Temple and turned them into a little bit better than Temple is now, in less time than Golden has had.

I want someone who is a proven winner in a big-time conference. Mark Richt fits the bill.
Click to expand...

Two seasons before he came to Minnesota, Kansas finished ninth in the country in 1995.
 

josh087 said:
Glen took over a program that wasn't quite as bad as Temple and turned them into a little bit better than Temple is now, in less time than Golden has had.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. Mason's best record at Kent St. was 7-4. Golden went 9-4 last year, and Temple will most likely be favored in all of their remaining games this year. I will be shocked if they win less than 10 games minimum. Also, it should be noted that Temple was so bad that the Big East KICKED THEM OUT. Seriously, when does that happen? Also, I would argue that today's MAC is more balanced and competitive top-to-bottom than the MAC Glen Mason coached in.

I'm warming to Richt, don't get me wrong. But there are a few complications:

1) Can we afford him?
2) Will he still have the competitive juices after being removed from a higher-profile, higher-paying job in the best football conference?
3) Can he recruit without the UGa name behind him?
4) Can he recruit in the Upper Midwest/Big Ten country?

With Golden, the only complication out of those is #1. He is a Big Ten lifer, in living, playing, and coaching (outside of the Temple job, obviously, which nonetheless is in Big Ten country). If our administration is willing to pay to get him here, he's about as failproof of a candidate as you'll find, in my humble opinion. Hell, he could take the Temple roster he has right now and go .500 in the Big Ten, easy. And look out when he can sell our stadium, our heritage, and early playing time to recruits. This place would be rocking within 3-4 years.
 


Maximus said:
Two seasons before he came to Minnesota, Kansas finished ninth in the country in 1995.
Click to expand...

And lost by a combined 82-10 to the other top two teams in the conference that year. Again, sound familiar?
 

dpodoll68 said:
I'm warming to Richt, don't get me wrong. But there are a few complications:

1) Can we afford him?
Click to expand...

To this point, let's say that the U goes through the process and to the shock of everyone involved in the process, Richt, Golden, Venables and oh...Jagodzinski are all very interested in the job.

Now, let's say that the U has convinced themselves that if need be, they will pony up and pay a coach the going rate, commensurate to their accomplishments.

Is there any reason to believe the U would willingly pay Richt what he would command vs. paying someone lower on the totem pole?

I can see them paying Richt vs. getting stuck with me coaching. But I can also see them rationalizing paying someone like Jago to do the job, and hoping for the best.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Not exactly. Mason's best record at Kent St. was 7-4. Golden went 9-4 last year, and Temple will most likely be favored in all of their remaining games this year. I will be shocked if they win less than 10 games minimum.
Click to expand...

That's fine, but Mason only got two years at Kent State - so who's to say in year 4 or 5 he wouldn't have won 9 or 10 games? We will never find out, obviously.

My point is that we've been down the road with coaches like Golden. I'm not saying he couldn't succeed here or is a bad coach or anything.

I would just put Richt higher on my ladder because he would bring a history of winning in the modern-day SEC here.

Points 1) and 2) would be my concern with Richt. Obviously 1) is out of my hands and if it doesn't work it doesn't work. I am not picking the most realistic candidate, just the one at the top of my list, with $ being no object.

So taking 1) off the list, I am willing to take my chances with point 2) with what Richt brings to the table.
 

Unregistered User said:
I can see them paying Richt vs. getting stuck with me coaching. But I can also see them rationalizing paying someone like Jago to do the job, and hoping for the best.
Click to expand...
I could live with Jagodzinski.
 

Oneoldgopher said:
Add Bronco Mendenhall of BYU who is 50-16. Young fire breather who obviously can coach the game. Holds a Masters.
Click to expand...

Mendenhall plays on the PGA Tour? and goes on Mormon missions? and Coaches football? Where does he find the time?

Mendenhall is a good coach, I like the suggestion but I agree that getting a Mormon to leave BYU might be like trying to get that guy from Big Love to narrow it down to 1 wife.

I'm with Josh and others. The Bank is an investment in a Big Time football program. Minnesota needs to become the kind of program that justifies that kind of investment. To give the Gophers the best possible chance of doing that they should pay top dollar for a proven BCS conference coach. This isn't Ohio State or Florida, where you can just hire the best Xs and Os coach available and know that recruiting will take care of itself. The Gophers need a guy who has proven to be good at running a major program.

Richt would be a solid choice. I think Minnesota should throw the kitchen sink at either him or Harbaugh.
 

Oneoldgopher said:
Add Bronco Mendenhall of BYU who is 50-16. Young fire breather who obviously can coach the game. Holds a Masters.
Click to expand...

you're kidding of course. he has a locked in recruiting base of any white morman high school athlete in the country but won't if he moves, and BYU may not have such a hot record this year by the looks of their play
 


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