17 yrs as HC and he still wasn't in our top 10

[GopherinFlorida]

Lets be clear...all you Maturi apologists and Kill lovers...Kill has been a HC for 17 years with a winning record and he still wasn't in our Top 10...maybe even our Top 20.

I think this guy can coach and I think we will be fine with him...but if fine was good enough they why fire Mason? We were fine with him.

This program is in shambles because Maturi and Bruininks are clueless.

Best case scenario...we are .500 in the big ten for the next 8 years and going to a second tier bowl game 3 0ut 0f 4 years (Masonesque). Worst case...we are looking for this guys replacement in 3-4 years...no matter what we are no closer to a bcs game or a big ten title.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

It sounds more like you are the Maturi apologist. You are the one saying that Kill won't be a good coach with your Ms. Cleo-like predictions on his success and that rightfully he wasn't in Maturi's top 10 or heck even top 20. It sounds like you are applauding Maturi's ability to judge coaches.

Out of curiousity, why do you assume that Kill will be like Mason? What are the comparisons that you are leaning on besides just pure speculation without anything to back it up?

 

[Formo]

I'm going to go out on a ledge and say he's a step up from Brew, and most likely from Horton.

Here's my question to the Maturi haters.. What would you say if he contacted and did everything he could to get the A listers to come here, but they just weren't interested? How is that Joel's fault?

 

[station19]

I'm going to go out on a ledge and say he's a step up from Brew, and most likely from Horton.

Here's my question to the Maturi haters.. What would you say if he contacted and did everything he could to get the A listers to come here, but they just weren't interested? How is that Joel's fault?

That's the 2.5 million dollar question.

 

[Nashvlgopher]

I'm going to go out on a ledge and say he's a step up from Brew, and most likely from Horton.

Here's my question to the Maturi haters.. What would you say if he contacted and did everything he could to get the A listers to come here, but they just weren't interested? How is that Joel's fault?

It's all about managing expectations. Jerry Kill could be the best thing that has happened to Gopher Football in the last 40 years, or he could be a dismal hire, time will tell. But because of how Maturi handled this thing, I think a lot of people out there were expecting a flashy name, so when Kill comes in he's already starting out behind the power curve.

 

[50PoundHead]

All great responses to the OP here. It is about managing expectations. If Maturi can't get the higher-profile candidates to listen, how is that on him? The situation here as viewed from the outside is worse than most of us probably realize. The last few years of Mason followed by the disaster that was Brewster have really sunk this program.

 

[Pewterschmidt]

All great responses to the OP here. It is about managing expectations. If Maturi can't get the higher-profile candidates to listen, how is that on him? The situation here as viewed from the outside is worse than most of us probably realize. The last few years of Mason followed by the disaster that was Brewster have really sunk this program.

Ever think the higher-profile candidates wanted to know who their boss was going to be in 12 months? That's on Maturi. Ever think the weak presense of Maturi could also have something to do with it? That's on Maturi.

The fact that Maturi was in charge of this hire just blows my mind. I'm utterly convinced that almost any other competent AD could have brought in a bigger name. Because he's Lame Duck Joel Maturi, we get Kill. Kill may turn out to be great but today he's still Jerry Kill and that's a WTF moment for most.

 

[goldengophers]

All great responses to the OP here. It is about managing expectations. If Maturi can't get the higher-profile candidates to listen, how is that on him? The situation here as viewed from the outside is worse than most of us probably realize. The last few years of Mason followed by the disaster that was Brewster have really sunk this program.

Maturi is absolutely to blame for high-profile candidates not listening! With the money, facilities and city you should be able to hire a guy with name recognition; the reason the big guys probably didn't listen is because Maturi has badly screwed up the culture of the program post-Mason and was unable to articulate to the big names how they could swiftly turn the ship back around in a positive direction.

 

[jamiche]

All great responses to the OP here. It is about managing expectations. If Maturi can't get the higher-profile candidates to listen, how is that on him? The situation here as viewed from the outside is worse than most of us probably realize. The last few years of Mason followed by the disaster that was Brewster have really sunk this program.

The reason that it is on Maturi (and Bruininks) is that none of the "names" wanted to work for Maturi and then have to deal with a new AD in a year or two. The U isn't a hot spot to start with and Maturi should have been bought out and replaced at the start of this process. A poor management decision by Bruininks.

 

[caliGopher]

I'm going to go out on a ledge and say he's a step up from Brew, and most likely from Horton.

Here's my question to the Maturi haters.. What would you say if he contacted and did everything he could to get the A listers to come here, but they just weren't interested? How is that Joel's fault?

Just a few thoughts on that:

1. You're replacing an abject failure of a coach that was an unequivocal failure on the ADs part and there were no consequences for that AD. What does that say about the environment you're walking into?
2. You're going to work for a guy who has repeatedly made statements in the press regarding the hiring "process" that damage recruiting and the national perception of his ability to do his job?
3. You're going to work for a guy who doesn't have the courtesy to let his counterparts know they are contacting you?
4. You're going to go to work for a guy that thinks offering you $2.5MM a year is a huge offer, when you already know you'll get more than that to go to a school with a lesser set of hurdles to success?
5. At some point you get so far down the list you need to step back and reevaluate your process before you make the hire. If you've gone through a list of 5 - 10 candidates and you keep getting "no thanks" most people in his position would evaluate the situation and try a different tact. More money? A different set of criteria (e.g. look at coordinators)? Weigh the drawbacks of considering a difficult personality (e.g. Mike Leach) against the realities that he may be the only "name" coach you can get at this point? The list is endless.

Joel Maturi may not be the only reason we're in the situation we are, but he is a major reason why we didn't make the hire we needed to 4 years ago, and a major reason why we didn't make the hire we needed to this time -- although some of this falls on Bruininks for not having the stones to jettison Maturi before canning Brewster.

Based on his "track record" I'll also say this, I have zero confidence that when the going got tough, Joel got going.

I don't believe for a second that this hire is a failure of the magnitude of Tim Brewster, but Joel laid out the criteria in the press conference and delivered on only a few pieces of his goal.

How is Joel Maturi NOT the problem is the better question.

That he still has a job isn't just laughable, it is indicative of the problem we find ourselves in. He may do most of his job well, but he really, really, really sucks at this part of his job. Unfortunately this is the most important role he is supposed to fill.

Given the two football hires, the only grade you can give him is incomplete. There isn't enough of a body of work from the two hires to even give him an "F" -- and I say that fully understanding that Kill may ultimately work out just fine. The reality is we wouldn't be in this position if he'd had a clue four years ago.

Why it's time for Joel to go is that the general consensus of the fan base is that when the going got tough, Joel retreated to his comfort level -- the MAC and Wisconsin. He's a no trick pony that needs to ride off into the sunset.

 

[RedPoo]

Maturi is absolutely to blame for high-profile candidates not listening! With the money, facilities and city you should be able to hire a guy with name recognition; the reason the big guys probably didn't listen is because Maturi has badly screwed up the culture of the program post-Mason and was unable to articulate to the big names how they could swiftly turn the ship back around in a positive direction.

I can't say with any certainty that Maturi is at fault if the higher-profile coaches turned him down, but I'm curious how much, if at all, the position he left Brewster in hurt us with these guys. Openly insulting a coach you're firing, especially one who for all his other faults did everything he could for the program, has got to turn some heads in the coaching community.

 

[CJTGopher]

Just a few thoughts on that:

1. You're replacing an abject failure of a coach that was an unequivocal failure on the ADs part and there were no consequences for that AD. What does that say about the environment you're walking into?
2. You're going to work for a guy who has repeatedly made statements in the press regarding the hiring "process" that damage recruiting and the national perception of his ability to do his job?
3. You're going to work for a guy who doesn't have the courtesy to let his counterparts know they are contacting you?
4. You're going to go to work for a guy that thinks offering you $2.5MM a year is a huge offer, when you already know you'll get more than that to go to a school with a lesser set of hurdles to success?
5. At some point you get so far down the list you need to step back and reevaluate your process before you make the hire. If you've gone through a list of 5 - 10 candidates and you keep getting "no thanks" most people in his position would evaluate the situation and try a different tact. More money? A different set of criteria (e.g. look at coordinators)? Weigh the drawbacks of considering a difficult personality (e.g. Mike Leach) against the realities that he may be the only "name" coach you can get at this point? The list is endless.

Joel Maturi may not be the only reason we're in the situation we are, but he is a major reason why we didn't make the hire we needed to 4 years ago, and a major reason why we didn't make the hire we needed to this time -- although some of this falls on Bruininks for not having the stones to jettison Maturi before canning Brewster.

Based on his "track record" I'll also say this, I have zero confidence that when the going got tough, Joel got going.

I don't believe for a second that this hire is a failure of the magnitude of Tim Brewster, but Joel laid out the criteria in the press conference and delivered on only a few pieces of his goal.

How is Joel Maturi NOT the problem is the better question.

That he still has a job isn't just laughable, it is indicative of the problem we find ourselves in. He may do most of his job well, but he really, really, really sucks at this part of his job. Unfortunately this is the most important role he is supposed to fill.

Given the two football hires, the only grade you can give him is incomplete. There isn't enough of a body of work from the two hires to even give him an "F" -- and I say that fully understanding that Kill may ultimately work out just fine. The reality is we wouldn't be in this position if he'd had a clue four years ago.

Why it's time for Joel to go is that the general consensus of the fan base is that when the going got tough, Joel retreated to his comfort level -- the MAC and Wisconsin. He's a no trick pony that needs to ride off into the sunset.

Very nice post and similar to what a lot of people are thinking today.