8 Potential Minnesota Gophers Head Coaches Pt.1

[Gopher Fan]

There can only be one.

Hello everyone, I have been a longtime Minnesota Golden Gophers fan and I've moved from subscribing to GopherIllustrated to this board. I've watched as Tim Brewster came in with high praise for his recruiting ability and dedication to coaching in which we thought success was around the corner. Unfortunately Brewster has hit a rough spot with the team, and everyone around the program knows whats coming. This definetly affects the players and coaches as much as they want to ignore it. Brewster is a good man, and I wish him the best of luck elsewhere. He would be better suited for a smaller conference due to his strength of recruiting ability and struggles with coaching. I wish the best of luck to his wife, and their wonderful kids.

I've spent a few days compiling this list of guys that I think would be good hires for this football program. I wanted to share this list to everyone to see what they thought. This list doesn't include Dan McCarney.

I've broken the list into 2 categories.(College Guys & NFL Guys)


This list is not in order by preference. That should be determined by you, the viewer and fellow Gopher fans.

College Guys:​

Luke Fickell
Age: 37
Current Job: Co-Defensive Coordinator for Ohio State​

Strengths:

• Has played a key role in turning Ohio State's defense into one of the top in the country. ​
• His development of their LB's is well noted with 12 having reached the NFL under his watch. ​
• Has been tutored by Tressel for 8 years, and with the success of his previous assistants elsewhere that isn't a knock against him.​
• Former Big 10 football player who knows about the culture and the importance of Big 10 rivalries​

Concerns:​

• As a first time Head Coach, he could potentially struggle in a major conference like the Big 10+2.​
• Having made his craft as a defensive coach, does he know who to hire to run his offense?​
• Flight risk for a bigger job?(if successful)​
• Flight risk for Ohio State when Tressel retires a la Glen Mason in 2001?(if successful)​

​

Brent Venables
Age: 39
Current Job: Asst Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach for Oklahoma​

Strengths:

• In 11 years as Oklahoma Defensive Coordinator, Venables' defense has ranked near the top in conference yearly​
• He has 12 years of experience overall as a coordinator in major college football and has built recruiting pipelines in Texas​
• Under his coaching, Venables has sent dozens of players into the NFL
• Has coached in 3 National Championship games, winning 1 in 2000

Concerns:​

• Oklahoma's defense is currently ranked #93 in the country this season, and his defense has shown a tendency to struggle to finish the season​
• Has shown loyalty to Stoops after being interviewed numerous times for Head Coaching positions across the country​
• Doesn't have any connection to Big 10 country in regards to recruiting or coaching as an assistant​

As a first time Head Coach, he could potentially struggle in a major conference like the Big 10+2.​

​

Troy Calhoun
Age: 44
Current Job: Head Coach at the United States Air Force Academy​

Strengths:​

​

• Has resurrected a dead football program at Air Force in just 1 year while turning them into a bowl caliber team
• In his 4 years as Head Coach at Air Force, Calhoun is 30-15 with 3 straight bowl appearances​
• Calhoun has NFL experience with the Denver Broncos and previously has served as an Offensive Coordinator in the NFL​
• Had midwest ties after working as Offensive Coordinator for Ohio for 6 seasons.​

Concerns:​

• As an Air Force graduate, Calhoun may not want to leave the program hes building in a mirror image to his mentor, Fisher DeBerry​
• Would the Triple Option be successful in the Big 10 with better athletes on both sides of the ball?​
• Can Calhoun recruit effectively when not selling an institution like the USAFA?
• How much would it cost to bring him to Minnesota?

Al Golden
Age: 41
Current Job: Head Coach at Temple



Strengths:

• Resurrected an embarrassing football program at Temple and led them to a 9-4 season last year
• Has shown to be an effective developer of talent based upon the progress made in Golden's 5 years at Temple
• Had a successful defense when Defensive Coordinator for Virginia between 2001-2005
• With 5 years of experience, there wouldn't be any concern about him being a 1st time Head Coach

Concerns:

• Temple is currently 3-2 so far which if they finish with a mediocre/average season it could kill his stock
• Rumored to be holding out for the Penn State Head Coaching job
• Turned down UCLA, Cincinatti, and Tennessee in the last 3 years when considered a candidate
• How good of a recruiter is he?

Shawn Watson

Age: 51

Current Job: Nebraska Offensive Coordinator​

Strengths:​

• Watson has nearly 3 decades worth of experience as an assistant coach on the college level

His Nebraska offenses has been ranked in the Top 15 3 of the last 4 years(currently ranked #7 in the country overall)
Is a Midwestern guy who has previously coached at illinois, Southern illinois, Northwestern, and now at Nebraska
Was the Offensive Coordinator at Colorado earlier this decade helping them reach 5 Bowl Games​

Concerns:​

• Only has 3 years of experience as a Head Coach for Southern illinois in Division II​
• Potentially could replace Ron Zook at illinois​
• Isn't highly regarded as a recruiter, but has secured commitments from highly ranked players in the past​
• Would have to make a good hire to have someone run our defense​

Mike Leach

Age: 49
Current Job: Unemployed​

Strengths:​

• Leach has 10 years of Head Coaching experience at Texas Tech, and during his tenure led them to a bowl game each season

His Air Raid offense would be a huge selling point to players when recruiting
Is widely regarded as one of the most innovative offensive coaches in college football today
Would be considered a big time hire for the Minnesota football program​

Concerns:​

• Leach's erratic behavior has plagued him for years and ultimately cost him his job last season​
• Is rumored to be a high maintenance coach who has an arrogant attitude about himself​
• His defenses have never ranked highly as a Head Coach, and he made few if any changes to fix it​
• Would Minnesota be of interest to him if he were contacted?​

Chuck Martin

Age: 42
Current Job: Notre Dame Defensive Backs Coach​

Strengths:​

• Martin is arguably the most successful Division II coach of All-Time compiling a record of 74-7 in 6 seasons at Grand Valley State

During his tenure as a D2 Head Coach, Martin reached 3 National Championships, winning 2 of them.
Martin has become Notre Dame's lead recruiter under Brian Kelly and has secured commitments from several top players
Is a Midwestern guy who has established pipelines in Michigan and illinois​

Concerns:​

• Martin doesn't have enough experience coaching in Division 1 and a jump to the Big 10 might be too much for him​
• Although he is not coaching his own players, Notre Dame's defense has been bad so far this season​

Kevin Sumlin

Age: 46
Current Job: Head Coach at Houston​

Strengths:​

• Sumlin's offenses have been ranked among the best in the country since he took over as Head Coach at Houston

Led Houston to a 10 win season in 2009, their best finish in 20 years
Has been a very active recruiter in Texas, in which hes landed numerous players over BCS schools
Has previous experience as an assistant at Minnesota during the early-mid 90's​

Concerns:​

• Houston has yearly been ranked among the worst schools in the country in terms of their defense​
• Has yet to develop his own players, as most of his players were holdovers from Art Briles' regime​
• Although he runs a Pass Oriented system, it has been shown to be highly dependent on the talent level of the QB rather than the system​
• Turned down the Tennessee job in favor of remaining at Houston​

These are the college guys who I've been intrigued by as a potential replacement for Coach Brew. I will post some NFL coaches(Head Coaches & Assistants) who I think could be good hires as well. Sometimes going to the well again works.

I've also been impressed by Mario Cristobal, FIU's Head Coach. I think he is poised for success at some point in the future.​

 

[go4rob]

Jim Harbaugh is still my favorite.

 

[Too Long in the Wasteland]

Jim Harbaugh is still my favorite.

Yeah, and I think Brooklyn Decker is a hot looking swimsuit model, but my wife is never going to have a bod like hers (my better half has a lot of other things going for her, though).

There is no way Harbaugh would ever come here:

A)Why would he leave Stanford?

B)If he did want to come back to the BT, why would he pick MN over MI? And that job will be opening up sooner than later, anyway

C)Even if you can answer A&B, how would we come up with enough jack to entice Harbaugh here?

Don't get me wrong, Harbaugh would be a great hire, but its not a realistic wish. I think Gopherfan put together a well thought out summary of guys who are in our price range and would potentially be interested. More importantly, these guys all have (at least some of) the tools needed to be a successful coach in the BT. There are some question marks, but all of these guys are infinitely more qualified on paper than Brewster was when he was hired in 2007.

When you're the dorky kid in class with a bad case of acne, you don't ask the cheerleader to the prom. You'll just get laughed at. But there are plenty of other nice girls, and you never know. You might just get lucky

 

[monk10]

I've been interested in a defensive minded head coach, more specifically a defensive minded coach that has been successful in the north. I'm intrigued by Coach Fickell.

 

[kellyleeks]

There can only be one.

Hello everyone, I have been a longtime Minnesota Golden Gophers fan and I've moved from subscribing to GopherIllustrated to this board. I've watched as Tim Brewster came in with high praise for his recruiting ability and dedication to coaching in which we thought success was around the corner. Unfortunately Brewster has hit a rough spot with the team, and everyone around the program knows whats coming. This definetly affects the players and coaches as much as they want to ignore it. Brewster is a good man, and I wish him the best of luck elsewhere. He would be better suited for a smaller conference due to his strength of recruiting ability and struggles with coaching. I wish the best of luck to his wife, and their wonderful kids.

I've spent a few days compiling this list of guys that I think would be good hires for this football program. I wanted to share this list to everyone to see what they thought. This list doesn't include Dan McCarney.

I've broken the list into 2 categories.(College Guys & NFL Guys)


This list is not in order by preference. That should be determined by you, the viewer and fellow Gopher fans.

First let me say welcome aboard. I can't even begin to tell you how impressed I am that you used to post at Gopher Illustrated. What's that cost $10/month. Clearly, someone's got themselves a good job!!!!!!

You must be quite the expert, knowing where Tim Brewster is best suited to work. Why don't you email Tim and share that with him? Have you considered being an agent? I bet you'd be a good one!!!!!

I can't believe that I haven't complimented you on the great pictures in your post. It really helps me put a face to the name. Hahaha. LOL

You really took the high road by complimenting Tim's children. Aren't his wonderful kids all in their 20's? What other 20-something year old men do you think are wonderful?

Can't wait to read part2, I'll be refreshing all day long!!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Thanks for the post Gopher Fan...good stuff. There are a few intriguing names there that I hadn't seen posted. I have to imagine that Maturi will want someone with HC experience, but the up-and-coming coordinators at top programs are hard to ignore.

Go Gophers!!

 

[wait!what?]

The OP knows his college coaches! That Martin guy who coached Grand Valley = kill shot!

 

[Wheaton]

Great post, love the insight.

I think Calhoun's Triple Option offense can work in the Big 10 as long as he has his athletes to run it. Remember, Nebraska won three national championships running the triple option to perfection.

I talked to Purdue's defensive Coordinator Donn Landholm on my show last night and He told me that any offense can work as long as the team is committed to running it and the athletes are in place. He then went on to talk about Denard Robinson. Only problem I find with Michigan's spread is that it is a one man show, BIG TIME! neutralize Robinson and you stop the offense.

 

[RodentRampage]

We are not going to get a head coach to come from a BCS school to come here. That would be at best a lateral move. A coordinator from a BCS team, a HC from a I-AA or I-A non BCS team, or a coach fired from the BCS ranks is realistic.

 

[KoolAid]

Calhoun

 

[GoAUpher]

Nice post GF. I like that you brought some new names to the convo.

 

[Kuato Lives!]

I would put money down that if Calhoun came here he would not bring the Triple Option with him mainly because it's not his offense, but rather previous HC Fisher Deberry's. When Calhoun was hired his intent was to install a more pro-style offense but quickly figured out that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. He's an NFL guy so I would imagine that he would bring a a simplified version of the pro style.

Option or not he's my number 2 choice behind Golden (no way in hell Harbaugh comes here, me thinks).

 

[dpodoll68]

First let me say welcome aboard. I can't even begin to tell you how impressed I am that you used to post at Gopher Illustrated. What's that cost $10/month. Clearly, someone's got themselves a good job!!!!!!

You must be quite the expert, knowing where Tim Brewster is best suited to work. Why don't you email Tim and share that with him? Have you considered being an agent? I bet you'd be a good one!!!!!

I can't believe that I haven't complimented you on the great pictures in your post. It really helps me put a face to the name. Hahaha. LOL

You really took the high road by complimenting Tim's children. Aren't his wonderful kids all in their 20's? What other 20-something year old men do you think are wonderful?

Can't wait to read part2, I'll be refreshing all day long!!!

The funny thing is you're being a smartass to the guy, and he's added more to the board with 1 post than the entire posting career of the "GH HOFer".

 

[RodentRampage]

The triple option can work at the BCS level, it got Georgia Tech to an ACC championship. If we did go with the triple option, we wouldn't be fighting with everyone else for the same recruits, we would be going after players with different talent sets.

 

[Ole]

I would put money down that if Calhoun came here he would not bring the Triple Option with him mainly because it's not his offense, but rather previous HC Fisher Deberry's. When Calhoun was hired his intent was to install a more pro-style offense but quickly figured out that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. He's an NFL guy so I would imagine that he would bring a a simplified version of the pro style.

Option or not he's my number 2 choice behind Golden (no way in hell Harbaugh comes here, me thinks).

I have to agree, although I'm sure he'll bring along with him a zone cut blocking scheme(he's a former bronco's guy), and I'd be surprised if he didn't have wrinkles that reflect the triple option.
He'd be a great candidate here, two concerns though: He's at his alma mater, which may be a long term gig depending on his aspirations, AND he's a close associate of Brewster who may not interview for a job Brewster's just been fired from(it happens in coaching circles all the time)

 

[ruralgopher]

I don't understand why we don't run any triple option now. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, and to mix in a simple version as a change up offense I think would be very effective. We have the pieces: Athletic QB (Weber or Gray fit this), solid FB, 2+ effective RB's, and suitable TE's. If we ran triple option 10 plays a game opposing D's would have to spend ~50% of their week prepping for roughly ~20% of our offense. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

All we would need to install would be the basic triple O, a counter, and a pass play with the wheel route. Our players would have to learn 3 plays.

 

[Wheaton]

We are not going to get a head coach to come from a BCS school to come here. That would be at best a lateral move. A coordinator from a BCS team, a HC from a I-AA or I-A non BCS team, or a coach fired from the BCS ranks is realistic.

I disagree. Yes we are in a bad situation, but this is still a Big 10 destination. That is bigger than the Mountain West, or MAC, Sunbelt or even the Big East.

This school can offer more money to a big time coach and he can take his team to a Rose Bowl. Something they can't do in any other conference, besides the Pac-10 of course.

Stay in Colorado or Temple and play teams such as UNLV, Florida International, Central Michigan, Colorado State.

Or come to a beautiful new stadium and travel to the Big House, Ohio State, Happy Valley, and soon Nebraska. Sounds appealing to me.

 

[Duluthguy]

Good OP. Great to hear some new names that no one else has mentioned. Keep up the good work and don't be intimitated by posters who enjoy ripping others to bolster their weak egos.

 

[MadtownGopher]

Heard Leach on Petros and Money yesterday and all he could talk about was how much he wanted to get back into coaching and how he has become a better coach by doing broadcasting this year.

I would hire him in a second.

A positive for Leach is that he improved Texas Tech's graduation rate. When he arrived they were below average in the Big XII. When he left they had the number 1 graduation rate in the country.

 

[dpodoll68]

AND he's a close associate of Brewster

I don't doubt that you're right, but where have you heard this?

 

[josh087]

If your OP is an indication of what you are going to contribute to the site please keep posting here GFan.

 

[gophmeister]

Heard Leach on Petros and Money yesterday and all he could talk about was how much he wanted to get back into coaching and how he has become a better coach by doing broadcasting this year.

I would hire him in a second.

A positive for Leach is that he improved Texas Tech's graduation rate. When he arrived they were below average in the Big XII. When he left they had the number 1 graduation rate in the country.

What I like is that he would bring instant credibility to the program. I would enjoy watching badger and suckeye fans squirm every time our offense stepped on the field. I deplore pass happy offenses, but I love winning more.

 

[RodentRampage]

I disagree. Yes we are in a bad situation, but this is still a Big 10 destination. That is bigger than the Mountain West, or MAC, Sunbelt or even the Big East.

This school can offer more money to a big time coach and he can take his team to a Rose Bowl. Something they can't do in any other conference, besides the Pac-10 of course.

Stay in Colorado or Temple and play teams such as UNLV, Florida International, Central Michigan, Colorado State.

Or come to a beautiful new stadium and travel to the Big House, Ohio State, Happy Valley, and soon Nebraska. Sounds appealing to me.

Temple is not a BCS university, they play football in the MAC. Colorado is moving to the Pac-10.

 

[Law_Abiding_Gopher]

I like the Leach idea even with his strange exit from Texas Tech. The timing of the termination along with the influence that Craig James had with his role in the media seems somewhat questionable. If Adam James was literally ordered to stand in a dark garage as punishment, I can think of much worse punishments that an even crazier coach could come up with.

Anyway that is my rough Wikipedia based assessment of Leach's departure from Texas Tech. I clearly haven't researched much and am completely open to further opinion and thoughts on this topic.

Also as an opening post "8 potential Minnesota Gophers Head Coaches Pt 1" is awesome and I wish I could have come on with such a reasoned and well thought out post. Contrary to the one naysayer I thought the pictures were fun. I think they are always fun and having a name with the face makes it an even better post.

 

[dpodoll68]

I like the Leach idea even with his strange exit from Texas Tech. The timing of the termination along with the influence that Craig James had with his role in the media seems somewhat questionable. If Adam James was literally ordered to stand in a dark garage as punishment, I can think of much worse punishments that an even crazier coach could come up with.

Anyway that is my rough Wikipedia based assessment of Leach's departure from Texas Tech. I clearly haven't researched much and am completely open to further opinion and thoughts on this topic.

Also as an opening post "8 potential Minnesota Gophers Head Coaches Pt 1" is awesome and I wish I could have come on with such a reasoned and well thought out post. Contrary to the one naysayer I thought the pictures were fun. I think they are always fun and having a name with the face makes it an even better post.

I don't care about Leach's "indiscretions". As you've said, if the worst thing a coach has done is make a player stand in a dark room and cuss a lot, how bad of a person can he be? I'm more concerned with his ability to get the right players to Minnesota to run his offense. And even if he does that, he cares about defense as much as Mason did. In fact, I have a feeling it'd be Mason 2.0, only with 4,000 yards passing instead of 4,000 yards rushing.

 

[monk10]

The funny thing is you're being a smartass to the guy, and he's added more to the board with 1 post than the entire posting career of the "GH HOFer".

Be nice. This forum posting thing has passed him by, and he is trying to hold on to what he once had. You don't always correct gramps when he starts rambling do you?

 

[Wheaton]

Temple is not a BCS university, they play football in the MAC. Colorado is moving to the Pac-10.

The MAC is a BCS conference. Just not a BCS automatic bid

 

[ruralgopher]

The MAC is a BCS conference. Just not a BCS automatic bid

Nope, it is a FBS conference.

 

[GoAUpher]

The MAC is a BCS conference. Just not a BCS automatic bid

Only the BCS auto-bids are called BCS conferences.

 

[Ole]

I don't doubt that you're right, but where have you heard this?

Both were assistants under Shannahan in Denver, of course Brewster's got to be taken with a grain of salt when he recalls stories, but basically before the Air force game he described both of them staying up late putting together film and getting things set up for the staff meetings, basically doing the grunt work for the position coaches and coordinators together.

Calhoun is a heck of a candidate, heck maybe the association would help him sign on, maybe Brewster would appreciate his friend taking care of his guys.