Chip Scoggins: After events of past week, it's tough to see how Gophers keep Claeys

[BleedGopher]

per Chip:

Coyle, however, wasn’t exactly effusive in praise of Claeys during a 30-minute interview last Monday. Asked how he would frame this season, Coyle called it “a learning experience” for Claeys.

Claeys has only two seasons remaining on his contract, which if he is retained would be a unique circumstance for a major-college football coach. I asked Coyle if he prefers that his football coach has more years on his contract.

“I never talk contracts,” he said.

I mentioned reports that he will extend Claeys.

“Again, we don’t make comments when we deal with contract extensions,” he said. “But I support Tracy like I support all of our coaches.”

Has that changed? We could find out before the new year.

Claeys wasn’t the only person in a leadership capacity that made mistakes in dealing with this crisis. The head coach, however, bears ultimate responsibility with his program.

Here’s the next step: Coyle and Kaler must decide, if they haven’t already, whether Gophers football can win back support and trust with Claeys in charge.

http://www.startribune.com/after-ev...-see-how-gophers-keep-tracy-claeys/407529336/

Go Gophers!!

 

[BarnBurner]

per Chip:

Coyle, however, wasn’t exactly effusive in praise of Claeys during a 30-minute interview last Monday. Asked how he would frame this season, Coyle called it “a learning experience” for Claeys.

Claeys has only two seasons remaining on his contract, which if he is retained would be a unique circumstance for a major-college football coach. I asked Coyle if he prefers that his football coach has more years on his contract.

“I never talk contracts,” he said.

I mentioned reports that he will extend Claeys.

“Again, we don’t make comments when we deal with contract extensions,” he said. “But I support Tracy like I support all of our coaches.”

Has that changed? We could find out before the new year.

Claeys wasn’t the only person in a leadership capacity that made mistakes in dealing with this crisis. The head coach, however, bears ultimate responsibility with his program.

Here’s the next step: Coyle and Kaler must decide, if they haven’t already, whether Gophers football can win back support and trust with Claeys in charge.

http://www.startribune.com/after-ev...-see-how-gophers-keep-tracy-claeys/407529336/

Go Gophers!!

How about with coyle and kaler in charge? IMO that will be the biggest barrier to success

 

[Bad Gopher]

How about with coyle and kaler in charge? IMO that will be the biggest barrier to success

At the very least, who with any self respect would take this job after seeing how Kaler lied to throw his coach under the bus and avoid scrutiny on himself. Who would want to work for that guy? That may be why you keep Claeys: he's still the best coach you can realistically get.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Football coaches and players create success. AD's and Presidents are there to support and make decisions when they screw up. Coyle and Alvarez are the only AD's I can even name. No clue who any are. Kaler is only president I can name.


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[gopherrising]

As much as the media are commenting Claeys "can't survive" this past week (plus his 8-4 record with no big wins) still can't see the U spending $3 million dollars to let him and his staff go. That is the total cost for all coaches with 1 year left on their contracts. The U does not have that money, and I suspect no booster will pay it to bring someone else in. Really hard to see them firing him after the Holiday bowl, won't happen. However it will be very easy after next year, as with this many players either expelled, suspended or transferring football wise next year will be very difficult to even get to 6-6. But before that, not at $3mil cost.

 

[Section2]

I will say, as someone who has defended Claeys, defended the tweet, and defended his record and think he deserves a chance to grow into his role, he does not appear to be a strong leader of men. He's a quiet, thoughtful guy, very smart, very capable in terms of pure coaching, but his press conference, and what's happened on his watch make me think that some of the criticisms of him have been correct. And I'm sad to say that. He's just not a good leader.

 

[MennoSota]

The University has a pathological desire to ensure that its male sports programs are mediocre and never improve above the female sports programs. It is a culture of castration, which has persisted for 50 years. If Kaler and Coyle stay in charge, we will continue to see efforts made to ensure the male sports are mediocre.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

Not just $3 million cost to fire current staff but the cost to hire new staff...no Coach worth a darn won't come without a buy out to pay and a much larger salary and staff salary and expectation of 5 year contract with big buyout.

The problem with this kind of bad press (beyond the actual damage to people) is that it creates universal negative sentiment that precludes the spending necessary to fix the problem properly and work towards a top program.

That is the difference between us and Michigan or Penn State or even Missouri and Baylor...they will buy there way back to relevance where we wont spend even in good times.

Honestly, if not for Mega Tongue rewarding his boy Pitino with a huge buyout, he would have been fired last year and we would have a Noname Jones as our BB coach right now.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Your fired, your fired, your fired... is no way to run an operation. That is what leads to no one wanting the job. Whether it's AD, Pres, or Coach, firing is not always the answer. It leads people to believe that there is no support and mistakes aren't allowed. Everything can't be cut and dry. I'd fully support this leadership be given another full year to correct and move forward.

Once the game is done Claeys and Coyle need to quickly share a plan. Claeys should have enough information to kick some of the players off the team for conduct. They can stay at the school and walk-on, but scholarship is gone.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PMWinSTP]

At the very least, who with any self respect would take this job after seeing how Kaler lied to throw his coach under the bus and avoid scrutiny on himself. Who would want to work for that guy? That may be why you keep Claeys: he's still the best coach you can realistically get.

And, of course firing him now will be a PR train wreck and look like a pretty transparent (yes, ironic) CYA attempt, since they knew about this months ago. Kaler and Coyle are on hot seats as well. It will be interesting to see when and how the BoR steps in...which has got to be soon.

 

[KGF]

I will say, as someone who has defended Claeys, defended the tweet, and defended his record and think he deserves a chance to grow into his role, he does not appear to be a strong leader of men. He's a quiet, thoughtful guy, very smart, very capable in terms of pure coaching, but his press conference, and what's happened on his watch make me think that some of the criticisms of him have been correct. And I'm sad to say that. He's just not a good leader.

What leads you to the conclusion that Claeys is a "thoughtful guy, very smart"? The deer in the headlights look?
Claeys was a good DC. But, to use an analogy, not crashing the plane as soon as your given the controls doesn't mean you're a pilot. There have been plenty of signs that he is incapable of running a football program. His handling of this situation is the most recent and most obvious.
He may get another year to prove himself, but I think it would be for financial and timing reasons rather than a vote of confidence from the administration.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

I think Claeys is growing into his role as a leader and has been really tested since the season started. In crisis situations, the devil you know and may not like, is probably better than the devil you don't know.
If the guy's and players didn't respect coach Claeys before they sure as heck should now. He has been the only University employee at the University of Minnesota, that has been an advocate for the players, their rights as students, that has shown some empathy, understanding about what the group cause was for the players and what they have all been going through. At least he has been the public face of support.

That sacrifice by the entire team, the public boycott, their belief that they were standing up to injustice and hypocrisy from the University administration, was so that the program would not be ruined by this scandal even if the boycott looked wrong at the time. I give the players and their advisors some credit, they are not the dolts and animals they are being painted to be. Do not let the actions of a few, and the emotion of the moment, paint the entire team with the broad brush of all having done something wrong. I wasn't a big fan of coach Claeys before but through this scandal I have gained a lot of respect for him as a man and as a good person I believe him to be. He has tried to be honest and communicated as much as he could and has been a good employee of the University of Minnesota if nothing else. At least he is an authority figure that isn't only trying to protect his own situation, and is trying to take some responsibility for improving what has occurred. He is the only one that has put money where his mouth is.

 

[GoodasGold]

Your fired, your fired, your fired... is no way to run an operation. That is what leads to no one wanting the job. Whether it's AD, Pres, or Coach, firing is not always the answer. It leads people to believe that there is no support and mistakes aren't allowed. Everything can't be cut and dry. I'd fully support this leadership be given another full year to correct and move forward.

Once the game is done Claeys and Coyle need to quickly share a plan. Claeys should have enough information to kick some of the players off the team for conduct. They can stay at the school and walk-on, but scholarship is gone.




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You're.

 

[GoodasGold]

I will say, as someone who has defended Claeys, defended the tweet, and defended his record and think he deserves a chance to grow into his role, he does not appear to be a strong leader of men. He's a quiet, thoughtful guy, very smart, very capable in terms of pure coaching, but his press conference, and what's happened on his watch make me think that some of the criticisms of him have been correct. And I'm sad to say that. He's just not a good leader.

Joe Pa was considered to be a strong leader of men...until he wasn't.

 

[Deleted_User]

I will say, as someone who has defended Claeys, defended the tweet, and defended his record and think he deserves a chance to grow into his role, he does not appear to be a strong leader of men. He's a quiet, thoughtful guy, very smart, very capable in terms of pure coaching, but his press conference, and what's happened on his watch make me think that some of the criticisms of him have been correct. And I'm sad to say that. He's just not a good leader.

Agreed.

 

[Genious]

I feel like Claeys showed a huge failure of imagination in deciding how to respond to this situation. A tweet? Talk about the worst possible way to explain the nuance of the situation and your position on it. Newspaper editorial, a short interview with a single reporter perhaps? But the first sentence of his tweet was so poorly thought out regardless of your position on this. Nobody wants to hear that you're proud of the kids (full stop) at that moment. And "make a better world" is also a very poorly thought out phrase that seems intentionally designed to avoid specifying anything in particular but on the flip side can be viewed as condoning almost anything the listener wants to believe.

Maybe he's proud of a particular aspect of their stance or of the leadership shown by those not involved. Surely you need to mention the seriousness of the situation as a whole, concern for the woman etc. There were a lot of ways to find his voice here and he does not seem to have appreciated the importance of his ability to send an well-received message and frame the team's views. I can't imagine he ran that message past anybody with any PR sense and for his first statement on the issue that seems to have been a huge mistake. You can be loyal without being verbally clumsy. I don't think it will cost him his job at this time (notwithstanding the very lukewarm endorsements by the administration) but it didn't need to be so unhelpful either.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Scoggins doing his best to help recruiting.

 

[Deleted_User]

Somebody please explain to me "the rights of players" or the "rights of students". I'll wait as long as it takes for someone to elaborate on that. And, don't forget to tie in the cultural aspects of how those rights apply to gang sex.

 

[Section2]

What leads you to the conclusion that Claeys is a "thoughtful guy, very smart"? The deer in the headlights look?
Claeys was a good DC. But, to use an analogy, not crashing the plane as soon as your given the controls doesn't mean you're a pilot. There have been plenty of signs that he is incapable of running a football program. His handling of this situation is the most recent and most obvious.
He may get another year to prove himself, but I think it would be for financial and timing reasons rather than a vote of confidence from the administration.

Yes, I judged his intelligence by his appearance.

 

[Section2]

Somebody please explain to me "the rights of players" or the "rights of students". I'll wait as long as it takes for someone to elaborate on that. And, don't forget to tie in the cultural aspects of how those rights apply to gang sex.

Please explain to me the rights of the "victim".

 

[WorkingMyTailOff]

As much as the media are commenting Claeys "can't survive" this past week (plus his 8-4 record with no big wins) still can't see the U spending $3 million dollars to let him and his staff go. That is the total cost for all coaches with 1 year left on their contracts. The U does not have that money, and I suspect no booster will pay it to bring someone else in. Really hard to see them firing him after the Holiday bowl, won't happen. However it will be very easy after next year, as with this many players either expelled, suspended or transferring football wise next year will be very difficult to even get to 6-6. But before that, not at $3mil cost.

Okay valid point, but what if it is Tracy that comes forward and says being the head coach here isn't for me? Not likely but possible. Would Sawvel be considered for a promotion?

 

[t-docious]

Scoggins doing his best to help recruiting.

He's an SEC/Tennessee fan anyway.

 

[metrolax]

I think what happens is that the job of being a major college football head coach is so absorbing, so all-encompassing that one can present
just about anything outside their job-oriented mindset and it'll just bounce off. I think that's what happened to Jo Pa at Penn State. He was so
absorbed in his job 150% that when the whole Sandusky thing came up years ago it just did not register. Then, in the end, it killed him.

I think that happened to Riley out west as well, and I think that happened to Claeys, also. Sure, he knew about the suspensions and the like,
and possibly even the details of what happened that night, but it did not sink in the way it would somebody else. I think its a function of the job
of major college head coach. Their brains don't have much RAM left to compute beyond their goal-oriented tasks.

I hope TC is retained and he's able to grow into the role. If they fire him, the only thing that can make football at the U
respectable in the near term is if they bring in a true disciplinarian. The most successful head coaches STRESS two things:
1) Discipline, and 2) Accountability.

Jerry Kill stressed those things. Mason did. Most long-time successful head coaches understand that if they have those
two things, it makes the other stuff much easier. Not everyone has the "sand in their gut" to REALLY enforce those two things.
To put weight behind those words. Its much easier to just look for the next recruit, or watch some film.

What we've seen from the administration is the accumulation of some 60 years of antipathy towards football from a
disproportionate percentage of the faculty and administrators. This is why I've been able to stay a happy Gopher fan,
because I realize the team doesn't have to go 13-0 for me. I'm actually happy with 7-5 or 8-4, because I know that what
this football program has to operate under is DIFFERENT from what other programs have to. Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan,
Ohio State, etc....they do NOT have the resistance that the U has towards successful football. Warmath was the first coach
that swam upstream against that, and every coach has had to since then.

The fact that the Gophers have generally been on the winning side of the ledger in recent years is really a tribute given this.
Its almost like being an Ivy League fan. You can support an Ivy football team, and you can hope they become good. But,
the schools will NEVER allow them to be TOO good. Its the same way at the U.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I have concerns about Claeys' style, but I have actually begun to like him a little more as a result of the current situation. Unlike Coyle and Kaler, he's not hiding behind "privacy" excuses or spouting P-C platitudes. Claeys - a guy who is clearly not comfortable in the spotlight - is at least trying to stand up and state his opinion in public. He's not hiding under his desk like Coyle.

so, I think I'm OK with Claeys remaining as head coach. Hopefully, he'll get more comfortable with the media aspects of the job. I suspect he doesn't have a big ego, so maybe he would let his coordinators play a larger role (big Sawvel fan - still not thrilled with Jay Johnson, but I'll wait and see what happens next year with a different QB).

BUT - if they dump Claeys after the season - and Coyle keeps his job, I will be really upset. In my opinion, Coyle is the biggest loser in this whole sorry affair - not offering support to the players - hiding behind "privacy," and hiding from the media. I smell a rat - literally. the guy just comes off like a weasel. Can't help wondering what some of the other coaches at the U are thinking about this? they can't be happy with watching Coyle and Kaler try to throw Claeys under the bus, and openly lie about Claeys' involvement in the suspensions.

 

[gopherveteran]

Minnesota has been a bad job for 40 years. It is now terrible. Why would anyone work
for Coyle and Kaler?

Why would an established coach work for them? Minnesota was lucky to get Kill. He had cancer and epilepsy.

Why would a good young coach ruin his career by working for Coyle and Kaler?

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Minnesota has been a bad job for 40 years. It is now terrible. Why would anyone work
for Coyle and Kaler?

Why would an established coach work for them? Minnesota was lucky to get Kill. He had cancer and epilepsy.

Why would a good young coach ruin his career by working for Coyle and Kaler?

Because there will always be a coach who will take a 2-3 million paycheck for a chance to be the one who can change things. Especially in the easier B1G division with a new stadium, and new facilities on the way.

I agree that my opinion of Coyle has significantly declined over the past week, but he was highly regarded when he came here. He kept Chris Petersen happy for a few years at Boise, and Syracuse was pissed off when he left.

This job is still far better than the gloom and doomers want to believe.

 

[play hard]

Any thoughts about Claeys joining Kill at Rutgers to work together if fired. I think you will see a bunch of the U of M coach's over there soon. Especially if Jerry works his way up the ladder

 

[Pompous Elitist]

I feel like Claeys showed a huge failure of imagination in deciding how to respond to this situation. A tweet? Talk about the worst possible way to explain the nuance of the situation and your position on it. Newspaper editorial, a short interview with a single reporter perhaps? But the first sentence of his tweet was so poorly thought out regardless of your position on this. Nobody wants to hear that you're proud of the kids (full stop) at that moment. And "make a better world" is also a very poorly thought out phrase that seems intentionally designed to avoid specifying anything in particular but on the flip side can be viewed as condoning almost anything the listener wants to believe.

Maybe he's proud of a particular aspect of their stance or of the leadership shown by those not involved. Surely you need to mention the seriousness of the situation as a whole, concern for the woman etc. There were a lot of ways to find his voice here and he does not seem to have appreciated the importance of his ability to send an well-received message and frame the team's views. I can't imagine he ran that message past anybody with any PR sense and for his first statement on the issue that seems to have been a huge mistake. You can be loyal without being verbally clumsy. I don't think it will cost him his job at this time (notwithstanding the very lukewarm endorsements by the administration) but it didn't need to be so unhelpful either.

He clearly overestimated the intelligence level of his audience.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

I have concerns about Claeys' style, but I have actually begun to like him a little more as a result of the current situation. Unlike Coyle and Kaler, he's not hiding behind "privacy" excuses or spouting P-C platitudes. Claeys - a guy who is clearly not comfortable in the spotlight - is at least trying to stand up and state his opinion in public. He's not hiding under his desk like Coyle.

so, I think I'm OK with Claeys remaining as head coach. Hopefully, he'll get more comfortable with the media aspects of the job. I suspect he doesn't have a big ego, so maybe he would let his coordinators play a larger role (big Sawvel fan - still not thrilled with Jay Johnson, but I'll wait and see what happens next year with a different QB).

BUT - if they dump Claeys after the season - and Coyle keeps his job, I will be really upset. In my opinion, Coyle is the biggest loser in this whole sorry affair - not offering support to the players - hiding behind "privacy," and hiding from the media. I smell a rat - literally. the guy just comes off like a weasel. Can't help wondering what some of the other coaches at the U are thinking about this? they can't be happy with watching Coyle and Kaler try to throw Claeys under the bus, and openly lie about Claeys' involvement in the suspensions.

Isn't Coyle from Iowa?

Seriously, he needs to go. A total disaster.

 

[Halsey Hall]

40 years???

Minnesota has been a bad job for 40 years. It is now terrible. Why would anyone work
for Coyle and Kaler?

Why would an established coach work for them? Minnesota was lucky to get Kill. He had cancer and epilepsy.

Why would a good young coach ruin his career by working for Coyle and Kaler?

We have royally screwed up for generations. We could have had Wooden and Bud Wilkinson as coaches. We could have kept Holtz.

After the Madison basketball scandal they changed the fierce looking Goldy into a Disney character.

We never had a black basketball player until the mid 60s. Ozzie Cowles didn't like jumpers apparently.

When we finally had a great basketball team, the ticket scandal hit and we lost out on winning it all