Ciarrocca on PSU: “I really wanted to coach at a school where I felt like we had a legitimate chance to win a national championship"

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PitinoFan said:
I watched it all. I have no issues with any of it.
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To be clear, while I do think there were some subtle jabs at Minnesota in what he said, I don't expect this to turn into anything or for Fleck to respond in any way.
 

Watched the video. (Thank you for posting it.) The guy just wanted to go east. He was cool. My only bitch is that they cut the video short and I missed which historical figure he wanted lunch with.
 

MNVCGUY said:
To be clear, while I do think there were some subtle jabs at Minnesota in what he said, I don't expect this to turn into anything or for Fleck to respond in any way.
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Fleck will respond but he just won't do it publicly. The egos involved in big time college sports never let anything go that they can use to fire up themselves and their team. Fleck will use it whenever he gets the opportunity.
 





Bulletin board material for this year's B1G championship game...
 

You do have to be careful what you say or write. Like on this board I can post something not realizing sometimes how it will come across and I get ripped for it. I believe he is on the East Coast, excited to be there, got a little excited in promoting Penn State and everything kind of got jumbled up.
 



PoockItInfor6 said:
What’s interesting to me is that I don’t think I’m in the minority in my thinking that Simon’s play calling was better than KC’s... I like the system we ran last year and I suspect KC deserves a fair amount of credit for that. However, these comments are head scratching to me, as KC has been propelled ahead significantly from his time working for PJ.
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Well, Simon did call a couple of pass plays to a tight end.....
 

I think we are interpreting things too much. Kirk and PJ are friends. We know that his family is back in Pennsylvania, and he has been trying to get close to them. IMHO, the Penn State job was what he has been coveting as a native Pennsylvanian.

PJ and Kirk crossed paths in their coaching career. They spent a year together at Rutgers 2010. Kirk was Co OC/QB Coach 2008-2010 until he was fired by Greg Schiano. PJ was WR coach 2010-2011. Remember, PJ said he likes to hire coaches who have been fired.

Kirk went to coach QBs at Richmond on 2011. Then, he coached RBs at Delaware on 2012. PJ hired Kirk to be his OC/QB coach at WMU 2013-2016, and he follow PJ to MN.

Kirk may have misspoke about going to a place where he is more likely to win a national title. Wouldn't it be odd if MN under PJ Fleck actually wins a natty ahead of Franklin?
 
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BroncoRedux said:
Aw, the guy wanted to go back to Pennsylvania. Nothing much here IMO. When I lived in Milwaukee I sent many resumes to Minneapolis. Was it because Milwaukee sucked? Why, yes it did.
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The only place I have heard that going back to PA was a factor was here on GH. Never from KC. Seems like nothing more than an assumption and something folks want to believe.
 

Spoofin said:
The only place I have heard that going back to PA was a factor was here on GH. Never from KC. Seems like nothing more than an assumption and something folks want to believe.
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He literally said it within the first two minutes of the video.
 








Spoofin said:
The only place I have heard that going back to PA was a factor was here on GH. Never from KC. Seems like nothing more than an assumption and something folks want to believe.
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"...He was due for a raise after head coach P.J. Fleck’s contract extension made available $1.05 million to boost the salaries of his assistant coaches in 2020. Presumably the offer from Penn State upped his salary even further, but I suspect family was also a factor in his decision. Ciarrocca is originally from Pennsylvania and his family still lives in the area..."

Minnesota Football: Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca leaving for Penn State
By Blake Ruane, The Daily Gopher, December 26, 2019

www.thedailygopher.com

Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca leaving for Penn State

This sucks
www.thedailygopher.com www.thedailygopher.com
 


Cruze said:
The worst part about KC's quotes is that they go against the message that Fleck is trying to instill in Gopher players and recruits:

If you adopt our culture, live it everyday, and work your asses off there is NOTHING you can't do including winning Big 10 Championships, Rose Bowls, and National Championships.

It seems KC wasn't rowing the boat in the same direction as Coach Fleck and the Gopher players who won eleven games and manhandled Auburn in the bowl game.
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That’s exactly why he said it.
If Minnesota and Penn State recruit the same kid and he says it now...they can use that later
 

hungan1 said:
"...He was due for a raise after head coach P.J. Fleck’s contract extension made available $1.05 million to boost the salaries of his assistant coaches in 2020. Presumably the offer from Penn State upped his salary even further, but I suspect family was also a factor in his decision. Ciarrocca is originally from Pennsylvania and his family still lives in the area..."

Minnesota Football: Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca leaving for Penn State
By Blake Ruane, The Daily Gopher, December 26, 2019

www.thedailygopher.com

Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca leaving for Penn State

This sucks
www.thedailygopher.com www.thedailygopher.com
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Thanks for the quote, but PJ saying he suspected it as a reason didn’t convince me. I really don’t take much of what he says at face value. Fortunately for you, another poster already presented when KC himself said it and I admitted I was wrong. Nothing left to prove.

KC took a job in a location he wanted to go back to, that paid more money, and that was a more prestigious job. Can’t blame him. Based on his comments today, a preference for Franklin over PJ may have also played a role. Sounds like a great decision for him. Hopefully it works out well for the Gophers too.
 


KC did seem like an odd fit with PJ, personality-wise.
 

Word said:
KC did seem like an odd fit with PJ, personality-wise.
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Yeah, they are polar opposites. PJ loves to talk and is really high energy, whereas KC strikes me as very similar to Claeys in that he just loves coaching and would much rather be left alone completely and just allowed to do his job.

I would bet the two had some struggles from a personality standpoint but it was working on the field so they put that aside. Fleck's staff now seems much more in line with his personality and makeup. I would bet Sanford will be heavily involved in recruiting whereas I don't think KC was.
 

College coordinators need to be strategists, XO's, Andy Reid/Bill Belichick guys.

College head coaches need to be energy, motivational speakers, salesmen.

In the NFL you don't need that for a head coach. You just pay players, and between money and the glory, they self-motivate (else you fire them and get someone else). That's why so many great HC in the NFL are XO guys, like the aforementioned two. Also Zim.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, they are polar opposites. PJ loves to talk and is really high energy, whereas KC strikes me as very similar to Claeys in that he just loves coaching and would much rather be left alone completely and just allowed to do his job.

I would bet the two had some struggles from a personality standpoint but it was working on the field so they put that aside. Fleck's staff now seems much more in line with his personality and makeup. I would bet Sanford will be heavily involved in recruiting whereas I don't think KC was.
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There’s no question in my mind there was some friction there as KC mentioned/made a point in the interview of stating he’s energetic, loves to coach players, etc. It seemed like a direct refutation of some public chiding by PJF of KC last year as a virtual hermit. Oil and water personalities can coexist, for awhile.

I think the jury is out on whether losing KC is a big loss, coupled with the uncertainty of Sanford’s recent offenses. Every program, business, (and even family) need big thinker types but also the detail guys that make it all go.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Every program, business, (and even family) need big thinker types but also the detail guys that make it all go.
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For all we know, Callahan and Simon did the core analysis and came up with the game plans for each week. They were, and still are as far as I know, the running and passing game (oh wait, sorry, "assistant coordinator" :rolleyes: ) coordinators.
 

So he’s just here to recruit? I can’t buy that. Jury’s out.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
So he’s just here to recruit? I can’t buy that. Jury’s out.
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Fleck liked him as a person. They were friends. Sometimes (a lot of times?), that's all it takes in the coaching fraternity.

Am I trying to claim that Sanford doesn't know how to make a game plan and doesn't know how to call a game? Of course not.
 

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