Fire Ben Johnson

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Dave H said:
I will maintain the Brewster hire was worse. At least Ben was local and played for and coached the Gophers. Brew was a TE coach who had zero ties and was best known as a recruiter and helping Antonio Gates get to the NFL.

Johnson was ridiculous though.
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Brewster, Ben, and slimeball Norwood Teague. That's got to be 3 of the worst hires by any Power 5 school this century.
 

Dave H said:
I will maintain the Brewster hire was worse. At least Ben was local and played for and coached the Gophers. Brew was a TE coach who had zero ties and was best known as a recruiter and helping Antonio Gates get to the NFL.

Johnson was ridiculous though.
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Brewster only coached 3 full seasons and they went to bowl games in two of those. He was also a really good player for Illinois, and worked as an assistant for successful programs. Ben has never played for or coached at a successful program.

Brew is significantly better than Ben in every way.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
Brewster only coached 3 full seasons and they went to bowl games in two of those. He was also a really good player for Illinois, and worked as an assistant for successful programs. Ben has never played for or coached at a successful program.

Brew is significantly better than Ben in every way.
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And even though it didn’t work out, he did come with glowing reviews from some really well respected people. He was supposed to be an up-and-comer. Johnson was never any of those things.
 


At this point, I would think future promos for Ben should have him walking into the Barn, hanging up his scarf and waist jacket on a hook, taking off his shoes and putting on his slippers while singing "Won't you be my Player." His Mr. Roger's vibe should be maximized for recruiting potential. I see a big upswing in fan cross over. Willams could install a trolley to circle the jumbotron and Goldy could wear a Miss Kitty outfit.

<Wakes from this nightmarish hell screaming in agony.>

I want to wake up on Monday to the announcement of a coaching search that is a formality.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Brewster only coached 3 full seasons and they went to bowl games in two of those. He was also a really good player for Illinois, and worked as an assistant for successful programs. Ben has never played for or coached at a successful program.

Brew is significantly better than Ben in every way.
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Nobody had heard of Tim Brewster before his name popped up in the coaching search. He was a massive reach for the football job, Johnson was a massive reach for the basketball job.

In the end I suppose we can all go back and forth about which hire was worse but bottom line is that both hires were mistakes and validate the opinion that a coaches first high profile gig should not be as a power conference head coach.
 

He has to be gone. Running the program into the ground anymore can't happen. Likely will mis the B1G tournament, which in 2025 should almost be an automatic disqualifier as a coach, unless you have the youngest team in the league. Imagine Garcia not having local ties to MN, he would have never transferred here. He alone is responsible for most of Ben's success.

IMO, Christie was a great get. He chose the NBA after one year. Not sure he stays at MN if he hadn't chosen the NBA.

Other options have been HC's at mid-major/major programs and have a much more diverse recruiting approach and connections.

Not sure what the U can get based on the last 3 coaches and what they did here. Tubby was run out after some success, Pitino is having better success at his next stop and opening talks about having better resources than he did at MN. The arena is a dump and has not ability for raising funds for the program through luxury seating and quality clubs. The next coach almost needs the assurance that a new area is in the works.
 

Dave H said:
I will maintain the Brewster hire was worse. At least Ben was local and played for and coached the Gophers. Brew was a TE coach who had zero ties and was best known as a recruiter and helping Antonio Gates get to the NFL.

Johnson was ridiculous though.
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Had some great chili however lol
 



MaxyJR1 said:
He has to be gone. Running the program into the ground anymore can't happen. Likely will mis the B1G tournament, which in 2025 should almost be an automatic disqualifier as a coach, unless you have the youngest team in the league. Imagine Garcia not having local ties to MN, he would have never transferred here. He alone is responsible for most of Ben's success.

IMO, Christie was a great get. He chose the NBA after one year. Not sure he stays at MN if he hadn't chosen the NBA.

Other options have been HC's at mid-major/major programs and have a much more diverse recruiting approach and connections.

Not sure what the U can get based on the last 3 coaches and what they did here. Tubby was run out after some success, Pitino is having better success at his next stop and opening talks about having better resources than he did at MN. The arena is a dump and has not ability for raising funds for the program through luxury seating and quality clubs. The next coach almost needs the assurance that a new area is in the works.
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Coyle and the Admin will be writing a big check to lure the next coach, but it can/will still attract some capable options.
 


MaxyJR1 said:
The arena is a dump and has not ability for raising funds for the program through luxury seating and quality clubs. The next coach almost needs the assurance that a new area is in the works.
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Listen, is the barn some high end cutting edge facility, no. Would a new gym hurt, no. But this thinking that the building matters is an antiquated as it gets. I'd bet it has about 0.1% of effect on a recruit in 2025. If we had $30m in NIL for the bball team we'd get the best guys in the country. I promise you not one of them would go, well you are offering $4m and Texas is offering $1m but they have a new gym so I'm going there! I think it today's day and age a kid picks their school on scout 75% money, 20% coach and 5% random other thing (girlfriend, location, family, winning). Right wrong or the other, it's all about $$. And since the school is currently capped at what they can pay, having a full stadium or an empty one means about the same. Again you don't have to like that (I'm not a big fan of money runs everything in life) but it's the hard truth.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Brewster only coached 3 full seasons and they went to bowl games in two of those. He was also a really good player for Illinois, and worked as an assistant for successful programs. Ben has never played for or coached at a successful program.

Brew is significantly better than Ben in every way.
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To be fair the two bowl games he went to were shit and he had losing B10 records. Was similar to the year Gopher BB had last season. All that said I would agree Brew was a better hire.

Wacker was a real bad one too.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
He has to be gone. Running the program into the ground anymore can't happen. Likely will mis the B1G tournament, which in 2025 should almost be an automatic disqualifier as a coach, unless you have the youngest team in the league. Imagine Garcia not having local ties to MN, he would have never transferred here. He alone is responsible for most of Ben's success.

IMO, Christie was a great get. He chose the NBA after one year. Not sure he stays at MN if he hadn't chosen the NBA.

Other options have been HC's at mid-major/major programs and have a much more diverse recruiting approach and connections.

Not sure what the U can get based on the last 3 coaches and what they did here. Tubby was run out after some success, Pitino is having better success at his next stop and opening talks about having better resources than he did at MN. The arena is a dump and has not ability for raising funds for the program through luxury seating and quality clubs. The next coach almost needs the assurance that a new area is in the works.
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Wonderful take!!!! Spot on
 

leib0039 said:
Listen, is the barn some high end cutting edge facility, no. Would a new gym hurt, no. But this thinking that the building matters is an antiquated as it gets. I'd bet it has about 0.1% of effect on a recruit in 2025. If we had $30m in NIL for the bball team we'd get the best guys in the country. I promise you not one of them would go, well you are offering $4m and Texas is offering $1m but they have a new gym so I'm going there! I think it today's day and age a kid picks their school on scout 75% money, 20% coach and 5% random other thing (girlfriend, location, family, winning). Right wrong or the other, it's all about $$. And since the school is currently capped at what they can pay, having a full stadium or an empty one means about the same. Again you don't have to like that (I'm not a big fan of money runs everything in life) but it's the hard truth.
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It's all part of the equation. The stadium to me has nothing to do with recruiting as it does to get some excitement around the program and possibly move the needle on a new hire and new opportunities for fans. It's also provides for the next 50 years of the program. To me it really has little to do with the on-court product.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
He has to be gone. Running the program into the ground anymore can't happen. Likely will mis the B1G tournament, which in 2025 should almost be an automatic disqualifier as a coach, unless you have the youngest team in the league. Imagine Garcia not having local ties to MN, he would have never transferred here. He alone is responsible for most of Ben's success.

IMO, Christie was a great get. He chose the NBA after one year. Not sure he stays at MN if he hadn't chosen the NBA.

Other options have been HC's at mid-major/major programs and have a much more diverse recruiting approach and connections.

Not sure what the U can get based on the last 3 coaches and what they did here. Tubby was run out after some success, Pitino is having better success at his next stop and opening talks about having better resources than he did at MN. The arena is a dump and has not ability for raising funds for the program through luxury seating and quality clubs. The next coach almost needs the assurance that a new area is in the works.
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I think they likely will make the BTT at this point. It may have more to do with other teams’ roster attrition, but that won’t show up in the standings. I think we need to be prepared that an argument will be made that this exceeds expectations given personnel.
 

Impressions matter to all human beings, especially to 17-22 year olds. Having a shitty old building doesn't help. Having an empty bank account really hurts. We'll never know if Johnson can coach because he was hired under the old rules. Considering the climate, the building, the lack of funds, he's recruited fairly well. Losing all the decent players but Garcia from last year's roster killed his chance of building something.

I'm curious about something. I've read a hundred times on here that Gabel made Coyle hire Johnson. Has it ever been publicly acknowledged?
 

formerlybis said:
I think they likely will make the BTT at this point. It may have more to do with other teams’ roster attrition, but that won’t show up in the standings. I think we need to be prepared that an argument will be made that this exceeds expectations given personnel.
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Possibly. Men have a lot of parity. 12 teams at .500 or better.

ACC has 7 teams
B12 has 9
SEC has 10


Bottom 5 men's teams have 18 conference wins

ACC 14 wins
B12 15
SEC 11
 

gopherbadgerman said:
To be fair the two bowl games he went to were shit and he had losing B10 records. Was similar to the year Gopher BB had last season. All that said I would agree Brew was a better hire.

Wacker was a real bad one too.
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Right, Brewster had two 3-5 conference seasons that lead to middling bowl games. Pretty comparable to Ben's 9-11 conference record last season.

He also had a horrific 1-11 / 0-8 first season, and his 4th season was shaping up similarly before getting shit canned.

Never beat a rival, lost both bowl games, lost 55-0 to Iowa in the last game at the dome, got smoked by NDSU and USD, etc etc.

Both were really bad but let's not let recency bias cloud things. Brewster was arguably a bigger disaster than Ben, especially considering it occurred in what should've been a celebratory time for the program with the new stadium opening.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
And even though it didn’t work out, he did come with glowing reviews from some really well respected people. He was supposed to be an up-and-comer. Johnson was never any of those things.
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He was an up and comer who never was even a coordinator.
 

GoodasGold said:
Don’t waste $$$$ on a new venue. Waste $$$$ on quality players and a coach who can develop them into a formidable program. Winning basketball will cure all ills. 👳🏼‍♂️
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The money doesnt come from the same place (yet) so...
 

The hiring of Ben at the time shocked me. It had no point of reference where I could say, "See, that is what we need." Instead, it was "What do they know that I don't know?" Upon greater reflection to that question, they never answered why. I don't necessarily want Ben gone. I really want Coyle gone for this hire. He low balled Johnson so his pay could be secure, in my opinion.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Brewster only coached 3 full seasons and they went to bowl games in two of those. He was also a really good player for Illinois, and worked as an assistant for successful programs. Ben has never played for or coached at a successful program.

Brew is significantly better than Ben in every way.
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Im sorry but making bowl games is a laughable metric. He won 6 conference games TOTAL. He went ofer twice. (once was his last year when he was 0-3) His best season he finished tied for 6th and that was the only year he finished above .500 overall. (he finished 7-6 and he beat some real powerhouses that year) He had a 22% win percentage against the Big Ten. Currently Johnson is at 26%.

Brewster is one of the worst hires in Major College Football history.
 

formerlybis said:
I think they likely will make the BTT at this point. It may have more to do with other teams’ roster attrition, but that won’t show up in the standings. I think we need to be prepared that an argument will be made that this exceeds expectations given personnel.
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Who is going to make that argument, outside of maybe someone like Marcus? Year 4, the personnel is his responsibility and outside of Cochran missing all the games and Mike Mitchell being dinged they have been mostly healthy. Nobody will view just not finishing in the bottom 3 an accomplishment that would justify keeping Johnson around for another year.

I know some got scared during the winning streak that Ben was going to get enough wins to make things interesting but at this point that would take a miracle finish. We very well might get into the BTT tournament but that alone won't save Johnson's job.
 

ShushPush said:
The hiring of Ben at the time shocked me. It had no point of reference where I could say, "See, that is what we need." Instead, it was "What do they know that I don't know?" Upon greater reflection to that question, they never answered why. I don't necessarily want Ben gone. I really want Coyle gone for this hire. He low balled Johnson so his pay could be secure, in my opinion.
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Agreed. Pay Ben more and give him NIL and we are set.
 

Dave H said:
Im sorry but making bowl games is a laughable metric. He won 6 conference games TOTAL. He went ofer twice. (once was his last year when he was 0-3) His best season he finished tied for 6th and that was the only year he finished above .500 overall. (he finished 7-6 and he beat some real powerhouses that year) He had a 22% win percentage against the Big Ten. Currently Johnson is at 26%.

Brewster is one of the worst hires in Major College Football history.
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Sylvester Croom @ Mississippi State. 10-30 in conference play
 

Dave H said:
Im sorry but making bowl games is a laughable metric. He won 6 conference games TOTAL. He went ofer twice. (once was his last year when he was 0-3) His best season he finished tied for 6th and that was the only year he finished above .500 overall. (he finished 7-6 and he beat some real powerhouses that year) He had a 22% win percentage against the Big Ten. Currently Johnson is at 26%.

Brewster is one of the worst hires in Major College Football history.
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It really was a ridiculous post and metric to cite..and GWG is one of my favorite posters on here.

We all have off days
 

ShushPush said:
The hiring of Ben at the time shocked me. It had no point of reference where I could say, "See, that is what we need." Instead, it was "What do they know that I don't know?" Upon greater reflection to that question, they never answered why. I don't necessarily want Ben gone. I really want Coyle gone for this hire. He low balled Johnson so his pay could be secure, in my opinion.
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So whay Ben has done here... is not on himself..
 

Gopheritnow said:
The continuing emphasis on DEI is starting to make some of the posters in here sound just a tad racist? That said, there are two factors here that impact the Gophers record, or for that matter any coaches record. One is the ability to coach. Anyone who watched last nights game would have to have been visually impaired not to have noticed the difference in the athletic ability in the two teams. NO amount of basketball coaching could have overcome that disparity. Illinois could have lost that game, but the Gophers could have never won it!

The other is the ability to recruit. In the NIL era that’s a moving target. It’s all about the money. If the U is not able to improve its level of financial renumeration, in whatever format, no one is going to come in here and simply turn the recruiting switch on against teams with far larger bankrolls. If that would be the case, Gopher Holes beloved PJ Fleck would be standing shoulder to shoulder with Ohio States 20 million dollar roster. How’s that working out for us.

Before we throw yet another coach under the bus, take a look at what said coach has to work with. Or ask little Pitino. But that may not work, I doubt he would answer the phone!
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This post is asinine and continues to highlight nonsensical idoicracy on this board, that when I mention there are Ben defenders time and time again, certain posters act slack jawed and ask for receipts.

PJ was a knockout hire by any metric, he has raised the floor from 5-6 wins to really 8 wins. That is impressive given that this is in the NIL era, the same era that certain delusional members on here say keep Ben from performing in a sport that requires far less recourses and successful recruiting "gets" to be relevant than Football requires.

Ben's issue isn't NIL, it's coaching. You would trust this group of coaches with a five star? I sure as hell wouldn't. Name one area that this team has improved on since he took the reigns? Name one player he made better? Patinos record left a lot to be desired but his teams were always entertaining to watch. I can't watch the boring product that currently takes the court every game. NO THANKS.

I would argue Payne actually regressed. The only recruit that improved imo was Christie, and color me skeptical that the one prospect with NBA pedigree got better because of Ben's coaching. No identity, protect the border? lol.... Defense? Laughable. This guy needs to go and every game we continue to charade is ridiculous.

NIL requires big money donors that care about the program. Unless you know of a family that cares about basketball that is extremely wealthy alumni? It aint walking through that door.

Nobody is asking for Kentucky level recruits. What we are asking is for our team to have a shot at a sweet 16 run, not unfeasible. We had it with Pitino, and we had it with Tubby.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Who is going to make that argument, outside of maybe someone like Marcus? Year 4, the personnel is his responsibility and outside of Cochran missing all the games and Mike Mitchell being dinged they have been mostly healthy. Nobody will view just not finishing in the bottom 3 an accomplishment that would justify keeping Johnson around for another year.

I know some got scared during the winning streak that Ben was going to get enough wins to make things interesting but at this point that would take a miracle finish. We very well might get into the BTT tournament but that alone won't save Johnson's job.
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This USC game is winnable, especially if their best player Desmond Claude can’t go, and then they’re favored against NW and PSU. That’s a nonmiraculous 7 wins and smack dab in the gray zone, and they might even win a game in the BTT against another lower third team.

You asked who other than Marcus would fall for this. Most people aren’t paying attention so Coyle can justify anything if there’s some inkling of outperforming expectations after 0-6.
 

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