Future Gopher Coach Discussion

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beatles said:
Hearing a lot of Potulny steam. He’s way down my list but who knows maybe he’d thrive here. Can’t deny his passion for Gopher hockey.
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Wait, I thought you said the reports are all false and Raboin is for sure coming here? Lol

On a serious note, if Coyle isn’t gonna do any work and it has to be between Larson or Potulny, I pick Potulny. I can give him the benefit of the doubt with how NMU was considerably better with him than before and after him, even though it was nothing inspiring. Maybe he would figure it out.

Larson, I can’t see ever working. Is performing very poorly the last 3 years after it was perfectly set up for him. He didn’t make anything better, only worse
 

beatles said:
Hearing a lot of Potulny steam. He’s way down my list but who knows maybe he’d thrive here. Can’t deny his passion for Gopher hockey.
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Potulny wasn’t even on my list. I just hope Coyle actually thought big and made some serious attempts at others and didn’t just take the easy route if Potulny or Larson ends up being the coach. These guys are last resort hires in my opinion.
 
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Potulny has zero players he can bring. Larson at least has some kids that are decent at hockey. Not a deciding factor but another reason I put Potulny at F and Larson at D.

For me Barr would be an A but for most others A-/B+
For me Raboin would be an A-

The gap is bad...
 

NMU was terrible prior to Potulny and have won 8 games total in two years since he left. Maybe we’re being to hard on his qualifications.

 

cheeseburgerphil26 said:
Wait, I thought you said the reports are all false and Raboin is for sure coming here? Lol

On a serious note, if Coyle isn’t gonna do any work and it has to be between Larson or Potulny, I pick Potulny. I can give him the benefit of the doubt with how NMU was considerably better with him than before and after him, even though it was nothing inspiring. Maybe he would figure it out.

Larson, I can’t see ever working. Is performing very poorly the last 3 years after it was perfectly set up for him. He didn’t make anything better, only worse
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I also would take grant over Larson. Put in a well connected/respected gm and some veteran staff (Martin is definitely fine as one of them) and invest in the program. One would think Grant should be able to motivate the fanbase who longs for 02-03 to be back.

The stuff with how he left NMU worries me quite a bit, but I also acknowledge that a wildly different program with different levels of commitment to it.

More hoping they back up, bring in more guys to interview, and go from there. This is not a spot you make a hasty choice
 






Might as well give ol' Lucia a call and delay the search, allowing Coyle to make his way to Kentucky and let the next AD go through an actual search. Pack it in for next year. Potulny shouldn't even be mentioned. Larson would be a mistake. I dont even really like Roboin. Premier program with rich history just doesnt seem to have the excitement for the top (would be, SHOULD be) targets. Not optimistic.
 

cheeseburgerphil26 said:
If it is going to be Potulny, go and get Matt Cullen as the GM and then I’d be excited.
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I highly doubt Cullen will want to spend his time traveling and scouting North America, that is essentially what the GM role would be doing. Based on some commentary I've heard he seems way more suited for a coaching role.
 



My current odds (for entertainment purposes only 😁):
Larson - 40%
Potulny - 35%
Raboin - 10%
Barr - 8%
Ferschweiler - 5%
Rest of the field - 2%
 
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I don't follow college hockey as closely as some of you, but I see a lot of people prefer Larson to Potulny. Why? Is it just because Larson has coached in the NIL era?

Neither of them have the resumes that would get me excited at all, but it feels like bringing Northern Michigan to mediocrity is a tougher task than being mediocre at St. Cloud State.
 

Also learned under Sandelin, has been recruiting MN well, coached in toughest conference and did almost okay for a whole, I guess. Still not inspiring.
 

bonin21 said:
Also learned under Sandelin, has been recruiting MN well, coached in toughest conference and did almost okay for a whole, I guess. Still not inspiring.
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Yeah but his only good teams were because of Motzko’s recruits, except for one team that lost to us in regionals in 2023. He sunk a team set up for success, while Potulny performed well above the average at NMU. Not saying I’d be good with Potulny but it seems like the lesser of two evils. I think Potulny could recruit fine, but regardless we need a GM
 

cheeseburgerphil26 said:
Yeah but his only good teams were because of Motzko’s recruits, except for one team that lost to us in regionals in 2023. He sunk a team set up for success, while Potulny performed well above the average at NMU. Not saying I’d be good with Potulny but it seems like the lesser of two evils. I think Potulny could recruit fine, but regardless we need a GM
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Agreed. Give me Potulny any day over Larson.
 

bonin21 said:
If people don't think enough reliable sources have said Raboin is out, wake up
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No way he is already out unless we have done a "splash hire" from WMU or Denver. That being unlikely, he is not out. All "reliable sources" that I have seen refer to the AD tweet and some vague statement by Raboin. If you have seen something more tangible please post it here.
 

Crosby said:
No way he is already out unless we have done a "splash hire" from WMU or Denver. That being unlikely, he is not out. All "reliable sources" that I have seen refer to the AD tweet and some vague statement by Raboin. If you have seen something more tangible please post it here.
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Agreed. The tweet and statement were both very vague and would be exactly what you would say as a potential candidate while your current team is on the verge of their first tournament appearance.
 

I want to believe Raboin isn’t out but Vegoe and GPL had separate sources say that he was out, and that came out 20 minutes before the AD even tweeted that. They were not just saying that only because of what the AD tweeted. It’s not happening.
 

magsgini said:
Might as well give ol' Lucia a call and delay the search, allowing Coyle to make his way to Kentucky and let the next AD go through an actual search. Pack it in for next year. Potulny shouldn't even be mentioned. Larson would be a mistake. I dont even really like Roboin. Premier program with rich history just doesnt seem to have the excitement for the top (would be, SHOULD be) targets. Not optimistic.
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Who are those top targets you’re looking for?
 

Crosby said:
Hey UNK, I love your posts but do you really think that Coyle would advertise that he is talking to anyone at WMU or Denver? I just cannot believe he is that inept. I swear it sounds like half this board thinks it has played out like this...

1) Coyle takes a break from golfing, watching basketball, and hanging out at PJs house just long enough to fire his two hockey coaches. He mumbles something about a national search.
2) The following day, he has his executive assistant do a google search on D1 men's hockey coaches with Minnesota ties. This person sends them an email to gauge interest. The message probably went to spam folder but this does not worry Coyle too much.
3) Executive assistant tells Coyle the next day that there has been no response and that the Mariucci area crowd is getting restless.
4) Coyle asks where Mariucci arena is and he requests a tour. He is sort of impressed and he thinks all the mural pictures of former players are pretty cool. He also asks if the banner from 2003 was the last time we really won a national title. He is perplexed.
5) He has a golf lesson later that day, so he quickly places a call to Brett Larson at Saint Cloud. I mean what the hell... he figures he could offer it to to this guy, save a few bucks and it could be done quickly. The Executive assistant also tells him that Grant Potulny found the email in his spam folder and wants to talk. Coyle says "who is Grant Potulny again?"
6) Coyle hops on a Zoom call (the free version of zoom so it's limited to 45 minutes) with Potulny. Coyle figures this is enough to make the fan base happy and enough to keep up appearances. He starts the interview by asking Potulny his preferred pronouns and acknowledges that his office is on stolen land. Potulny says WTF are you talking about and ends the call.
7) Coyle creates his final plan based on all of that. He can't recall the Augustana coach's name, but if that guy doesn't contact him within two days, then he'll offer it to the St. Cloud guy. If St Cloud guy won't do it for a salary of $50K per year, then he'll go back to beg Potulny. If he says no, we'll just shut down the hockey program.
8) Coyle goes back to analyzing his brackets for NCAA basketball.
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Russo seems to say it’s not too far off

https://x.com/RussoHockey/status/20...fox-9-bob-motzko-out-after-8-seasons/paged/6/
 

Gold Vision said:
Who are those top targets you’re looking for?
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Firschweiller
Carle
Strand

Barr

Raboin
Leamon

Russo
Cashman

Potulney
Larson

Granted, I was a big Motzko fan when we hired him, bit that National Championship game took the wind out of me and my support for him as the Gophers coach, this past year only cementing that. I hope the best for him as a person, but it was time in maroon and gold. Not many great options out there to be honest. Throw the bag, settle, or cross your fingers. Either way, Go Gophers!
 

You all make me laugh. Most of the present coaches you are mentioning for the job have teams poised to be playing playoff hockey. Yet you think they are going to sabotage their teams opportunity by announcing they are leaving on the eave of the tournament. And the tweets being banded about are just that, reporters trying to get clicks. Sit back and enjoy the ride. I suspect it’s possible no one will be announced until after that coaches team is gone from the dance. The only ones in position at the moment are Potulny and Larsen as one doesn’t coach in college and the other is eliminated. Grab a beer and sit back and enjoy the ride, give your blood pressure a break.
 


Outsider said:
You all make me laugh. Most of the present coaches you are mentioning for the job have teams poised to be playing playoff hockey. Yet you think they are going to sabotage their teams opportunity by announcing they are leaving on the eave of the tournament. And the tweets being banded about are just that, reporters trying to get clicks. Sit back and enjoy the ride. I suspect it’s possible no one will be announced until after that coaches team is gone from the dance. The only ones in position at the moment are Potulny and Larsen as one doesn’t coach in college and the other is eliminated. Grab a beer and sit back and enjoy the ride, give your blood pressure a break.
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And when it's one of those two, what are you gonna say?
 


Outsider said:
I have no skin in the game, neither do you. Sit back and watch it happen. It’s great theatre at the moment.
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The skin in the game is how much we're going to spend on tickets...
 

bonin21 said:
The skin in the game is how much we're going to spend on tickets...
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That’s a personal choice, you can also walk if you want. Quit whining, take the recent hiring. Niko was not announced until his team was eliminated from contention last year. This is how Coyle operates. Sit back your heart will thank you!
 

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