First I want to preface this by saying that I understand some 55 year olds run circles around 45 year olds. There are people who have incredible energy for their age and people who age prematurely.
That said, I feel like the Gophers job is going to require a ton of energy, especially in the first two years. The new coach is going to need to hit the ground running from a recruting standpoint as this class BADLY needs more speed. In addition to recruiting, there will be demands from the media and the importance of marketing himself and his program to a fan base that is showing very little interest in Gopher football. I worry about a Fullmer or Bellotti at 60 years old and a couple years out of the game being able to meet these demands. Once the program got established and talent was coming in and the fan support was there, I'd be far less worried about an older coach.
That said, I feel like the Gophers job is going to require a ton of energy, especially in the first two years. The new coach is going to need to hit the ground running from a recruting standpoint as this class BADLY needs more speed. In addition to recruiting, there will be demands from the media and the importance of marketing himself and his program to a fan base that is showing very little interest in Gopher football. I worry about a Fullmer or Bellotti at 60 years old and a couple years out of the game being able to meet these demands. Once the program got established and talent was coming in and the fan support was there, I'd be far less worried about an older coach.