How will you (initially) evaluate the new hire?

2nd Degree Gopher

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Whether this hire ultimately proves to be a good one or a bad one will be determined over a period of years, but like the media and most fans, I will form an initial assessment once the new guy is announced. Too often, teams seem to try to address the shortcomings of the last coach by hiring his mirror image. I believe that Tim Brewster was hired based on the premise that he would recruit better and sell the program more enthusiastically than Glen Mason did and that his skills in those areas would develop a stronger program. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way for reasons that became more and more apparent over time.

Rather than trying to simply correct Brewster’s flaws, I hope the University views this as a second chance to replace Glen Mason. I think that will yield a better end result and, after all, Mason was terminated based on the desire to move beyond what he had achieved. So, when the announcement is made, I am going to make my initial evaluation of this hire based on the following questions:

Would I have thought that this was a good hire if we were replacing Glen Mason rather than Tim Brewster? This obviously encompasses a lot of factors. The new hire needs to offer the promise of better recruiting than Mason and demonstrate a willingness to be the face of the program. I don’t care as much about what type of offense or defense we run as I do about whether the coach has a vision and a track record for successfully implementing one (or more) offensive and defensive philosophies. I’d also like a history of a highly regarded and stable staff.

Does this hire meet Maturi’s stated goal of being a “Tubby Smith-type” hire? Admittedly, I have no idea what Maturi meant when he said it or what his motivation was for throwing it out there. To me, this goal translates to “Is this someone with a reputation for success with integrity?” and “Is this someone I thought was beyond our ability to attract when this process started?” With Tubby, the answer to those questions was a resounding “yes” for me. I hope for the same reaction when the new football coach is unveiled.

Curious to hear the criteria others will use to for their initial opinion of the hire.
 

Special Teams !!!!

This is most basic thing and one of the "3 Legs". My God, our Special Teams are so bad as to be an embarrassment. We can't kick off deep, have kicked off OB at least 4 times, and 3 games in a row. We can't cover very well, we miss FGs, our punting is terrible, and I could go on. We only have a decent to good kickoff return team - but it sadly due simply to having many, many opportunities. If we start there and show improvement, that will be telling. Bringing in a coach that has experience (and some names of asst's) will be a +++.

Secondly - a defense that is in position and can tackle fundamentally.

Third - an organized and crisp offense, that is at once decisive - yet flexible.
 

I think it will depend on who is hired. For me, if someone is hired like a Peterson or Harbaugh or Leach I will be immediately ecstatic and evaluate it on a purely emotional level. Likewise if someone like Trestman is hired, I will go and picket Joel Maturi's house, another evaluation on an emotional level.

If it's somebody like Calhoun or Golden I would wait to see what kind of staff they assemble before doing any evaluating. I'll do my research on the staff and if I like what I see I'll be cautiously optimistic. I hate to admit it...but I was a big Brewster fan when he was first hired, and I loved the choice he made in OC and DC. Never again. Unless it's a Peterson type hire, I will not be celebrating until I see some wins on the field.
 

#1) Have I heard of the guy they just hired?

If yes, then #2) Whew.
 

I will evaluate this hire based on the Baseline candidate, which is Mike Leach.

If the hire has at least Leach's credentials I will be happy, if the coach has an inferior resume I will be livid that at this critical juncture the administration aimed low.
 




If it is not a defensive minded coach. I'll be "realistic" (or whatever the negative Nancys are using these days) in my posting.

==== or ====

I'll slurp up the Kool-Aid, and hope that this coach brings us back to the times of National Championships.
 

He needs everything Maturi has said they were looking for:

1.) A track record of winning at the BCS level.
2.) Bring instant credibility to the program.

In the event a guy like Trestman or Sumlin (Both for me are second tier prospects) then there is a third requirement for me to consider it a success.

3.) Maturi MUST explain, in detail, why guys like Leach, Bellotti, Calhoun, Golden and so on were not chosen. If he can give me legitimate answers such as "not interested" "wanted to much money," or "didn't interview well" it will be ok. That to me says they did their due diligence, exhausted every option and tried to get the best candidate.
 



I'll be pretty darn happy if it is a guy like Leach, Bellotti, or Golden.

If it is someone like Stoops, Fullmer, or Sumlin, I'll wait to make judgement.

If it's Trestman, I'll be pissed.
 

A winning conference record.
 

I had better have heard of him.... if not, I am taking a one year Gopher Football sabbatical. Seriously. Seriously.

Do I get the sense that he gets the most out of his resources? I won't judge on W-L because that can be misleading. What we need is a coach who overachieves. Maximized potential at every level on his resume.

If we don't spend more money on a coach than we ever have in our history, I will be disappointed. There absolutely is no reason not to. It shows the fans exactly how serious the Athletic Department is about their commitment to winning football games and trophies.

I will read other fans' thoughts on the coach's previous school's message board. Are they glad he's gone? Are they devastated he's leaving?

At this point my opinions will be set, but just for kicks, I will read buckyville.com. If they openly laugh at us, we failed. If they start to get all concernicus, then we did the right thing.
 

He needs everything Maturi has said they were looking for:

1.) A track record of winning at the BCS level.
2.) Bring instant credibility to the program.

In the event a guy like Trestman or Sumlin (Both for me are second tier prospects) then there is a third requirement for me to consider it a success.

3.) Maturi MUST explain, in detail, why guys like Leach, Bellotti, Calhoun, Golden and so on were not chosen. If he can give me legitimate answers such as "not interested" "wanted to much money," or "didn't interview well" it will be ok. That to me says they did their due diligence, exhausted every option and tried to get the best candidate.

So if a second tier coach is hired, you basically want the coach to name everyone else they would have wanted to hire at the presser and state why they didn't want to come here? Way to instill confidence in your new hire.
 



I really want someone who is currently a head coach at the FBS level and will be bringing at least 2/3 of his staff with him from his current job. I would not have felt this way 4 years ago, but this program needs stability more than anything else right now. I don't want to see us hiring a coach who will have to assemble a staff which will require changes over the first few years in order to make all the pieces fit.

So, if we hire a current FBS coach who brings the majority of his staff with him I will be thrilled. I guess its possible for Leach to reassembel his TT staff, so that could work too (although I'm not sold on his personality or integrity).
 

By how angry it makes the right people.
 

By how angry it makes the right people.

+1. To me the more the local media bashes the hire, the better it will be. Provided it isn't a shot in the dark like Brewster.
 

So if a second tier coach is hired, you basically want the coach to name everyone else they would have wanted to hire at the presser and state why they didn't want to come here? Way to instill confidence in your new hire.

Well by definition of what Minnesota is looking for (More specifically Trestman) those second tier guys are not it. Therefore, I would like to know that Maturi wasn't just blowing smoke when he said what we were looking for.
 


I will judge the New Coach by how many GopherHolers complain. The more complaints from GopherHolers, the better the hire.
 

I heard that BigTen wins minus BigTen loses is an important measuring tool.
 

I heard that BigTen wins minus BigTen loses is an important measuring tool.

Haha! Its sad that the first thought that popped into my head was a name I simply hadn't thought of in a while (and it wasn't any of our infamous trolls).

Hint: Starts with two "L"s and ends with two "R"s.

Too bad he's quite a bit older than we really should be aiming for, and I don't think he'd even consider it for a moment.
 




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