Kaler/Coyle presser: There was one place I was going to leave Syracuse for, and it's

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Minnesota.

Here are the very quick notes from the presser. Obviously, I only catch so much as I type, but you'll get the general idea.

Eric Kaler:
• Mark and his family are also coming home, sort of, he and his wife are Iowa natives.
• Mark's new job is a big one, I want to make this clear, I have very high expectations for Mark. We are investing in him. This has been a tough week and couple of months for our men's' basketball program…it simply can't continue. Mark's commitment to integrity is unquestioned.
• At Syracuse last March, he oversaw not one, but 2 final 4 basketball teams.
• Mark also bring an easy going and accessible personality that we wanted.
• Through months of uncertainty our student athletes have been competing.
• Our Gopher athletics program possesses potential. We will also do this work in a financially responsible way. I do want to underscore something, my confidence in Beth Goetz. I'm thankful for her, raised over 15million under her, and she has a bright future.
• Beth's role - I would encourage Beth to say, she has a bright future, she's extremely talented and I know people will be knocking on her door.
• Important for me to bring on an experienced, D1, AD, we have such incredible potential, but people look at FB and Bball, and hockey, in the state of MN…having someone that's been to the final four and fiesta bowl…icing on the cake is the terrific human being Mark Coyle is.
• On his pay - It's remarkable what the avg. compensation for B10 AD's is, $910K. Mark had a strong contract, he will be in the mid range of the Big 10. In the past, we've been satisfied with lower compensation, Mark is in a different class and deserves the compensation he's received.


Mark Coyle:
• I have a great deal of respect for Beth, I followed this program closely over the past 9 months. I look forward to working with her.
• Why Minnesota? It's very simple for me, I've been in this a long time, we love this place. Our kids. (Choking up). Harder than you think.
• Our #1 priority will be our students, we're going to make decisions out of the best interest for our student athletes.
• I can bring stability, I want to come in here and have a chance to visit with people. It's very important for me to be transparent, earn trust, develop those relationships.
• Are you going to clean house? It's my job to create accountability, and I look forward to learning about the program.
• There were conversations with Turnkey, I was very happy at Syracuse, they reached out a few more times, and I had the chance to come home, I'm obviously emotional about that, and had a chance to visit.
• Realistic goals for FB and Bball? All the pieces of the puzzle are here. We come back here every other summer. I've been driving around the stadium, unbelievable. We need to talk about it now. Recruiting is the backbone of everything you do, we have that wow factor. Now we have to create that culture, and expect to win at a high level. Kaler - we need to build a big fence around the state of MN and keep MN athletes at home, if we do that, it should be realistic to win.
• My goal is to get out here after Memorial Day weekend, I need wife's approval on that.
• I regret the timing (leaving stunned people in Syracuse), I'm so grateful for them. I talk all the time, the AD's take a lot of credit and get a lot of heat too. The people up there were phenomenal.
• On Beth Goetz - she handled it with class and well..
• The key with fundraising is relationships. I spent 7 years doing that in Kentucky.
• How much to do you owe Joel Maturi? I'm forever grateful, when I came in as the director of Marketing and Jowl got here a year later, one of the hardest parts about leaving was leaving Joel Maturi. There's not many more people I have more respect for than Joel Maturi.
• Syracuse taught me these are very visible jobs. I never want to lose sight of our students. I learned the importance of not losing sight of why you do this.
• When asked about Teague - My plan is to focus on students, need to turn to the student athletes
On how visible he'll be - My kids will tell you, I can set the record for number of sporting events attended. We have very loyal and hungry fans. I want to be around our supporters, they have a huge impact on our students.*
He was able to not use a search firm at Syracuse, knew coaches and made a hire.

#1 goal is to bring consistency, and stability.


Too much to fix at Syracuse? No truth to that at all. There was one place I was going to leave Syracuse for, and it's Minnesota.*
 

How can you not like a guy that shows raw emotion at his first presser? Shows passion. U is in good hands now.


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Haven't followed things that closely, but he looks like a solid choice.
 

Thanks Nadine for the write-up. Thought it was a good hire when I read a little bit about him. Now feeling even better the more I read and hear about him. Welcome back to Minnesota Mark and family!!
 

I really like that Kaler took some pointed shots at the basketball program and behavior. Short leash for Pitino to get it corrected, I'm presuming.

I guess Reusse picked up on it also.
"Anybody who thinks Kaler going frontal on men's basketball wasn't a job threat aimed at Pitino is foolish."

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Is there video of the press conference somewhere?
 






But will he make Iowa and Wisconsin pay for the fence?
 


I really like that Kaler took some pointed shots at the basketball program and behavior. Short leash for Pitino to get it corrected, I'm presuming.

I guess Reusse picked up on it also.
"Anybody who thinks Kaler going frontal on men's basketball wasn't a job threat aimed at Pitino is foolish."

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Sure he has no control on his players, but you can't argue with the results on the court. How that loser still has a job I will never understand.
 

The dreaded vote of total non-confidence. Kaler isn't even humoring him. I have newfound respect for the man.

Will Pitino go down as the single worst, most dumbfounding hire of any Gopher Big 3 revenue sport in the past 50 years? Other candidates? Obviously Brewster will lead off the list but Brew could talk the pants off a nun. He had talents.
 



I really like that Kaler took some pointed shots at the basketball program and behavior. Short leash for Pitino to get it corrected, I'm presuming.

I guess Reusse picked up on it also.
"Anybody who thinks Kaler going frontal on men's basketball wasn't a job threat aimed at Pitino is foolish."

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

There has to be lots of anger from boosters and potential donors about the basketball program.

It will get lots of Mark Coyle's attention, no doubt. It seems like with 12 or so players, the basketball team do not have off court leadership or control as compared to the football team several times more players.

What would it have been like had Teague not fired Tubby? He was fired because of his whole body of work was not up to snuff. Little did he know that rookie Richard Pitino is far worst.

I'd say Richard has this upcoming season to turn the basketball team around, or he is gone.
 

There has to be lots of anger from boosters and potential donors about the basketball program.

It will get lots of Mark Coyle's attention, no doubt. It seems like with 12 or so players, the basketball team do not have off court leadership or control as compared to the football team several times more players.

What would it have been like had Teague not fired Tubby? He was fired because of his whole body of work was not up to snuff. Little did he know that rookie Richard Pitino is far worst.

I'd say Richard has this upcoming season to turn the basketball team around, or he is gone.
I will give Richard this, someone his age needs a strong AD who sets clear expectations and guidelines, something Teague appeared to lack. It sounds like Coyle's first year will be spent monitoring the men's basketball program extensively, if I'm Coyle I ask Pitino to bring a much more veteran 2nd in command.
 

What, now that the AD search was successful and you can't criticize that anymore, now everyone is piling onto Pitino? Please, give it a rest for a while, with a fan base like this who needs enemies!


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What, now that the AD search was successful and you can't criticize that anymore, now everyone is piling onto Pitino? Please, give it a rest for a while, with a fan base like this who needs enemies!


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+1
 

What, now that the AD search was successful and you can't criticize that anymore, now everyone is piling onto Pitino? Please, give it a rest for a while, with a fan base like this who needs enemies!


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Conversations are fluid. Kaler brought Pitino into it. Seems on topic to me.
 


I think my favorite part of this press conference was that Coyle referred to it as "the U."
 


How can you not like a guy that shows raw emotion at his first presser? Shows passion. U is in good hands now.


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Careful. Brewster got vilified for that.

Anyway, looks like a great hire. Also, want to add that be praised Maturi. The few times I saw Maturi, he was very gracious and approachable.
 




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