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[Doogie]

Talked to a high-level FBS assistant coach tonight... this person, who knows some of the candidates well, said he's heard that the "U" is willing to offer an 8-year deal, with the $$ as high as $2.6 mil., or maybe even a bit higher... one clear sticking point will be the pres. and AD (Maturi done in June '12) leaving... whoever the hire is, assume that he will get some say built into his contract on who the next AD is (be on the committee that makes the hire).

It was this person's opinion that if you took a poll of 100 FBS head coaches, 98 would tell you that Colorado is a better job... as is the Arizona State job when it opens in the next few weeks.

Sumlin will be in the mix in Boulder as well... could be an interesting potential tug-of-war with them.

 

[Tricks]

If we're willing to give out an 8 year deal it better be to a well established HC. I don't believe someone like Sumlin would warrant an 8 year deal.

 

[Ski U Mah 55]

he's heard that the "U" is willing to offer an 8-year deal, with the $$ as high as $2.6 mil., or maybe even a bit higher

Really? ...That's alot of money...

 

[Doogie]

Sumlin spends quite a bit of time here... could put together a good staff... and has won some big games (at Okla. St. last year)... by the way, would've def. won C-USA if his QB didn't get hurt, and still could by winning out (would face Cent. Fla. in the conf. title game if they win their next two games)... another good sign on Sumlin: Virginia, Cincy, & Kansas all called last year, and I bet his name will come up in Boulder... are that many schools stupid? He is wanted by many for a reason.

 

[Wheaton]

Well that is kind of scary if true. How much can we spend on assistants if we put that much up for a HC. Also, u can count Peterson out of the Colorado job, they've already been burned by a Boise State coach. Jk

 

[imthewalrus]

The longer the contract, the MORE committment the University of Minnesota has to make to the football program! I personally think that the Unviersity should have enough committment to the football program and the football coach that a 15 year (tenure-like) contract should be offered. A football program is a living work that needs total committment from the administration AND the coach. There should be NO easy "outs" from the contract for either the U of M administration OR the football coach. There should be safeguards built into the contract to protect both the University and the coach. This is not going to be a "quick fix" kind of deal. It will take an excellent hire. The person must be a COACH first. He must have an offensive and defensive philosophy. He must be able to coach players up. He must be able to assemble a top-notch staff. TEACH, teach, teach and COACH, coach, coach! Of course, he will recruit, but he will recruit wisely. It will take total committment from the University administrators AND the football coach. It is a partnership and both parties need to rely on the other to make the football program function at a competetive level in Big Ten play.

So, an 8 year committment is a bit better than a 5 year contract. The university administrators can not have the attitude: "...we will see how this coach does, and if the coach does not do well enough, we will terminate the contract and move on to the next coach..." A 10 year deal would be better than an 8 year deal and a 15 year deal would be better than a 12 year deal.

This program needs committment from the administration and committment from the coach...LONG-TERM committment!

 

[EG#9]

That type of contract would only go to a Harbaugh, Petersen, Patterson type of guy.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

If we are really willing to pay that kind of cash, I can't believe we wouldn't be a better option than Colorado (it doesn't seem like their fans think they will be shelling out that kind of money (per peeping at their message board)).

In my personal opinion, people are going to be a bit disappointed when they find out what 8 years at $2.6 million will buy us at the U. I don't think that will get us Patterson, Peterson, Harbaugh, etc., etc.. I think that is probably about what Kevin Sumlin would get here. He is an up and coming young coach and if he went to the wrong situation it could set his career back quite a bit. He would probably have to either go to division 2 or become an OC again.

 

[Rosemountian]

Seems like Doogie is stumping for Sumlin. I think he is pretty solid, but not close to an A+ hire. I'd give it a B+. He hasn't gone out and said the U should hire Sumlin but he may as well have.


Also, if someone is getting reliable information that says they are willing to offer in the mid-2s with up to 8 years and write into the contract that the coach would have an influence on the next AD hire, then clearly it indicates that although Sumlin may be in the mix, he is not the top candidate at this time. If he was, they would not be floating those high numbers.

 

[Rosemountian]

If we are really willing to pay that kind of cash, I can't believe we wouldn't be a better option than Colorado (it doesn't seem like their fans think they will be shelling out that kind of money (per peeping at their message board)).

In my personal opinion, people are going to be a bit disappointed when they find out what 8 years at $2.6 million will buy us at the U. I don't think that will get us Patterson, Peterson, Harbaugh, etc., etc.. I think that is probably about what Kevin Sumlin would get here. He is an up and coming young coach and if he went to the wrong situation it could set his career back quite a bit. He would probably have to either go to division 2 or become an OC again.

2.6 million is top 15 money.

 

[MrGopher]

Even if Colorado is the better job, we still have a leg up on them simply because that Athletic Department in Boulder is in some hella-deep debt. Far worse than the U.

I look for Colorado to go for a solid, but far less splashy hire than us because of that money issue. I, too, see Calhoun taking that job.

 

[GopherGod]

That still leaves the Arizona state job which will likely be open and is a better job. It is a better job because it will not be as big of a rebuilding project as at Minnesota. It also has more in-state talent to recruit and is only getting better each year due to being situated in one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. It is also located close to the recruiting hotbeds of southern California and Las Vegas. It also has the reputation of being a big party school with tons of nice coeds which lets be honest will appeal to many recruits.

 

[imthewalrus]

Iowa will be paying Ferentz about 3.75 million headed into the future per his newest extension. Sumlin would be a great candidate. The key is that the University of Minnesota administration would need to be his partner in the football program and that there would be total committment from the University as well as total committment from Coach Sumlin, if he did become the coach. It would be a building process and it would need to be LONG-TERM on the part of both the University and the coach. This program needs to be assured of stability. Hire a good prospect like Coach Sumlin and then commit, commit, commit to making this program a very good, competetive Big Ten Program. No easy outs...only total committment!

 

[Rosemountian]

That still leaves the Arizona state job which will likely be open and is a better job.

Arizona State is paying their coach 1.1 million. If they want to continue paying a similar amount and the gophers are willing to pay over 2, then it is NOT a better job for most coaches.

Equal pay Colorado and Arizona State are better jobs than Minnesota, but it is not such a difference that a significant difference in pay could not make up for.

 

[Rosemountian]

Heck, if they are actually willing to pay 2.6 plus incentives over 8 years, they could make a run at a guy like Jeff Tedford.

 

[GopherGod]

Arizona State is paying their coach 1.1 million. If they want to continue paying a similar amount and the gophers are willing to pay over 2, then it is NOT a better job for most coaches.

Equal pay Colorado and Arizona State are better jobs than Minnesota, but it is not such a difference that a significant difference in pay could not make up for.

Your assuming that each of those schools are only willing to pay what they currently do. That is like saying that Minnesota is only willing to pay 1 million because that is what they paid Brewster, which we know is not true. The point is we don't know what those schools are willing to pay, if they are willing to pay anything in the vicinity of what Minnesota is, those jobs will be more highly sought after. In my opinion, Arizona State being the best of the 3 due to it's built in geographical recruiting advantages.

 

[Rosemountian]

Your assuming that each of those schools are only willing to pay what they currently do. That is like saying that Minnesota is only willing to pay 1 million because that is what they paid Brewster, which we know is not true. The point is we don't know what those schools are willing to pay, if they are willing to pay anything in the vicinity of what Minnesota is, those jobs will be more highly sought after. In my opinion, Arizona State being the best of the 3 due to it's built in geographical recruiting advantages.

You must have missed the part where I said if Arizona State wants to continue paying a similar amount

You also must have missed the part where I said if they are equal pay Minnesota is the worst of the 3 jobs.


I actually think Colorado is a better job than ASU with equal pay. Colorado is pretty good recruiting territory and now they will also be able to tap into California since they are joining the Pac 10. No comparing Colorado and Arizona in terms of quality of the cities and such.

 

[60's Guy]

"You must have missed the part where I said if Arizona State wants to continue paying a similar amount

You also must have missed the part where I said if they are equal pay Minnesota is the worst of the 3 jobs."

Ya, I agree with that. But, Arizona is a better because of weather, location, benefits etc. than Colorado. And as I'm typing this, is Colorado straight up a better job than Minnesota? If you have a guaranteed nice big money, long term contract at Minnesota and assurances the asst coaches can get paid, and whatever other assurances you want they agree to, I think that anybody who welcomes a challenge would listen to Minnesota. And if true that opens up the pool to darn near anyone but higher paid guys in better jobs currently secure.

 

[TCF=UnitedWeStand]

Did we forget that Troy Calhoun is in Colorado right now? And I don't think they ran the triple option when he was the Offensive Coordinator with the Houston Texans. I would think Calhoun would be Boulder's top target. Arizona State could be a Leach landing - seems their type of hire.

 

[TAW]

The longer the contract, the MORE committment the University of Minnesota has to make to the football program! I personally think that the Unviersity should have enough committment to the football program and the football coach that a 15 year (tenure-like) contract should be offered. A football program is a living work that needs total committment from the administration AND the coach. There should be NO easy "outs" from the contract for either the U of M administration OR the football coach. There should be safeguards built into the contract to protect both the University and the coach. This is not going to be a "quick fix" kind of deal. It will take an excellent hire. The person must be a COACH first. He must have an offensive and defensive philosophy. He must be able to coach players up. He must be able to assemble a top-notch staff. TEACH, teach, teach and COACH, coach, coach! Of course, he will recruit, but he will recruit wisely. It will take total committment from the University administrators AND the football coach. It is a partnership and both parties need to rely on the other to make the football program function at a competetive level in Big Ten play.

So, an 8 year committment is a bit better than a 5 year contract. The university administrators can not have the attitude: "...we will see how this coach does, and if the coach does not do well enough, we will terminate the contract and move on to the next coach..." A 10 year deal would be better than an 8 year deal and a 15 year deal would be better than a 12 year deal.

This program needs committment from the administration and committment from the coach...LONG-TERM committment!

15 years is a very long time. Even 8 years demonstrates a level of commitment over and above most schools, especially if the new coach has a seat on the AD search committee, which would be an excellent move.

 

[TCF=UnitedWeStand]

And as I've stated before, I'm a born and bred Minnesotan, but unless the pay is ridiculously different, I would probably take the Boulder job over the UM (and I'm biased towards UM).

 

[Too Long in the Wasteland]

OTOH...

Talked to a high-level FBS assistant coach tonight... this person, who knows some of the candidates well, said he's heard that the "U" is willing to offer an 8-year deal, with the $$ as high as $2.6 mil., or maybe even a bit higher... one clear sticking point will be the pres. and AD (Maturi done in June '12) leaving... whoever the hire is, assume that he will get some say built into his contract on who the next AD is (be on the committee that makes the hire).

It was this person's opinion that if you took a poll of 100 FBS head coaches, 98 would tell you that Colorado is a better job... as is the Arizona State job when it opens in the next few weeks.

Sumlin will be in the mix in Boulder as well... could be an interesting potential tug-of-war with them.

Both CU and ASU are more attractive from the standpoint of there not being as big a mess to clean up. OTOH:

1. I don't argue that CU might be more attractive, but ASU hasn't been relevant in CFB in a while
2. maybe its changed lately, but it used to be that the PAC10 bowl lineup was crap compared to the BT. you'd have (theoretically) a much better chance of playing in a NYD bowl game in our conference
3. Even if 98 out of 100 coaches would prefer the Boulder job, only one of them is going to get it (much like the JoePa deathwatch). That still leaves 97 candidates. Granted, this could eff up our timing a little

I posted a couple of weeks ago that timing is everything. The only reason my wife and I have the Victorian house in St. Paul that we do is that we had a great realtor who knew the 'hood (a.k.a. search firm) and we had all our financing approved in advance, so we could make a shock&awe offer before most other people knew it was on the market. Also, I was in Europe on business when all this went down, so I couldn't screw it up. Maybe we should send Maturi out of the country for a few weeks?

 

[Nine]

Talked to a high-level FBS assistant coach tonight... this person, who knows some of the candidates well, said he's heard that the "U" is willing to offer an 8-year deal, with the $$ as high as $2.6 mil., or maybe even a bit higher... one clear sticking point will be the pres. and AD (Maturi done in June '12) leaving... whoever the hire is, assume that he will get some say built into his contract on who the next AD is (be on the committee that makes the hire).

It was this person's opinion that if you took a poll of 100 FBS head coaches, 98 would tell you that Colorado is a better job... as is the Arizona State job when it opens in the next few weeks.

Sumlin will be in the mix in Boulder as well... could be an interesting potential tug-of-war with them.

Does Gordy want to coach offensive or defensive line?

 

[diehard]

"Does Gordy want to coach offensive or defensive line?"

Gag me with a spoon.

 

[RodentRampage]

Even if 98 out of 100 coaches would prefer the Boulder job, only one of them is going to get it (much like the JoePa deathwatch). That still leaves 97 candidates. Granted, this could eff up our timing a little

Good point, even if 98 out of 100 coaches would prefer the Colorado job (a rather suspect number anyway) only one coach can take the job. It's not as if we have to settle for out 99th choice.

 

[mkAz]

The rumblings I have been hearing down here in AZ is that Erickson is probably safe for at least one more season at ASU, unless they implode the rest of the season that is.

For the dough the U is supposedly willing to offer, I would hope they could get Patterson over Sumlin.

 

[1983]

Talked to a high-level FBS assistant coach tonight... this person, who knows some of the candidates well, said he's heard that the "U" is willing to offer an 8-year deal, with the $$ as high as $2.6 mil., or maybe even a bit higher... one clear sticking point will be the pres. and AD (Maturi done in June '12) leaving... whoever the hire is, assume that he will get some say built into his contract on who the next AD is (be on the committee that makes the hire).

It was this person's opinion that if you took a poll of 100 FBS head coaches, 98 would tell you that Colorado is a better job... as is the Arizona State job when it opens in the next few weeks.

Sumlin will be in the mix in Boulder as well... could be an interesting potential tug-of-war with them.

Really find it hard to believe those two places are a better job. Our quality of the community easily competes with Colorado and blows Arizona away. Endorsements, business connections are high quality here and Minneapolis has more to offer. The weather is not a factor. The Big Ten has more clout as well. I think we will land a rock star guy. I believe the university will hire a business man to lead the athletic department when Joel Maturi retires which is a successful trend around the country. The next University president is going to be on board with who we hire. No sticking points that I can see.

 

[Go Gophers Rah]

The rumblings I have been hearing down here in AZ is that Erickson is probably safe for at least one more season at ASU

I'm not in Arizona, but this is the vibe I've gotten from the program as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if they forced Erickson to do a major overhaul - much like the Zooker did at Illinois last off-season. But I would be VERY surprised if Erickson were to be fired in 2010.

 

[minngg]

Thanks a lot Doogie. great stuff. It has been common knowledge that it would take a long term deal and over $2 Million to get a solid coach here. Please say thanks to Gordy for his input. Also, your continued plugging for Sumlin and Gordy's hope that he could return under him is getting old. Between Joe S and Doogie, more disinformation has been posted on this board than I thought possible. Throwing out names like 2 days after the U hired a search firm? Acting like it is inside information on what very good coaches are getting paid today? One person's view on whther this is a better job that ASU or Colorado? Thanks for nothing.

 

[kearsm]

Everyone is talking that Col or AZ would be the better jobs, but you need to remember Sumlins wife is from here. We all know how that works-the wife I am sure would love to come back and be close to her family. They have a way of getting what they want. I think he would be a good coach for the U.