Letter from Tracy Claeys

[Cruze]

Guilt is hard to ID as the girl willingly was cavorting with more than one man - then it got out of control. It is undeniable that the men were denied due process by the university, something that has engendered lawsuits all over the nation in similar cases. Alleged criminal behavior requires police/court overview from the beginning. Tracy was a good coach - maybe better than good - and will get another opportunity.

The U's investigation and hearings into the Gopher gang bang scandal was student disciplinary proceeding and had nothing to do with criminal law or punishment. The Dorsey law firm report determined that the U followed their disciplinary policies and procedures exactly as they are written. There was an investigation of each accused player's actions, and findings that 10 of them violated the Student Code of Conduct. Each player received a notice of the findings and a date for a hearing in which their attorney would be able to challenge the evidence in the EOAA Report by cross examining witnesses and providing new evidence and witnesses on behalf of the players. The Dorsey report went on to state that the "U provides “substantial due process protections, ... including protections that far exceed” other Big Ten universities." In other words, the players received all of the due process they had coming to them.

 

[NotAFanOfBecky]

So this winning 9 games for only the second time since 1905 stuff annoys the hell out of me. Forty (40!) times since 1905, the Gophers have had fewer than the 4 losses they had in 2016. The Gophers also won 6 of their 7 national titles post 1905. It's tough to win 9 games when you often only played 8. A year when you go 9-4 and lose both of your rivalry games should not be touted as some huge accomplishment and you certainly shouldn't be glossing over NATIONAL TITLE years to pat yourself on the back.

Agree with most of what you said but 9-4 I still still well above .500 and the Gophers were competitive in every game. Yes they lost to Wisky and Iowa but a play or two the other way and those could have been W's. it would be different if they got blown out those games but they didn't. I would have to say that the Citrus Bowl team and last years team were the best teams in a long, long time. So I would say Claeys and all Gophers fan should be proud of that. Promised land? No...but it's not like they were a .500 team like many insinuate.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

I still like Tracy and I believe he was treated very poorly.

But I've moved on and so should he.

Guessing it's not as easy to move on if you feel that you got railroaded out of 7 figures.

 

[GophersInIowa]

The U's investigation and hearings into the Gopher gang bang scandal was student disciplinary proceeding and had nothing to do with criminal law or punishment. The Dorsey law firm report determined that the U followed their disciplinary policies and procedures exactly as they are written. There was an investigation of each accused player's actions, and findings that 10 of them violated the Student Code of Conduct. Each player received a notice of the findings and a date for a hearing in which their attorney would be able to challenge the evidence in the EOAA Report by cross examining witnesses and providing new evidence and witnesses on behalf of the players. The Dorsey report went on to state that the "U provides “substantial due process protections, ... including protections that far exceed” other Big Ten universities." In other words, the players received all of the due process they had coming to them.

Remember when you said young men can't help themselves when they're with intoxicated women so we should just assume they are guilty?

 

[e.bigelow]

Guessing it's not as easy to move on if you feel that you got railroaded out of 7 figures.

A helpful solution to that could possibly be don't be so naive and have your agent help negotiate your contract for you. Who knows how much that could've helped, but at this level of football, that is just plain stupidity.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Guessing it's not as easy to move on if you feel that you got railroaded out of 7 figures.

Tracy was making $616,000 as a defensive coordinator. Thanks to Kill's unexpected retirement, that turned into nearly 2 million last year with the buyout. I think he made out just fine.

 

[Iceland12]

A helpful solution to that could possibly be don't be so naive and have your agent help negotiate your contract for you. Who knows how much that could've helped, but at this level of football, that is just plain stupidity.

With respects, it certainly wasn't.

Claeys had to know that Kaler didn't really want him to be Head Coach. The laughable buyout figures underline that. Any "demand" an agent would have made would have resulted in "Ok. We'll play out the season as is."

Which would have resulted in the coaching search "officially" starting right then. Rather then unofficially starting in 1/4/16.

Claeys knew the only way he could keep the job was by putting wins on the board, and after the NW win he was told he kept it.

The rest is being discussed to many F*@*ing times already.

 

[IronRanger91]

Claeys is a good defensive coordinator and a good man. I wish him nothing but the best and believe he will land on his feet. I do feel that he was treated terrible at the end...not the firing but the way in which they did it. Coyle wanted his own person and should have just said so without attacking Claeys' character. Fact is, Tracey would have never have gotten the job if Kill had not left when he did. In my opinion, he certainly would not have gotten the permanent job had there been a permanent athletic director. He was an assistant coach for three decades. He never left Kill's staff. This is loyal but also doesn't show the desire to become a head coach. He should have pursued jobs at a lower level over the years (maybe he did and did not get them) but to think his first head coaching job would be as a Big 10 head coach never sat well with me. I also struggled with the fact that the Kill staff would rave about loyalty and the fact they had been together forever and knew what they were doing and then Claeys fires two longtime members of that staff the first chance he gets. Just my rant in that area. However, I do think his firing should have been handled better.

 

[Livingat45north]

I think that's kind of the point people have tried to make over the last number of months and even longer.

Tracy is a good coach. He's good at Xs and Os. But being the head coach at a Power 5 football program is about more than just Xs and Os. Most head coaches are actually more like the CEOs of their program. There are a few who call plays, but that's very rare.

And that's just game day. What about the other stuff a coach does during the week, meeting with boosters and businesses. Was that something people saw Tracy doing well?

We've all seen over the past month a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at Fleck's program. Now compare that to Claeys' program.


Again, he's a good to great Xs and Os guy, but none of what I saw in that video generates any excitement for me as a fan. Yes success matters too, but you have success by recruiting good players and you get good recruits by selling your program.

Thanks for posting that video -- quite the difference in every way (e.g., check out how Fleck's decorated the office compared to Claeys' layout).

 

[Spoofin]

because your such a great leader you could have prevented the boycott if only you had been there? Then why couldn't you come back and end the boycott once it happened? <b>Others had to step up and show leadership to make that happen </b>while you cowered behind half supporting your team with a tweet and then regret of a tweet.

Well, his boss was in town and not only couldn't help end the boycott, but according to the players was the primary reason for it. With your obvious disdain for how TC handled the situation, I can only imagine how you feel about Mark Coyle's involvement.


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[e.bigelow]

With respects, it certainly wasn't.

Claeys had to know that Kaler didn't really want him to be Head Coach. The laughable buyout figures underline that. Any "demand" an agent would have made would have resulted in "Ok. We'll play out the season as is."

Which would have resulted in the coaching search "officially" starting right then. Rather then unofficially starting in 1/4/16.

Claeys knew the only way he could keep the job was by putting wins on the board, and after the NW win he was told he kept it.

The rest is being discussed to many F*@*ing times already.

Fair enough. I still disagree though as, again, at this level of competitive college football, you have someone help you negotiate these things when you're in that head role. Whether or not the University meets or agrees to what you want or settles on a middle ground is a different discussion. These days, it's all about protecting yourself.

 

[GFBfan]

Thanks for posting that video -- quite the difference in every way (e.g., check out how Fleck's decorated the office compared to Claeys' layout).

Their styles are at oppostive ends of the spectrum. Neither method is better. For some Cleays methods work better and for others Flecks methods work better.

Biggest thing for the U of M, as Fleck said in his show, is they have invested in football unlike at anytime in the past 50 years.

 

[LakerFan]

Well, his boss was in town and not only couldn't help end the boycott, but according to the players was the primary reason for it. With your obvious disdain for how TC handled the situation, I can only imagine how you feel about Mark Coyle's involvement.


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If Mark Coyle wrote a Mea almost Culpa to the paper and we were discussing it I'd have something to say about that as well. Feel free to high jack my comments but I didn't write anything in support of Mark Coyle here so I would appreciate it if you didn't backhandedly try to portray me as a Coyle supporter to fit your own agenda. The Others I was referring to were the board of regent members who took some initiative and stepped in.

 

[Spoofin]

The Others I was referring to were the board of regent members who took some initiative and stepped in.

Well, we agree on that fact. Not so sure about the rest.


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[STPGopher]

Read it and Claey's letter in full...the report made my stomach turn...and Claeys let those rapists back on the team because the cops couldn't find any evidence when they showed up a week later...yeah I read it and it was a typical local police working with the athletic department to get a bunch of thugs off the hook for gang raping a student. Why others were suspended I don't know as the names were all blacked out. But Fleck wants to teach these guys how to be human beings....I could be wrong but I doubt he would let a rapist back on the team...and remember Claeys reinstated the original 5. Clearly Claeys doesn't have any girls of his own who have been raped on campus. He's part of the problem and I personally hope he never coaches again. #clueless

From the article: . "When law enforcement authorities the following month declined to file any charges, the university reinstated those players." (Actually they did it twice).Like was mentioned in another post, legal and Coyle were aware of this event. They signed-off on this (reinstatement). Furthermore Claeys would have most likely never wrote this letter had Coyle not given his crap-tastic press conference post event.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Claeys needed help during the scandal. If Coyle, the Legal department of the University, and possibly Kaler had issues they should have stepped in. Instead Coyle passed off as if Claeys did all of this on his own.

 

[Word]

From the article: . "When law enforcement authorities the following month declined to file any charges, the university reinstated those players." (Actually they did it twice).Like was mentioned in another post, legal and Coyle were aware of this event. They signed-off on this (reinstatement). Furthermore Claeys would have most likely never wrote this letter had Coyle not given his crap-tastic press conference post event.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Claeys needed help during the scandal. If Coyle, the Legal department of the University, and possibly Kaler had issues they should have stepped in. Instead Coyle passed off as if Claeys did all of this on his own.

Coyle did the bare, legal minimum regarding the situation and let Claeys take the fall so he could set up the firing. Just dumb in my mind as it made the whole University look bad, not just Claeys. People smart enough also realize it makes Coyle look bad.

 

[STPGopher]

Coyle did the bare, legal minimum regarding the situation and let Claeys take the fall so he could set up the firing. Just dumb in my mind as it made the whole University look bad, not just Claeys. People smart enough also realize it makes Coyle look bad.

Agree!

 

[Dano564]

When you boss has to step all over you doing their job to make sure yours is done correct, you're not doing your job.

I'm still astounded that after seeing how a program should be run as has been displayed by a real leader over the last 7-8 months, that people still look for scapegoat-reasons to blame Coyle for everything Claeys was a huge failure at.
Claeys made many colossal mistakes, and as a result, he'll never be a head coach at a Power Five school again.

Hopefully in 4-5 months, everyone will just forget the name Claeys so we don't ever have to associate our University with that disgusting timeframe of our proud football history.

 

[STPGopher]

When you boss has to step all over you doing their job to make sure yours is done correct, you're not doing your job.

I'm still astounded that after seeing how a program should be run as has been displayed by a real leader over the last 7-8 months, that people still look for scapegoat-reasons to blame Coyle for everything Claeys was a huge failure at.
Claeys made many colossal mistakes, and as a result, he'll never be a head coach at a Power Five school again.

Hopefully in 4-5 months, everyone will just forget the name Claeys so we don't ever have to associate our University with that disgusting timeframe of our proud football history.

We can go on and on, but Coyle could have and should have acted. He didn't.

Row the D@mn boat!!! Onward and upward.

 

[GFBfan]

When you boss has to step all over you doing their job to make sure yours is done correct, you're not doing your job.

I'm still astounded that after seeing how a program should be run as has been displayed by a real leader over the last 7-8 months, that people still look for scapegoat-reasons to blame Coyle for everything Claeys was a huge failure at.
Claeys made many colossal mistakes, and as a result, he'll never be a head coach at a Power Five school again.

Hopefully in 4-5 months, everyone will just forget the name Claeys so we don't ever have to associate our University with that disgusting timeframe of our proud football history.

When someone makes a mistake, it is a superiors job to correct those mistakes and not allow them to happen. Claeys biggest mistake was believing he could trust and or had support from his AD, he had neither. Had this been handled correctly by all involved: Claeys, Coyle, Kaler, we wouldn't still be discussing this and Claeys wouldn't have sent a letter defending himself.

 

[stocker08]

Fleck may give us a better chance to reach the promised land some day, but Tracy still got railroaded unfairly by an AD who wanted to bring in a flashier face and persona.

+08

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

When you boss has to step all over you doing their job to make sure yours is done correct, you're not doing your job.

I'm still astounded that after seeing how a program should be run as has been displayed by a real leader over the last 7-8 months, that people still look for scapegoat-reasons to blame Coyle for everything Claeys was a huge failure at.
Claeys made many colossal mistakes, and as a result, he'll never be a head coach at a Power Five school again.

Hopefully in 4-5 months, everyone will just forget the name Claeys so we don't ever have to associate our University with that disgusting timeframe of our proud football history.

Yeah, Claeys and Sawvel were the best defensive coaches I've ever seen here. You may not like him as a head coach, you may not like him as a person, but I'm never, ever going to forget what those two did for the football program. Like it, lump it or bump it, the program is still in a better position than it was when Claeys arrived here with Kill.

 

[Word]

When you boss has to step all over you doing their job to make sure yours is done correct, you're not doing your job.

This was a situation where the boss was directly involved in the situation and the decision making process. No football coach handles these types of things by themselves. While what you said might be generally true, I don't think it applies here.

 

[CoMn]

Guilt is hard to ID as the girl willingly was cavorting with more than one man - then it got out of control. It is undeniable that the men were denied due process by the university, something that has engendered lawsuits all over the nation in similar cases. Alleged criminal behavior requires police/court overview from the beginning.
Tracy was a good coach - maybe better than good - and will get another opportunity.

Did you even read the report? The girl said "NO!" tried to slap away a guy on tape and to the guys on this board who think winning is more important than the welfare of women on campus I wonder what would ever make you take the side of the victim?

 

[Cruze]

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Claeys needed help during the scandal. If Coyle, the Legal department of the University, and possibly Kaler had issues they should have stepped in. Instead Coyle passed off as if Claeys did all of this on his own.

Claeys didn't need help during the Gopher gang bang scandal. He needed to act like a Big 10 coach who is the ultimate leader of his team who exercises total control over every player both on and off the field. The threat to boycott the bowl game would never have happened if Kill was still the coach. And the gang bang probably wouldn't have happened either. Claeys was more of a follower than a leader during the scandal. His refusal to support his superiors would have gotten him fired in every corporation in America in very short order. He would have been marched to the street by security guards with a cardboard box filled with his belongings without time to say goodbye to anyone.

 

[dpodoll68]

Claeys is a good defensive coordinator and a good man. I wish him nothing but the best and believe he will land on his feet. I do feel that he was treated terrible at the end...not the firing but the way in which they did it. Coyle wanted his own person and should have just said so without attacking Claeys' character. Fact is, Tracey would have never have gotten the job if Kill had not left when he did. In my opinion, he certainly would not have gotten the permanent job had there been a permanent athletic director. He was an assistant coach for three decades. He never left Kill's staff. This is loyal but also doesn't show the desire to become a head coach. He should have pursued jobs at a lower level over the years (maybe he did and did not get them) but to think his first head coaching job would be as a Big 10 head coach never sat well with me. I also struggled with the fact that the Kill staff would rave about loyalty and the fact they had been together forever and knew what they were doing and then Claeys fires two longtime members of that staff the first chance he gets. Just my rant in that area. However, I do think his firing should have been handled better.

Tons of people have their first head coaching experience at the Big Ten level. Neither path is better or worse.

 

[1983]

Claeys didn't need help during the Gopher gang bang scandal. He needed to act like a Big 10 coach who is the ultimate leader of his team who exercises total control over every player both on and off the field. The threat to boycott the bowl game would never have happened if Kill was still the coach. And the gang bang probably wouldn't have happened either. Claeys was more of a follower than a leader during the scandal. His refusal to support his superiors would have gotten him fired in every corporation in America in very short order. He would have been marched to the street by security guards with a cardboard box filled with his belongings without time to say goodbye to anyone.

"And the gang bang probably wouldn't have happened either." How so? Do you think this could not happen at Alabama or Notre Dame or to any coach in the nation? Kill had rules as did Claeys, the same rules. The same rules as every program in the country.

 

[upnorthkid]

Man we need some football to start so we have better things to talk about like spirals and opening up the playbook with jet sweeps

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Man we need some football to start so we have better things to talk about like spirals and opening up the playbook with jet sweeps

There's no arguing Croft's spiral though. It's the tightest in college football.

 

[e.bigelow]

Man we need some football to start so we have better things to talk about like spirals and opening up the playbook with jet sweeps

The Fruechte(sp?) jet sweep! That play was so far from elite its not even funny. Think he had 5 carries for like -37 yards.