Mark Coyle, Jedi Master?

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Nokomis

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AD Coyle is universally despised on this board, but could it be he handled this whole episode masterfully? It turned out as well as possible for everyone involved, all things considered.

Consider:
Tracy Claeys: got fired, but it appears it was inevitable. He got to coach the bowl game and end the season with his players. Coyle honored the buyout. He was able to tell his side on national tv and has the sympathy of players, fans, and other coaches. Should be able to land another job.
Players: able to save face on boycott. Got huge win in Holiday Bowl. Seniors go out on top. Now they have a fun new coach.
EOAA & petitioners: they got their sacrifice.
PJ Fleck: Gets hired at a B1G school.
Fans: We got to enjoy a great bowl game and now have a flashy new coach.
Mark Coyle: Generally despised by both sides. Even if you agree with Claeys' firing, most don't think Coyle handled it well. Or did he...

By working quietly beyond the fray, Coyle saved the bowl game, appeased the EOAA, and hired his top candidate. I imagine this ending in disaster if Maturi or Teague were still AD. In the end, everyone comes out as well as could have been expected or possible.
 


Nokomis said:
AD Coyle is universally despised on this board, but could it be he handled this whole episode masterfully? It turned out as well as possible for everyone involved, all things considered.

Consider:
Tracy Claeys: got fired, but it appears it was inevitable. He got to coach the bowl game and end the season with his players. Coyle honored the buyout. He was able to tell his side on national tv and has the sympathy of players, fans, and other coaches. Should be able to land another job.
Players: able to save face on boycott. Got huge win in Holiday Bowl. Seniors go out on top. Now they have a fun new coach.
EOAA & petitioners: they got their sacrifice.
PJ Fleck: Gets hired at a B1G school.
Fans: We got to enjoy a great bowl game and now have a flashy new coach.
Mark Coyle: Generally despised by both sides. Even if you agree with Claeys' firing, most don't think Coyle handled it well. Or did he...

By working quietly beyond the fray, Coyle saved the bowl game, appeased the EOAA, and hired his top candidate. I imagine this ending in disaster if Maturi or Teague were still AD. In the end, everyone comes out as well as could have been expected or possible.
Click to expand...

Yeah...here's where it went south for me...
 

I suspect he kinda worked the whole situation (putting the program at risk).

Either way his hands off finger waving .... not around routine during the issues was not helpful and not a good sign.

If it was intentional, or not, bad moves either way.

Hopefully if there are issues again (it's CFB there always is) he doesn't do the finger waving and hands off thing again...
 

He could have done all of these things while handling it well.
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
He could have done all of these things while handling it well.
Click to expand...

Yup.

Hey I'm making a change, that's how I want it.

That of course puts more on him, but with some blame to go around, less so.
 

All of the big chunks you outline were handled well.

Language and communication could have been better.
 

So Coyle engineered the whole scandal just to be a hero?
 



Maverick said:
So Coyle engineered the whole scandal just to be a hero?
Click to expand...

No. I'm arguing he handled the scandal well given the situation. The EOAA report, the recruit, the boycott, all were very bad situations. I'm arguing this ended about as well as it could have for those involved. Coyle appears to have made a bad situation better. I imagine Maturi or Teague making it worse.
 

You forget he tarnished the reputation of 10 players, 5 of them who weren't even part of the situation. He did not handle the scandal well!
 

Coyle could have handled things better with Claeys, but we also need to remember that Claeys was essentially handed the head coach job after Kill abruptly resigned in October 2015. The administration, led by interim AD Beth Goetz had no choice but to extend Claeys and name him head coach. There was probably a reason they had a low buyout figure. Anyone who understands this business should have known that Tracy Claeys was a lameduck head coach with a new AD coming on board in June 2016. The scandal and the tweet didn't help, but it's pretty clear that Coyle wanted a change in football leadership for quite some time. It's very difficult to get rid of someone that wins 9 games with an impressive bowl victory but Tracy Claeys was never going to be the head coach beyond 2016. As a fan, Tracy Claeys was a solid X's and O's defensive mind and a great person but he just never seemed to be head coach material when it comes to the face of your program, especially at the Division I level. Kill and Claeys helped re-build the program, now it's up to Fleck to take the program to the next level and generate some excitement. Sure Claeys won 9 games, but he should have won 10 or 11 games with that schedule this year.
 

Rumor has it Joe Moorhead was his first choice so PJ is his second. I wouldnt call him a jedi so quick.


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GFBfan said:
You forget he tarnished the reputation of 10 players, 5 of them who weren't even part of the situation. He did not handle the scandal well!
Click to expand...

How did Coyle tarnish the reputation of 10 players??? Unless I missed something, he didn't write or leak the EOAA report. While those five players that may not have been directly involved have my sympathy, it's not on Coyle to include them or not. Plus, they have their appeal. I can't believe you would put the reputations of the players on Coyle. Talk about scapegoating...
 

CentralGopher said:
Rumor has it Joe Moorhead was his first choice so PJ is his second. I wouldnt call him a jedi so quick.


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#coacheslivesmatter
Click to expand...

Rumor, sure. But I highly doubt Moorhead was preferred over Fleck. Probably a contingency plan but Morrhead said no early.
 

CentralGopher said:
Rumor has it Joe Moorhead was his first choice so PJ is his second. I wouldnt call him a jedi so quick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

#coacheslivesmatter
Click to expand...

Hard to know. Agents have good reason for putting out their own rumors too... and schools good reason for asking everyone who is interested.
 

Can't remember who said this but ...

"The first function of management is to create the sort of chaos that only management can solve; the second function is refurbish during times of utmost financial stringency."

I am delighted we have appointed Coach Fleck, feel it is a great hire and will support him 100%.

I will never get 100% behind Coyle even if we win our next Rose Bowl while he is still here. The Claeys dismissal/scapegoat showed him to be a man of low integrity in my opinion.

If we do win a Rose Bowl/B1G title whatever, my first drink will be to Coaches Kill and Claeys for laying the foundation... That is obviously a way off. Coach Fleck's Skype meeting with the players later today will not be easy ... But I'd rather he was doing it than most others because for all of us fans as well as the players he presents a positive future and an opportunity to move on.
 

Nokomis said:
AD Coyle is universally despised on this board, but could it be he handled this whole episode masterfully? It turned out as well as possible for everyone involved, all things considered.

Consider:
Tracy Claeys: got fired, but it appears it was inevitable. He got to coach the bowl game and end the season with his players. Coyle honored the buyout. He was able to tell his side on national tv and has the sympathy of players, fans, and other coaches. Should be able to land another job.
Players: able to save face on boycott. Got huge win in Holiday Bowl. Seniors go out on top. Now they have a fun new coach.
EOAA & petitioners: they got their sacrifice.
PJ Fleck: Gets hired at a B1G school.
Fans: We got to enjoy a great bowl game and now have a flashy new coach.
Mark Coyle: Generally despised by both sides. Even if you agree with Claeys' firing, most don't think Coyle handled it well. Or did he...

By working quietly beyond the fray, Coyle saved the bowl game, appeased the EOAA, and hired his top candidate. I imagine this ending in disaster if Maturi or Teague were still AD. In the end, everyone comes out as well as could have been expected or possible.
Click to expand...

This may be the stupidest post ever...but what would you expect from Coyle's wife?
 

CentralGopher said:
Rumor has it Joe Moorhead was his first choice so PJ is his second. I wouldnt call him a jedi so quick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

#coacheslivesmatter
Click to expand...

Coyle landed on his feet, but the proof is in the pudding, in Ws and Ls. Fleck is an exciting personality and has done very well in the MAC in a short time, but that doesn't mean he overtakes Wisconsin and Nebraska all that quickly. Still, Coyle made a good hire and avoided Brewster-style disaster. I expect recruits will like Fleck and a lot of fan excitement will follow. Nevertheless Coyle and Kaler treated Claeys and his coaches shabbily.
 

Johnob2 said:
Can't remember who said this but ...

"The first function of management is to create the sort of chaos that only management can solve; the second function is refurbish during times of utmost financial stringency."

I am delighted we have appointed Coach Fleck, feel it is a great hire and will support him 100%.

I will never get 100% behind Coyle even if we win our next Rose Bowl while he is still here. The Claeys dismissal/scapegoat showed him to be a man of low integrity in my opinion.

If we do win a Rose Bowl/B1G title whatever, my first drink will be to Coaches Kill and Claeys for laying the foundation... That is obviously a way off. Coach Fleck's Skype meeting with the players later today will not be easy ... But I'd rather he was doing it than most others because for all of us fans as well as the players he presents a positive future and an opportunity to move on.
Click to expand...

How so?
 


Nokomis said:
AD Coyle is universally despised on this board, but could it be he handled this whole episode masterfully? It turned out as well as possible for everyone involved, all things considered.

Consider:
Tracy Claeys: got fired, but it appears it was inevitable. He got to coach the bowl game and end the season with his players. Coyle honored the buyout. He was able to tell his side on national tv and has the sympathy of players, fans, and other coaches. Should be able to land another job.
Players: able to save face on boycott. Got huge win in Holiday Bowl. Seniors go out on top. Now they have a fun new coach.
EOAA & petitioners: they got their sacrifice.
PJ Fleck: Gets hired at a B1G school.
Fans: We got to enjoy a great bowl game and now have a flashy new coach.
Mark Coyle: Generally despised by both sides. Even if you agree with Claeys' firing, most don't think Coyle handled it well. Or did he...

By working quietly beyond the fray, Coyle saved the bowl game, appeased the EOAA, and hired his top candidate. I imagine this ending in disaster if Maturi or Teague were still AD. In the end, everyone comes out as well as could have been expected or possible.
Click to expand...

This is a pretty good hypothesis about the sequence of events. While it's probably unlikely that it played out precisely like this, I'm sure the reality is a lot closer to this than the other end of the spectrum that many fans are grabbing onto, that Coyle and Kaler are complete morons that completely botched the entire situation from start to finish. In fact, I'm sure the reality is a LOT closer to what you've outlined here.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
This is a pretty good hypothesis about the sequence of events. While it's probably unlikely that it played out precisely like this, I'm sure the reality is a lot closer to this than the other end of the spectrum that many fans are grabbing onto, that Coyle and Kaler are complete morons that completely botched the entire situation from start to finish. In fact, I'm sure the reality is a LOT closer to what you've outlined here.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ogee. I figured I get a bunch of backlash for showing any sort of support for Coyle on this board. Just offering a different perspective.
 


Nokomis said:
How did Coyle tarnish the reputation of 10 players??? Unless I missed something, he didn't write or leak the EOAA report. While those five players that may not have been directly involved have my sympathy, it's not on Coyle to include them or not. Plus, they have their appeal. I can't believe you would put the reputations of the players on Coyle. Talk about scapegoating...
Click to expand...

I would not be surprised it it was coyle that leaked it.


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#coacheslivesmatter
 

Nokomis said:
No. I'm arguing he handled the scandal well given the situation. The EOAA report, the recruit, the boycott, all were very bad situations. I'm arguing this ended about as well as it could have for those involved. Coyle appears to have made a bad situation better. I imagine Maturi or Teague making it worse.
Click to expand...

This is my opinion as well. There was a lot of ripping on this guy while he was walking a tightrope without a net. I think it could have turned out FAR worse. Everyone's a critic, but they are working with the net of anonymity.
 

Nokomis said:
Thanks Ogee. I figured I get a bunch of backlash for showing any sort of support for Coyle on this board. Just offering a different perspective.
Click to expand...

Perspective being that it doesn't matter who's lives you ruin, how much you lie and who you step on as long as you get what you originally wanted. Yes, that certainly is to be admired.
 

Tlsbhansen said:
Perspective being that it doesn't matter who's lives you ruin, how much you lie and who you step on as long as you get what you originally wanted. Yes, that certainly is to be admired.
Click to expand...

Good thing none of that happened.
 

Nokomis said:
AD Coyle is universally despised on this board, but could it be he handled this whole episode masterfully? It turned out as well as possible for everyone involved, all things considered.

Consider:
Tracy Claeys: got fired, but it appears it was inevitable. He got to coach the bowl game and end the season with his players. Coyle honored the buyout. He was able to tell his side on national tv and has the sympathy of players, fans, and other coaches. Should be able to land another job.
Players: able to save face on boycott. Got huge win in Holiday Bowl. Seniors go out on top. Now they have a fun new coach.
EOAA & petitioners: they got their sacrifice.
PJ Fleck: Gets hired at a B1G school.
Fans: We got to enjoy a great bowl game and now have a flashy new coach.
Mark Coyle: Generally despised by both sides. Even if you agree with Claeys' firing, most don't think Coyle handled it well. Or did he...

By working quietly beyond the fray, Coyle saved the bowl game, appeased the EOAA, and hired his top candidate. I imagine this ending in disaster if Maturi or Teague were still AD. In the end, everyone comes out as well as could have been expected or possible.
Click to expand...

You've spun quite a narrative there, but the bolded I'm giving to Claeys. The Coyle-Kaler initial handling of the crisis caused the team to revolt. Claeys' affirmation of his team gave the team a rallying point around which they could support both the coaches' and their own achievements and goals toward playing in and winning a bowl game.
Left to Kaler-Coyle, that bowl game would not have included the Gophers.
 

GoodasGold said:
You've spun quite a narrative there, but the bolded I'm giving to Claeys. The Coyle-Kaler initial handling of the crisis caused the team to revolt. Claeys' affirmation of his team gave the team a rallying point around which they could support both the coaches' and their own achievements and goals toward playing in and winning a bowl game.
Left to Kaler-Coyle, that bowl game would not have included the Gophers.
Click to expand...

I think all parties came to their senses.
 

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