Mark Coyle Presser 3-2-23

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Ignatius L Hoops

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Not surprisingly, according to Coyle, this has been in the works for the last year.

 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
Not surprisingly, according to Coyle, this has been in the works for the last year.

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But, according to Justin Gaard and others, Whalen was talking about plans for next year as recently as a couple of days ago.

so either Whalen knew this was coming and she is a heck of an actor -
or
Coyle and Whalen do not agree about how "mutual" of an agreement it was.

even at the press conference - Coyle said Whalen was talking to her staff. Whalen said she was in the elevator on her way to the press conference and was "overcome by emotion." So they can't even agree on why she wasn't at the presser.
 


I think it's safe to say that we will learn about the mutuality of the agreement pretty soon. What is not surprising is that Coyle would have met with Whalen after last season to ask what the hell is going on and to set some expectations. It's possible that it ended up being one of the "what Coyle said and what Whalen heard" conversations.

But,Wednesday, I assumed something was up because of the emotion in the post game presser and an odd feeling I had watching Whalen slow walk herself away from the post game interview with Justing Gaard. I wasn't shocked when the news hit my phone today during the games at Target Center.
 

GopherGal_ said:
Not a good look for Coyle here. To be fair, pretty much nothing he does is a good look.
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Coyle's instinct is to avoid the microphone as much as he can when there is a tough situation. Then, when he can't hide anymore, we see why he is so eager to avoid it.
 


3 weeks ago I thought it was 100% chance Johnson would be back.
After Evans departure I thought it was 90% chance he would be back.
After the press conference I think it is 60% chance he would be back.

Coyle fumbled around the press conference, tried to stick to his main points, but the media tied him in a knot.

He had a chance to stick up for Johnson and give him the dreaded vote of confidence... instead he did the opposite.
 

Johnson has to be back, right? He's only had 2 years.
 

MNfootballfan said:
3 weeks ago I thought it was 100% chance Johnson would be back.
After Evans departure I thought it was 90% chance he would be back.
After the press conference I think it is 60% chance he would be back.

Coyle fumbled around the press conference, tried to stick to his main points, but the media tied him in a knot.

He had a chance to stick up for Johnson and give him the dreaded vote of confidence... instead he did the opposite.
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Did they tie him in a knot by asking predictable questions that he should have been prepared to answer?
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Did they tie him in a knot by asking predictable questions that he should have been prepared to answer?
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Agree with you. None of the questions were earth shattering... instead questions that nearly everyone of us in the forum ask each other.
 



Saying she was overcome with emotion and saying that she was with assistant coaches is saying the same thing and Coyle was protecting her privacy in that matter.

What's he suppose to say, she's in the back crying? There is no perfect way to do these things although the media and public thinks there is. Everyone is trying to pick every word to find the flaw or dirt.
 

MNfootballfan said:
3 weeks ago I thought it was 100% chance Johnson would be back.
After Evans departure I thought it was 90% chance he would be back.
After the press conference I think it is 60% chance he would be back.

Coyle fumbled around the press conference, tried to stick to his main points, but the media tied him in a knot.

He had a chance to stick up for Johnson and give him the dreaded vote of confidence... instead he did the opposite.
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100% Johnson will be back. He said "obviously it's year 2." That means that he and Whalen are on different timelines. However, if they don't make a big step next year, he might not get a 4th year.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Saying she was overcome with emotion and saying that she was with assistant coaches is saying the same thing and Coyle was protecting her privacy in that matter.

What's he suppose to say, she's in the back crying? There is no perfect way to do these things although the media and public thinks there is. Everyone is trying to pick every word to find the flaw or dirt.
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let's see - "as you can understand, this has been a difficult day for Coach Whalen. She will be meeting with the media at a future time and we will let everyone know when that will happen."

I am NOT saying Coyle is a bad person. I AM saying that he is a poor public speaker. and when you are the AD of a P5 school, dealing with the press and the public is part of the job - a part that Coyle is just not good at.
 

I don't disagree that Coyle leaves a lot to be desired as the "face" of the program, but let's remember what he was trying to do here:

He decided that it was time to move on from Whalen, the undisputed legendary figure in Minnesota women's basketball. There was no way to diplomatically fire her, so he negotiated with her to announce it as a resignation with a sweet new gig in the athletic department that she loves.

They worked out and released a joint statement announcing her departure and setting up a joint press conference. There would, of course, be questions about the hows and the whys, but with Whalen there singing the same tune, it would be clear that, while she didn't want to give up on her team, she agreed that it was in the best interests of the program to have new leadership and that she would, in her new role, do everything in her power to help the program get back to competing for conference championships. Indeed, freed from day-to-day coaching, she might even be better able to help the program as sort of an ambassador for the athletic department, women's sports and basketball.

They have the local media come to campus. Then, five minutes before the press conference, Whalen bails on the presser leaving him to appear alone and "defend" the change. The press was already assembled for the conference, so there was no way to cancel it.

Given those circumstances, there was little chance of it going well. Coyle wasn't going to say that he would have fired her if she hadn't quit. He wasn't going to list all the reasons that he was unsatisfied with her performance. He stuck to the script--Lindsay is a legend, we can't thank her enough for her commitment to the program, we spoke and agreed it was in the best interests of the team for her to step down at this time and we're thrilled that she has agreed to remain part of the athletic department.

All he can do now is hope Whalen remains committed to their story, ride out the criticism and hire a clear upgrade who will hopefully be able to keep the existing core and build upon it.
 



GopherGal_ said:
Not a good look for Coyle here. To be fair, pretty much nothing he does is a good look.
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Yeah, he does not get to claim MN nice on this one. Any1 who cared about the success of this program was concerned about their performance this season. What was obvious is how inexperienced, how hard this team fought and the increase in talent . There was also a team unity that we have not seen consistently for the past few years. In other words, even though we hoped for more W’s to me there was enough positivity around this group to let Whalen continue to coach them for another 1-2 years. He should not have said “ mutual decision “ to what amounted to an ultimatum.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Coyle's instinct is to avoid the microphone as much as he can when there is a tough situation. Then, when he can't hide anymore, we see why he is so eager to avoid it.
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Mark Coyle must have consulted Lyndsey Whalen on how to deal with the media. Just don't talk to them, even if it's your contractual obligation.

"as you can understand, this has been a difficult day for Coach Whalen. She will be meeting with the media at a future time and we will let everyone know when that will happen."

She's not meeting with the media ever. Too tough on the ego.
 

Bunyan said:
Mark Coyle must have consulted Lyndsey Whalen on how to deal with the media. Just don't talk to them, even if it's your contractual obligation.

"as you can understand, this has been a difficult day for Coach Whalen. She will be meeting with the media at a future time and we will let everyone know when that will happen."

She's not meeting with the media ever. Too tough on the ego.
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When has a coach who has been canned/let go/bailed for another school been at a press conference? Littlejohn? No. Oldfield/Freeze? No. Borton? No. Stollings? No.
 

take this for what it's worth - but Sunday morning on KFAN, Dan Barreiro talked about the situation. He said he has "heard" that Whalen is "pissed" about the way it was handled. Barreiro also said that they are attempting to get Whalen to come on his show. Considering that his producer is also the Women's play-by-play announcer, I would think that they might have an inside track.......
 

short ornery norwegian said:
take this for what it's worth - but Sunday morning on KFAN, Dan Barreiro talked about the situation. He said he has "heard" that Whalen is "pissed" about the way it was handled. Barreiro also said that they are attempting to get Whalen to come on his show. Considering that his producer is also the Women's play-by-play announcer, I would think that they might have an inside track.......
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Wouldn't blame her for being p-o'd. Timing was bad. Still on the fence as to whether or not she should have been given another year. Yes I know it is moot.
 
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