Mike Grant staying at Eden Prairie

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IDFM

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I know it is not Gopher news; but It just came out that Gary Fasching is the new HC at St. John's. I will admit that I am shocked that Grant did not get the job.
 

From the Strib:

Gary Fasching has been named the new football coach at St. John’s, replacing John Gagliardi, the all-time winningest coach in college football.

Fasching had spent 17 seasons as a St. John’s assistant coach, most recently serving as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. He played for Gagliardi, and also coached at St. Cloud Cathedral, directing the school to state Class B titles in 1992 and 93.

The other finalists for the position were Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant and former Carleton coach and SJU quarterback Kurt Ramler. Grant, whose eight state titles are the most of any state high school coach, had been considered the frontrunner for the position.
 

IDFM said:
I know it is not Gopher news; but It just came out that Gary Fasching is the new HC at St. John's. I will admit that I am shocked that Grant did not get the job.
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Not surprising. If you knew anything about SJU football, it was that Fasching was the coach in waiting. He is a great coach/recruiter and one of the best liked coaches at SJU.
 


I was told that Fasching was the coach in waiting in 1999 when I was considering playing football at SJU. I know things can definitely change and I thought that Mike Grant was probably the front runner now. I, personally, think that Fasching is a better fit at St. Johns than Grant would have been. It's a new age in the MIAC with the emergence of St. Thomas and their advantage over the other MIAC schools.
 



Good luck, Gary! This isn't a Gophers story but it is a Minnesota College Football story so I think its OK to post on here. This news place the final punctuation on the John Gagliardi story. He was the last of a by-gone era and we will never see the likes of a guy like this again. I don't think it would be possible for an individual to endure like he did in this day and age - the systems just won't allow it, not at any level of play. John was a great Minnesota football coach and lets hope that we have another great one in the works in the person of Jerry Kill. Now let's go beat Texas Tech tonight!
 

Gags made the decision who was going to replace him and he picked a good soldier.
 




I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about this situation, but what I've heard (and from not perfectly reliable sources) is that talk of Grant was merely that: talk.

Grant has one of the cushiest jobs in the state right now. I don't know why he would ever leave Eden Prairie.
 

I just wanted to weigh in and let you all know that i know waaaay more about St. Johns football than I ever want to... Thanks to over-the-top Strib coverage for decades.
 

Mike Grant did apply for the job and he was interviewed. I saw a story in the St. Cloud Times where he showed a lot of enthusiasm about the job. I do believe he wanted it and would have taken it if offered. Who wouldn't - coach football on a beautiful small college campus with a great tradition? Not a bad life style. It's in the upper divisions where the pressure comes to bear, but that comes with the salary.
 

Star Trib reporting that Grant withdrew his name. They may not have been able to afford him. He does well at EP and could probably retire within 5 years. Surprised they hired from within? I admittedly know only that they've been a very average MIAC team for four years. ST. THomas, Bethel, and even Augsburg have owned them. Big shoes to fill for a legend.
 




Mvgopher said:
Star Trib reporting that Grant withdrew his name. They may not have been able to afford him. He does well at EP and could probably retire within 5 years. Surprised they hired from within? I admittedly know only that they've been a very average MIAC team for four years. ST. THomas, Bethel, and even Augsburg have owned them. Big shoes to fill for a legend.
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Grant wanted more support by having more full-time assistants. They have 3 and the Tommie's have about 7. Money was not a factor, support was. STU is in its own class now.
 


And Nick Saban spends another couple of sleepless weeks looking over his shoulder.
 

My two cents:

Not that this happened but to save face, sometimes coaches are allowed to "withdraw" their name when the decision is made that they won't get the job.

Mike Grant is a great high school football coach, elevated to legendary status by the shear number of kids he is allowed to fill a team from. That advantage wouldn't be available at SJU.

I Don't know that the veer offense can be successful at the college level. I do know that unlike their high school counterparts who are stuck attending the school in their attendance area, college players have choices. Point? I don't see QB's, WR's lining up to handoff and block.

Coaches like Grant and Minnetonkas's Nelson are paid 6 figure salaries....their isn't a big money jump to coach D3 football.
 


I have no problem with this being posted here, as we don't have a college intramural board.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
My two cents:

Not that this happened but to save face, sometimes coaches are allowed to "withdraw" their name when the decision is made that they won't get the job.

Mike Grant is a great high school football coach, elevated to legendary status by the shear number of kids he is allowed to fill a team from. That advantage wouldn't be available at SJU.

I Don't know that the veer offense can be successful at the college level. I do know that unlike their high school counterparts who are stuck attending the school in their attendance area, college players have choices. Point? I don't see QB's, WR's lining up to handoff and block.

Coaches like Grant and Minnetonkas's Nelson are paid 6 figure salaries....their isn't a big money jump to coach D3 football.
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No way these high school guys make 6+. Really? I think they get paid Union Scale for teaching plus a little extra for coaching. Please don't tell me it is 6 figures. Our priorities are screwed if this is true.
 

TrapperDoo said:
No way these high school guys make 6+. Really? I think they get paid Union Scale for teaching plus a little extra for coaching. Please don't tell me it is 6 figures. Our priorities are screwed if this is true.
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Grant is also a teacher and AD so majority of salary comes from that. He probably makes 6 or 7k coaching.
 

He didn't want to coach if he couldn't have 2x the players as all other teams. GFY Mike Grant. :cry:
 


He is paid on an administrative contract as their AD. No teaching.
 

Mvgopher said:
He is paid on an administrative contract as their AD. No teaching.
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Yes, I am shocked that Mike Grant, Marc Trestman, or Tony Dungy were not mentioned for the Wisonsin job, or at least the Hamline job.
 

I don't know if coaching salaries are still controlled by the step-and-lane agreements reached by the union local and the school board. I know it used to be that way, but I believe that era is long gone. I wouldn't be surprised if Grant, Nelson, and some of the other Lake Conference coaches garnered a ton of booster money.
 

It sounds like there are a few Johnnies on this board. How many of you are?
 

I have no doubt that Grant wanted the job. He took a leave of absence at Forest Lake to be an assistant there. The rumor at the time (this was about 25 years ago) was that he thought Gags was going to retire and he'd get the job. I'm pretty sure that the "withdrawl" was to save face when he found out he wasn't going to get hired. I don't think he'd be a good recruiter. He's a naturally arrogant guy (yeah, a lot of coaches are) and his personality wouldn't play well with the kind of kids that would be going to SJU. He's also immensely unpopular amongst other high school coaches in the state and I wouldn't doubt that coaches would steer guys away from SJU on purpose just to stick it to Grant.
 

TrapperDoo said:
No way these high school guys make 6+. Really? I think they get paid Union Scale for teaching plus a little extra for coaching. Please don't tell me it is 6 figures. Our priorities are screwed if this is true.
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I hate to tell you this but some of the more successful high school basketball and football coaches are making far more than the $10 to $15,000 per season their peers are getting paid. The rumor was Nelson received a home and $90k to go from coach at Blaine to Tonka, this does not include teaching and/or AD money he may receive.

Girls basketball coach, Faith Hill was supposedly paid in the $35k range to move from North to
Delasale (sp).

While I obviously have never seen their pay checks I have heard this from other high school coaches and more importantly multiple administrators.......they can't all be wrong can they?
 

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