Mike Leach really wants the Minnesota job

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leach upped the ante big time with his comments. maturi better have a HR hire ready to roll out otherwise you will see considerable backlash. the mid-major candidates will no longer do. leach wants the job. either hire him or hire someone better. someone better is not calhoun, edsall, hoke, golden or any other crap shoot mid-major flyer.
 

Now I feel bad for whoever our new coach is, unless it's Mullen. If it's a tier B guy, they will be starting off in a hole with the fans that know that we could have had a better coach (to no fault of their own). Doesn't mean they can't be great, but it's something to overcome.
 

The best part is that this comes from Phil in the STrib so every single Gopher fan will read this. Every one. Maturi can not be happy since now he won't be able to say 'only I know who had interest'. Now everyone with an internet connection, mailbox, or access to a gas station or diner knows that a national coach of the year is attainable.
 

This has backfired for Leach. Now it's all about him. The worry is that he'd bring a circus with him. QED.
 



I don't know guys. I just don't see the 'fat girlfriends' thing going over here or anywhere else in the big ten. I agree that the article makes it seem enticing.
 

Studwell55 said:
This has backfired for Leach. Now it's all about him. The worry is that he'd bring a circus with him. QED.
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I don't care if he does a freaking trapeze act at his press conferences, bring him in!

Am I the only one who thinks Goldy would look dead sexy in an eyepatch? And I don't mean the way Wisconsinites view animals as dead sexy.
 

Some posters have called Leach an alpha wolf, and have claimed that the way you deal with an alpha wolf is to give him what he wants. No, no, no... the only way to deal with an alpha wolf is to pin him down by the throat and let him know that he's not the alpha wolf YOU ARE.
 

Leach sold me on our own program in a 1000 word article. Something tells me Maturi is having trouble doing the same thing in 2 hour meetings with the other candidates. :banghead:
 



I will reserve all judgements until Maturi announces his hire.
 

I was off the Leach bandwagon from the start. I'm still not fully sold. But I'd be happy enough, given the other names floating out there, if he's our next coach.
 

Someone posted Lou Holtz killed Gopher football. No. The hire of Tim Brewster and the non-hire of Mike Leach = Joel Maturi killed Gopher football.
 

We're throwing around names of coaches that have .500 winning percentages at mid-major schools. Meanwhile, this guy says he wants to coach here and has an 84-43 record in the Big 12.

Ironically, this guy also fits every goal Maturi mentioned in this "search" press conference. 1. Proven Winner 2. Bring instant credibility 3. And excitement to the football program.
 



I would roll the dice with Leach, but have concerns. Would he be able to do here what he did at Texas Tech? If he has to have his studs on offense to do what he wants to do, what will his defense be like? Just a thought. I'm willing to take the chance.

I really want Mullen, Leach, or Stoops.
 

Studwell55 said:
This has backfired for Leach. Now it's all about him. The worry is that he'd bring a circus with him. QED.
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If he wasn't contacted, how did this backfire??? He went from having no shot, to what having a negative shot?? Your reasoning makes no sense.
 

badgergopher said:
I don't know guys. I just don't see the 'fat girlfriends' thing going over here or anywhere else in the big ten. I agree that the article makes it seem enticing.
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Look at the damn Poll! We want Leach!
 

Maturi is a real a-hole

Here is the same guy that:

a. Held an innocent basketball player out a season knowing the case was questionable
b. Hired a football coach who's highest level of teaching was coaching tight ends
c. Extended our former basketball coach a contract then fired him 10 games into the season
d. Continues to keep a hockey coach who has pile driven our program from Duke basketball status to some crappy Junior program out of Saginaw Michigan

The problem is that Maturi has made so many mistakes that he can't even afford to hire a somewhat risky hire like Leach (I am a huge Leach backer but have come to the reality that we aren't going to hire him). Outside of the stadium and Tubby hire (which he had little to do with) he has been a disaster. Maturi is incapable of doing anything on his own(Hence why he needs to reach out to schools like ND, Wisc, etc.. to consult on coaching hire). Not a guy you want running a large athletic dept.

Leach will turn around another program big.
 

steffyboy said:
Here is the same guy that:

a. Held an innocent basketball player out a season knowing the case was questionable
b. Hired a football coach who's highest level of teaching was coaching tight ends
c. Extended our former basketball coach a contract then fired him 10 games into the season
d. Continues to keep a hockey coach who has pile driven our program from Duke basketball status to some crappy Junior program out of Saginaw Michigan

The problem is that Maturi has made so many mistakes that he can't even afford to hire a somewhat risky hire like Leach (I am a huge Leach backer but have come to the reality that we aren't going to hire him). Outside of the stadium and Tubby hire (which he had little to do with) he has been a disaster. Maturi is incapable of doing anything on his own(Hence why he needs to reach out to schools like ND, Wisc, etc.. to consult on coaching hire). Not a guy you want running a large athletic dept.

Leach will turn around another program big.
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We should throw Joel in a closet. Sick of him abusing us the fans.
 

The only way I see Leach getting a BCS job

Leach’s resume includes all of the impressive on-the-field and classroom accomplishments that he lists. It also includes a fairly well documented reputation as someone who is a loose cannon and who has struggled to get along with his superiors and is in litigation with his former employer and the network that pays his former (and any future) employer millions of dollars to cover the games. He has a huge ego. That is not uncommon in the profession and not necessarily a bad thing, but he hasn’t shown the ability or the inclination to sublimate that ego when he should. He is going to want to do things his way with little or no interference from any of his superiors. He’s probably earned that right, but it’s a pretty big red flag for any institution, especially one where the current AD is risk averse, confrontation avoidant and in the last 18 months of his contact and the President is leaving soon. There is also a local media (and a large segment of the public) here that seems eager to seize upon any foibles that arise, real or imagined, to denigrate the program. All of that is on top of the fact that Maturi has apparently seen this guy in action and found his behavior to be unprofessional.

The only way I see Leach getting this job (or the job at most BCS conference schools) would be for him to be willing to accept a substandard contract. By “substandard” I mean one that limits his pay and his autonomy below what his credentials would otherwise merit and which frees the University to fire him without cause and provides for little or no buyout. That would show a measure of humility and contrition on his part without having to openly admit that he may have made some mistakes in his past. I still doubt that Maturi would bite, but a school with a more stable administration situation might then be willing to take the risk.
 

Joel Maturi, Dave Mona and Bob Bruininks are going to make this hire. Although I would love to see these guys in a remake of some Three Stooges classics, I do not want to see them in charge of this hire. Dave Mona and Joel Maturi could "F" up a wet dream!
 

Leach would fill TCF to capacity, would put Gopher football into the national conversation, and could be had for a song right now. Which is why he won't get a sniff at Minnesota.
 


Sample size is big enough for me (Star Trib, 12/2)

leach.jpg
 

ruralgopher said:
If he wasn't contacted, how did this backfire??? He went from having no shot, to what having a negative shot?? Your reasoning makes no sense.
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Studwell's reasoning makes perfect sense. If Leach were truly interested in the job, he would have worked the back channels extremely hard instead of going public and making this a "intelligent me versus the sub-normal world" issue.

At this point--and it certainly may change--there doesn't seem to be a well-worn path to Leach's front door. He's not going to get the Colorado job. He doesn't appear to be on Miami's short list. His name isn't being tossed around for the Indiana job. That leaves us and we're an easy mark right now.

If I were a betting man--and I'm not--my guess is that Leach will end up at Mississippi State if Mullen goes to Miami.
 


50PoundHead said:
If I were a betting man--and I'm not--my guess is that Leach will end up at Mississippi State if Mullen goes to Miami.
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I think that would be a good landing spot for him. But I think you meant if Mullen goes to Minnesota.
 

50PoundHead said:
Studwell's reasoning makes perfect sense. If Leach were truly interested in the job, he would have worked the back channels extremely hard instead of going public and making this a "intelligent me versus the sub-normal world" issue.
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You don't think he hasn't already tried that? I am sure he has.
 

50PoundHead said:
Studwell's reasoning makes perfect sense. If Leach were truly interested in the job, he would have worked the back channels extremely hard instead of going public and making this a "intelligent me versus the sub-normal world" issue.
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No. He was far more diplomatic 5 weeks ago with Mike Max. What more does he have to do? I am 100% sure that his agent has either contacted Maturi or the search firm. Leach is turning up the heat on Maturi the only way that he can at this point. Again, if he had no chance, how did this backfire?
 

Leach does not want the Gopher job. He wants any job.

This guy has never had to recruit outside of Texas now he is going to come here and suddenly recruit the whole country? Highly doubt it. Every other school would use his baggage against him in recruiting.
 

It appears that no one is going to hire Leach until all this lawsuit stuff is taken care of, for whatever reason. Indiana apparently was eying him initially and then backed off, Miami doesn't appear likely to go after him either. Makes no sense to me, as I've seen enough to believe that he wouldn't cause that much of an issue here besides say things that get on your nerves, probably rub administration the wrong way a few times, etc. But all I know is Maturi better come up with a decent hire, or else even before a game is played, you're gonna see some backfire from this one.
 

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