My short list of candidates

[ulfr]

Get rid of that clown Maturi and hire Mike Leach! Watch from 3:30 to about the 4 minute mark. Just replace Baylor with USD and Red Raiders with Golden Gophers. This guy is the goods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZaOFTp5_C8

Yeah how'd locking that kid in a shed the next week help him instill mental toughness?

Guy's a clown.

And an unproven recruiting clown outside the state of Texas. How many Vince Youngs did Brewster drag up from Texas? The same number of Michael Crabtrees Mike Leach will drag up from Texas. Feasting on the crumbs falling from the Longhorn's slop trough isn't so easy up here.

I really cannot put into words how disapointed I will be if we go back to the spread again, especially in the purer forms Leach or Sumlin will install. Purdue, the progenitor of the craft in this league is moving away from the spread passing game for a reason. It is loosing potency in this league. Nobody is shocked by 'basketball on grass' like they once were. I have to agree with this guy in that a pure spread offense cannot establish a sustainable cycle of winning in this conference. Nothing about Northwestern or Purdue or Indiana in the last 5 to 10 years has gotten me to say, 'God I wish we played their brand of ball'. Meanwhile I loathe the success our bordering rivals have had.

Furthermore the young linemen in the system have run blocking written all over them. If Brewster failed at one thing in recruiting it was not realizing early enough his future O-line needs. None came in his first full class nor did he make anymoves to add to the few Mason had on the line in the few weeks after he was hired and boy could we have used some depth last year. A more consistent offensive line could have gotten us to a New Years Day bowl given our acceptably performing defenders. Now we lack the small nimble lineman Leach or Sumlin will want, and we will be back to a painfull three year cycle of transitioning. The gestation period for a good lineman is three years, that's just the way the position plays. Some buck the trend, but look around the conference, and the linemen I covet are redshirt upperclassmen for a reason.

I'm not saying for certain that Mike Leach couldn't succeed up here, but thinking he is anything but a long shot gamble is grossly overestimating his situation. Oh and if you thought the local hands-in-your-pocket-passive Minnesota public couldn't swallow Brewster's bombastically blowhard approach, I doubt the skeletons in Leach's closet nor his own buccaneer charm will rest well with the natives. He would however be more likely to call out some of the local talk jocks on their bull*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# however so it may well be worth it for that!

 

[tjgopher]

What about Gary Barnett?

Gary Barnett is 64 years old. There are already enough recruiting hurdles here, we don't need to throw in the fact the head coach is eligible for social security benefits. That age would work against him any place, but especially here.

 

[mnboiler]

All you have to do is win and the boosters and their money will come pouring in.

I know, but they aren't winning now and that's the problem. And hiring a D2 coach isn't going to get it done either.

 

[Shaqfu14]

I don't think this guy has ever been a head coach but how about Mike Markuson. He is currently the co-offensive coordinator/o-line coach at Ole Miss. He has been with Housten Nutt a long time and would have ties to the SEC's prime recruiting ground.

 

[Tarver's Mustache Comb]

Jim Grobe?! What the f#ck do you guys huff before you type this sh*t?! Yeah I would love it if we could get Harbaugh or Saban or Jesus f#cking Christ and all his armies of angels to coach here too! But I think they are busy... STOP f#cking deluding yourself into thinking we could ever get a coach to voluntarily leave a BCS AQ'd team for Minnesota even if he had credible evidence that there was an imminent f*cking nuclear attack on his goddamm stadium! We'll have a easier time getting Bernie Bierman to come out of retirement than to convince Jim Grobe to leave a school with every competitive advantage of Minnesota that lies a few short hours drive from his childhood home.

If we get June f#cking Jones or goddam Mike Leach I am going to f#cking go absolute ape sh*t. Another batsh%t spread offense enthusiast is just what this f*cking place needs. I'd love to see Mike Leach try to get his program installed a two day drive north of Texas. Getting lucky once in awhile in this league won't prove as easy without first dibs on the UT table scraps. And if I have to suffer through seeing one more short pass from an empty f*cking backfield on 3-and-less-than-a-godd@mn-yard-to-go I am going to gouge out Maturi's eyes.

UMD? Really? At least an FCS program has some semblance of national recruiting experience involved. And we need to worry only about the top MN kids. A program chock full of MN kids isn't going to cut it. Please stop pretending it will.


You lot of @ss clowns bitch about Maturi and this is the list you come up with?

Awesome. :thumbup:

 

[RodentRampage]

This has been the last stop for a lot of coaches. Aside from Lou Holtz, who left after two years, the last coach to have another head coaching job after leaving Minnesota was Fritz Crisler, who like Holtz coached here only two years, 1930 and 1931. He went on to become the HC at Princeton and then the HC at Michigan. Most haven't even coached as an assistant. Gutey is an exception, he's had a number of assistant coach positions.

So a coach around 50 or so is going to look at that and think it is too much of a risk to take that job. I think we need to look for someone younger, who doesn't see the position as being so risky, and can get another position if things don't work out here. We're not likely to get someone to make a lateral move, I'm more concerned that the coach know how to coach and have a firm idea what he wants to do.

 

[Ole]

Here are my outside thoughts on some names that have been tossed around and a few that haven't been yet.

If Miles or Richt are fired you have to after them if you are Maturi, you would be crazy not to, if you don't get them then you move on. I will go 51% at least one of them gets fired. Like the idea of Jagodzinski as well. All three are have been successful HC in the past so it would be crazy not to atleast talk to them.

I also like Major Applewhite out of Texas, many thought he would be the guy when Mack Brown left but then Muschamp came in and that changed. He would be a good choice. Kirby White won't leave Alabama and Wilcox is still might be a little young as us Heupel. Both Tommy and Terry Bowden are also available. Carl Pelini could be a good hire but it is hard for me to see him going up against his brother. I also don't think you are going to get Pat Hill out of Fresno State, same think with Chris Peterson at Boise, Gary Patterson at TCU, Bronco Mendenhall at BYU, and Kyle Whittingham at Utah.

One name I am going to toss out there is Ed Orgeron. He was Pete Carroll's lead recruiter at USC for many years then became the HC at Ole Miss where he was fired and has been working for Lane Kiffen for the past two years. He may want another shot at being a HC and he can recruit better than pretty much anybody.

I'm also going to toss out Robb Akey who has turned around a 1-11 Idaho program in only 3 years.

I would stay away from Mangini and Leach simply because they both bring along baggage that Minnesotan's won't tolerate.

For me Applewhite is a legit candidate, young and thought of highly, he'd be able to quell any mass transfers due to his ties with Brewster and his texas recruiting would probably be stellar for 1 or 2 recruiting seasons. I can see a top 1-2 texas QB wanting to be "the guy" for an applewhite team.
I'm warming up to Venables from oklahoma too, we might have to pay him, which as has been said is going to be an issue, but he'd bring a defensive mentality, and fingers crossed, he might bring Heupel with as an O-coordinator.

 

[Tarver's Mustache Comb]

I agree with most that we should probably shoot for someone with HC experience and that the best way to get that is to shoot for an up and comer at a smaller school. Some possible suggestions:

Todd Graham - Tulsa HC - Was HC at Rice before that. 33-20 as a HC, only 45 years old. At Rice he hired Major Applewhite as the OC and changed from a triple option offense. Graham was named HC of the year in Conf USA after his first year taking Rice from a 1-11 record in 05 to a 7-5 tally in 06. However, he bolted for a better offer at Tulsa the year after, despite signing an extension with Rice first. He hired Gus Malzahn as OC there. After going 10-4 and 11-3 in his first two seasons at Tulsa, he went 5-7 in 2009. Bottom line is he's young, greedy has a history of turning programs around and seems to have made some good coaching hires in the past. Maybe a Big 10 job is enough for him to stay put for a bit? He makes $1.1M at Tulsa and is the 2nd highest paid coach in Conf USA to only June Jones.

Rick Stockstill - HC MTSU - Hey, he coached a heck of game against us, right? Stockstill is in his 5th year at MTSU and turned down offers from East Carolina and Memphis after last year's 10-3 season. Stockstill is just 52. "Stockstill, who made his way to Murfreesboro after spending the previous two years at South Carolina, has worked with legendary coaches Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier, Danny Ford, Tommy Bowden, Ken Hatfield, and Tommy West." Stockstill has a nice history of recruiting and developing solid players throughout his various stops.

Robb Akey - HC Idaho - Have you ever seen this guy coach? He's a badass; handlebar mustache and those yellow tinted shooting glasses. Also, after winning just 3 games total in his first two years, he busted out with an 8 win year in 2009. He's only 44 and doesn't have a ton of experience; he was DC at Wash St prior to the Idaho gig. He's a defensive minded type, which I like with the right OC...

Anyway, I think these are the type of guys we might be able to land.

 

[Gopher Pride]

For me Applewhite is a legit candidate, young and thought of highly, he'd be able to quell any mass transfers due to his ties with Brewster and his texas recruiting would probably be stellar for 1 or 2 recruiting seasons. I can see a top 1-2 texas QB wanting to be "the guy" for an applewhite team.
I'm warming up to Venables from oklahoma too, we might have to pay him, which as has been said is going to be an issue, but he'd bring a defensive mentality, and fingers crossed, he might bring Heupel with as an O-coordinator.

My top choice would be a package deal with Venables as theHC and Josh Heupel as the OC. Heupel has coached 2 Heisman winners and Venables always has a top rated defense.

 

[josh087]

Is this a serious statement? The Ole Miss debacle was bad, yes but come on. He is 53-15 at LSU with a National Championship. Minnesota would quickly turn the corner with Les Miles at Head Coach.

That's what we thought about Tubby. Spurrier, while off to a good start this year, they have struggled at USC. Both those guys are 10X the coach Miles is.

The Ole Miss game was just one of the ridiculous gaffes he has made. Even worse than all the mistakes is that he doesn't seem to even realize in the slightest that what he is doing at the end of all these games is beyond stupid. I don't want him near our program.

 

[Silvio]

Les Miles may be Tubby Smith 2.0. A coach who has won a national championship, but whose program has slowly slipped after inheriting the program from an even better coach.

 

[[censored]]

Les Miles' "national championship" team was probably the worst of the modern era. That's the best he's done and that was with a team littered with players he didn't recruit or develop.

Les Miles is a turd. There's no other way to say it. He's a bumbling idiot, turd of a coach, and that's putting it mildly.

You think Brewster can get out of hand with the rah-rah bullcrap? You ain't see nothing yet if you end up with Miles.

 

[Plinnius]

Coaching trumps talent any day of the week.

LOL!

 

[HavaGo4]

LOL!

Hey Idiot... were you at the South Dakota game... or the NDSU games, or SDSU..... Gophers had better talent but no coaching.

No wonder why the program stinks we have the stupidest fans in the league.

 

[Unregistered User]

Hey Idiot... were you at the South Dakota game... or the NDSU games, or SDSU..... Gophers had better talent but no coaching.

No wonder why the program stinks we have the stupidest fans in the league.

I can't even begin to understand that last sentence. But I imagine you keyed it in while yelling the words at your monitor.

 

[Plinnius]

Hey Idiot... were you at the South Dakota game... or the NDSU games, or SDSU..... Gophers had better talent but no coaching.

Really? Because I could have sworn that we have a bunch of accomplished, highly paid assistant coaches and coordinators.

Allow me to offer this corrective: The Gopher had better athletes on the field. Unfortunately, almost everybody on defense was woefully young and inexperienced. It's a rebuilding year for the defense this year. Next year almost everybody returns and the defense will be fine. Put last year's defense on the field and USD moves the ball about as well as SDSU did.

No wonder why the program stinks we have the stupidest fans in the league.

Again, really? Because it's you're type of thinking that currently prevails among the fans -- not just our fans, all fans -- and has been the enduring conventional wisdom for the past 50 years.

But you're right, Gopher fans are dumb. We need to start listening to Badger fans.

 

[Maroon]

Take this for what it's worth, but a little birdie told me that former Oregon coach and AD Mike Bellotti's name has at least been mentioned inside the Gopher program as a potential replacement. Interestingly enough, he'll be in the booth for ESPN at this Saturday's Gopher-USC game.

 

[Go Gophers Rah]

I have no inside information nor any little birdie. I cannot judge whether Maroon does or not. But the name Mike Belotti is certainly an interesting one and would make a lot of sense. I'm presuming he would be a coaching candidate (rather than an AD candidate).

From the little I know about Belotti, his is a name I could be excited about.

 

[mnboiler]

Just looked it up thinking Belotti would be a little old but he is only 59. An interesting name being kicked around for sure. But if he still wants to coach why would he leave the Oregon HC job in the first place? Just something to think about.

 

[gophmeister]

Take this for what it's worth, but a little birdie told me that former Oregon coach and AD Mike Bellotti's name has at least been mentioned inside the Gopher program as a potential replacement. Interestingly enough, he'll be in the booth for ESPN at this Saturday's Gopher-USC game.

I was thinking about him last night. I know, that's what she said. What I meant to say is last night I recalled that he wanted to get back into coaching and perhaps he'd be interested in Minnesota. In this day and age 59 is not that old. He could give us a solid decade and then pass the program onto a worthy assistant. Joe Pa is more than 20 years older. Just saying.

 

[Indiana Gopher]

While I'd love to get Tony Dungy to come here to coach the rodents, that is very unlikely (but worth a shot). The best idea I have heard here is to hire the UMD coach (although I actually got excited to hear the name Mike Grant mentioned). I wholeheartedly believe in the Tressel, Bo Ryan school of thought. Gotta find a coach who WANTS to be here, who considers THIS his dream job! It wasn't Holtz's. It wasn't Mason's. And it isn't Brewster's. There are some very good coaches for which it just might be the end-all, be-all!

 

[Go Gophers Rah]

Here is a press clipping about Bellotti leaving Oregon. When I read "I like college athletics, but I love college football." That tells me that he did not like being an AD but wants to remain close to college football. Hmmm
______________________________________________

Bellotti on decision to leave Oregon for ESPN
March, 19, 2010
By Ted Miller


Here's what Bellotti said:
"One of the most difficult decisions in my life was to walk away from being the head football coach at Oregon. Coaching here for 20 years was a wonderful experience that enriched my life. The players, coaches, staff and fans are simply the best. The relationships that we have built and the memories we share will endure forever.

"The second most difficult decision has come today, to leave the university. This past football season as Athletics Director, I had the opportunity to work in the broadcast booth for the Oregon Sports Network. It allowed me to stay connected to the game in a new way. ESPN recently offered me a position, which I accepted yesterday, as a college football analyst. It is a tremendous, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I like college athletics, but I love college football.

"I appreciate the understanding and support of president Lariviere, the university and the athletics department. I will always be supportive of the University of Oregon and in the offseason I hope I can still be involved with UO functions."

 

[fej]

Bud Foster, VaTech D-Coordinator? Eh? Eh? James Madison?

 

[PapaHawk21]

That's what we thought about Tubby. Spurrier, while off to a good start this year, they have struggled at USC. Both those guys are 10X the coach Miles is.

The Ole Miss game was just one of the ridiculous gaffes he has made. Even worse than all the mistakes is that he doesn't seem to even realize in the slightest that what he is doing at the end of all these games is beyond stupid. I don't want him near our program.

I am confident Les Miles could do just fine at Minnesota. Look at the progress he made at Oklahoma State and then ultimately won a national title at LSU.

What is wrong with Tubby? Two straight tournament appearances and a big10 title game appearance. Is that enough progress from a team that was at rock bottom before he arrived? This board amazes me sometimes.

 

[josh087]

I am confident Les Miles could do just fine at Minnesota. Look at the progress he made at Oklahoma State and then ultimately won a national title at LSU.

What is wrong with Tubby? Two straight tournament appearances and a big10 title game appearance. Is that enough progress from a team that was at rock bottom before he arrived? This board amazes me sometimes.

I have no problem with Tubby at all, would never change him coming here at all. Just using him in the example. My point is that just because these coaches won NCs at powerhouse schools people (not me) have unrealistic expectations that they will do it here also.

I have learned from these examples and others (Dennis Erickson, Rick Neuheisel, etc) how hard it is to bring a mediocre school to prominance.

So when I see a coach make as many brutal, unforgivable mistakes as Miles - mistakes that his peers would never make - then act like it was his plan all along to coach that way it sends up a ton of red flags.

At the end of the day we need a big time coach in here, similar to a Miles-type hire, - not some no name guy like a Brewster. We need to capture the media attention in a way that Tubby has to get butts in the seats, generate excitement recruits can see, and to increase the revenue of the program. I just don't want Les Miles to be that guy because of his incompetence.

 

[HavaGo4]

Really? Because I could have sworn that we have a bunch of accomplished, highly paid assistant coaches and coordinators.


Allow me to offer this corrective: The Gopher had better athletes on the field. Unfortunately, almost everybody on defense was woefully young and inexperienced. It's a rebuilding year for the defense this year. Next year almost everybody returns and the defense will be fine. Put last year's defense on the field and USD moves the ball about as well as SDSU did.



Again, really? Because it's you're type of thinking that currently prevails among the fans -- not just our fans, all fans -- and has been the enduring conventional wisdom for the past 50 years.

But you're right, Gopher fans are dumb. We need to start listening to Badger fans.

Really? Define accomplished...what has any coach on staff done? And get off the wait til next year train. We have heard this garbage for three years. Wait till next year until Brewster's recruits get here. Oh, we have talent but it is young talent, next year will be better. Wake up, it won't get any better with Brewster. This program can win with MN kids, we don't need to go Texas, Flordia, or Ohio to pick up there left overs. Again, look at what the Dakota schools have done against the gophers. And the Dakota schools did it with Minnesota's leftovers. It all comes down to coaching.

 

[josh087]

This program can win with MN kids, we don't need to go Texas, Flordia, or Ohio to pick up there left overs.

This is not only one of the most grammatically incorrect sentences I have ever read, it is also one of the most naive (at best) and idiotic (at worst) statements I have read on this forum in a long time. Unreal.

 

[mnboiler]

This program can win with MN kids, we don't need to go Texas, Flordia, or Ohio to pick up there left overs.

Any shred of credibility you might have had is gone. Saying only Minnesota kids can win on a national level in college football is like the French can beat America in a war.

 

[Sparlimb]

Really? Define accomplished...what has any coach on staff done? And get off the wait til next year train. We have heard this garbage for three years. Wait till next year until Brewster's recruits get here. Oh, we have talent but it is young talent, next year will be better. Wake up, it won't get any better with Brewster. This program can win with MN kids, we don't need to go Texas, Flordia, or Ohio to pick up there left overs. Again, look at what the Dakota schools have done against the gophers. And the Dakota schools did it with Minnesota's leftovers. It all comes down to coaching.

I did wait for next year. And we sucked that year too. There is no doubt Brewster is having trouble recruiting because we suck, and we suck because he and his staff are terrible coaches. I just want a team that can execute and look competent. We just aren't. It was the same with Monson and Tubby. You saw what a good coach can do with mediocre talent. Tubby's first year he didn't have any better talent than Monson's last year. I expect that could happen here as soon as next year with the right hire. And I know, making the right hire is not easy...

I do like the idea of Belotti. He didn't build Oregon from scratch, but he recruited very well there.

 

[Maroon]

I have no inside information nor any little birdie. I cannot judge whether Maroon does or not. But the name Mike Belotti is certainly an interesting one and would make a lot of sense. I'm presuming he would be a coaching candidate (rather than an AD candidate).

From the little I know about Belotti, his is a name I could be excited about.

Yes, coaching candidate, not AD