OL Coach Phil Meyer resigns

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Per U of M...

Gopher Offensive Line Coach Meyer Resigns

University of Minnesota offensive line coach Phil Meyer has resigned his position to pursue other professional interests. The announcement was made Monday morning by Gophers’ head coach Tim Brewster.

“I’d like to thank Coach Meyer for his hard work and contribution to this program,” Brewster said. “Phil has been a long-time friend and I wish him and his family all the best in the future.”

Brewster said he plans to move as quickly as possible in hiring a replacement. A national search is already under way.
 

Obviously, a lot of GopherHolers were predicting (if not expecting) this. I think this means that Dunbar is safe for another year, otherwise they would have made both moves at the same time.

Now let the Gordie Shaw comments begin...
 

I wish him well. And so there you have it. Problem addressed, and quickly I might add.
 

I wish him luck, but this was a necessity.
 

The pressure is beginning to mount on Brewster to explain what happened on Saturday and its pretty clear the o-line is a BIG problem right now.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes from here.
 


How come guys that are going to get fired always resign to pursue other interests?
 

I didn't think it would happen this soon, but saw it coming. With a spread offense, your leading rusher cannot be held to under 10 yards. With the defense forced to have 5 to 7 guys in the box, it's just unacceptable. Hopefully none of our O-line recruits will look negatively on this.
 

Looking through his resume, it was extensive but not as an OL coach.

84-85 SE missouri state
88 SE missouri state (also OC)

That's about it with another month here and there.
 

GVBadger said:
How come guys that are going to get fired always resign to pursue other interests?
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Because it coaching is a network-based industry, and you don't want to hurt anyone's future job opportunities by saying they're woefully inept at what they do. It's a courtesy that's extended to most coaches, except Tony Franklin apparently.
 



runningopher said:
I didn't think it would happen this soon, but saw it coming. With a spread offense, your leading rusher cannot be held to under 10 yards. With the defense forced to have 5 to 7 guys in the box, it's just unacceptable. Hopefully none of our O-line recruits will look negatively on this.
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I don't think we have to worry. It's an easy one to spin, and Brews good at that. In fact, I think he'll turn it into a positive pretty darn quickly. I bet he's been working on his short list, and after opening up the position will wait for a few days to see who else is interested he hasn't considered, and then will have it sorted out within a week. By Dec 1st I bet we have the new guy.
 

Well that was quick. I was thinking this move wouldn't be made until after the bowl game.
 

Recruiting?

GVBadger said:
How come guys that are going to get fired always resign to pursue other interests?
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It's called professional courtesy.

Also, wonder where this leaves us on recruiting. I have noted over the past few months/years that Meyer doesn't seem to be a very solid recruiter compared to some of the others on the staff. I think he was aced out repeatedly by Bostad at Wisconsin during his time here.

All in all, this is probably a big positive for the team. Hopefully the replacement will be solid.
 

Not too surprising. Like someone else had posted a week or so ago, it's tough to judge the rest of the offense when the line was as bad as it was. No running game, and Weber was sacked twice as much as he was last year. A lot of people here have been very critical of Dunbar, but in his defense if the line isn't doing its job there is no chance of him being able to show what he can do.
 



Bring back Mason...to coach the OLine. His were usually a strength.
 

Brief article from the Pioneer Press

Minnesota Gophers offensive line coach Phil Meyer resigns
By Marcus R. Fuller

University of Minnesota offensive line coach Phil Meyer has resigned to pursue other opportunities, Gophers coach Tim Brewster announced this morning.

"I'd like to thank coach Meyer for his hard work and contribution to this program," Brewster said in a statement. "Phil has been a longtime friend and I wish him and his family all the best in the future."

Brewster said he plans to move quickly in hiring a replacement. He is already conducting a national search.

When Brewster took over for former coach Glen Mason in 2007, Meyer replaced longtime Gophers offensive line coach Gordie Shaw, who had strong support among high school football coaches in Minnesota.

Minnesota's offensive line this season struggled to help establish a running game and protect sophomore quarterback Adam Weber. The Gophers ranked last in the Big Ten Conference in rushing and gave up 27 sacks in 12 games. They gave up 13 sacks in 2007.
 

Go Gophers Rah said:
Minnesota Gophers offensive line coach Phil Meyer resigns
By Marcus R. Fuller


When Brewster took over for former coach Glen Mason in 2007, Meyer replaced longtime Gophers offensive line coach Gordie Shaw, who had strong support among high school football coaches in Minnesota.


Where did Gordie Shaw end up? I wonder if his style of O Line play would fit with the spread? If so, is Brewster up to admitting that he made a mistake?
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Go Gophers Rah said:
The Gophers ranked last in the Big Ten Conference in rushing and gave up 27 sacks in 12 games. They gave up 13 sacks in 2007.
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How do we explain the discrepancy between this year and last? Especially considering the overall record? (Although I bet most of the sacks were in the last 4 games, and the 5 first wins were kind of a joke...)
 

GortonsFisherman011 said:
How do we explain the discrepancy between this year and last? Especially considering the overall record? (Although I bet most of the sacks were in the last 4 games, and the 5 first wins were kind of a joke...)
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We lost 3 starters from last year. That hurt. Also this year we were very young, 6 of our top 10 were freshman or sophomores, with no seniors.

So coming into this year you knew that OL was going to be a weak spot due to the youth of the unit, but the disappointing aspect had to be that they didn't really show signs of improvement through the year. Part of that may have been due to injuries, but the last three or four games of the season, when we seemed to be the healthiest, were some of their worst performances of the season.
 

GortonsFisherman011 said:
How do we explain the discrepancy between this year and last? Especially considering the overall record? (Although I bet most of the sacks were in the last 4 games, and the 5 first wins were kind of a joke...)
Click to expand...


teams adjust to your weaknesses as they are discovered. This is a process throughout the year. Once it was discovered each successive team exploited it with a higher efficiency.

Other than that:
Shidell
brinkhaus
degeest
 


cduff said:
We lost 3 starters from last year. That hurt. Also this year we were very young, 6 of our top 10 were freshman or sophomores, with no seniors.

So coming into this year you knew that OL was going to be a weak spot due to the youth of the unit, but the disappointing aspect had to be that they didn't really show signs of improvement through the year. Part of that may have been due to injuries, but the last three or four games of the season, when we seemed to be the healthiest, were some of their worst performances of the season.
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That would be my biggest gripe as well cduff. The got worse instead of better. Some of that is better competition and some of it was inexperience. Whatever it was, it was painful to watch.

At least 3 solid recruits coming in (and I'm hoping for Lewan) and Carufel getting eligible, so things should be a bit brighter. Also, the nagging injuries to Alford, Burris, and Tow-Arnett didn't help matters any.
 

"How do we explain the discrepancy between this year and last?"

The loss of three Senior starters, replaced by Freshmen who'd never seen the field before is where I'd start.
 



money

usually leads to better coaching. Just a hint to the next hire desicion.
 

gopher7 said:
Gordy is offensive coordinator at South Daktoa. I doubt he'd ever come back here, if the rumors are true then he burned some bridges after he was not put on Brewster's staff last year.

http://www.usdcoyotes.com/sports/football/bio.asp?PLAYER_ID=2731
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Gordie is quoted in the SPPP as saying coming back to MN would be a no brainer for him. He probably has forgotten demolishing the bridges! I seriously doubt Brewster would even consider him. Why consider someone who might undermine what you are trying to do?

Personally, given the quality of the OL back then, from that standpoint, Shaw would not be bad, but in regards to recruiting, Brewster starts high energy for the big fish. Shaw learned to look for scraps under Mas. Not sure they would be compatable in that regard either.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
"How do we explain the discrepancy between this year and last?"

The loss of three Senior starters, replaced by Freshmen who'd never seen the field before is where I'd start.
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Agreed, but the OL never seemed to improve over the course of the season! Whether that was due to injuries, don't know, but at the very least one would hope to see improvement!
 

calminnfan said:
Agreed, but the OL never seemed to improve over the course of the season! Whether that was due to injuries, don't know, but at the very least one would hope to see improvement!
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Obviously with Meyers departure that's part of the picture. But the answer that best explains it came while I was watching the Vikings game. The question was posed why the really good athletes seem to get stronger as the game goes on. Lynch replied, "nobody gets stronger, the better conditioned athletes just fade less".

This can be applied to the Gophers, a young team will fade more under stress than a more experienced stronger and better conditioned team. Plus as I explained earlier, teams learned the Gophers weaknesses and learned how to better exploit it as the season wore on.

Each successive team had more confidence and a better game plan based on our previous opponents success.
 

It's right there in BOLD

Schnoodler said:
teams adjust to your weaknesses as they are discovered. This is a process throughout the year. Once it was discovered each successive team exploited it with a higher efficiency.
Other than that:
Shidell
brinkhaus
degeest
Click to expand...

I don't think that the first few games were a joke by any stretch. But a number of compounding attributes:young, injured, in constant flux. Not to mention piles of tape as the season wore on made the liabillities on the line even more exploitable.
 

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