Phil Miller blog: Gophers hope to have coach 'by the holidays'

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When do the holidays start? If they dont have a coach by the 20th of December, heads should roll all throughout the university. The Board Of Regents should just fire everybody if there isnt a coach by the 20th. If you cant find a coach by then, you are never going to find one.

The fact that there was ever a doubt there would be a coach by the holidays is embarrassing.
 

Rosemountian said:
When do the holidays start? If they dont have a coach by the 20th of December, heads should roll all throughout the university. The Board Of Regents should just fire everybody if there isnt a coach by the 20th. If you cant find a coach by then, you are never going to find one.

The fact that there was ever a doubt there would be a coach by the holidays is embarrassing.
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I agree. There's no excuse if this doesn't happen the first week of December.
 

Doesn't it look like they are in a wait-and-see pattern with Patterson?
 

50PoundHead said:
I agree. There's no excuse if this doesn't happen the first week of December.
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Im more alarmed by the fact that we're heading into Thanksgiving week and there hasn't even been 1 interview despite this job having been open for over 1 month now.

No school last season took 1 month between their coach being fired/resigning and naming their next coach. Something should've been close to going down by this week.
 



I can see not having a coach yet because if their guy is still coaching you dont get him quite yet. Much like Tubby, the second the season ends, there should be a hire withing a day or two. Championship Saturday is the 4th, I will be disappointed if there is not a hire by the 10th.

I will be embarrassed for the program if there isn't a hire by the 20th.

I will find a new team if there isnt a hire by the 23rd.
 

Gopher Fan said:
Im more alarmed by the fact that we're heading into Thanksgiving week and there hasn't even been 1 interview despite this job having been open for over 1 month now.

No school last season took 1 month between their coach being fired/resigning and naming their next coach. Something should've been close to going down by this week.
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Agreed. It's all part-and-parcel. Lots of foot-dragging unless there's something we don't know.
 

Gopher Fan said:
Im more alarmed by the fact that we're heading into Thanksgiving week and there hasn't even been 1 interview despite this job having been open for over 1 month now.

No school last season took 1 month between their coach being fired/resigning and naming their next coach. Something should've been close to going down by this week.
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?? How many of those schools fired their coach midseason? Had we fired Brew after the game Saturday, I'm sure it wouldn't have taken more than 2-3 weeks to hire the next coach. Your timeline is way off.
 



Studwell55 said:
Doesn't it look like they are in a wait-and-see pattern with Patterson?
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Maybe, but if he is the guy then they need to get him hear before the BCS game. If it ends up being the NC game he won't leave and for any other game it doesn't matter if he is there.
 

Gopher Fan said:
Im more alarmed by the fact that we're heading into Thanksgiving week and there hasn't even been 1 interview despite this job having been open for over 1 month now.

No school last season took 1 month between their coach being fired/resigning and naming their next coach. Something should've been close to going down by this week.
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We have no idea of what has been done or how close they are so try not to hyperventilate.
 

When do they announce the bowl games? 12/5? We should have a coach hired by 12/10 if that's the case. Frankly I'm a little disappointed that they're shooting for "by the holidays" (unless, of course, they mean Hanukkah, which is 12/2) but maybe they're giving themselves a buffer in case they don't hit target #1?
 

Haven't you guys ever heard of "underpromise and overdeliver"?

Man, this administration just can't win with some of you people.
 



Section2 said:
?? How many of those schools fired their coach midseason? Had we fired Brew after the game Saturday, I'm sure it wouldn't have taken more than 2-3 weeks to hire the next coach. Your timeline is way off.
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The firing in midseason was obviously for us to get our next coach in sooner, or at least have progress being made before the coaching carousel starts up after next week. Its taken over 1 month now. Now it seems as if the Brewster firing was to give Horton a look as to what he could do in charge. Since Brewster was let go we've been the most attractive available job, because we were the only open job until Colorado fired Hawkins. We still are due to Colorado's rumored financial limits. However, in 2 weeks we're probably not going to be the most attractive job out there. The guys we're aiming big for(Patterson, Harbaugh, Mullen, etc) will be looking at the other jobs first before us. Or it could give them time to work out a hefty extension to stay put. I dont want us to end up having to settle on a 5th or 6th choice like Sumlin or Edsall just to make a hire.

In comparison, when Tennessee let Fulmer know he was going to be let go mid-season in 08', they had already began the process of looking for a coach. They officially hired Kiffin on November 28th. 26 days it took. They beat other schools to the punch and got their man.
 

Gopher Fan said:
The firing in midseason was obviously for us to get our next coach in sooner, or at least have progress being made before the coaching carousel starts up after next week. Its taken over 1 month now. Now it seems as if the Brewster firing was to give Horton a look as to what he could do in charge. Since Brewster was let go we've been the most attractive available job, because we were the only open job until Colorado fired Hawkins. We still are due to Colorado's rumored financial limits. However, in 2 weeks we're probably not going to be the most attractive job out there. The guys we're aiming big for(Patterson, Harbaugh, Mullen, etc) will be looking at the other jobs first before us. Or it could give them time to work out a hefty extension to stay put. I dont want us to end up having to settle on a 5th or 6th choice like Sumlin or Edsall just to make a hire.

In comparison, when Tennessee let Fulmer know he was going to be let go mid-season in 08', they had already began the process of looking for a coach. They officially hired Kiffin on November 28th. 26 days it took. They beat other schools to the punch and got their man.
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You can do that with a Coordinator or a weasel-like Head Coach. A successful Head Coach should take his team to the end of it's season, which could be the first week in December.
 

Mulligan said:
We have no idea of what has been done or how close they are so try not to hyperventilate.
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We should have some idea of what is going on. The only information given out is just hearsay about if someone like Sumlin or Golden mightbe interested.


Im freaking out man.....




snozzberries.jpg
 

Iceland12 said:
You can do that with a Coordinator or a weasel-like Head Coach. A successful Head Coach should take his team to the end of it's season, which could be the first week in December.
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What is your definition of a weasel-like Head Coach? From where it stands right now we're trying to lure a good coach out of their hole to come here to Minnesota with the promise of money, and lots of it.






















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Gopher Fan said:
The firing in midseason was obviously for us to get our next coach in sooner, or at least have progress being made before the coaching carousel starts up after next week. Its taken over 1 month now. Now it seems as if the Brewster firing was to give Horton a look as to what he could do in charge. Since Brewster was let go we've been the most attractive available job, because we were the only open job until Colorado fired Hawkins. We still are due to Colorado's rumored financial limits. However, in 2 weeks we're probably not going to be the most attractive job out there. The guys we're aiming big for(Patterson, Harbaugh, Mullen, etc) will be looking at the other jobs first before us. Or it could give them time to work out a hefty extension to stay put. I dont want us to end up having to settle on a 5th or 6th choice like Sumlin or Edsall just to make a hire.

In comparison, when Tennessee let Fulmer know he was going to be let go mid-season in 08', they had already began the process of looking for a coach. They officially hired Kiffin on November 28th. 26 days it took. They beat other schools to the punch and got their man.
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Kiffin was out of work when Tennessee hired him. It's possible we could've hired Bellotti or Fulmer or some other currently unemployed coach by now, but that's all. If you expected a sitting coach hired by now, your expectations were way out of whack. It's that simple.
 

Gopher Fan said:
In comparison, when Tennessee let Fulmer know he was going to be let go mid-season in 08', they had already began the process of looking for a coach. They officially hired Kiffin on November 28th. 26 days it took. They beat other schools to the punch and got their man.
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1. Kiffin was unemployed at the time and was available immediately.

2. Sure helped Tennessee to hire him quickly and not vet him properly. Suspect Monte Kiffin was being hired moreso than Lane.
 

Gopher Fan said:
In comparison, when Tennessee let Fulmer know he was going to be let go mid-season in 08', they had already began the process of looking for a coach. They officially hired Kiffin on November 28th. 26 days it took. They beat other schools to the punch and got their man.
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How did that work out for them?
 

I agree. There was not going to be a hire before Thanksgiving. It just doesn't work that way nor should it. Studying and doing background checks on those interested is what is going on and by firing Brewster early they can do the best job of it.
 

Hates Monikers said:
Kiffin was out of work when Tennessee hired him. It's possible we could've hired Bellotti or Fulmer or some other currently unemployed coach by now, but that's all. If you expected a sitting coach hired by now, your expectations were way out of whack. It's that simple.
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Just using this website as an example. If you were to poll in order realistic candidates that we'd want to replace Brewster. It would commonly features 2 names in Mike Bellotti and Mike Leach. Both guys have proven track records of success, and would be newsworthy hires for this football program. Both guys are currently unemployed in coaching for various reasons. You cant say the same for the sitting coaches that have been rumored for this job such as Sumlin, Golden, Edsall, and Niamotalo(sp?).

Its not as if we were going out on a limb to hire an unproven HC who is unemployed or an assistant on the college level. The best guys for the job happen to be unemployed right now, and there hasn't been any news on that front.
 

TLHGO4 said:
1. Kiffin was unemployed at the time and was available immediately.

2. Sure helped Tennessee to hire him quickly and not vet him properly. Suspect Monte Kiffin was being hired moreso than Lane.
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He was hired on November 28th. The entire staff was completed by December 10th. They ended up with a Top 5 recruiting class in 2009 despite having barely any commitments previously due to how quickly things were assembled.

At that time, he was the best available candidate for them. But who knows what would've happened if they waited and hoped an established coach would be interested. They could've hired a big name and started a huge chain reaction, or they could've struck out and went for an unknown like they had to do once Kiffin left.
 

Mulligan said:
We have no idea of what has been done or how close they are so try not to hyperventilate.
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No doubt. This appears to be a difficult concept to grasp.

And I think everybody agrees that this is something the University should rush into so they can be the first one on the board with a new coach. It worked out really well last time to make a decision in short order.

Apparently hiring another coach of the caliber of Brewster on December 5th would be MUCH better than hiring somebody like Patterson on December 28th to some of the Gopher faithful.
 

Calm the eff down son. I'm going to toss some logic at you. Try to focus and keep up.
Gopher Fan said:
The firing in midseason was obviously for us to get our next coach in sooner, or at least have progress being made before the coaching carousel starts up after next week. Its taken over 1 month now.
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So the fact that its been over 1 month means progress hasn't been made how? This month has allowed the search firm the time to contact anyone and everyone the U could possibly be interested in to gauge if they are interested back. For those that are interested, it has given extra/ample time to perform background checks and talk to contacts. I'm confused how this is a bad thing. Especially given the fact that the majority of the applicant pool was/is still coaching their teams and couldn't be interviewed yet anyway.
Gopher Fan said:
Now it seems as if the Brewster firing was to give Horton a look as to what he could do in charge. Since Brewster was let go we've been the most attractive available job, because we were the only open job until Colorado fired Hawkins. We still are due to Colorado's rumored financial limits. However, in 2 weeks we're probably not going to be the most attractive job out there. The guys we're aiming big for(Patterson, Harbaugh, Mullen, etc) will be looking at the other jobs first before us. Or it could give them time to work out a hefty extension to stay put. I dont want us to end up having to settle on a 5th or 6th choice like Sumlin or Edsall just to make a hire.
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Hmmmm...nothing you've said above is changed if we hire more quickly with the exception of the Colorado job coming open. The big name guys are interested in us or not. Having competition (especially competition that everyone knew was coming in Colorado) doesn't change how they feel about the MN job. It just gives them something to compare it to. Besides, the big names you mention can't be interviewed until after the season ends anyhow so hiring more quickly wasn't an option. They were always going to get a chance to review all open positions or angle for extensions and raises. That's the perk of being a hot name in the coaching carousel.
Gopher Fan said:
We should have some idea of what is going on. The only information given out is just hearsay about if someone like Sumlin or Golden mightbe interested.
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So a well run coaching search that isn't full of leaks is a bad thing? Sheesh.
Gopher Fan said:
If you were to poll in order realistic candidates that we'd want to replace Brewster. It would commonly features 2 names in Mike Bellotti and Mike Leach. Both guys have proven track records of success, and would be newsworthy hires for this football program. Both guys are currently unemployed in coaching for various reasons. You cant say the same for the sitting coaches that have been rumored for this job such as Sumlin, Golden, Edsall, and Niamotalo(sp?).

Its not as if we were going out on a limb to hire an unproven HC who is unemployed or an assistant on the college level. The best guys for the job happen to be unemployed right now, and there hasn't been any news on that front.
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Again, why is a leak free search a bad thing? Also, if your beef is that Leach isn't being considered then you'll just have to deal. There were known concerns about the guy from the get-go. We can disagree with that all we want but the U has been dropping hints for a while that he wasn't going to be the guy. So freaking out over no Leach related hire news is beyond silly. As for Bellotti, the news coming from his camp seems to make it clear that he preferred the Colorado job b/c of his Pac-10 ties. And that now he might just wait for another job (maybe ASU) to open next year. How that is the U's fault is beyond me.

DP has it right. It's called underpromise and overdeliver. With the exception of some early Maturi mouth farts the comments to the media have been bland, free of specifics, and just general platitudes about experience, etc. Should we suddenly believe that they are now giving a clear and specific timeline that predicts a slow hiring? Or would it be more logical to assume that they are covering their ass in case their primary target takes some time to lock down? Occum's razor anyone?
 

I have no problem with this comment, as long as it's just 'coach-speak' and doesn't actually happen. It's fine to be vague rather then giving a specific date and having everyone panic if it goes 1 day long. But in reality, if they're not having a press conference by December 13th at the latest, Maturi has screwed this up royally. The idea that we're waiting for Patterson or Petersen is pure dilusion.
 

howeda7 said:
I have no problem with this comment, as long as it's just 'coach-speak' and doesn't actually happen. It's fine to be vague rather then giving a specific date and having everyone panic if it goes 1 day long. But in reality, if they're not having a press conference by December 13th at the latest, Maturi has screwed this up royally. The idea that we're waiting for Patterson or Petersen is pure dilusion.
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I'm in agreement with this. They should know well before mid-Dec. Heck, even if they are hammering out details with their pick they can go public since the contracts can go months before signing. While I do think they are CYA'ing for the worst case scenario I'm certainly of the expectation that it gets done faster.
 

Excuse me if this is a stupid question, but what's the protocol for hiring a coach that's currently bowl-bound?
I'm not saying it's the case, but is it completely outside the realm of possibility that they actually have found their 'Tubby' hire, and are waiting on him to finish the season, up-to-and-including a bowl game?
 

RedPoo said:
Excuse me if this is a stupid question, but what's the protocol for hiring a coach that's currently bowl-bound?
I'm not saying it's the case, but is it completely outside the realm of possibility that they actually have found their 'Tubby' hire, and are waiting on him to finish the season, up-to-and-including a bowl game?
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Sure, though its doubtful since they won't have been able to interview him yet and I doubt this goes down w/o an interview. Other than that, my understanding is that they can poach a sitting coach at any point once his regular season is done. He could come before the bowl game or after, but in this case the U would demand it happen before for recruiting purposes I'm sure. If it were a coordinator from a BCS bowl team you could see a Dan Mullen situation (where he was recruiting as Miss State's HC while finishing up with Florida for the NC game). But I wouldn't expect to see anything like that with a current HC.
 

There won't be a hire until after December 4th. Regular season (minus Army-Navy) will have concluded. That's when coaches jump ship. So I expect a coach between December 6th and the 21st. Can't see them hiring too close to Christmas but that is when they should hire someone. Just a matter of what current college head coach will jump ship to us. If Patterson goes to the title game, well, I think he'll wanna coach it.
 

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