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GopherGod said:
Did you not read the Bruininks interview in the Star Tribune, it is highly doubtful that the U of MN will seriously consider Leach because of his shady past. They do not want controversy after the last botched hire.
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Did you read it carefully? It certainly does not shut the door on Leach. We went over this in another thread.
 

Save room for me on the Bandwagon!

Leach has Nebraska's number. Hire Leach and you've got an instant rivalry.

I could then look forward to 3 rivalry games each year:
1) Wisconsin
2) Iowa
3) Nebraska

Right now: Wisconsin yawns at us, Iowa defiles our field, and Nebraska ho-hums us.

If you hire Leach: Wisconsin quakes, Iowa belches, and Nebraska obsesses over us.
 

GopherGod said:
Did you not read the Bruininks interview in the Star Tribune, it is highly doubtful that the U of MN will seriously consider Leach because of his shady past. They do not want controversy after the last botched hire.
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Q: Some [potential candidates] have had a lot of success, but they have some things in their background that would make them a risk. A Mike Leach leaves Texas Tech and Dan McCarney has had some things in his personal background [domestic abuse]. How do you feel about a little bit of a checkered background?

A: I don't think we need a checkered background. We're going to look for academic integrity and integrity in recruiting. We don't want to bring someone in here who has skated close to the edge on the rules. We've had to experience some difficulties in that area in the past and I'd like to think in the last 10-to-12 years we've been pretty darn clean. We over-report compared to other places anything we see that is the least bit close to an infraction. I want to be known as a university, and I know my successor will want the university to be known, along with the Board of Regents, as a place of the highest integrity.I want to keep improving those academic outcomes -- we've made some real progress. I think it's a travesty to recruit young people to a university campus, have them use four years of eligibility, and walk away without a degree. So we've been working hard to bring our ex-athletes back. ... I want us to keep improving those retention and graduation rates. ... If there's a reasonable explanation [for previous problems] -- maybe it's a conflict with the AD or some member on the Board or a major donor -- I mean there can be a lot of things like that that are extenuating circumstances that don't, in my way of thinking, compromise a person's integrity or commitment to ethical practice. I mean that's the thing that I really care about: are they really good on the rules? Not that I mean the rule book -- it's about six-feet high, so you can make mistakes. Anyone can make a mistake. I mean I have to constantly call, even in my position, and make sure I'm on the right side of the line.


I actually take that to be more of an open door. If you read between the lines - at least in my opinion - Bruininks is concerned with recruiting and academic integrity. Leach ran a pretty clean program at TTU and had some of the best graduation rates in the nation.
 

More Possible Real Issues

goldengophers said:
It's not a mystery why he sued the president. Everyone knows the Craig James debacle and how it was used as a reason for firing Leach when the administration didn't want to pay him.
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I don't want to belabor the point, but I am sure that you are right and that by the time the James' incident came up, the administration was just tired of Leach's act. That is the way these things always seem to work. A guy with Leach's record and his ability to fill the stadium would not get fired if this was the first problem. As I recall, Leach did not do anything to help his position and the filing of the law suit was probably more than the administration wanted to deal with.

Keep in mind also that this was an administration that seemed to have a larger appetite for controversial hires than most. Not many university presidents would want to deal with both Leach and Bob Knight. I would guess that it helped that they were in Lubbock and there is not a lot of negative press being generated. But most administrations will not tolerate this level of controversy and even this one seems to have decided enough was enough. Having been a part of management at a public university and seeing the forces that drive decisions up close, it is not surprising to me that Leach is still not coaching somewhere because there are not that many Texas Techs out there.
 

glovedgopher said:
Than join the movement.
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Nope. The only way I'd join a movement is if it were for Frazier, Harbaugh or someone like that.

Unless it started sounding like they were looking into a terrible candidate. Trestmen would still be better than the last three coaches we've had, for sure but not who I want.
 


Hats off to Maturi. In all honesty, when I saw others post the replies they received from him I wondered how many emails he must get in a week from rubes like me and also wondered if some intern responds to most of them with general "We're looking at all candidates" responses. I sent my Leach email earlier this morning and I got my reply. At first, I was a bit sad that it was so short and to the point (something very basic like "we are considering everybody at this time and will do our best to find the right coach for the Gophers"). I then noticed the reply was sent from his iphone! I'm pretty sure he personally is responding to these emails and I think it is pretty nice to do so, considering how many emails he must get with suggestions about everything from trash can placement in the stadium to questions about fan seating for rowing. I was impressed.
 

Lets not confine this campaign just to GH'ers. Email the address to other Gopher fans you know with the suggestion of a short, pro Leach email.
 

GopherFB said:
Trestmen would still be better than the last three coaches we've had, for sure.
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So someone does exist that really, truly holds this viewpoint. Wow.

And what is this based on?
 

goldengophers said:
Can you name another candidate who coached a team in a BCS bowl? You act like the fact he only coached in one BCS Bowl game is a flaw when Belotti is the only other candidate to coach in one. Belotti better be your only choice or your argument holds no water.
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Actually, Leach's best team reached the Cotton Bowl thanks to the Big XII's stupid rule.
 



Did some quick research on the Texas Tech scout message board.

They have a thread: ALL things Mike Leach. It is 44 pages long.

Basically they whined for 37 pages about how Leach was way better than Tuberville (they call him Tubby) and how much they all miss Leach. They talked about fundraising drives and boycotts and walkouts and support groups all in favor of bringing Leach back.

Then on the 38th page, the rumor about Minnesota came up. For the most part they think he would do wonderfully here (they cite facilities, alumni, cities, great football history, great conference, etc).

Then a couple pages later the potential for him to consider Colorado pops up. They nearly all think he could do just as well at CU, but they pray to God and sonny Jesus he doesn't go there because several people have been trying to get a non-conf rivalry set up between CU and TT. They want him at Minnesota because there is much less of a chance he will ever coach against them. Plus they want him to continue to stick it to Nebraska.

Since they know him far better than any of us do, including the state and atmosphere of their program before Leach, I think we should consider their thoughts.
 

positively4thstreet said:
Q: Some [potential candidates] have had a lot of success, but they have some things in their background that would make them a risk. A Mike Leach leaves Texas Tech and Dan McCarney has had some things in his personal background [domestic abuse]. How do you feel about a little bit of a checkered background?

A: I don't think we need a checkered background. We're going to look for academic integrity and integrity in recruiting. We don't want to bring someone in here who has skated close to the edge on the rules. We've had to experience some difficulties in that area in the past and I'd like to think in the last 10-to-12 years we've been pretty darn clean. We over-report compared to other places anything we see that is the least bit close to an infraction. I want to be known as a university, and I know my successor will want the university to be known, along with the Board of Regents, as a place of the highest integrity.I want to keep improving those academic outcomes -- we've made some real progress. I think it's a travesty to recruit young people to a university campus, have them use four years of eligibility, and walk away without a degree. So we've been working hard to bring our ex-athletes back. ... I want us to keep improving those retention and graduation rates. ... If there's a reasonable explanation [for previous problems] -- maybe it's a conflict with the AD or some member on the Board or a major donor -- I mean there can be a lot of things like that that are extenuating circumstances that don't, in my way of thinking, compromise a person's integrity or commitment to ethical practice. I mean that's the thing that I really care about: are they really good on the rules? Not that I mean the rule book -- it's about six-feet high, so you can make mistakes. Anyone can make a mistake. I mean I have to constantly call, even in my position, and make sure I'm on the right side of the line.


I actually take that to be more of an open door. If you read between the lines - at least in my opinion - Bruininks is concerned with recruiting and academic integrity. Leach ran a pretty clean program at TTU and had some of the best graduation rates in the nation.
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I like how you skipped over the first words out of Bruininks mouth in response to the question of Leach and a checkered background, I don't think we need a checkered background.
 

GopherGod said:
I like how you skipped over the first words out of Bruininks mouth in response to the question of Leach and a checkered background, I don't think we need a checkered background.
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You are right, it sounds like Bruininks has stated in the Star Tribune I believe that he is kind of cool on Leach. (At least that is what the quote sounded like)

But does he have a checkered past? He has the one incident with Adam James, as well as cocking off opposing players after losses, but thats it I believe.

Give him a chance U of M administration! We are a forgiving nation!
 

dpodoll68 said:
So someone does exist that really, truly holds this viewpoint. Wow.

And what is this based on?
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Well, #1- you can't get much worse than Brewster. #2-Trestmen may not better than Mason so that might be stretch. #3- Jim Wacker was nearly as bad as Brewster.

It's just good odds, you can't get too much worse than Brewster or Wacker, though Mason might be stretching it.
 




While I fully support the idea of hiring an offensive coach like Leach, the U cannot afford to take a chance on someone who has character questions associated with their name. Let's face it none of us know exactly what happened down in Lubbock. Many are claiming that this incident was just an "excuse" the administation was looking for to get rid of him. If Mike Leach was the coach many on this board are making him out to be, why would TT be looking for a reason to get rid of him.

Big time college football is about OFFENSE today. Look at the Top 10 BCS teams ALL average over 33 ppg, while only 4 rank in the Top 20 of Total Team Defense (Boise St, TCU, Utah, and Alabama.) An exciting offensive system in the Big 10 would attract recruits that may otherwise not give Minnesota a second glance. We need an identity of our own. While not completely against Leach, why not go for a similar "offensive minded" coach with proven success turning around a struggling program and without the character question marks. Kevin Sumlin at Houston has had the Cougars in the Top 25 each of the last 2 seasons and had the #1 Offense in the country last season. Oh yeah, and he just so happens to be 1-0 vs Leach head to head after last years victory at Houston.
 

Seniorsmoke said:
While I fully support the idea of hiring an offensive coach like Leach, the U cannot afford to take a chance on someone who has character questions associated with their name. Let's face it none of us know exactly what happened down in Lubbock. Many are claiming that this incident was just an "excuse" the administation was looking for to get rid of him. If Mike Leach was the coach many on this board are making him out to be, why would TT be looking for a reason to get rid of him.

Big time college football is about OFFENSE today. Look at the Top 10 BCS teams ALL average over 33 ppg, while only 4 rank in the Top 20 of Total Team Defense (Boise St, TCU, Utah, and Alabama.) An exciting offensive system in the Big 10 would attract recruits that may otherwise not give Minnesota a second glance. We need an identity of our own. While not completely against Leach, why not go for a similar "offensive minded" coach with proven success turning around a struggling program and without the character question marks. Kevin Sumlin at Houston has had the Cougars in the Top 25 each of the last 2 seasons and had the #1 Offense in the country last season. Oh yeah, and he just so happens to be 1-0 vs Leach head to head after last years victory at Houston.
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I like Sumlin but I don't love him. Sumlin does not have a very long track record at Houston and he put up his numbers in CUSA. He did lose to Air Force 47-20 last year also. Finally, his offense cord, Dana Holgorsen (a student of Leach) might be the brains behind that offense and does he come with Sumlin?
 

GopherGod said:
I like how you skipped over the first words out of Bruininks mouth in response to the question of Leach and a checkered background, I don't think we need a checkered background.
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I didn't skip over anything - I posted the response in it's entirety.

You're free to interpret his remarks however you so desire. I highlighted the portion which would seem to indicate there is an open door to at least some consideration. I really don't think I'm making that much of a reach, if you actually read it.
 

glovedgopher said:
I like Sumlin but I don't love him. Sumlin does not have a very long track record at Houston and he put up his numbers in CUSA. He did lose to Air Force 47-20 last year also. Finally, his offense cord, Dana Holgorsen (a student of Leach) might be the brains behind that offense and does he come with Sumlin?
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They also beat the #5 team in the country (Oklahoma St) last year and we ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1991. He has changed the direction of the program there, increased attendence by over 40% in his tenure, and improved recruting drastically. Remember that Sumlin was at Oklahoma prior to his arrival in Houston and had some very good offensive teams there. Also coached at Purdue when Brees was there so I don't quite buy that his coordinator(s) are the reason behind his teams' offenisve success.
 

Seniorsmoke said:
They also beat the #5 team in the country (Oklahoma St) last year and we ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1991. He has changed the direction of the program there, increased attendence by over 40% in his tenure, and improved recruting drastically. Remember that Sumlin was at Oklahoma prior to his arrival in Houston and had some very good offensive teams there. Also coached at Purdue when Brees was there so I don't quite buy that his coordinator(s) are the reason behind his teams' offenisve success.
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Art Briles?
 

GopherGod said:
I like how you skipped over the first words out of Bruininks mouth in response to the question of Leach and a checkered background, I don't think we need a checkered background.
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"I don't think we need a checkered background. We're going to look for academic integrity and integrity in recruiting. We don't want to bring someone in here who has skated close to the edge on the rules. We've had to experience some difficulties in that area in the past and I'd like to think in the last 10-to-12 years we've been pretty darn clean. We over-report compared to other places anything we see that is the least bit close to an infraction. I want to be known as a university, and I know my successor will want the university to be known, along with the Board of Regents, as a place of the highest integrity.I want to keep improving those academic outcomes -- we've made some real progress. I think it's a travesty to recruit young people to a university campus, have them use four years of eligibility, and walk away without a degree."


Did you read the first words out of the Presidents mouth? He is not talking about anything that has to do with a personal checkered past.

He is clearly talking about 2 things, NCAA rules compliance and graduating players.
 

goldengophers said:
Art Briles?
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Art Briles never won a bowl game at Houston (Sumlin has) nor did he ever have his team in the Top 25 (Sumlin's teams have spent a combined 11 weeks in the AP Top 25 in his tenure reaching as high #12.) Briles last year in 2007 average attendance was 20,955 or 65% capacity compared to this year's Sumlin led Cougars at 32,078 or 100%+ capacity. This fact can not be overlooked, as seen by all the empty seats starting to add up in TCF Bank Stadium.

If we are looking for a coach we can grow as a program with, I think Sumlin is as good a get as any out there.
 

Not a Leach fan. Why?

1) No defensive emphasis/shoot-out offensive mentality
2) Reputation as arrogant SOB
3) Wouldn't stay longer than 2 years
4) Was fired....is jobless....and still answered questions like he would be doing the U a favor by talking to them
5) Parents would be suspect of sending their sons to his program (could be up to two years of recruiting dead zone)

No thanks!
 

MrGopher said:
Did some quick research on the Texas Tech scout message board.

They have a thread: ALL things Mike Leach. It is 44 pages long.

Basically they whined for 37 pages about how Leach was way better than Tuberville (they call him Tubby) and how much they all miss Leach. They talked about fundraising drives and boycotts and walkouts and support groups all in favor of bringing Leach back.

Then on the 38th page, the rumor about Minnesota came up. For the most part they think he would do wonderfully here (they cite facilities, alumni, cities, great football history, great conference, etc).

Then a couple pages later the potential for him to consider Colorado pops up. They nearly all think he could do just as well at CU, but they pray to God and sonny Jesus he doesn't go there because several people have been trying to get a non-conf rivalry set up between CU and TT. They want him at Minnesota because there is much less of a chance he will ever coach against them. Plus they want him to continue to stick it to Nebraska.

Since they know him far better than any of us do, including the state and atmosphere of their program before Leach, I think we should consider their thoughts.
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EVERY TT fan I have ever come across is pissed about Leach being fired. This is a great example of what I've seen from TT fans.
 

MNRideorDieChick said:
Not a Leach fan. Why?

1) No defensive emphasis/shoot-out offensive mentality
2) Reputation as arrogant SOB
3) Wouldn't stay longer than 2 years
4) Was fired....is jobless....and still answered questions like he would be doing the U a favor by talking to them
5) Parents would be suspect of sending their sons to his program (could be up to two years of recruiting dead zone)

No thanks!
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Multiple top 5 defenses in Big 12, number 1 is absolutely incorrect.
Most coaches have the reputation #2 describes if you want to find it.
There is absolutely no evidence that #3 is accurate.
 

MNRideorDieChick said:
Not a Leach fan. Why?

1) No defensive emphasis/shoot-out offensive mentality
2) Reputation as arrogant SOB
3) Wouldn't stay longer than 2 years
4) Was fired....is jobless....and still answered questions like he would be doing the U a favor by talking to them
5) Parents would be suspect of sending their sons to his program (could be up to two years of recruiting dead zone)

No thanks!
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1) Purdue won the Big Ten with this mentality. It is about winning games, not about how you win games.
2) 99% of good coaches in every sport are arrogant SOBs....see Urban Meyer, Pete Carrol, Nick Saban, Brett Bulemia, Brian Kelly, Bobby Petrino, ect
3) Stayed 10 years at Texas Tech, if he is as bad as you say he is going to be, it means he would have no place to go after 2 years.
4) Is in the process of filing a wrongful termination suit (which he very well could win). He would be doing the U a favor by talking to them. If you think he will never coach again if the U doesn't hire him you are badly mistaken.
5) Any coach could recruit poorly, never stopped guys like Bobby Knight from having success. As many players as he loses for his checkered past, he will gain because he is a good coach.
 

Seniorsmoke said:
They also beat the #5 team in the country (Oklahoma St) last year and we ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1991. He has changed the direction of the program there, increased attendence by over 40% in his tenure, and improved recruting drastically. Remember that Sumlin was at Oklahoma prior to his arrival in Houston and had some very good offensive teams there. Also coached at Purdue when Brees was there so I don't quite buy that his coordinator(s) are the reason behind his teams' offenisve success.
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I said he has a nice resume but not nearly as good as Leach. He was the CO-OC/WR coach at Oklahoma.
 

I think too many people are thinking that Leach is the answer. I am so confused right now over who I think the coach should be. I agree with many points on why Leach should not be the coach. I believe it will be hard for the U to hire a coach with ANY character issues such as Leach, Mccarney or managino. I also think going back to the spread will be hard on our current offensive players especially the line. I would prefer the current system we have but if our new coach runs a spread so be it. Just give me a BETTER defense!
 

4) Was fired....is jobless....and still answered questions like he would be doing the U a favor by talking to them
5) Parents would be suspect of sending their sons to his program (could be up to two years of recruiting dead zone)

He has a job on TV. Some parents actually like a little tough love.
 

What are we supposing the odds are that Leach actually gets an interview?

I think it would be really, really foolish for Maturi/Bruininks to not even consider it.
 

GopherFB said:
#1- He doesn't look like a program builder. He took over a TT program that was already a good, establish program. Sure, he did expand on the success and brought them up to a BCS contender FOR ONE YEAR.

#2- His success as a coach is only slightly better than Glen Mason's at MN.

#3- I think he may have character issues, which is exactly what we don't need right now.


I think there are coaches who are as good or better on the market that have a history of building a program and don't have potential character issues.

Sumlin comes to mind, but there are others.
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Leach isn't at the very top of my list, but please list all of the programs Kevin Sumlin has built? Art Briles built Houston. Sumlin has kept it going so far.
 

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