From her column today:
"Maturi is about as popular as E. coli among a mass of fans, alumni and former players. He's made costly mistakes that warrant criticism, but some of his detractors have allowed their feelings about Maturi to cloud their judgment. During the search, former Gophers punter Adam Kelly sent an e-mail to eight officials at Temple University -- where potential candidate Al Golden coaches -- saying that former players offered their apologies in advance if Maturi attempted to speak to Golden without contacting Temple's athletic director first.
Presumably, Kelly wanted the U to hire a highly-regarded coach. His inflammatory, foolish e-mail, apparently prompted by his dislike of Maturi, torpedoed the U's ability to do so. Four decades of aimlessness made the Gophers' job a tough enough sell. The spectacle of former players publicly undermining the athletic director made it all the more unattractive, leaving candidates to wonder what kind of dysfunction and dissent they could be walking into."
I am quite excited for our potential growth under Coach Kill. I am also LIVID at the audacity of some of our former players for publicly ridiculing the entire coaching search process from the get-go. This was direct, undeniable sabotage, and it happened in-house, essentially.
I know it's been discussed, but I'm amazed that this hasn't gotten more play on this board.
"Maturi is about as popular as E. coli among a mass of fans, alumni and former players. He's made costly mistakes that warrant criticism, but some of his detractors have allowed their feelings about Maturi to cloud their judgment. During the search, former Gophers punter Adam Kelly sent an e-mail to eight officials at Temple University -- where potential candidate Al Golden coaches -- saying that former players offered their apologies in advance if Maturi attempted to speak to Golden without contacting Temple's athletic director first.
Presumably, Kelly wanted the U to hire a highly-regarded coach. His inflammatory, foolish e-mail, apparently prompted by his dislike of Maturi, torpedoed the U's ability to do so. Four decades of aimlessness made the Gophers' job a tough enough sell. The spectacle of former players publicly undermining the athletic director made it all the more unattractive, leaving candidates to wonder what kind of dysfunction and dissent they could be walking into."
I am quite excited for our potential growth under Coach Kill. I am also LIVID at the audacity of some of our former players for publicly ridiculing the entire coaching search process from the get-go. This was direct, undeniable sabotage, and it happened in-house, essentially.
I know it's been discussed, but I'm amazed that this hasn't gotten more play on this board.
