Reliving the Monson in-season firing and the tension that was lifted

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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The NIU game felt like the Clemson debacle did four seasons ago, with Monson taking the buy-out the next morning. The crowd reaction was similar (90% gone with 5-6 minutes to go), the over-whelming and almost universal feeling that everyone knew the end was there, and the frustration for the coaching staff impacting people's feelings towards the players, which is an unfortunate by-product of a lame-duck coaching situation.

The crazy thing is, the day after the firing the fan base came together as the pressure and tension were gone from what everyone knew was Monson's final days. When Molinari took over (almost everyone knew it was in an interim basis) the fan base gave Molinari and the team a huge standing ovation. The seniors were able to enjoy the rest of their last year without the pressure of playing for Monson's job, the fan base was much more patient with poor play and loses as we knew the guys were playing their guts out, and we knew dramatic changes were forthcoming. We were able to enjoy the season for what it was, we were able to enjoy the wins (as few as they were that year) more than we otherwise would in a bad year and the loses weren't so frustrating because the HC was already gone.

While Maturi made a very tough decision by firing Monson mid-year, it ended up being a blessing in disguise (more than the fact that we landed Tubby) in that the players, fans and administrators had the tension off them and a definitive end to the Monson era.

If a change happens during the year, I am very confident that a similar outcome will take over the football program - the interim coach, players, seniors in particular, etc. will have a big weight off their shoulder. While few will admit it, the pressure of performing on college kids to "save a coaches job" is a tremendous amount to put on 18-22 year olds, even though the HC would likely never come out and say it.

This team deserves to smile and have fun again. Let's hope it starts against NU.

Go Gophers!!
 

Outstanding post.

And that is why I've had this feeling since halftime Saturday that Brew will be gone Monday. (My only question is whether or not Maturi will go, too.)
 

Well Said

Spot on.

+1000.

The present environment is too toxic in a variety of contexts, and from a number of perspectives, to sustain the status quo.
 

This is one of the best posts in the history of this site IMHO and I've been lurking around a version of the GH for 15 or 16 years. Well stated with respect to the soon-to-be departing coach(es) and the primary focus on re-instilling the need for our players to have fun. Well said, Bleed!
 

This is probably the best post I've ever read on here. To the people that say nothing good can come from a midseason firing, I say read above.

When the home crowd is openly rooting against the home team and the best adjectives to describe the atmosphere in the stadium are sarcastic, apathetic, and hostile all at the same time, a move has to be made.

When Monson was fired, there was an obvious choice for an interim coach. That's the only question I have about the football team. Who would be the interim coach? But really, who cares?
 


Great post, name Horton as interim and move on towards the future.
 

The Monson situation was very comperable to the present football woes. The sooner that Brewster is sent packing, the sooner the football program can start undoing his damage.
 


BleedGopher said:
The NIU game felt like the Clemson debacle did four seasons ago, with Monson taking the buy-out the next morning. The crowd reaction was similar (90% gone with 5-6 minutes to go), the over-whelming and almost universal feeling that everyone knew the end was there, and the frustration for the coaching staff impacting people's feelings towards the players, which is an unfortunate by-product of a lame-duck coaching situation.

The crazy thing is, the day after the firing the fan base came together as the pressure and tension were gone from what everyone knew was Monson's final days. When Molinari took over (almost everyone knew it was in an interim basis) the fan base gave Molinari and the team a huge standing ovation. The seniors were able to enjoy the rest of their last year without the pressure of playing for Monson's job, the fan base was much more patient with poor play and loses as we knew the guys were playing their guts out, and we knew dramatic changes were forthcoming. We were able to enjoy the season for what it was, we were able to enjoy the wins (as few as they were that year) more than we otherwise would in a bad year and the loses weren't so frustrating because the HC was already gone.

While Maturi made a very tough decision by firing Monson mid-year, it ended up being a blessing in disguise (more than the fact that we landed Tubby) in that the players, fans and administrators had the tension off them and a definitive end to the Monson era.

If a change happens during the year, I am very confident that a similar outcome will take over the football program - the interim coach, players, seniors in particular, etc. will have a big weight off their shoulder. While few will admit it, the pressure of performing on college kids to "save a coaches job" is a tremendous amount to put on 18-22 year olds, even though the HC would likely never come out and say it.

This team deserves to smile and have fun again. Let's hope it starts against NU.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

That is a fantastic post (your best ever, IMHO) - and quite honestly, as rough as it is for us fans who give our time and $, I feel awful for the players. It's brutal for them to endure this week after week. I really don't feel that we have a lack of talent, and they deserve better.

My only issue is - I personally, don't trust Maturi to hire a new HC. Also, if he does retire soon, I think it would be a tough sell as a coach does want to know who their boss is and know that they can work with them. Unless there is someone they have their eye on that's available now, and could start recruiting and coaching, I really think Maturi may need to be the one to go 1st, and I don't see that happening.
 



You're absolutely right, Bleed. If I hadn't been convinced before, that post would have done it for me. Imagine a "Fire Brew!" post that wasn't filled with rage, impatience, and anger. You put it into perspective, and came to the same conclusion, but didn't come off like most of us jerks.

It is time to move on.
 

BleedGopher makes one of the better points in the history of Gopherhole.
 

sheeesh Bleed

With all that praise dont get the big head now LOL
 

Good post.

You know things are bad when Bleed is calling for an in-season firing...
 




Yeah.. I'm wasn't all in for an in-season firing. I have been more than willing to wait (even now).. But the OP nailed it. Never would have thought of it that way.

Well done.
 

If we do it, we're 0-and-8 for the rest of the season, but we may be that way anyway. It has to be hard on the kids to be watching the gallows being built.
 

It could happen. Horton is similar to Molinari in experience. Key difference though is that Monson had quit, he clearly wanted out and jumped at the chance. He also had been in place for seven or eight years. Brewster still seems to want to tough this out.

Gopherlady, I hope you are right but I don't see the talent, especially on D.
 

BleedGopher said:
The NIU game felt like the Clemson debacle did four seasons ago, with Monson taking the buy-out the next morning. The crowd reaction was similar (90% gone with 5-6 minutes to go), the over-whelming and almost universal feeling that everyone knew the end was there, and the frustration for the coaching staff impacting people's feelings towards the players, which is an unfortunate by-product of a lame-duck coaching situation.

The crazy thing is, the day after the firing the fan base came together as the pressure and tension were gone from what everyone knew was Monson's final days. When Molinari took over (almost everyone knew it was in an interim basis) the fan base gave Molinari and the team a huge standing ovation. The seniors were able to enjoy the rest of their last year without the pressure of playing for Monson's job, the fan base was much more patient with poor play and loses as we knew the guys were playing their guts out, and we knew dramatic changes were forthcoming. We were able to enjoy the season for what it was, we were able to enjoy the wins (as few as they were that year) more than we otherwise would in a bad year and the loses weren't so frustrating because the HC was already gone.

While Maturi made a very tough decision by firing Monson mid-year, it ended up being a blessing in disguise (more than the fact that we landed Tubby) in that the players, fans and administrators had the tension off them and a definitive end to the Monson era.

If a change happens during the year, I am very confident that a similar outcome will take over the football program - the interim coach, players, seniors in particular, etc. will have a big weight off their shoulder. While few will admit it, the pressure of performing on college kids to "save a coaches job" is a tremendous amount to put on 18-22 year olds, even though the HC would likely never come out and say it.

This team deserves to smile and have fun again. Let's hope it starts against NU.

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Hopefully, Joel can make this connection. Are there any top level football coaches sick of the abuse from the their current fanbase out there?
 

Changing the vibe from the angry mob focused on Brew and the "Fire Brewster" chants to pulling together and supporting the players seems better to me.
 

Bleed-

You should send this as a letter to the editor of the papers.

Or have Doogie post it online.
 

Thoughtful post and I know the exact feeling you are talking about with the Monson situation. But it is much easier to do this in basketball than football and I wonder what the financial implications are of firing Brewster now or waiting until after Iowa. I would love for him to be off the sideline starting this Saturday but I highly doubt that he doesn't finish off the year. At least our home schedule will be over half done after NU.
 

I don't think financial should play into it. At most you're talking an extra 200K. If the U can't come up with that then there are bigger problems.
 

This post completely changed my position on this topic. How many posts ever do that? Outstanding post!
 

Section2 said:
This post completely changed my position on this topic. How many posts ever do that? Outstanding post!
Click to expand...

Agreed. I was a wait till late in the year/after the season guy but I this really got me thinking about how bad the toxic environment that is building could be and how letting Brew go now could relieve that tension.
 

Section2 said:
This post completely changed my position on this topic. How many posts ever do that? Outstanding post!
Click to expand...

Very good post by Bleed. It's a thinker- as has been the football program for many years now.

Meanwhile, another post that changed my position was a post on Saturday that showed me how to locate the game on BTN. Prior to that I had taken the position that the BTN was insisting on playing the Indiana game here. I'm not certain I'm pleased with that post as it caused me to watch the game.......... :)
 

Some more benefits of letting Brewster go mid-season is that the search for the new coach will be in the open, which will help the players, recruits and coaches. All concerned will know the administration is conducting a search for the best coach available and they will hire him as soon as the regular season is over. The staff will stay in place, sans Brewster, and they can tell the players not to worry and keep working hard to win games. And they can tell the recruits to not make any changes until they've had a chance to meet the new coach. Even the current coaching staff will have a huge weight lifted because they can get their names out there early for any job openings for next year.
 

WAGopher said:
Some more benefits of letting Brewster go mid-season is that the search for the new coach will be in the open, which will help the players, recruits and coaches. All concerned will know the administration is conducting a search for the best coach available and they will hire him as soon as the regular season is over. The staff will stay in place, sans Brewster, and they can tell the players not to worry and keep working hard to win games. And they can tell the recruits to not make any changes until they've had a chance to meet the new coach. Even the current coaching staff will have a huge weight lifted because they can get their names out there early for any job openings for next year.
Click to expand...

The staff wouldn't be highly motivated to keep recruits from changing their minds, after all, the staff is likely to be gone just as soon as a new coach is named. Firing Brewster now could just accelerate the team falling apart.
 

WAGopher said:
Some more benefits of letting Brewster go mid-season is that the search for the new coach will be in the open, which will help the players, recruits and coaches. All concerned will know the administration is conducting a search for the best coach available and they will hire him as soon as the regular season is over. The staff will stay in place, sans Brewster, and they can tell the players not to worry and keep working hard to win games. And they can tell the recruits to not make any changes until they've had a chance to meet the new coach. Even the current coaching staff will have a huge weight lifted because they can get their names out there early for any job openings for next year.
Click to expand...

Yea, the decision MSU made with John L. Smith (letting him go in early Nov of '06) enabled them to snag Dantonio immediately following the season. Letting Brew go (either completely or by letting him coach out the season like JLS did) will give the U more time to organize the search and move quickly and decisively after the season.

If you can't tell, I've recently done a big 180 on this whole thing. ;)
 

GopherLady said:
That is a fantastic post (your best ever, IMHO) - and quite honestly, as rough as it is for us fans who give our time and $, I feel awful for the players. It's brutal for them to endure this week after week. I really don't feel that we have a lack of talent, and they deserve better.

My only issue is - I personally, don't trust Maturi to hire a new HC. Also, if he does retire soon, I think it would be a tough sell as a coach does want to know who their boss is and know that they can work with them. Unless there is someone they have their eye on that's available now, and could start recruiting and coaching, I really think Maturi may need to be the one to go 1st, and I don't see that happening.
Click to expand...


This is a good take on the situation. Neither the AD or the President are going to be around for much longer and they may just take a "let the next guy handle this" attitude and hope that somehow Brewster turns this around at some point before they leave. This would allow the next AD to hire their guy.

I have read Brewster going with "we will be better next year and the year after that..." seemingly indicating this year though he thinks they will surprise some people will be more of the same throughout as the first 4 games. By letting the next guy handle it gives Maturi an out if he still believes Brewster needs more time.
 

RodentRampage said:
The staff wouldn't be highly motivated to keep recruits from changing their minds, after all, the staff is likely to be gone just as soon as a new coach is named. Firing Brewster now could just accelerate the team falling apart.
Click to expand...

I would rather have players decomitt now rather than 2 months from now.
 

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