Reusse on Fleck's stability at the U: "it would take 3 seasons in row of 5-7 or less to face the “heat” associated w/ getting fired."

If the

If there ever was moment in time I could change it would be having Texas tech miss that 50+ yard FG. win that bowl game. And probably never ever see Brewster. Mason would have at least been able to coach the first game in then TCF BANK stadium 🏟️ before leaving or retiring or getting fired.

Always liked Mason as a coach. Even with the handful of epic meltdowns. And he beat the teams he was suppose to beat. I at least could count on that.
Couldn’t agree more. I wish Mason had a chance to coach in the new stadium. And I would have loved to see what Adam Weber could have accomplished under a stable coaching situation and a consistent offensive system.
 

With the wide open transfer portal and NIL, I don't think you can make too many assumptions about who will or won't be back next year.
 

With the wide open transfer portal and NIL, I don't think you can make too many assumptions about who will or won't be back next year.
It's not wide open. There are criteria. Also if a school takes you as a transfer, they have to provide the scholarship until your graduate or eligibility is up.

If you transfer a second time, there are also academic requirements that have to be met.

This all might be easy to navigate, so it will be interesting to see how many kids continue to transfer each year.

 

Man, even getting to 5 or 6 wins next year is going to be a heavy lift. In addition to 2 cupcakes at home, we have Carolina, Iowa, @Michigan, USC, @UCLA, @Illinois (we can't beat Bert), Maryland, @Rutgers, Penn State and @Wisconsin. Not saying we're going to lose every one of those games, only that we might have a realistic chance in maybe 3 or 4 of them. The new Big Ten is gonna be a grind.
I think like others are saying, the team should be a year better from a development standpoint with the starters and backups. I really think Gophs are closer overall to UNC than folks might think...a couple plays different against them this year and that game would have gone down to the wire.
 

By today's AP and Coaches poll our schedule next year includes:
2 top 10 teams in MI and PSU
and a top 25 UNC team
and 3 other teams receiving votes. (IA, UCLA, USC)

Based on the 2023 pre-season poll, this year's schedule included.
2 top 5 teams MI and tOSU
3 top 25 teams in WI, IA, UNC
and 1 other receiving votes Illinois


Based on today's poll this year we have played or will play.
2 top 5 teams in MI and tOSU
1 top 25 in UNC
and 1 other receiving votes in Iowa
Good stuff, thanks. Puts the schedules much more in perspective when you look at it this way.
 


People think this schedule is hard? Lol

I mean I guess it’s not a big ten west schedule but it’s about as easy as we can expect for the next decade.
 

Well we are about to see what happens in 2024. Lots of talk about another 5-7 year...
 

So, let me see if I'm understanding all of this "sports analysis" from Reusse:

Pat is speculating on exactly what it would take for Fleck to get fired while also objecting to Fleck saying "It's all on me."

Yes?

I'd like to gently point out to Reusse that if Fleck's the one who would be fired if certain parameters aren't met, then it sure seems like it does indeed all fall on him... no "B.S." involved.
 
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So, let me see if I'm understanding all of this "sports analysis" from Reusse:

Pat is speculating on exactly what it would take for Fleck to get fired while also objecting to Fleck saying "It's all on me."

Yes?

I'd like to gently point out to Reusse that if Fleck's the one who would be fired if certain parameters aren't met, then it sure seems like it does indeed all fall on him... no "B.S." involved.
I believe its more him admitting he is not a Fleck fan but also thinks it was foolish to talk about replacing him or even having his seat warm unless he has 3 poor seasons in a row.
 



Is there anything more predictable than Reusse complaining about the U of M coaches? Other than his monthly columns about town baseball and being an ink stained wretch from Fulda? So Fleck as head coach accepts responsibility for losses and says the coaches need to do better. OR Fleck can throw his players under the bus publicly and complain that they make too many mistakes, aren’t smart or coachable, not committed to the team, party too much, blah, blah, blah. I guess we know which Reusse prefers.
 

Is there anything more predictable than Reusse complaining about the U of M coaches? Other than his monthly columns about town baseball and being an ink stained wretch from Fulda? So Fleck as head coach accepts responsibility for losses and says the coaches need to do better. OR Fleck can throw his players under the bus publicly and complain that they make too many mistakes, aren’t smart or coachable, not committed to the team, party too much, blah, blah, blah. I guess we know which Reusse prefers.
I think Reusse has been fairly fair when it comes to Fleck. He's always bitched about Fleck's persona but he was absolutely a different human being in 2019 when we were succeeding. He was on the bandwagon 100%. I haven't noticed a lot of "yeah, but" articles when we've had our successes outside of that season, either. I don't like Reusse personally because his shtick is predictable, boring, and identical to every other media member who can't generate good articles so they rely on attention by making controversial/upsetting commentary, but I do think a ton of his bitterness stems from his love for the U and having seen us at the peaks compared to seeing us where we've fallen since then.
 


the issue with "it's all on me" - according to Reusse - is that Fleck never actually says what's all on him. the argument is - that If "it's all on me," then give a specific example of something Fleck did - or didn't do - that led to or contributed to the loss.

in a recent podcast, Reusse did say that Fleck was a better coach than any of the other recent head coaches, but he just doesn't like Fleck's whole persona - the catch phrases, slogans, acronyms, etc. of the recent coaches, Reusse said he liked Claeys as a person and as a good defensive coach.
 



Regarding slogans
the issue with "it's all on me" - according to Reusse - is that Fleck never actually says what's all on him. the argument is - that If "it's all on me," then give a specific example of something Fleck did - or didn't do - that led to or contributed to the loss.

in a recent podcast, Reusse did say that Fleck was a better coach than any of the other recent head coaches, but he just doesn't like Fleck's whole persona - the catch phrases, slogans, acronyms, etc. of the recent coaches, Reusse said he liked Claeys as a person and as a good defensive coach.

Uh-huh.

Did Reusse stick up for Claeys when Tracy was fired after a 9-4 season and an against-all-odds bowl win? I can't remember.
 

Regarding slogans


Uh-huh.

Did Reusse stick up for Claeys when Tracy was fired after a 9-4 season and an against-all-odds bowl win? I can't remember.
I don't think he did. If I remember correctly, he was pretty quiet, which was the smart move considering how messy that sex assault allegation situation was and how little was known about how true or false it was in that moment. Reusse knows who butters his bread and can be smart when he wants to be, you don't want to take a side when there's a risk you'll look like a defender of sex assault if your guy was actually wrong. Claeys also fumbled that one a bit on the PR end as well, didn't he?
 

You know it is a slow time when a bump of a thread from 7+ months ago gets responses like Pat wrote it this week.
 


Regarding slogans


Uh-huh.

Did Reusse stick up for Claeys when Tracy was fired after a 9-4 season and an against-all-odds bowl win? I can't remember.

he was just talking about this the other day. Reusse was talking about the bowl game where Coyle and Kahler were standing on the sidelines looking like their dog had been run over by a car - because they knew they were planning to fire Claeys and they were forced to watch Claeys' defense come up with a great game to win the bowl. Reusse mentions that a lot.
 

the issue with "it's all on me" - according to Reusse - is that Fleck never actually says what's all on him. the argument is - that If "it's all on me," then give a specific example of something Fleck did - or didn't do - that led to or contributed to the loss.

in a recent podcast, Reusse did say that Fleck was a better coach than any of the other recent head coaches, but he just doesn't like Fleck's whole persona - the catch phrases, slogans, acronyms, etc. of the recent coaches, Reusse said he liked Claeys as a person and as a good defensive coach.

Fleck is ultimately responsible for recruiting the players, keeping the players, coaching and motivating the players to, borrowing from the US Army, “be all they can be”. He hires and fires the coaches and analysts. He is responsible for the overall strategic vision of the offense, defense, and special teams. He makes important decisions all game based on position, score, time remaining, condition of his players, and yes, momentum.

Unlike sportswriters, fans since players, coaches and Fleck are human and mess up, or sometimes just aren’t capable or coachable it would be the honest thing to say yeah, AK can throw but holy cow, he’s terribly inconsistent. That lineman can’t move and/or block well. Coach S is confusing our QB, spending too much time on men’s fashion sites.
 

my memory is foggy, but which coach last got Gophers to a postseason Top 10 ranking? and how many years before that was the second to last Top 10 ranking?

I think we'd be silly to think that we are better off by firing him for 3 bad seasons. He works hard, puts players in the NFL, wins bowl games and almost every season has us thinking "we can..." or " we were good enough to have done better". That's because he has significantly raised the floor and expectations. WHen he said in season 1 that his goal was to win a championship - YES!!! that's the right attitude. He's only reason I travel back every year to see a home game.

He has at least 7 years more ... if we can keep him. Good luck!!
 


my memory is foggy, but which coach last got Gophers to a postseason Top 10 ranking? and how many years before that was the second to last Top 10 ranking?

I think we'd be silly to think that we are better off by firing him for 3 bad seasons. He works hard, puts players in the NFL, wins bowl games and almost every season has us thinking "we can..." or " we were good enough to have done better". That's because he has significantly raised the floor and expectations. WHen he said in season 1 that his goal was to win a championship - YES!!! that's the right attitude. He's only reason I travel back every year to see a home game.

He has at least 7 years more ... if we can keep him. Good luck!!
I honestly think it will be harder to keep him than easy to fire him. I am with you.
 

In theory we actually have an experienced QB with an arm for this one season. Tanner should have met that description too but just didn't pull it off. Probably for many reasons.

If somehow this year does turn out better...whatever that means...at least that points to having a good passing QB with a competent run game can still work with PJ at the helm of our boat.

Otherwise agree that it will take sustained disappointment for PJ to be shown the door. There is nothing wrong with that in itself given the state of Minnesota FB, B1G FB, and FB generally. It is what it is.

So in the meantime it's still June 2024 and hope reigns eternal until dashed on the rocks of misery.

All the Billds can say is "Ski U Mah!" and am counting the days to late August against the 'Heels.
 

Did Reusse stick up for Claeys when Tracy was fired after a 9-4 season and an against-all-odds bowl win? I can't remember.
All I can remember from that specific time period is Tracy Claeys' parting shot immediately after his firing.... as another Minnesota winter had just begun, and a blizzard was steam-rolling toward the Twin Cities, Tracy muttered on his way to the airport, "Enjoy the weather" :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

If somebody would hire Coyle for one of the other AD positions he's always in the running for then PJ could get fired. Until that happens he's the Gopher coach as long as he wants.
 

If the

If there ever was moment in time I could change it would be having Texas tech miss that 50+ yard FG. win that bowl game. And probably never ever see Brewster. Mason would have at least been able to coach the first game in then TCF BANK stadium 🏟️ before leaving or retiring or getting fired.

Always liked Mason as a coach. Even with the handful of epic meltdowns. And he beat the teams he was suppose to beat. I at least could count on that.
100%. He was robbed of a chance to coach on campus which may have been a real advantage for the type of recruiter and coach he was. He was experienced and wise.
 




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