Shooter: Maturi searching for the 'right ingredients' to improve football

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Some of Maturi's statements leave me confused at times. And certainly, these are par for the course. I don't understand the line of thinking that says "there are no guarantees" even if you hire a proven winner as a coach.

So you try to go out and make a good hire and kind of hope for the best. However, in our case, he hired a guy that didn't have any head coaching or coordinator experience at all. In other words, there was even less of a guarantee with Brewster, yet Maturi obviously felt this was a good hire. Why is that? Brewster literally had no track record as a proven winner when he was hired.

In following this line of thinking, Maturi was hoping beyond hope that everything would be just dandy under Brewster, but also apparently knew it was a long-shot. And now that certain folks are getting upset, he's trying to explain how hard he's working to find the "right ingredients" to make the team good because "there are no guarantees?" These are the type of things that make me doubt Maturi when it comes to hiring football coaches.
 

MRJ said:
Some of Maturi's statements leave me confused at times. And certainly, these are par for the course. I don't understand the line of thinking that says "there are no guarantees" even if you hire a proven winner as a coach.

So you try to go out and make a good hire and kind of hope for the best. However, in our case, he hired a guy that didn't have any head coaching or coordinator experience at all. In other words, there was even less of a guarantee with Brewster, yet Maturi obviously felt this was a good hire. Why is that? Brewster literally had no track record as a proven winner when he was hired.

In following this line of thinking, Maturi was hoping beyond hope that everything would be just dandy under Brewster, but also apparently knew it was a long-shot. And now that certain folks are getting upset, he's trying to explain how hard he's working to find the "right ingredients" to make the team good because "there are no guarantees?" These are the type of things that make me doubt Maturi when it comes to hiring football coaches.
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I agree completely with your statement, there are no guarantees but I would hope he would try and minimize his risk with all hires by trying to hire experience.
 

GopherGod said:
Why are you such a bitter little man? I have gathered that you wanted to be a professor but couldn't attain that for one reason or another but don't take it out on me.
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I am neither bitter nor little.

I am, as I have already stated, horribly confused as to how and why a person goes about pretending to be a Gopher fan for the sole purpose of reminding everyone how much better Nebraska (and to a lesser extent, Texas) is at everything than Minnesota. And for 1200 posts, no less! And, of course, proceeds to think that this is good, decent, and normal behavior.

I have enough trouble keeping up with the teams of which I am actually a fan. I have no inclination or desire to pretend to be fans of other teams. Can you help to explain why someone would do this?
 

GopherGod said:
I agree completely with your statement, there are no guarantees but I would hope he would try and minimize his risk with all hires by trying to hire experience.
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This is where I came out as well after reviewing Maturi's statements. Since there are no guarantees, it would seem to make sense to hire a coach with at least some experience. But in Brewster's case, he didn't do that. So I guess Maturi was hoping for some blind luck in Brewster's case since there were even less guarantees than with an experienced coach?? :confused::confused:
 

Ole said:
What makes you think the Boise or Utah coaches would come here? It's come to this, we no longer offer better jobs than those places. Both are set in successful programs, have been to BCS games recently. I doubt you get them to come here for any reason but huge money, which the university probably won't pony up. Younger guys are great, are you willing to give 18 million to Major Applewhite or Josh Heupel? Two very successful young coaches but both could come in over their heads. Again, I'm hoping Brewster gets 5 years, and if he cannot succeed, give the next coach 5 also.
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This is where I might be losing my mind, turning delusional ... maybe have to go to T. Denny or Pinky or another booster for help, but would have to offer either 6 yrs/$18 mil.
 


Doogie said:
It's a good question, one that I bet Maturi and others wrestle with regularly ... short answer = find a coach in a comparable situation to what Tubby had in Lexington and offer that coach 6-years, $18 mil. and hand him the keys to the program.
Who that guy is? Would take Leach, even with his baggage ... Richt (highly doubtful)?
Will think about more though ... that answer might be too simplistic.
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Doogie, what makes you think that a big name coach in a bad situation would come here and stay? We are a stepping stone program. The perception of this program to the public by you and your aquaintances ensures this.

GopherGod said:
Why are you such a bitter little man? I have gathered that you wanted to be a professor but couldn't attain that for one reason or another but don't take it out on me.
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Lame.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I am neither bitter nor little.

I am, as I have already stated, horribly confused as to how and why a person goes about pretending to be a Gopher fan for the sole purpose of reminding everyone how much better Nebraska (and to a lesser extent, Texas) is at everything than Minnesota. And for 1200 posts, no less! And, of course, proceeds to think that this is good, decent, and normal behavior.

I have enough trouble keeping up with the teams of which I am actually a fan. I have no inclination or desire to pretend to be fans of other teams. Can you help to explain why someone would do this?
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I continue to hope he leaves Texas out of his conversations. I really got tired of refuting his "findings" about where I grew up.

ps: I was really hoping you would link back the GL post since he was so cool as to try it on someone else, but I must have gotten you scared with my dots....and you are packing up to leave.
 

MRJ said:
This is where I came out as well after reviewing Maturi's statements. Since there are no guarantees, it would seem to make sense to hire a coach with at least some experience. But in Brewster's case, he didn't do that. So I guess Maturi was hoping for some blind luck in Brewster's case since there were even less guarantees than with an experienced coach?? :confused::confused:
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That or trying to find the diamond in the rough and come off looking like a genius if it worked. However, Maturi doesn't come of as having a big enough ego imo to make this scenario the likely one. I think he simply was sold by the sales pitch of Brewster and his agent and somewhat awed by getting phone calls from the likes of Mike Shanahan and Mack Brown. Maturi definitely does not come off as a cutt throat type A personality that has the ability to ask the tough questions and make the tough decisions.
 

Doogie said:
This is where I might be losing my mind, turning delusional ... maybe have to go to T. Denny or Pinky or another booster for help, but would have to offer either 6 yrs/$18 mil.
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Reminds me of the old Steve Martin routine:

How to make a million dollars and not pay taxes.

Step One: Get a million dollars.

Step Two: Don't pay your taxes. If asked say "I forgot!"

The second step, getting a proven Head Coach would be tough, at $18,000,000 the first step would be a doozy!
 



"Maturi definitely does not come off as a cutt throat type A personality that has the ability to ask the tough questions and make the tough decisions. "

Boy would the lovely Gopher Lady disagree with you on that!!!:rockon:
 

If we would be offering 6 years at 18 million dollars, I really hope we aren't looking at Major Applewhite. That is a ton of money for a guy who has never been a head coach and was essentially fired from his highest position after 1 season.

He was at Alabama in 07 as the Offensive Coordinator and he saw the writing on the wall, and left to take a much lesser position as a Running Backs Coach at Texas. Alabama chose to go to a different O-Coordinator and have improved ever since.

I am not saying that Applewhite wouldn't be a good hire or even that I wouldn't have preferred him over Brewster, but if you are paying 6 years at 18 million dollars it sure as heck better be for someone who has accomplished more than Major Applewhite.
 

This year, Sid Hartman and many others have taken the attitude that changing coaches is not the answer gopher football. ''The gophers have had many different coaches over the past 40 years and changing coaches hasn't worked'' seems to be the popular stance.

here's something to consider: apart from Lou Holtz, none of those coaches from the past 40 have gone on to success at other programs after the gophers. Coincidence?

I'm not certain that the solution is as easy as getting the right coach but I believe it starts there.
 

Who are the always great football teams? Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Nebraska, USC, OSU, PennState, Michigan, Notre Dame (I included them for comic relief), Texas. What's the common thread? No NFL Teams within 25 miles. A coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence.

As soon as Wilf takes off for So Cal the better off we'll be. I mean it. If Phat Pat can't get into the Gopher Press room then, he's unemployed.
 



MRJ said:
Some of Maturi's statements leave me confused at times. And certainly, these are par for the course. I don't understand the line of thinking that says "there are no guarantees" even if you hire a proven winner as a coach.

So you try to go out and make a good hire and kind of hope for the best. However, in our case, he hired a guy that didn't have any head coaching or coordinator experience at all. In other words, there was even less of a guarantee with Brewster, yet Maturi obviously felt this was a good hire. Why is that? Brewster literally had no track record as a proven winner when he was hired.

In following this line of thinking, Maturi was hoping beyond hope that everything would be just dandy under Brewster, but also apparently knew it was a long-shot. And now that certain folks are getting upset, he's trying to explain how hard he's working to find the "right ingredients" to make the team good because "there are no guarantees?" These are the type of things that make me doubt Maturi when it comes to hiring football coaches.
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From Maturi's perspective the Brewster hire makes perfect sense.

Maturi said he wanted to hire a recruiter. I assume because if the guy didn't work out, the next hire would have a truckload of good players to work with.

Brewster is neurotically positive and optimistic. Everyone who has ever worked with him says the same thing - what you see is what you get. A realist would never have taken the job.

Brewster was cheap as head coaches go.

Brewster had good recommendations.
 

the right mix is

getting advice from people outside the program not the same old people that really have nothing to offer. Thinking outside the box would be nice as well. With the "we have to make everybody happy" policy at the U, it will be difficult.
 

josh087 said:
Maturi definitely knows the Vikings are a roadblock in the way of Gopher future success - and he all but says it in this quote. It's not the only one, but it is a roadblock, and with them gone it would be easier to build the kind of passionate following that it is behind teams like the Boise Sts. and Iowas without having to win 10+ games every single year.
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Great, another genius who thinks the Vikings are the root of the Gophers problem. Yes, the Vikings are more popular. But so are the Twins, the Wild, Gopher basketball and when they're actually good, the T-wolves. The Vikings leaving will have the most minimal of impact on Gopher football. They might make 5% more corporate money and sell 5% more tickets. It will have no impact on how many games they win. To wish for a team that many more people love to leave so that your team can get some incrimental benefit is beyond selfish and short-sighted. If you want live somewhere where the local college football team is the only game in town, move to Boise or Iowa City. The rest of us like everything MSP has to offer.
 

stevedave23 said:
This year, Sid Hartman and many others have taken the attitude that changing coaches is not the answer gopher football. ''The gophers have had many different coaches over the past 40 years and changing coaches hasn't worked'' seems to be the popular stance.

here's something to consider: apart from Lou Holtz, none of those coaches from the past 40 have gone on to success at other programs after the gophers. Coincidence?

I'm not certain that the solution is as easy as getting the right coach but I believe it starts there.
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Apart from Lou Holtz, nearly all of the coaches that fit into your time period did not coach again after their time at the U. Coincidence?
 

ncgo4 said:
Who are the always great football teams? Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Nebraska, USC, OSU, PennState, Michigan, Notre Dame (I included them for comic relief), Texas. What's the common thread? No NFL Teams within 25 miles. A coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence.

As soon as Wilf takes off for So Cal the better off we'll be. I mean it. If Phat Pat can't get into the Gopher Press room then, he's unemployed.
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Well, it may be a common thread but it sure isn't THE common thread. How about assessing the depth and quality of area high school talent and how much of it ends up on respective rosters? BTW, what makes 25 miles a gold standard? Personally, I wouldn't know how far away an NFL team would have to be in order to affect a university's fan base. Aside from that, your list needs a bit of work before it supports your thesis statement.
 

maxwellsmart said:
Well, it may be a common thread but it sure isn't THE common thread. How about assessing the depth and quality of area high school talent and how much of it ends up on respective rosters? BTW, what makes 25 miles a gold standard? Personally, I wouldn't know how far away an NFL team would have to be in order to affect a university's fan base. Aside from that, your list needs a bit of work before it supports your thesis statement.
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Good point. if you expand it out a little farther to say 100 miles than you have programs like Notre Dame, LSU, Florida, Michigan, etc.. that are within this range of NFL teams. Most of the schools listed also don't have a population base of several million people within the 25 mile range he specified while Minnesota does. It is easy to make the Vikings the scapegoat for the Gophers problems.
 



ncgo4 said:
Who are the always great football teams? Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Nebraska, USC, OSU, PennState, Michigan, Notre Dame (I included them for comic relief), Texas. What's the common thread? No NFL Teams within 25 miles. A coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence.

As soon as Wilf takes off for So Cal the better off we'll be. I mean it. If Phat Pat can't get into the Gopher Press room then, he's unemployed.
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So if the Vikings move to LA it will destroy USC's football program?
 

ncgo4 said:
Who are the always great football teams? Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Nebraska, USC, OSU, PennState, Michigan, Notre Dame (I included them for comic relief), Texas. What's the common thread? No NFL Teams within 25 miles. A coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence.

As soon as Wilf takes off for So Cal the better off we'll be. I mean it. If Phat Pat can't get into the Gopher Press room then, he's unemployed.
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Don't take this as a personal shot, but this is an ignorant post if I've ever read one. The only thing you've discovered is that the major state land-grant universities didn't generally set up post in major metro areas. That might be relavant to a history paper about the 1800's. It has nothing to do with modern-day college football.
 

stevedave23 said:
Exactly my point.
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Perhaps we're thinking the same way and expressing it differently? What I hear when reading your comment is that our coaching has been awful and that is proven by a lack of subsequent success at other schools. If that is your contention, my point is that you're drawing an invalid conclusion from the example given. Most of them haven't TRIED to succeed as a head coach with another school. Holtz did and won a national title, Gutekunst is still coaching on staff but to my knowledge never ran a program again. I think all the rest retired from coaching after their stints here. How does that prove anything one way or another about Minnesota coaching, unless it be that we wear out coaches and then send them packing into a happier world of media and retirement. Oh, Mason seems to be following suit.
 

maxwellsmart said:
Perhaps we're thinking the same way and expressing it differently? What I hear when reading your comment is that our coaching has been awful and that is proven by a lack of subsequent success at other schools. If that is your contention, my point is that you're drawing an invalid conclusion from the example given. Most of them haven't TRIED to succeed as a head coach with another school. Holtz did and won a national title, Gutekunst is still coaching on staff but to my knowledge never ran a program again. I think all the rest retired from coaching after their stints here. How does that prove anything one way or another about Minnesota coaching, unless it be that we wear out coaches and then send them packing into a happier world of media and retirement. Oh, Mason seems to be following suit.
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No, we disagree. I was being sarcastic.

What I'm suggesting is perhaps if any of the six coaches were great coaches they would have been hired somewhere else and been successful.

Maybe you're right, maybe they were all just tired and worn out after the U. But if that's true then the, "coaching isn't the problem" argument doesn't work either because who's to say they would have gone on to sucess if they weren't too tired?
 

littlebigboy said:
The problem has been Patience, and with the media and this board that is the problem now. Nobody has the patience to do it right, everybody wants results now, and that is why we don't get them. It takes time to build a program the right way, and Brewster is now trying to do that. He is getting good recruits and bringing them along slowly, so they don't get the crap kicked out of them as Fr. There are exceptions, but most teams in the BT and major conf. are made up of 3rd, 4th and 5th yr. players. If you keep throwing kids in that aren't ready you keep getting beat. Look at Collado. He was not ready to play as a fr. but was better than anything we had. But Mentally it hurt him, and it took until this yr, before he started feeling he belonged, instead of hoping " I don't screw up". 19 yr old kids at LB and O-Line are not ready to play 22-23 yr old men. If Brew gets his AT LEAST 5 yrs. I think we will see the advantages. We will be playing Wisc. OSU and penn State with kids the same age, experience and coaching. It will make a difference.
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I agree! Good post.
 

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