Some Candidates

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gophmeister

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Here are some guys I think we should consider. There are many other worthy candidates, but I thought these guys fit what we need: someone who participated significantly in building a program from the ground up and done more with less. Also, all three are the guy behind the guy.

Todd Orlando. DC UConn. He's been at UConn since 1999 and been DC since 2005. He played for Barry Alvarez. He's seen it and done it.

Mark D'Onofrio. Asst Head Coach, DC Temple. Who can argue with what he and Golden have done at Temple. Golden has his sights on Penn St.

David Shaw. OC Stanford. If you watched how disciplined the Stanford offense is, you understand why I like him.

Just a few more names to discuss.
 

gophmeister said:
Here are some guys I think we should consider. There are many other worthy candidates, but I thought these guys fit what we need: someone who participated significantly in building a program from the ground up and done more with less. Also, all three are the guy behind the guy.

Todd Orlando. DC UConn. He's been at UConn since 1999 and been DC since 2005. He played for Barry Alvarez. He's seen it and done it.

Mark D'Onofrio. Asst Head Coach, DC Temple. Who can argue with what he and Golden have done at Temple. Golden has his sights on Penn St.

David Shaw. OC Stanford. If you watched how disciplined the Stanford offense is, you understand why I like him.

Just a few more names to discuss.
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Interesting candidates. To be honest I just don't want a damn badger as coach, ever. So IMO Orlando is out.
D'Onofrio is an interesting choice, Golden obviously will be the #1 candidate, and if we are going to try and throw money at someone, he's the guy, BUT D'Onofrio has a nice background, Virginia, Rutgers, and Temple have all been solid on D when he's been involved, also been a recruiting coordinator.
Shaw is a Stanford Alum, I'd guess he's gonna get the reigns there when Harbaugh leaves eventually.

I'm trying to get caught up on all these candidates, it's better than trying to sift through the ashes of Brewster's tenure or fight with trolls.
So far Golden is the best choice, enough money and a chance at the Big 10 may sway him, I won't hold my breath though.

Marc Trestman is growing on me, I know there are detractors here, but he's been around some VERY good people, and his mantra seems to be smart and efficient offensive football, not a bad choice. He's winning in the CFL as a head coach, he's been around guys that can recruit.
I'd need to know who he'd bring in to run the D though. Hopefully we still could have him and he's not happy being a CFL coach for life. I also would be cautious to see him bring in Chuck Amato as a defensive coordinator, there are some nasty things being said about Amato's recruiting in florida while he was at NC ST and FSU more recently.

Other than those 2, there are potential candidates, but I struggle to see a good fit with some of the names, Sumlin-maybe, not sure we want to return to a spread with no D
Venables/Heupel- Looking more and more like these are the Sooner's post Stoops coaches, hard to pry them both away
Applewhite-same thing if Muschamp goes to Georgia after a Richt fring.
Speaking of Richt, I have a hard time seeing Richt come here for the money we'd be able to muster.
 

Kyle Whittingham - Head Coach Utah

Kevin Sumlin - Head Coach Houston

Mike Riley - Head coach Oregon State

John Chavis - D Coordinator for LSU

DeWayne Walker - Head coach of New Mexico State University

Kirby Smart - Alabama Defensive Coordinator
 


Iowasucks said:
Kyle Whittingham - Head Coach UtahNo way, he's Pac12 bound in a top 25 program

Kevin Sumlin - Head Coach Houston-Maybe, again Spread O, no D, tough to win in the Big10 that way

Mike Riley - Head coach Oregon StateSame as Whittingham, but established

John Chavis - D Coordinator for LSUSEC guy, I suppose he'd be interested, seems like an established SEC assistant type though

DeWayne Walker - Head coach of New Mexico State UniversityHe's been really bad down there so far into his tenure, really really bad

Kirby Smart - Alabama Defensive CoordinatorGetting paid big bucks right now on a NC team, could maybe be in line for the Georgia job
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.
 


Gus Bradley.

Defensive Coordinator of Seattle Seahawks.

Zumbrota native.

Played and coached at NDSU.

Very charismatic; could put together a good staff that would know the area. Kind of guy who if successful might not look for next best offer.
 

swingman said:
Gus Bradley.

Defensive Coordinator of Seattle Seahawks.

Zumbrota native.

Played and coached at NDSU.

Very charismatic; could put together a good staff that would know the area. Kind of guy who if successful might not look for next best offer.
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This is another guy I think has a chance to be good.
He'd have midwest recruiting ties, seems like he's seasoned as a coordinator. I wonder if he'd want the gig?
 

I think the chances of Mike Reilly leaving his hometown of Corvalis is very unlikely, especially in light of the fact that this is his second stint at OSU. While he was mentioned as a possilbe replacement for Caroll at USC he extended his contract with the Beavers. If he isn't leaving Corvalis for USC, he is not coming here.

I doubt any PAC 10 head coach would see this as anything better than a lateral move. (Harbaugh leaving Stanford would be a step down.) Absent ties to the U, I do not see it happening.
 

We don't need a staff that knows the area, we need a staff that knows Florida, Texas, California, Ohio & Pennsylvania.
 



I'm so old, I played high school basketball against Bradley's older brothers. Saying I sat on the bench and watched them play against my high school would be more accurate.

Only thing I worry about with the pro guys is the transition, which as we've seen with Brewster, is more than a little bit. Not saying it couldn't be done, but there is a difference.

D'Onofrio is an interesting name. Had the chance to be a good pro if he hadn't gotten injured so badly early in his career.
 

Ole said:
Marc Trestman is growing on me....
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Will the specter of Trestman ever relent? He's like the gopher fans boogieman.

I cringed listening to the dimwit sports editor from PiPress say he's the only logical candidate because Bud Grant said this and that about him. The biggest mistake we could possibly make is hiring someone based on whether or not they have ties to Minnesota. In Trestman I don't see a guy who has built a program or been an integral part of building a program. Still he'd be a step up from Brewster, but I think he'd be a guy who couldn't recruit or develop players. He might be a good choice for offensive coordinator though.
 






gophmeister said:
Here are some guys I think we should consider. There are many other worthy candidates, but I thought these guys fit what we need: someone who participated significantly in building a program from the ground up and done more with less. Also, all three are the guy behind the guy.

Todd Orlando. DC UConn. He's been at UConn since 1999 and been DC since 2005. He played for Barry Alvarez. He's seen it and done it.

Mark D'Onofrio. Asst Head Coach, DC Temple. Who can argue with what he and Golden have done at Temple. Golden has his sights on Penn St.

David Shaw. OC Stanford. If you watched how disciplined the Stanford offense is, you understand why I like him.

Just a few more names to discuss.
Click to expand...

I like the thinking. I was talking about candidates this morning and I really think we would need a guy with Midwest and/or Big Ten/Big 12 connections. I want a coach that can recruit the type of kid that can play Big Ten Football. I don't want a guy that thinks they're going to get a bunch of 3rd rate Texas/Florida kids to come to MN and run some wide open offense. For ex: Richt from Georgia has been mentioned. 1. I don't think he would ever come here 2. He is a FSU/ Georgia guy and I don't think he would be successful here away from his roots. Also if they have a guy with ties to Big Ten style, he would likely stay if successful as well.
 

Gus Bradley is intriguing as he has been on the staff of Bohl, Monte Kiffin, and Peter Carroll. He is relatively young and from Minnesota. That's about all I know about the guy but he seems worth exploring.
 

gophmeister said:
Will the specter of Trestman ever relent? He's like the gopher fans boogieman.

I cringed listening to the dimwit sports editor from PiPress say he's the only logical candidate because Bud Grant said this and that about him. The biggest mistake we could possibly make is hiring someone based on whether or not they have ties to Minnesota. In Trestman I don't see a guy who has built a program or been an integral part of building a program. Still he'd be a step up from Brewster, but I think he'd be a guy who couldn't recruit or develop players. He might be a good choice for offensive coordinator though.
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This is based on what? I'm not disagreeing, but one of my questions about Trestman is whether he could recruit quality coaches and players. Of course, Maturi will have to make that determination, but I don't have a feel for it at all. Can you explain what you know?

The importance of Minnesota ties to me is it gives us a glimmer of hope that they might come here to coach. Most of the guys mentioned in the 100 coaching threads would have no interest. But Trestman and Bradley are from here, lived here, worked here. You'd like to think that they liked it here previously, so maybe they would be interested in moving back. It simply makes them one step more realistic.
 

Hates Monikers said:
This is based on what? I'm not disagreeing, but one of my questions about Trestman is whether he could recruit quality coaches and players. Of course, Maturi will have to make that determination, but I don't have a feel for it at all. Can you explain what you know?

The importance of Minnesota ties to me is it gives us a glimmer of hope that they might come here to coach. Most of the guys mentioned in the 100 coaching threads would have no interest. But Trestman and Bradley are from here, lived here, worked here. You'd like to think that they liked it here previously, so maybe they would be interested in moving back. It simply makes them one step more realistic.
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Look at Trestman's resume. He never spends more than a couple years any where. He's a retread or at worst a stop gap. Why do you think he's coaching in the CFL? There's no track record of success. He obviously knows his X's & O's, but being a college head coach has more to it than that. Brewster is the ultimate example of what can go wrong if you hire someone too one-dimensional. Trestman will never get the job thankfully.

Bradley is intriguing, but I don't know anything about him.
 


NateDawgUM said:
I think we're having enough problems now with a failed Nebraska Defensive Coordinator to try our luck with another.
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That and the fact that the guy is a slimeball. I wouldn't want my son to play for a guy who cheated on his wife while pregnant with twins, classy.
 

gophmeister said:
Look at Trestman's resume. He never spends more than a couple years any where. He's a retread or at worst a stop gap. Why do you think he's coaching in the CFL? There's no track record of success. He obviously knows his X's & O's, but being a college head coach has more to it than that. Brewster is the ultimate example of what can go wrong if you hire someone too one-dimensional. Trestman will never get the job thankfully.

Bradley is intriguing, but I don't know anything about him.
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So you really don't have evidence that he can't recruit or develop players.

I do agree that his job-hopping is a red flag. A lot of that can be explained by being on staffs that get fired (which isn't a great signal, either), though he does keep getting hired. Many, many coaches are simply good assistants and wouldn't be good head coaches. I don't know if Trestman is one of those guys or not. But I think we can agree that any coach we will be able to attract to Minnesota will be in the "we'll have to wait and see" category.
 

Hates Monikers said:
So you really don't have evidence that he can't recruit or develop players.

I do agree that his job-hopping is a red flag. A lot of that can be explained by being on staffs that get fired (which isn't a great signal, either), though he does keep getting hired. Many, many coaches are simply good assistants and wouldn't be good head coaches. I don't know if Trestman is one of those guys or not. But I think we can agree that any coach we will be able to attract to Minnesota will be in the "we'll have to wait and see" category.
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I would say his job hopping is the evidence that he cannot recruit or develop players. How can you recruit if you've only been a college coach for 1 year in the last 25. How can you say he's developed any players when he's never stayed any where for more than 2 years. I'm sure he can scheme the bejesus out of anyone, but I think he'd just be Fisch as a head coach. We'd all say wow, what a creative play, too bad the ball was intercepted. I would love nothing more than for him to come here and be successful, but there's no evidence that he can.
 

Any thoughts on Jack Del Rio as coach? I expect that if the Jaguars don't go to the playoffs that he will be fired. He played for the Vikings and went to USC.
 

Given that the administration is 0 for the last 43 years hiring football coaches that can win a Big 19 title, with the exception of Holtz and nobody will ever know if he would have won one before the I think the University should hire someone to hire the next coach.

I am not talking about the search firm BS either. I would hire someone on a temporary basis to make this call. Someone with a track record of doing it or with a lot of credibility. Give them the job and get out of the way.

Firing Brewster seems like a done deal, but if they do that, doesn't Maturi have to go as well? How can they let him hire the next guy after Brewster.
 

Does this quote change anyones mind on Trestman? Most think that Dungy would be the best choice IF he wanted the job...

NFL Super Bowl Champion coach Tony Dungy was asked whether he'd read an article by a Minnesota sports writer regarding rumors about Dungy becoming the Gophers's next coach. He replied: "I have not and you can tell whoever wrote that story that they need to focus on Marc Trestman"
 

GoFerFan said:
NFL Super Bowl Champion coach Tony Dungy was asked whether he'd read an article by a Minnesota sports writer regarding rumors about Dungy becoming the Gophers's next coach. He replied: "I have not and you can tell whoever wrote that story that they need to focus on Marc Trestman"
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We can't be certain of his intent, but I think that quote needs to be read within the context. Dan Patrick quoted the Charley Walters column, which said something to the effect of "Minnesota head coach search will focus on Tony Dungy and Marc Trestman." He was given an A-B option, and said "A isn't interested, so they should focus on B," when really, they didn't discuss options C-H at all. Like I said, we can't be sure, but I think that was all he meant. I don't feel he was giving an endorsement of Trestman above other potential candidates.
 



tpbeight said:
We don't need a staff that knows the area, we need a staff that knows Florida, Texas, California, Ohio & Pennsylvania.
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This is complete nonsense.... the gophers have tried this for 20 years with Whacker, Mason, and Brewster and it has not worked. You need a staff that can Coach not one that can recruit. The brewster experiment is proof enough that recruiting takes a backseat to coaching any day of the week. Look at the Boise St. model. Before Boise came onto the national stage Peterson was landing 2 star recruits but turning them into 4 and 5 star athletes by the time they left. It is all coaching.
 


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