Souhan: With Mark Coyle at the helm, Gophers sports rising to 'amazing' level of success

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One again, this board presents a discussion that seems to imply only two possible responses - 100% support or 100% rejection.

That is not how life works. Even the best of people have flaws. Even the worst of people have some redeeming qualities.

So why is it so hard for Gopher Hole to comprehend that people can be very good at some aspects of their job, but not as good at other aspects of their job? On Gopher Hole, it seems like there are only 2 grades possible: A+ or F. There are aspects of the AD job where Coyle has earned an A. But I would not give him an A for every aspect of the job.

There is no question the MN Athletic department is enjoying success. How much credit does Coyle deserve for that? Is there no one else who deserves any credit? Are there other people in the department who contribute to the success?
 

Pompous Elitist said:
IIRC at least two players (correction: three per story above) said as such, and commented on the administration publicly. Specifically the defensive end from Wisconsin that transferred out. Thus, common knowledge of what allegedly happened behind closed doors. But hey, hang on to your prejudice.

If some of you need the phenomenon with Coyle spoon fed it is analogous to the ways some view politicians. For just one example let’s imagine a scenario where some some support a president or senator for his or her policy stances on certain things (not others) but can’t stand his or her personality, lack of decorum and tact, and respect for history. Others go whole hog and blindly support 100% because agenda item XYZ.
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The players had an agenda and their side of the “story” to sell. Just like you and your agenda you keep trying to sell.

Whether I believe the players or not has nothing to do with Coyle.
 

scools12 said:
The players had an agenda and their side of the “story” to sell. Just like you and your agenda you keep trying to sell.

Whether I believe the players or not has nothing to do with Coyle.
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So you don’t believe the players met with MC the day before they decided to boycott, again the next day after officially boycotting with MC and EK without resolution or intent to play, then after that a meeting met with 2 regents thru the night after which they agreed to end the boycott and play in the game?

How does that not have to do with the discussion at hand that MC handled the situation “incredibly well?”
 

Spoofin said:
I can only go by the facts and what the players said.
www.twincities.com

Amparo A. HERNANDEZ

*CORRECTION* Also survived by brothers, Rudy and Nacho. (Full notice ran Sunday.)
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Kaler and Coyle left talks with the players before 9 p.m. without an agreement and players prepared to skip the game. The players invited the regents in, according to three people who were there, and a marathon discussion lasted until dawn.

“We weren’t negotiating,” Hsu said. “We had nothing to give them. We were only there to talk to them, help understand them, help them understand us, the university, us as regents. Help them think through the ramifications.”

They talked about criticism the team received after announcing the boycott with a statement that paid little attention to the allegations made by the woman. If they pulled out of the bowl game, would they look like they were defending sexual assault?

Would the coaching staff lose their jobs?

They talked about their legacies. Carrying through with the boycott would have made them the first team in college football history to pull out of a bowl game under protest. Did they want to be known for that?

“They appeared to really want to get it right for all involved: the reporting student, the public, the university, the team,” Rosha said. “While they didn’t seem sure about what the right approach was, they did conclude it wasn’t maintaining the boycott.”

The players voted around 6 a.m.

The boycott was done, but the hard feelings remained.
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The regents didn’t diffuse the situation. The regents said they weren't negotiating since they had nothing to give.

The players caved when they realized how ridiculous they looked.
 

scools12 said:
The regents didn’t diffuse the situation. The regents said they weren't negotiating since they had nothing to give.

The players caved when they realized how ridiculous they looked.
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2 meeting with MC. After 1 they boycotted. After the second they still had no intent to play. Then they met with the regents, felt “heard” and decided to play. Yeah, no diffusing there. Just admit you were wrong on this one. smh
 


Spoofin said:
So you don’t believe the players met with MC the day before they decided to boycott, again the next day after officially boycotting with MC and EK without resolution or intent to play, then after that a meeting met with 2 regents thru the night after which they agreed to end the boycott and play in the game?

How does that not have to do with the discussion at hand that MC handled the situation “incredibly well?”
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I believe the players met with Coyle. I don’t believe they planned boycotting or skipping the bowl game because of the meeting.

The players had already made that decision. The only thing the players “heard” after meeting with the regents was their boycott was idiotic.
 

scools12 said:
I believe the players met with Coyle. I don’t believe they planned boycotting or skipping the bowl game because of the meeting.

The players had already made that decision. The only thing the players “heard” after meeting with the regents was their boycott was idiotic.
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Kudos for the regents for making them see that then, no?
 

Scools are you just making this up as you go along? The story is well documented and I know you were here during the fiasco.

Everything the players said makes sense based on the timeline of events, public statements, press conferences, etc etc culminating in the firing and Coyle’s bumbled press conference where he not only made very unseemly remarks about the staff but couldn’t answer simple questions about contract details in a way anyone could understand. It was abundantly clear WHY the players were confused and angry.
 

scools12 said:
I believe the players met with Coyle. I don’t believe they planned boycotting or skipping the bowl game because of the meeting.

The players had already made that decision. The only thing the players “heard” after meeting with the regents was their boycott was idiotic.
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No, it was finally explained to them what the process was, they were promised a diverse appeals panel, etc...
 





JFC

It will be 2050, Gophers will have just defeated Alabama for the national championship of the NFL minor league ..... and people will still be arguing about this on the internet.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
One again, this board presents a discussion that seems to imply only two possible responses - 100% support or 100% rejection.

That is not how life works. Even the best of people have flaws. Even the worst of people have some redeeming qualities.

So why is it so hard for Gopher Hole to comprehend that people can be very good at some aspects of their job, but not as good at other aspects of their job? On Gopher Hole, it seems like there are only 2 grades possible: A+ or F. There are aspects of the AD job where Coyle has earned an A. But I would not give him an A for every aspect of the job.

There is no question the MN Athletic department is enjoying success. How much credit does Coyle deserve for that? Is there no one else who deserves any credit? Are there other people in the department who contribute to the success?
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Yet, the best AD in the entire history of Minnesota athletics. This is his program, and he gets all the credit for it. His detractors mostly don’t like him because his methods work.

Minnesotans don’t like it because they don’t like decisive people.

Public consensus >>> Tough decisions

He gets an A for his overall effectiveness and results.
 



highwayman said:
Yet, the best AD in the entire history of Minnesota athletics. This is his program, and he gets all the credit for it. His detractors mostly don’t like him because his methods work.

Minnesotans don’t like it because they don’t like decisive people.

Public consensus >>> Tough decisions

He gets an A for his overall effectiveness and results.
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Minnesotan's don't like decisive people? Must explain why Bud Grant is so hated here.
 

highwayman said:
Yet, the best AD in the entire history of Minnesota athletics. This is his program, and he gets all the credit for it. His detractors mostly don’t like him because his methods work.

Minnesotans don’t like it because they don’t like decisive people.

Public consensus >>> Tough decisions

He gets an A for his overall effectiveness and results.
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Yep, you nailed it. Great takeaways here. I HATE decisive people and particularly when their methods work.
 


st.paultransplantGOPHER said:
pitino is horrible as of today... lets see how the year goes...
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Had the NCAA not screwed us over by not granting Carr immediate eligibility last year, who knows where that team would have ended up, and who knows if that would have changed Coffee leaving early to the NBA.
 

PoockItInfor6 said:
Had the NCAA not screwed us over by not granting Carr immediate eligibility last year, who knows where that team would have ended up, and who knows if that would have changed Coffee leaving early to the NBA.
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Carr has had one amazing game this year. Other than that, he's either looked average or bad. I'm not convinced he would've made a difference last year.

I hope he turns out to be an all-American player. Hope the Gophers win the Big Ten this year, final four, etc.

Don't think it's going to happen, but we'll see.
 

Word said:
Minnesotan's don't like decisive people? Must explain why Bud Grant is so hated here.
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Zimmer is almost a clone and half the fan base hates him for it.

In current Minnesota Bud Grant would have been run out of here after the 1972 season.
 
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highwayman said:
Name one other. Bud last coached 35 years ago. Most current fans don’t even remember a game he coached.
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Tim Pawlenty, Jesse Ventura, Paul Wellstone
 

highwayman said:
Zimmer is almost a clone and half the fan base hates him for it.

In current Minnesota Bud Grant would have been run out of here after the 1972 season.
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Wait - so only half of Minnesotans hate decisive people? That mellowed in a hurry.
 

MplsGopher said:
Carr has had one amazing game this year. Other than that, he's either looked average or bad. I'm not convinced he would've made a difference last year.

I hope he turns out to be an all-American player. Hope the Gophers win the Big Ten this year, final four, etc.

Don't think it's going to happen, but we'll see.
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Sure, one amazing game, 1 or 2 poor games, and every other game he’s looked at the very least like an Al Nolen, above average PG/facilitator type player. His skill set meshes well with the current supporting cast, but also would have meshed well with last year’s team.
 


MplsGopher said:
Carr has had one amazing game this year. Other than that, he's either looked average or bad. I'm not convinced he would've made a difference last year.

I hope he turns out to be an all-American player. Hope the Gophers win the Big Ten this year, final four, etc.

Don't think it's going to happen, but we'll see.
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This is a ridiculous take. Sorry. You don't see how having a clearly serviceable Big Ten player and ballhandler would have helped us last year?!? You remember that Coffey and McBrayer had to bring the ball up a ton last year, right?

I see you're trying to make a point, but don't be an idiot. Carr is one of the few P5 players averaging 13-5-5 this year. They literally showed the stat on the Ok State game.
 
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USAF said:
No. No they're not.

Coyle was handed a ****-sandwich, made much worse by Claeys' bungling, and Coyle not only handled it, he handled it incredibly well, diffusing an extremely ugly national scandal. And managed to somehow rescue the program with a home run hire as a bonus.

Coyle is a great hire.
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Revisionist history 101.
 


Spoofin said:
Kudos for the regents for making them see that then, no?
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Whoever convinced them of that deserves a lot of credit.
Claeys and Coyle displayed pretty poor leadership in allowing that thing to spiral.

they should have been led. Claeys and Coyle should have led them to an avenue where they could speak to the injustice they thought was being done but do it in a way that doesn’t embarrass themselves, their teammates, or the university
 


Seems like the eye of the beholder reigns. I “get” the PR worries some of you are really wadded up about but OTOH seems silly in the grander scheme.
 
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No matter the cicumstances both Kill and then Claeys had to go.
They were hired after the prior HC was made redundant and no one wanted the job given the sad state of the program and the moneys available for the HC and staff.
They both did a credible job but it was obvious both had reached the point that the program was not going any farther.
 

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