STrib: Bosses Must Decide, Should Claeys Stay or Go; extension talks never got going

[BleedGopher]

per Joe:

Gophers coach Tracy Claeys, athletic director Mark Coyle and university President Eric Kaler each went his separate way after Tuesday night’s Holiday Bowl victory, with Claeys’ future at the football program’s helm still uncertain.

On Wednesday, Claeys flew home to visit family in Kansas, Coyle flew to Idaho with his family and Kaler returned to Minnesota, with an understanding that Claeys and Coyle will reconvene soon, after the dust settles.

With the media seeking answers, Coyle issued another statement: “Now that our football team has completed its season following an exciting win in Tuesday night’s Holiday Bowl, Coach Claeys and I will take this opportunity to reflect on this past season before sitting down together to talk about the future and my expectations for our football program.”

It’s unclear when Claeys and Coyle will meet, but there were indications it won’t be until later this week or early next week.

In the meantime, Claeys and the rest of the coaching staff plan to keep calling recruits, keeping them appraised and selling them on the success of a program coming off its first nine-win season since 2003.

But several sources who spoke to the Star Tribune said they’re not sure how this will end, with Claeys either being kept for 2017 or fired soon.

According to sources, contract extension talks for Claeys never got off the ground in December, even before the program became engulfed in controversy.

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...-before-decision-on-coach-s-future/408545335/

Go Gophers!!

 

[Iceland12]

Back on the Qualcomm Stadium field after the game, Claeys had tears welling in his eyes as he congratulated players and assistant coaches on their second consecutive bowl victory, this one despite being a 10-point underdog.

Beyond the 10 suspended players, the Gophers also were missing starting center Tyler Moore because of a back injury, forcing them to thrust third-stringer Matt Leidner into his first collegiate start.

Kaler could be seen with his arms crossed and a serious look on his face as he stood watching the game on the sideline next to Coyle and other athletic department officials.

But after the victory, Kaler pumped a fist and shared a moment with Claeys, shaking his hand. University Regents chair Dean Johnson was more exuberant, wrapping Claeys in a big hug.

Claeys, who turned 48 on Christmas Day, is 11-8 as the Gophers head coach since replacing Jerry Kill, who resigned in October 2015 because of health reasons.

Kill said he was overcome with pride watching the Holiday Bowl on television. Recently hired to be Rutgers’ offensive coordinator, Kill singled out the coaching effort by Claeys in the wake of the team’s suspensions and threatened bowl boycott.

“That’s probably one of the greatest coaching jobs of all time,” Kill said via telephone. “With all that stuff going on, and all the things those kids have gone through — from their old coach to the new coach to all the stuff they had to handle — that’s flat unbelievable the job those guys did. [Claeys] deserves a darn contract [extension].”

 

[Taji34]

I think Coyle will keep Claeys, but tell him that for the next few years he can't have any more discipline problems off the field, otherwise he's gone.