The People’s DC options

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RememberMurray said:
How about style of play on defense?

To my eye, Rossi almost always seemed (in broad, general terms) to favor coverage over pressure.

How would a guy like Leonard compare in that area?
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I believe Leonhard is more of a 5 front guy so it would be a change, but he's available.
 

U2Gopher said:
While I wouldn’t be upset with this, I worry it’s a little soon for him. He still young. Really young. Now that doesn’t mean he can’t be great immediately, but the lack of experience is still there compared to other options. I thought at the time swag daddy was brought over from Syracuse that it was done with the idea that he would be the DC in waiting. Fleck never said that, but that was how it felt to me. He’s a Minnesota guy and was supposedly upset that he was passed over for the DC job with the Orange. I’ll guarantee you his wanting to be a DC someday has been discussed with Fleck since his hiring. If he promotes from within I think he has the inside track. Perhaps they are co-DC’s??
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If this WERE to happen, I’d be accepting of the choice and assume that the players would love him, coaching AND recruiting. That said, I don't think that this will happen, and he can still be a great recruiting asset.
 
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MaxyJR1 said:
I believe Leonhard is more of a 5 front guy so it would be a change, but he's available.
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Maxy: you seem pretty knowledgable. Do you think Leonhard would A) be a good fit, and B) be interested in running the Gopher defense?
 

RememberMurray said:
How about style of play on defense?

To my eye, Rossi almost always seemed (in broad, general terms) to favor coverage over pressure.

How would a guy like Leonhard compare in that area?

I'm intrigued with the way Flores instantly transformed the Vikings defense with his creative pressure schemes.
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Fleck has always favored conservatism
So I am going to guess if he is picking based on style he is a coverage guy more than a blitz guy
 

RememberMurray said:
Maxy: you seem pretty knowledgable. Do you think Leonhard would A) be a good fit, and B) be interested in running the Gopher defense?
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I think he would be a great medium to long term fit if he doesn’t want to be a head coach.
Short term his defense requires the thing we have the least of, linebacker depth
 


RememberMurray said:
Maxy: you seem pretty knowledgable. Do you think Leonhard would A) be a good fit, and B) be interested in running the Gopher defense?
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No clue, but Fleck has to find the best fit he can get. Leonhard served as an analyst for Illinois this year, which is a odd front defense as well. Fleck would need to sign off on the change for Leonhard to think about it.
 

USC just added NDSU's head coach as their "linebackers coach and assistant head coach for defense". It's crazy that USC can pay that much more for a linebackers coach than NDSU can pay for its HEAD COACH! It's great to have money!

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...orth-dakota-state-matt-entz-coach-linebackers

Maybe we pull in a head coach with a defensive background from a lower level school for DC. At least we can spend TV money on coaches!!! Maybe PJ would like a fresh perspective from someone that has been in his shoes (sort of)?
 

RememberMurray said:
But how many schools are there, with vacancies at DC, that can pay huge NIL money?

If a potential DC is waiting to go somewhere with unlimited NIL, he may be waiting a long time for a landing spot.
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Duke probably doesn’t have a ton (for football). Minnesota certainly doesn’t.

There is every shade of gray between those and Ohio State, Bama, etc.

What about waiting for a school with a medium amount?
 

I think tha
U2Gopher said:
While I wouldn’t be upset with this, I worry it’s a little soon for him. He still young. Really young. Now that doesn’t mean he can’t be great immediately, but the lack of experience is still there compared to other options. I thought at the time swag daddy was brought over from Syracuse that it was done with the idea that he would be the DC in waiting. Fleck never said that, but that was how it felt to me. He’s a Minnesota guy and was supposedly upset that he was passed over for the DC job with the Orange. I’ll guarantee you his wanting to be a DC someday has been discussed with Fleck since his hiring. If he promotes from within I think he has the inside track. Perhaps they are co-DC’s??
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Definitely a good take. Monroe is the more established candidate between the 2. I guess I would be concerned about him being picked off down the line. Even being a Minnesota native, he isn't a Gopher in the same way Winston is. At the end of the day, immediate success should take precedent over staying power down the road. Monroe has an impressive resume, and I would prefer one coach to hold the role rather than a "Co-DC" arrangement. Hard to have absolute accountability without clearly defined roles.
 



Vandy said:
If this WERE to happen, I’d be accepting of the choice and assume that the players would love him, coaching AND recruiting. That said, I don't think that this will happen, and he can still be a great recruiting asset.
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I agree that he will continue to be a huge asset on the recruiting trail regardless of how things play out. It may be a longshot, but I'd be in favor of taking the chance. No better testament to your belief in your culture than to hire the man who is a product of that culture.
 


MplsGopher said:
Duke probably doesn’t have a ton (for football). Minnesota certainly doesn’t.

There is every shade of gray between those and Ohio State, Bama, etc.

What about waiting for a school with a medium amount?
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Have a connection to a Duke freshman that at least last year all were getting 30k to go there basically. I was floored when I heard it. Maybe played special teams this year and was like a 5.6 3 star recruit. Maybe the numbers are not accurate. NIL was made for Jonny Football and others that are marketable, not for every athlete in every sport.
 





ComoCraig said:
Given Fleck's track record of internal hires, I think Winston is our guy. Moving from D line coach to D-coordinator is the same path Rossi took at Rutgers prior to coming to MN. Winston is a shining product of Fleck's culture, and I think that would resonate on the recruiting trail. I imagine Fleck isn't the easiest guy to work for, so having someone in the DC role that seems to be a Fleck loyalist is big for staying power.

I'd be more than happy to see us land an outside hire with a more proven track record, but I just don't see that happening given the current state of affairs.

We are a program built on culture and development. If we are going to hire internally, let's pick a guy who embodies the program. We have become a coordinator farm system for other B10 programs, and I fear hiring an external up and comer would only continue that trend.
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I said this before, I personally think the worst thing PJ can do is hire someone into the spot without DC experience.

However, if that is what happens, Winston is probably the guy I'd be most okay with it happening for. I think it might be too early in his career, but I'm willing to give him a little bit more benefit of the doubt. This may just be some bias because he's a recent alum, and had a decent career at the U, but I also think he resonates with the players really well, sounds like he's a pretty good recruiter, and as others have mentioned he's a product of Fleck's coaching so that may result in him being more likely to stay if he panned out as a great DC. Also, perhaps, as a player that was certainly one of Fleck's favorites, maybe he gets some leeway to push back on PJ a bit, who knows? Making him DC could also be a play to keep him here, because all signs so far point to him becoming a DC somewhere else eventually (if that's his career goal), and it may be much harder to get him to come back to be DC after leaving than it would be to give him the job now.

But, that said, I still would be disappointed if we didn't go with a known quantity at DC.
 


MplsGopher said:
Duke probably doesn’t have a ton (for football). Minnesota certainly doesn’t.

There is every shade of gray between those and Ohio State, Bama, etc.

What about waiting for a school with a medium amount?
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HTF do you know how much money we do and don’t have? You repeat the same thing over and over kinda like I do with PJ being a shitty coach. It’s boring.
 

GophersInIowa said:
If we were betting, I'd take Nick Monroe vs the field. I believe he was brought over to be the replacement for Rossi whenever he left.
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Well, that would continue our history of hiring underqualified and unseasoned coaches here.
 






I don’t know if I trust my source.
If I trust my source it’s a guy who won’t blow anyone away but shouldn’t make anyone think it’s a terrible hire. I would put as a solid B or B+ hire


If source is correct it should pop in the next 24-48 hours.
 

Some guy said:
I don’t know if I trust my source.
If I trust my source it’s a guy who won’t blow anyone away but shouldn’t make anyone think it’s a terrible hire. I would put as a solid B or B+ hire


If source is correct it should pop in the next 24-48 hours.
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Can you give us the initials?
 

Looks like the favs might be 2 guys PJ knows well. One is Carolina LB coach Ten Lebuka and Joe H from Rutgers. The Kansas ST DC is from Hammond WI and has Minnesota connections.
 

Elevenseven said:
Looks like the favs might be 2 guys PJ knows well. One is Carolina LB coach Ten Lebuka and Joe H from Rutgers. The Kansas ST DC is from Hammond WI and has Minnesota connections.
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If we could pull Joe H from Rutgers, I would be happy.

I also remember earlier in the season PJ mentioned something about clashing philosophies on the coaching staff. I wonder if maybe Rossi was disagreeing with some of the other defensive coaches? And then if PJ wasn't fully taking Rossi's side it could have built a bit of animosity. Complete speculation though
 

Some guy said:
I don’t know if I trust my source.
If I trust my source it’s a guy who won’t blow anyone away but shouldn’t make anyone think it’s a terrible hire. I would put as a solid B or B+ hire


If source is correct it should pop in the next 24-48 hours.
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Fleck is known to have a file on hand with all his personal notes as to what he would do if a particular position opened up. I wouldn't doubt that it is 24-48 hours. If first guy turns him down, then to number two etc. I'm sure if it is an outside person, then he would need to talk to his wife if married. However I'm sure many coaches have had chats with their spouse as to what they would do if a position opened up and he was called. Its clearly a business where you don't stay in one spot very long.
 

like it or not, money is a factor. Ryan Burns talks all the time about how MN ranks in terms of assistant coach salary pools. The Gophers pay less to their assistants than IA and WI, among others.
I saw an article that MSU, as part of the new HC's contract, will put over $10-mllion in the pool for assistants. that is more than twice what MN pays.

and then there is the issue with Fleck. Unless he does a complete 180, Fleck is not going to hire a DC who is not compatible with Fleck's coaching philosophy.

So, the Gophers in hiring a DC need someone who will accept the salary that MN is willing to pay - and will be a good fit with Fleck. that narrows the field of candidates.
 


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