BleedGopher
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"82. MINNESOTA
"You're not following Vince Lombardi here. This is a situation where, you know what, somebody can come in and win some games and people are going to feel good about him and they win a few more games and they're going to feel really good about him. And if we go to the Rose Bowl, we might even put a statue of them outside of TCF Bank Stadium." --- Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi, Oct. 17, 2010
Maturi made that particular comment during a press conference to announce the firing of Tim Brewster. The dismissal wasn't difficult to quibble with; he was 15-30 in three-plus seasons, got outgained by 60 yards a contest even in the two years the Golden Gophers made token bowl appearances and managed to lose to both North Dakota State and South Dakota during his tenure.
Indeed, the Lombardi of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Brewster was not.
While it's always fun to hear such honesty from an athletic director, even if it wasn't particularly graceful, it's actually the latter half of Maturi's quote that is more intriguing from afar. While he didn't come out and admit there's probably a limit on what the Golden Gophers' program can consistent accomplish (history takes care of that for him), he certainly acknowledged a Big Ten title would constitute a rare occurrence in Minneapolis.
Minnesota will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its last Rose Bowl team this season. Since then, the program's best run came during Glen Mason's 10-year stint from 1997 to 2006. He was 64-57 and piled up seven bowl berths, but diminishing returns led to staleness and disinterest --- and Maturi making a hire he would later quite publicly disparage.
In steps Jerry Kill, who trails only Arkansas State's Hugh Freeze among this year's coaching hires in delightful pun possibilities. He won't have experience at quarterback (four-year starter Adam Weber is gone), but the defense should at least improve a bit.
Kill possesses an excellent reputation, having won at Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois. Though it might take a couple years to get the Gophers back to a bowl, Kill probably will. But don't get a sculptor on speed dial any time soon; Minnesota has won more than eight games once in the last 105 years, and that's a ceiling even Lombardi would have struggled to break through."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/d1scourse/2011/jul/15/college-football-countdown-nos-81-85/
Go Gophers!!
"You're not following Vince Lombardi here. This is a situation where, you know what, somebody can come in and win some games and people are going to feel good about him and they win a few more games and they're going to feel really good about him. And if we go to the Rose Bowl, we might even put a statue of them outside of TCF Bank Stadium." --- Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi, Oct. 17, 2010
Maturi made that particular comment during a press conference to announce the firing of Tim Brewster. The dismissal wasn't difficult to quibble with; he was 15-30 in three-plus seasons, got outgained by 60 yards a contest even in the two years the Golden Gophers made token bowl appearances and managed to lose to both North Dakota State and South Dakota during his tenure.
Indeed, the Lombardi of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Brewster was not.
While it's always fun to hear such honesty from an athletic director, even if it wasn't particularly graceful, it's actually the latter half of Maturi's quote that is more intriguing from afar. While he didn't come out and admit there's probably a limit on what the Golden Gophers' program can consistent accomplish (history takes care of that for him), he certainly acknowledged a Big Ten title would constitute a rare occurrence in Minneapolis.
Minnesota will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its last Rose Bowl team this season. Since then, the program's best run came during Glen Mason's 10-year stint from 1997 to 2006. He was 64-57 and piled up seven bowl berths, but diminishing returns led to staleness and disinterest --- and Maturi making a hire he would later quite publicly disparage.
In steps Jerry Kill, who trails only Arkansas State's Hugh Freeze among this year's coaching hires in delightful pun possibilities. He won't have experience at quarterback (four-year starter Adam Weber is gone), but the defense should at least improve a bit.
Kill possesses an excellent reputation, having won at Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois. Though it might take a couple years to get the Gophers back to a bowl, Kill probably will. But don't get a sculptor on speed dial any time soon; Minnesota has won more than eight games once in the last 105 years, and that's a ceiling even Lombardi would have struggled to break through."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/d1scourse/2011/jul/15/college-football-countdown-nos-81-85/
Go Gophers!!
