What grade would you give Mark Coyle in his first year as AD at Minnesota?

[GopherBulldog]

I'm not and I agree with Kill on the practice facility.

Pitino deserves the credit for the basketball team, but you don't think Coyle has had to smooth a few things over with him after the way Kaler publicly treated him?

If someone in the know can confirm that Coyle has been the glue to bring harmony among the key coaches in the department and chart an inspiring vision for the department I'm all ears. I was excited when they hired him. I WANT to like him. And I want him to succeed. Why wouldn't I? He's the rudder of the ship which I put a lot of time and passion into. But, honestly, he looked like a complete ameture and political spinmeister during the football fiasco last season. He stepped into the best situation an AD at the Unuversity has ever had. And from what I see on the outside, he's got a lot to prove in the leadership department.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

To be fair, the players blamed MC for the Boycott. They may know better than us on here.


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We have our own Joe-bots. I mean, I guess it's ok you think he did an outstanding job leading during the crisis...but when the QB of your team and other team leaders rip Coyle and Kaler publicly I sit up and listen. Do boycotts routinely happen on football teams? No, because of A)communication, B)communication, and C) communication. We don't have the inside scoop on what exactly was said/went down but Elmore told us some insider details and it didn't make Coyle (or Kaler) look good. Add in the absurd public statement then a retreat to his Hitler bunker, the shocking Claeys presser, sending out a mailer about exciting news (!)...and that news being about forming committees that will someday deliver exciting news (maybe?).

Communication skills, diplomacy, standing behind your players are attributes I expect in a senior administrator. We didn't get that. He did hire an exciting young coach which is all some of you seem to care about. Like I said before, pluses and minuses with him but I think the ones grading him out as an A are out of their gourds.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

From December:

View Poll Results: Are you happy with the way Mark Coyle is handing his first big test as AD?Voters 98. You have already voted on this poll
Yes, Mark Coyle is handling this situation well. 9 9.18%
No, Mark Coyle is not handling this situation well. 89 90.82%

http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/bo...yle-is-handing-his-first-big-test-as-AD/page3



Obviously he's made up some ground with the Fleck hire and basketball made a historic turnaround. It's a what have you done for me lately world.

 

[Ski U Mah 55]

From December:

View Poll Results: Are you happy with the way Mark Coyle is handing his first big test as AD?Voters 98. You have already voted on this poll
Yes, Mark Coyle is handling this situation well. 9 9.18%
No, Mark Coyle is not handling this situation well. 89 90.82%

http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/bo...yle-is-handing-his-first-big-test-as-AD/page3



Obviously he's made up some ground with the Fleck hire and basketball made a historic turnaround. It's a what have you done for me lately world.

People can still think he didn't handle that particular situation well but rate him as doing a good job overall. It's not mutually exclusive. But you've got an axe to grind and you gotta keep it going!

 

[LesBolstad]

People can still think he didn't handle that particular situation well but rate him as doing a good job overall. It's not mutually exclusive. But you've got an axe to grind and you gotta keep it going!

Yep. Absurd post by PE.

 

[Spoofin]

People can still think he didn't handle that particular situation well but rate him as doing a good job overall. It's not mutually exclusive. But you've got an axe to grind and you gotta keep it going!

But an "A" job overall? That was a pretty big event in a short tenure to believe he didn't handle well and still give him an "A", no?


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[Pompous Elitist]

Yep. Absurd post by PE.

I don't understand your line of thinking at all. We'll agree to disagree.

 

[Mulligan]

To be fair, the players blamed MC for the Boycott. They may know better than us on here.


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What a shock, young adults blaming somebody else.

Transcript of the Basics Without All the B.S.:

Players--"What the hell! We're not practicing until our 10 brothers are going to play."

MC--"Not happening."

Players--"Okay, we aren't playing in the bowl game."

MC--"That's your choice."

Players (Later)--"Um ... I guess we'll play after all."

Yep, there were mistakes but the MC bashers just focus on his. The players and Tracy Claeys have the primary responsibility for the mess. Still comes down to Coyle, despite the awkward press conference, took control of a national embarrassment and the U came out of it with the future bright instead of a continuing CF.

 

[Cruze]

The Mark Coyle haters in GH are only to happy to blame him for the Associate AD sexual harassment mess because it happened on his watch but they have given Tracy Claeys a complete pass on the sexual assault mess involving the supplying of alcohol to an underage recruit. You can't make it up.

 

[BroncoRedux]

What a shock, young adults blaming somebody else.

Transcript of the Basics Without All the B.S.:

Players--"What the hell! We're not practicing until our 10 brothers are going to play."

MC--"Not happening."

Players--"Okay, we aren't playing in the bowl game."

MC--"That's your choice."

Players (Later)--"Um ... I guess we'll play after all."

Yep, there were mistakes but the MC bashers just focus on his. The players and Tracy Claeys have the primary responsibility for the mess. Still comes down to Coyle, despite the awkward press conference, took control of a national embarrassment and the U came out of it with the future bright instead of a continuing CF.

In fairness to the players they got more information and acted accordingly. I don't think they did anything wrong, both in boycotting the bowl game and then rescinding the boycott.

 

[Spoofin]

The Mark Coyle haters in GH are only to happy to blame him for the Associate AD sexual harassment mess because it happened on his watch but they have given Tracy Claeys a complete pass on the sexual assault mess involving the supplying of alcohol to an underage recruit. You can't make it up.

Well, I proudly label myself as a MC hater. However, I find blaming him for the AAD's situation, if true, ridiculous. Not sure I have seen anyone do that on here, but I'll take your word for it. I also don't blame TC for the situation earlier this year any more than I blame PJF for the two players on his team at WMU that committed armed robbery.
Where do you draw the line?


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[bizzle22]

What a shock, young adults blaming somebody else.

Transcript of the Basics Without All the B.S.:

Players--"What the hell! We're not practicing until our 10 brothers are going to play."

MC--"Not happening."

Players--"Okay, we aren't playing in the bowl game."

MC--"That's your choice."

Players (Later)--"Um ... I guess we'll play after all."

Yep, there were mistakes but the MC bashers just focus on his. The players and Tracy Claeys have the primary responsibility for the mess. Still comes down to Coyle, despite the awkward press conference, took control of a national embarrassment and the U came out of it with the future bright instead of a continuing CF.

Exactly. I'd add that I think a lot of people seem to be projecting their anger about the very questionable justice of the EOAA onto Coyle. MC played no part in any injustice (perceived or real) done to the players. He has no control over it once it goes to the EOAA, nor should he. Once the whole EOAA thing blew up and the players boycotted it was his job to save us further national embarrassment by convincing them to back down and play in the bowl game. And what do you know, they played.

Could he have chosen some better words when firing Claeys? Yes. The thing Coyle has done so well is getting the university to make more of a commitment (both financial and otherwise) to the athletic department. That is a far more important part of his job than a 2 minute sound bite from a press conference. He was also able hire one of the hottest names in college football, which is also much more important for the long term health of the football program than a 2 minute sound bite.

In other more minor news Coyle also locked up McCutcheon (arguably the best VB coach in the country) with a contract extension and tacked on a year to Pitino's deal which will be a bargain if he can build on the success of this year. Softball coach Allister praised Coyle for his efforts in getting her team the resources it needed in her press conference earlier this week.

One thing that is clear (exemplified by J Rob and Claeys situations) is that you have to keep your house in order if you want to stick around. I don't think that's a bad thing. And if a few trees had to fall for that to happen then so be it.

 

[Ski U Mah 55]

But an "A" job overall? That was a pretty big event in a short tenure to believe he didn't handle well and still give him an "A", no?


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Sure, I don't see why not. Most of the "scandal" proceedings were outside the athletic department.

 

[hungan1]

Considering his body of work thus far, he's done a pretty decent job. So, I'd give him a B to B+. I too was excited when they hired someone who started his career here who has roots in the Midwest, is young, and has turned athletic programs around at Boise State and elsewhere.

http://www.gophersports.com/genrel/051116aae.html

The handling of the Gopher 10 was a bungled mess with the media circus and the way Kaler & Coyle handled it. It was hastily put together. Unfortunately, this will put a stain on Mark Coyle.

In retrospect, the bulk of the responsibility for the players' behavior falls on Coach Claeys & his staff.

I still think it will help the athletics department if they a hire a PR consultant for Coyle. Many of the pro athletes, Music and entertainment stars have them. He seems to be an excellent administrator. However, he needs to be out in public more in a positive vein instead of only when crisis occur.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

He does not have leadership skills. It is similar to some coaches better equipped to being coordinators than head coaches.

When the primary players say MC is the primary reason for the anger on the team that led to the boycott, then I tend to take them at their word. Considering his poor communication skills thus far I don't doubt them. Claeys clearly felt the players got the shaft, as do many fans.

Not surprisingly the same ones giving Coyle an A are the ones that largely tarred and feathered the team last year.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

The Mark Coyle haters in GH are only to happy to blame him for the Associate AD sexual harassment mess because it happened on his watch but they have given Tracy Claeys a complete pass on the sexual assault mess involving the supplying of alcohol to an underage recruit. You can't make it up.

oh, yes. the sexual harassment mess. Have you read the updates? the Associate AD is accused of - and I am not making this up - inappropriate hugging. Let's say that again - inappropriate hugging. OH MY GOD! it's the worst thing ever. Seriously, I don't think you can compare inappropriate hugging to what Norwood Teague did, or to the FB team situation.

My question for Coyle would be - did you know this was going on, and what (if anything) did you do to alleviate the situation? This is something that should never been allowed to become an issue. It should have been handled internally and kept the EOAA from getting involved.

 

[GopherBulldog]

Exactly. I'd add that I think a lot of people seem to be projecting their anger about the very questionable justice of the EOAA onto Coyle. MC played no part in any injustice (perceived or real) done to the players. He has no control over it once it goes to the EOAA, nor should he. Once the whole EOAA thing blew up and the players boycotted it was his job to save us further national embarrassment by convincing them to back down and play in the bowl game. And what do you know, they played.

Could he have chosen some better words when firing Claeys? Yes. The thing Coyle has done so well is getting the university to make more of a commitment (both financial and otherwise) to the athletic department. That is a far more important part of his job than a 2 minute sound bite from a press conference. He was also able hire one of the hottest names in college football, which is also much more important for the long term health of the football program than a 2 minute sound bite.

In other more minor news Coyle also locked up McCutcheon (arguably the best VB coach in the country) with a contract extension and tacked on a year to Pitino's deal which will be a bargain if he can build on the success of this year. Softball coach Allister praised Coyle for his efforts in getting her team the resources it needed in her press conference earlier this week.

One thing that is clear (exemplified by J Rob and Claeys situations) is that you have to keep your house in order if you want to stick around. I don't think that's a bad thing. And if a few trees had to fall for that to happen then so be it.

The only problem with this analysis is that it doesn't remotely reflect any of the published reports regarding why the players ended their boycott. I'm glad that MC is retaining successful coaches. I don't recall past ADs losing a lot of them. But good on MC for making this a priority; as a good AD should. I admittedly have been critical of MC regarding how he handled the football saga. But it came long before he fired TC. Granted, I also didn't agree with the way in which he showed TC the door.

As the drama unfolded, I didn't side with the players, with TC or with the alleged victim. I sided with the University. I'm proud that I graduated from the U of M. And I enjoy wearing my University apparel. Even in SEC country where I'm regularly shouted at by men with a lazy Southern drawl -- "Go Harbaugh!" when wearing a simple maroon shirt with just the gold block M on it. My problem with MC (and EK) is they seemingly did nothing while the train of public opinion steamrolled the reputation of the school I love. The EEOA report is leaked, ex players cry foul, current players revolt, the father of a current player goes on national television saying he meets closed doors when trying to reach the school President and AD. Eventually, a popular ex coach says he'll never set foot in the athletic complex again. Meanwhile... nothing. Not a thing from our administrative leadership. Other schools have faced far worse situations involving convicted crimes and didn't elicit near this national coverage and scrutiny. Why us? Because no senior administrator took control to manage the situation. It was on auto pilot.

Everyone is entitled their view on the situation. But it's hard for me to understand how some give MC a complete pass on this. I can only surmise that they wanted TC out so badly, scorched earth solutions were palatable. Or, they were so appalled by the allegations against the few players involved that it took on an almost masochistic desire to see the most amount of pain be inflicted in the greatest scope possible. It didn't have to be that way.

 

[highwayman]

The only problem with this analysis is that it doesn't remotely reflect any of the published reports regarding why the players ended their boycott. I'm glad that MC is retaining successful coaches. I don't recall past ADs losing a lot of them. But good on MC for making this a priority; as a good AD should. I admittedly have been critical of MC regarding how he handled the football saga. But it came long before he fired TC. Granted, I also didn't agree with the way in which he showed TC the door.

As the drama unfolded, I didn't side with the players, with TC or with the alleged victim. I sided with the University. I'm proud that I graduated from the U of M. And I enjoy wearing my University apparel. Even in SEC country where I'm regularly shouted at by men with a lazy Southern drawl -- "Go Harbaugh!" when wearing a simple maroon shirt with just the gold block M on it. My problem with MC (and EK) is they seemingly did nothing while the train of public opinion steamrolled the reputation of the school I love. The EEOA report is leaked, ex players cry foul, current players revolt, the father of a current player goes on national television saying he meets closed doors when trying to reach the school President and AD. Eventually, a popular ex coach says he'll never set foot in the athletic complex again. Meanwhile... nothing. Not a thing from our administrative leadership. Other schools have faced far worse situations involving convicted crimes and didn't elicit near this national coverage and scrutiny. Why us? Because no senior administrator took control to manage the situation. It was on auto pilot.

Everyone is entitled their view on the situation. But it's hard for me to understand how some give MC a complete pass on this. I can only surmise that they wanted TC out so badly, scorched earth solutions were palatable. Or, they were so appalled by the allegations against the few players involved that it took on an almost masochistic desire to see the most amount of pain be inflicted in the greatest scope possible. It didn't have to be that way.

I would never give MC a complete pass, but I'll say this. I think he actually handled it the best way he could while being undercut by EVERYONE.

Any other AD we've ever had would have ended up having to resign at the end of all of that. He gets a B+/A- on how he handled it. This because despite all the angst generated--especially here--by all sorts of "experts" (that had no f-ing idea what really happened): Coyle's still here, the Athletic Department is doing well, and the naysayers are still loud-mouthed louts.

oh, yes. the sexual harassment mess. Have you read the updates? the Associate AD is accused of - and I am not making this up - inappropriate hugging. Let's say that again - inappropriate hugging. OH MY GOD! it's the worst thing ever. Seriously, I don't think you can compare inappropriate hugging to what Norwood Teague did, or to the FB team situation.

My question for Coyle would be - did you know this was going on, and what (if anything) did you do to alleviate the situation? This is something that should never been allowed to become an issue. It should have been handled internally and kept the EOAA from getting involved.

I just have to add: hugging is the gateway sex.

I guess inappropriate hugging is hugging that occurs.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Joe bots, unite!

What we see above is the root cause we have such miserable politicians in this country. Too many are willing to overlook the negatives because their pet concern is being promoted (here it would be sports/Fleck) Instead of promoting better candidates one becomes entrenched in defending the indefensible. It is even possible to rationalize the indefensible, or blame the problems on the opposition/victims if one tries hard enough and cares enough about their personal pet project.

 

[Iceland12]

I would never give MC a complete pass, but I'll say this. I think he actually handled it the best way he could while being undercut by (1) EVERYONE.

(2) Any other AD we've ever had would have ended up having to resign at the end of all of that. He gets a B+/A- on how he handled it. This because despite all the angst generated--especially here--by all sorts of "experts" (that had no f-ing idea what really happened): Coyle's still here, the Athletic Department is doing well, (3) and the naysayers are still loud-mouthed louts.

(1) - Hard to say that Kaler, his boss, undercut him.
(2) - Not if they were following orders of their President which seems to be the case here, they wouldn't have been fired.
(3) - Really? Pretty hyperbolic on your part you sycophant of the Administration you..

 

[Spoofin]

Joe bots, unite!

What we see above is the root cause we have such miserable politicians in this country. Too many are willing to overlook the negatives because their pet concern is being promoted (here it would be sports/Fleck) Instead of promoting better candidates one becomes entrenched in defending the indefensible. It is even possible to rationalize the indefensible, or blame the problems on the opposition/victims if one tries hard enough and cares enough about their personal pet project.

Or, say he did really bad - but that's OK because someone else would have done worse. Read that one somewhere recently as well.


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[GopherBulldog]

I would never give MC a complete pass, but I'll say this. I think he actually handled it the best way he could while being undercut by EVERYONE.

Any other AD we've ever had would have ended up having to resign at the end of all of that. He gets a B+/A- on how he handled it. This because despite all the angst generated--especially here--by all sorts of "experts" (that had no f-ing idea what really happened): Coyle's still here, the Athletic Department is doing well, and the naysayers are still loud-mouthed louts.



I just have to add: hugging is the gateway sex.

I guess inappropriate hugging is hugging that occurs.

At no time was MC in danger of losing his job over this. All the venom was focused on the football coach and players. And I don't blame MC by any stretch for what happened that night in September 2016. As far as his contribution to helping resolve the situation, please enlighten us as to what he did. From what I could tell, he was bunkered-up most of the time. And when he did speak, he sounded flat-footed and rudderless. If you have some evidence that he was a back room super hero, I'd be very happy to hear the details. In terms of him still being here and the athletic department doing well, was this supposed to be some kind of insult? As a fan of the program, I'm happy about this. Why wouldn't I be?

 

[Some guy]

If you think Claeys was unfairly treated, it is tough to give him a good grade.
If you think Claeys let a situation involving his players turn the program into a national embarrassment for a news cycle, it is hard to give him anything other than an A.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

If you think Claeys was unfairly treated, it is tough to give him a good grade.
If you think Claeys let a situation involving his players turn the program into a national embarrassment for a news cycle, it is hard to give him anything other than an A.

You completely missed the point. Coyle was complicit in angering the players and failing to communicate the appeals process, etc. Separate Claeys out of this, everybody gets their own grade. As far as a national embarrassment, that's in the eye of the beholder. The process and investigation was found to be faulty and overrreaching in the end. The players were right.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

You completely missed the point. Coyle was complicit in angering the players and failing to communicate the appeals process, etc. Separate Claeys out of this, everybody gets their own grade. As far as a national embarrassment, that's in the eye of the beholder. The process and investigation was found to be faulty and overrreaching in the end. The players were right.

How is that Coyle's job? The players were notified of their expulsions/suspensions by the school, which explained they had the right to appeal. Coyle had nothing to do with the EOAA process and had no right to discuss those matters with the rest of the team.

 

[GopherBulldog]

How is that Coyle's job? The players were notified of their expulsions/suspensions by the school, which explained they had the right to appeal. Coyle had nothing to do with the EOAA process and had no right to discuss those matters with the rest of the team.

This was an issue that sprung from the department which he leads. As we witnessed, it had the potential to significantly impact the perception of the University on a national level. The better question is, how could MC NOT go into crisis management mode and ensure the situation was expertly managed and communicated. If evidence exists to show he did something in this respect, I would love to see it. How people can give him an absolute pass in this situation is simply beyond explanation. (Except when it comes to you GWG, you have always been very objective and unbiased when it comes to MC.) He is a high level administrator making nearly $1MM per year. We deserved better than what we got from that situation.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

This was an issue that sprung from the department which he leads. As we witnessed, it had the potential to significantly impact the perception of the University on a national level. The better question is, how could MC NOT go into crisis management mode and ensure the situation was expertly managed and communicated. If evidence exists to show he did something in this respect, I would love to see it. How people can give him an absolute pass in this situation is simply beyond explanation. (Except when it comes to you GWG, you have always been very objective and unbiased when it comes to MC.) He is a high level administrator making nearly $1MM per year. We deserved better than what we got from that situation.

I've said in the past there were things he could have communicated better so I haven't given him a complete pass. Some posters on here continue to believe he is the main person to blame in this mess which is wrong. His hands were tied for 90% of this situation. Asking him to explain the process which he had nothing to do with to the players is insane and illegal.

 

[GopherBulldog]

I've said in the past there were things he could have communicated better so I haven't given him a complete pass. Some posters on here continue to believe he is the main person to blame in this mess which is wrong. His hands were tied for 90% of this situation. Asking him to explain the process which he had nothing to do with to the players is insane and illegal.

I agree that he was nowhere near 100% to blame for the situation. However, as the top administrator within that department he certainly has a responsibility to manage it in an aggressive manner. For sure there were policies and legalities that clearly muted his ability to be fully transparent, to the letter, regarding how things were unfolding. But if you are at any level of management you are confronted with these types of obstacles all the time. If it was all about just delivering the facts as dictated by some panel or higher level of authority, anyone could do the job. And that is where leadership is important. The ability to maneuver between the lines and in the gray areas in a way that ensures the best possible situation for your constituency. If MC truly did this, I would give him kudos for making the best of a horrible situation. I just see no evidence that this is what happened.

 

[Cruze]

The ability to maneuver between the lines and in the gray areas in a way that ensures the best possible situation for your constituency. If MC truly did this, I would give him kudos for making the best of a horrible situation. I just see no evidence that this is what happened.

Mark Coyle's constituency is far more than the football team and their coaches. There is little doubt that a large percentage of the following U of M constituencies were happy with how Mark Coyle handled the "horrible situation" involving gang sex by multiple football players, underage drinking by multiple players and a high school recruit, and the concerted effort by multiple players to cover-up their activities:

- Majority of Board of Regents (neither Coyle or Kaler were, or are, close to being fired)

- Eric Kaler (it goes without saying)

- U of M female and male athletes and students who want all U students held accountable for behavior that violates criminal laws and/or the student code of conduct.

- U of M faculty, staff, and alumni who once again have had to try to explain and defend the embarrassing behavior of student athletes at their beloved institution of higher learning with zero effort by their coach to hold them accountable in any way (including violation of team rules against underage drinking).

- Minnesota governor, legislators, and other politicians who want all U students held accountable for behavior that violates criminal laws and/or the student code of conduct.

- Minnesota citizens who want all U students held accountable for behavior that violates criminal laws and/or the student code of conduct.

- Local and national media who had to report on yet another scandal involving U of M intercollegiate sports.

Right now, there is zero evidence that Coyle (and Kaler) deviated in any way from the U's written procedures for handling student discipline matters of this kind. The U of M procedures provide far more due process protection for students and athletes than most other colleges and universities in America. Unless new evidence is uncovered by the Regent's investigation or future lawsuits, Coyle (and Kaler) have almost nothing to answer for relating to how they handled this matter. My guess is that Coyle could have done more to insure that the players understood their student code of conduct rights and their right to appeal adverse rulings. He probably assumed they were getting that information from their attorneys and coaches. That was a bad assumption by him.

 

[Spoofin]

There is little doubt that a large percentage of the following U of M constituencies were happy with how Mark Coyle handled the "horrible situation" .....

Well, no one on GH must fit in your list as 90% of those on here that voted on that specific question voted that they were not happy with how MC handled it. Unless 10% is a large percentage.


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