What grade would you give the Gophers for hiring Coyle as AD?

What grade would you give Coyle hire?

  • A

    Votes: 38 56.7%

  • B

    Votes: 10 14.9%

  • C

    Votes: 5 7.5%

  • D

    Votes: 4 6.0%

  • F

    Votes: 10 14.9%
  • Total voters
    67
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What grade would you give the hire of Coyle as AD?
 


I think everything about the hire is an "A" except that he moves around an awful lot and I don't believe for a second that this is his dream job. That's why I gave the hire a "B." I think he was definitely the best available candidate, but if he doesn't stick around it doesn't do the U much good. It's a risk worth taking but I couldn't click on the "A," even though I think his skills warrant it.
 

jamiche said:
I think everything about the hire is an "A" except that he moves around an awful lot and I don't believe for a second that this is his dream job. That's why I gave the hire a "B." I think he was definitely the best available candidate, but if he doesn't stick around it doesn't do the U much good. It's a risk worth taking but I couldn't click on the "A," even though I think his skills warrant it.
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I'm with you, Jammer. Great hire on paper. I remember a lot of enthusiasm for NT and that didn't pan out. Please tell me he doesn't have any harassment complaints pending. I wonder if anyone asked that at the presser today.
 

Either this is his dream job or he's one hell of an actor who can cry on demand. Seemed sincere and hopefully it is.
 


I gave the Gophers an "A" for the hire. This week I was thinking that the heavily rumored finalists were fine, but who on that list really wouldn't have been available months prior? When the "U" decided to take a long, drawn out approach they argued it was because administrators did not like to move during the academic calendar year and we'd get better candidates by waiting. Well, I think you could get MAC AD's, Associate AD's, and Beth Goetz to take the job in October given the upgrade to a B1G budget, increased salary, etc, etc. The other aspect of this is that hiring Turnkey sure seemed to be worth the investment. Coyle mentioned speaking to them several times and I don't think a guy in his first year in a power 5 AD job would have taken those meeting if he wasn't convinced they wouldn't leak. Given that a lot of people clearly had loose lips during this process, I think that is noteworthy. Finally, the Gophers got a power 5 AD at time when both major revenue sports are losing and have very uncertain futures and will inherit problems caused by the former AD in addition to a partially funded facilities project. This job comes with a lot of immediate headaches and the added issue that there is no past blueprint for success at Minnesota at least in the modern era.

My main concern with Coyle is this: At Kentucky, Boise State, and Syracuse he's dealt with very passionate fan bases that had already been experiencing success prior to his arrival. It is much easier to fund raise in those environments that it will be at Minnesota where there has been no national success in football or basketball for 50 plus years in one sport and nearly 20 in the other. Given that he's already been at Minnesota, I am sure he's well aware of the challenge but that doesn't mean he knows how to overcome it.
 

He'll take a few trips to Florida to meet and get to know deep pocket potential Gopher donors. It is about building relationships.
 

Solid A. I wasn't expecting us to get a current Power 5 AD.
 

An A this is as good of a hire that they could've made, didn't think a Power 5 AD was realistic. I wouldn't hold an AD leaving for a "better job" if that's the case than he would've improved our situation and make this job more attractive.
 




hungan1 said:
He'll take a few trips to Florida to meet and get to know deep pocket potential Gopher donors. It is about building relationships.
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I hope it's in his contract
 

What I love most about it is that nobody on the forums or the Rags had a clue. Kaler takes forever to make the decision, puts together a committee with half of the alumni, pays upwards to 200K for a search firm who is hired to keep names confidential, and everyone has their theory of who it was going to be. If he had not made a surprise home run hire then this whole process would have been a waste of time and money. Kaler would have looked like a fool. The man is way too smart for that.
 




Fantastic hire. Best hire in the athletic department in over 40 years.
 



So do all you guys work for the government. In the private sector, the rating is based on performance. What has he done. I don't make it my business to check out his achievements but I am not aware that he has done anything noteworthy since he arrived. He seems to be in the shadows. Therefor I can't give him much of a grade. Reminds me of Speilman going early in the draft to get Christian Ponder. It smelled pretty good at first, then it started to stink. I can't tell what the odor is with Coyle just yet.
 

JCK said:
So do all you guys work for the government. In the private sector, the rating is based on performance. What has he done. I don't make it my business to check out his achievements but I am not aware that he has done anything noteworthy since he arrived. He seems to be in the shadows. Therefor I can't give him much of a grade. Reminds me of Speilman going early in the draft to get Christian Ponder. It smelled pretty good at first, then it started to stink. I can't tell what the odor is with Coyle just yet.
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This poll was created back in May and is asking people how would you grade the hire, ie, do you think we made a good hire, based on the other candidates we might have been able to lure. Do you think it was a good hire based on his past accomplishments and resume? Etc. It's not asking how has he done so far...
 

A

I have met Mark Coyle and his family on several occasions. (Coyle is the brother-in-law of my close friend.) Mark is about as sincere and honest as they come. Both him and his wife have expressed to me personally that they love MN because it's close to family and friends, in MN and Iowa. They both told me that Syracuse, Kentucky, and Idaho were never places they wanted to settle and raise their kids. They are midwesterners at heart and barring any unforeseen change in events, they will be here for a long time.

The only reason I didn't give him an A+ is because I question his salesmanship and ability to immediately fundraise. In the long run, I think Mark will be successful because he is the kind of guy that will likely develop long term and meaningful relationships with local deep pockets. In short, Mark is a likeable guy, but not super aggressive, so it will take time.
 

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