Gopher The Roses

Day 12 Rumors: Lane Kiffin And Gary Patterson To Interview Today, Markuson Interested

As reported and confirmed earlier this week, Lane Kiffin (USC Offensive Coordinator) has his interview with Minnesota in Dallas today. There seems to be a growing surge of support for his hiring.

   

Pete Carroll (USC Head Coach) has been saying very good things about Lane Kiffin and going as far as lobbying on Kiffin’s behalf.

   

Sid Hartman has a short blurb today on this Sid Hartman: Carroll plugs USC assistant for Gophers job.

   

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Minnesota will interview Gary Patterson (TCU Head Coach) Minnesota pursuing Patterson today but in the same article they quote Patterson as saying he had not ye been contacted last night.

   

There has been no further news on Patterson’s potential interview.

   

Mike Markuson (Arkansas Offensive Line Coach) would like to be interviewed Arkansas OL coach 'taking a shot' at Minnesota job. I think he has the right perspective on his chances (very low):

"I'm not under any false illusions about the process and what they're looking for," Markuson said. "I just basically threw my name in the hat.

Gopher Sights May Be On Tony Dungy And Flip Saunders

Jim Souhan had an article today that I half agree with Jim Souhan: U of M aims high and hopes. Souhan writes that his sources (who have sources) that Tony Dungy for football and Flip Saunders for basketball are the “chosen ones” by university administrators.

   

I disagree with his assessment on Tony Dungy and the university waiting to see how the Colts playoff run goes. I think the university is doing a search for a new coach without Dungy in mind. Is he a potential “dream” candidate? Yes. But most believe including me that Dungy is not very interested in coming back to Minnesota.

   

The argument for Flip Saunders however is an interesting one and it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Search Firm To Cost $80,000 Plus Expenses

I wrote earlier this week and now it is confirmed that Baker-Parker and Associates have been retained for both the football and basketball coach searches.

   

More here U will pay $80,000 for coach searches.

   

$80,000 plus expenses seems like a good deal to me. I mean yes it is expensive but the use of a search firm makes it easier to identify candidates. As in who is available and who is not. It is easier for the firm to call a coach or his agent than a university official. Also in salary negotiation it helps to have a third party do the negotiation.

   

In many cases if a company, in this case the university, does not have a really short list with an almost gimme hire a search firm is used.

   

Of course as a search firm and headhunter guy myself, check out my business blog MN Headhunter, I am biased.

   

They could have had me for less than $80,000. But then again my contacts in technology and human resources may not have helped too much. Give me enough time though, I could have done it for a little cash, guaranteed seating for all sporting events, and some other perks like flying on the team charters.

   

Oh well, their loss…

Message From Athletic Director Joel Maturi To The Goal Line Club

Yesterday, January 11^th, Joel Maturi sent a letter via email to Goal Line Club members.

   

Paraphrasing:

   

-The firing of Coach Mason was a difficult decision, he a lot of respect for Coach Mason, new leadership was needed.

   

-The medias list of candidates, “short lists”, and those being interviewed is speculation. He basically says the media is not in the loop and that he appreciates they have a job to do.

   

-First duty of the new coach will be to work on hiring staff and visiting recruits.

Day 11 Rumors: Bohl, Kiffin, Patterson, Venables, Hauck, Brewster, And Haywood

Minnesota has contacted North Dakota State about Craig Bohl (Head Coach), U asks about NDSU football coach.

   

The Star Tribune has a new list of potential candidates, many of whom I have not yet seen mentioned, So, who's in play for Gophers coaching job?. 

   

Their list for today is:

-Lane Kiffin (USC Offensive Coordinator)

-Gary Patterson (TCU Head Coach)

-Brent Venables (Oklahoma Defensive Coordinator)

-Bobby Hauck (Montana Head Coach)

-Tim Brewster (Denver Broncos Tight End Coach)

-Michael Haywood (Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator)

   

All of these names are turning my headache into a migraine…

Day 10 Rumors: Lane Kiffin To Interview Friday

Other than a confirmation of the Lane Kiffin interview this Friday it was a quiet day in terms of new names and news in general.

Keep Offensive Line Coach Gordy Shaw

We have a couple of assistant coaches that I hope are kept by whoever is the new coach and one of them is Gordy Shaw. Gophers football: Longtime aide is in limbo, but loyal is an article about how he found his way to Minnesota and his 14 years as a Gophers coach.

   

He should keep his coaching job reason for three reasons:

-Loyalty to the program

-His commitment to this university

-His ability to coach players and develop them including Eslinger and Setterstrom

Day 9 Rumors: Barnett, Minter, Chryst, Haywood, Briles And Strong

Seems like every day I say this and likely will again, who is not being considered or interested? Good news is some new interesting names are being tossed around.

   

Tuesday afternoon Gophers Illustrated listed Gary Barnett and Rick Minter (Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator) as the front-runners for the Gopher football head coach job.

   

Gary Barnett is a good coach and recruiter but he has had some high profile issues with his players. I am not a fan of the way he dealt with them and the media. Maybe if he signed some sort of clause that would give us the money back should we have any problems, then maybe.

   

Rick Minter, I had not yet heard his name mentioned. He would be another coordinator that I find interesting. He comes from a quality, ethical program.

   

Tuesday afternoon one of the guys on KFAN stated that Paul Chryst (Wisconsin Offensive Coordinator) was no longer in the running. No reason given or which party said it.

   

Star Tribune has this, Coaching rumors. We can add 2 more coaches to the list:

-Mike Haywood (Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator) has been here before.

-Charlie Strong (Florida Assistant Head Coach)

-Art Briles (Houston Head Coach) declined an interview.

Day 8 Of The Gopher Football Coach Search

It took a few days to get my Golden Gopher football posts moved from my MN Headhunter business blog. What follows is a summary of links from a quick search of articles regarding the search process and the names that have been mentioned so far.

   

Day 3

Gopher purse strings will be loosened for new hire and U plans to move quickly. President Bruininks giving us hope that Athletic Director Joel Maturi has the ability to go after a coach and pay him competitively.

   

U's dream duo: Dungy, Saunders Tony Dungy took himself out of the running. Is he everyone’s ultimate pick? Yes but he is a NFL coach. Mike Grant, son of Bud grant, runs a highly successful high school program. If really has interest in being a college coach one day the next head coach should hire him as an assistant and have recruiting be a focus for him.

   

Day 4

Gophers football: Trestman, Coker voice their interest Marc Trestman has the local connection we like. I wonder if there are perception issues as he was the offensive coordinator for Chuck Amato who along with his staff was fired from North Carolina State. If he was fired as a coordinator can he be a head coach. With his ties to the U of M, I would say yes.

   

Larry Coker, now that would be interesting. I doubt he could turn Minnesota into Thug U. of the Upper Midwest but I do not trust him. We need someone a little more stable.

   

Tice's U turn? I think Mike Tice is more of a NFL coach than a college coach but he certainly is saying the right things. Not having a college degree will likely keep him out of the run.

   

Day 5

Trestman, McCarney say they're interested A lengthy article on Marc Trestman and his impressive experience and local ties. Dan McCarney, why would a school fire Mason and then hire McCarney? He is a good guy but at best it is an even trade. He did just leave an Iowa State team saying it needed new life. Umm, that does not say much for the coach.

   

CHRYST ENDORSED FOR U JOB Here is my issue with Chryst, he had a degree from Wisconsin. He coaches for Wisconsin. The Badgers are a rivalry. Why on earth would we hire one of them? Other than a short term stay until his next big gig how much does he care? I know he was the ring barer at Joiel Maturi’s wedding and his father the best man, but that is one more reason not to hire him, perception of the hire. He is a talented coordinator but I would like to see us stay away from this one.

   

Speaking of coordinators, I am surprised that this is the forts time I have seen current/former offensive coordinator Mitch Browning mentioned. The national media gives Mason credit for the high-powered offense. They are wrong. Browning is the man who gets the credit.

   

Day 6

Gophers coaching search draws LSU's interest, I am a big LSU fan (and the SEC in general) and would rather see us hire a top assistant from a tradition rich program than an experienced coach from a “mid-major”. Bo Pelini, LSU defensive coordinator, fits that.

   

Also, the university has retained the search firm Baker-Parker and Associates.

   

Day 7

Gophers football: USC assistant Kiffin among U's prospects Lane Kiffin has the local connection and resume that should interest Minnesota. Also mentioned are Bobby Hauck (Montana) and Gary Patterson (TCU).

   

Coaching searches put heat on Maturi While the search for a basketball coach will not really begin for a couple of months there is a lot on AD Joel Maturi’s plate and there is the question if he is up to it. Unlike most, I have faith that that 2007 will be a much better year than 2006 was.

   

A guy calls in to the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio and proposes the following, what about Lou Holtz as head coach and bring in Skip Holtz as a coordinator. Lou fixes the program and hands it off to Skip. Huh, that sounds interesting.

   

Day 8

According to KFAN, DeWayne Walker (current UCLA defensive coordinator and Gopher player in the early 80’s) says he has not been contacted by the Gophers. What? Chryst is on the short list but we have not yet had a chat with Walker. I don’t get that.

Athletic Director Reaches Out To Minnesota High School Football Coaches

For years Minnesota high school football coaches have been frustrated with the lack of a relationship between them and the university.

   

Joel Maturi had a meeting with a committee of coaches yesterday and there are some amazing quotes from the meeting, Gopher football: AD reaches out to fix rift between U, football coaches.

"I think our coaches association is starving for a relationship with the University of Minnesota," said Albert Lea coach Clay Anderson, president of the High School Football Coaches Association. "We want it badly. We want to bleed maroon and gold, and for the last 10 years we felt nothing but frustration."

and

"I think that's up to the university to make that decision," Anderson said. "As an advisory group, we're more concerned with the lack of a relationship we had with the university for pretty much the whole Mason Era. What we're looking for is to open up the lines of communication and have a much better relationship."

While the high school programs will not produce the number of talented kids it did decades ago, the growth of hockey as near cult status and the lower number and quality of inner city school teams, but there have been many high profile kids leave the state for greener pastures (so to speak).

   

For the first time in many years this 2007 recruiting class, assuming it stays intact, has many Minnesota kids in it. Most of that work was done by an assistant coach or two, not Glen Mason.

   

The next coach really needs to make this one of his top priorities.