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Tracey Claeys OUT at Minnesota

Hungry Jack said:
Wow. I thought they would have done this sooner, and then I figured he was safe.

Maybe now Andries will open up his recruiting....
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I think Andries is in play. His Dad gave a recent interview in which he said his son was still committed as long as Claeys was the coach. I hope our staff is on the horn with him right now trying to get him on an official for later this month.
 
corbi296 said:
I think Andries is in play. His Dad gave a recent interview in which he said his son was still committed as long as Claeys was the coach. I hope our staff is on the horn with him right now trying to get him on an official for later this month.
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Jinx!

This is from an interview dated 12/28:

Gopher Hole: I know that they recently announced that Coach Claeys will be back. Does that make you feel a little bit more secure?

Blaise Andries: I didn't even know that was going on at that moment, so it is good to hear that he got an extension. I'm looking forward to playing under him and Coach Miller and it will be a great next five or four years. ​

Ouch.
 
I always considered Claeys to be an interim coach. Let's pick up Andries. Maybe that would be appropriate. The Gophers are a dirty program and has players that are felons for the the most part. Didn't they lead college football in the number of targeting calls this season?
 
gocatsgo2003 said:
View embedded media


http://www.startribune.com/u-leader...day-to-discuss-tracy-claeys-future/409534065/

Always seemed like the new AD wasn't a fan, then Claeys gave him some real ammunition with his handling of the boycott/rape situation. Fleck would make sense, but has already been shot down. Could/should be an interesting and unexpected development.
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Makes sense now that Kill went to Rutgers. He must have known something. Maybe he will follow Kill there?
 
I'm kind of surprised by this. I thought that an 8-4 season followed by a bowl win would have saved his job for at least another couple of years. While outsiders understand why Claeys was fired, the Minnesota message boards seem to be quite upset with the decision.
 
BTN mentioned that one of the deficiencies of the Minnesota program was lack of a training table. Does NU have a training table?

I wonder if image played into the firing. A lot of people believe Ralph Friedgen, a great coach, was let go at Maryland in large part because of a weight problem. Plus Claey's wasn't a gifted orator. Competing against a lot of coaches in the Big Ten that look and speak the part.

Thought he got a lot out of his players, however.
 
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techtim72 said:
BTN mentioned that one of the deficiencies of the Minnesota program was lack of a training table. Does NU have a traing table?

I wonder if image played into the firing. A lot of people believe Ralph Friedgen, a great coach, was let go at Maryland in large part because of a weight problem. Plus Claey's wasn't a gifted orator. Competing against a lot of coaches in the Big Ten that look and speak the part.

Thought he got a lot out of his players, however.
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Yes to the training table. No to being fired because he's fat.
 
FrancisSearle75 said:
I'm kind of surprised by this. I thought that an 8-4 season followed by a bowl win would have saved his job for at least another couple of years. While outsiders understand why Claeys was fired, the Minnesota message boards seem to be quite upset with the decision.
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And we all know how balanced and rational message board posters usually are.
 
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gocatsgo2003 said:
Yes to the training table. No to being fired because he's fat.
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He was fat when they hired him. Had nothing to do with it and everything to do with how he handled his team's off the field issues this year.
 
His tweet supporting the players boycott was not a smart move and could not have endeared him to the administration. Plus, the player behavior that triggered the whole thing was on his watch.
 
gocatsgo2003 said:
View embedded media


http://www.startribune.com/u-leader...day-to-discuss-tracy-claeys-future/409534065/

Always seemed like the new AD wasn't a fan, then Claeys gave him some real ammunition with his handling of the boycott/rape situation. Fleck would make sense, but has already been shot down. Could/should be an interesting and unexpected development.
Click to expand...

Minny players trashing the administration. Says Mitch Leidner:

"I don't know who would want to be a part of this program," Leidner told ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-fo...tion-after-coach-firing-threaten-to-transfer/

On the Minny board, opinion seems to be in favor of sacking Claeys.

http://www.thedailygopher.com/2017/1/3/13991452/tracy-claeys-fired-minnesota-football-head-coach
 
FrancisSearle75 said:
If you're an up and coming coach like Fleck, why would you want any part of this?
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He could clean out the dirt, and be a hero when he resurrects them from the dead. Of course, I would insist on at least 5-6 year contract because they will suck the first few years. I would insist those that stayed are 100% on board with my rules or they would be more than welcome to seek other opportunities.

As we saw after this year, Fleck was not being courted by P5 powerhouses or any P5 that we know of. His value is probably as high as it will ever be. Even with another good year, he likely gets only mid to lower P5 offers. Despite the denials, I bet he ends up here.
 
Purple Pile Driver said:
He could clean out the dirt, and be a hero when he resurrects them from the dead. Of course, I would insist on at least 5-6 year contract because they will suck the first few years. I would insist those that stayed are 100% on board with my rules or they would be more than welcome to seek other opportunities.

As we saw after this year, Fleck was not being courted by P5 powerhouses or any P5 that we know of. His value is probably as high as it will ever be. Even with another good year, he likely gets only mid to lower P5 offers. Despite the denials, I bet he ends up here.
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If he can come anywhere close to repeating this year's WMU performance, he will have no problem getting a five or six year deal in a much "cleaner" situation after the 2017 season.
 
Ok, Minny is no longer on the most despicable list. At least the institution. The players that participated were predetors and disgusting. Claeys dug his own grave with a poorly worded tweet that conflicted publicly with his boss and made no mention of the serious nature of the accusations. I highly doubt a boycott was organized without Claeys and/or someone on his staffing knowing what was about to go down. It's his job to explain the consequences of the actions and to get his team the information on why the decision was made. The players backpedaled like Deon Sanders once the report was leaked. If he didn't have the information, he had no choice but to demand it from the AD as the University was about to go public with very damaging information. The public airing of the dirty laundry was not necessary if Minny handled this better.

Claeys never struck me as the sharpest tool in the shed, but his lack of any common sense whatsoever in his handling of this nightmare, forced the AD to replace him. As the leader of these young men, he has to act like a leader. He has no one to blame but himself. At least Minny choose doing the right thing over short term gratification of Wins. Claeys seems like decent football coach, but socially ignorant.
 
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Fitzphile said:
Minny players trashing the administration. Says Mitch Leidner:

"I don't know who would want to be a part of this program," Leidner told ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-fo...tion-after-coach-firing-threaten-to-transfer/

On the Minny board, opinion seems to be in favor of sacking Claeys.

http://www.thedailygopher.com/2017/1/3/13991452/tracy-claeys-fired-minnesota-football-head-coach
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The inmates are running the asylum.

Or at least they think they are.
 
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NUCat320 said:
This seems like a perfect situation for Art Briles.
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Hahaha! Right! Art Briles will ride in with his white steed and make the whole football gangbang situation just "go away."

In my mind, a 9-5 season with a bowl win is a success when coaching at Minnesota. Tracy is a solid coach but the administration probably thinks they can get someone better and the team boycott fiasco gives them ammunition to replace him.

If Minnesota can land PJ Fleck, I would call this an upgrade. Fleck is similar to Fitz and has had Fitz personally mentor him in how to mimic his coaching style. Fleck is still young and growing, but he is charasmatic and a player's coach. Fleck would lead to a bump in Minnesota recruiting, higher classes than Claeys could ever land. Fleck has had the top recruiting classes in the MAC for 3 years running. It's taken WMU from cellar dweller to top of the conference in that time.

Other than Fleck, I don't know if Minnesota can hire anyone better than. With signing day next month, they need to hire someone fast. Recruits are ripe for poaching. Has anyone heard of other candidates being discussed for the position?
 
Fleck's certainly the obvious hire. It's as if they were waiting specifically until Fleck was done to make the announcement. For their sake, I hope it doesn't become a Shaka Smart to the Illini thing.

Some there candidates, though who knows if it's real or speculative:
http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/0...l-coach-bryan-harsin-p-j-fleck-or-craig-bohl/

Craig Bohl as a candidate feels very similar to Kill, in that he built something in a lower division, had success in a lower rung of D1 (though less than Kill), and is older than the average hot shot head coach candidate.
 
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