November 11th, 2015 at 8:43 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 8:48 AM ^
It's about "time".
November 11th, 2015 at 8:58 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 9:11 AM ^
Yeah, I am sure they felt they were on the clock to lock him down before someone else made an offer.
November 11th, 2015 at 9:15 AM ^
There is going to be so much motion this off season with coaching, i am sure they felt a need to lock down their guy.
November 11th, 2015 at 9:25 AM ^
Certainly, lot of shifts will be made this year. Observers will be shaking their heads at all the craziness. It's essential to manage it all within the appropriate timeframe.
November 11th, 2015 at 9:46 AM ^
Exactly. Because if they don't, they may end up running head-first into a brick wall...
November 11th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
This seems like a risky move. You would think they would be more patient, take the less risky path, and let things pan out over-time.
November 11th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
That would have been the sensible move, but apparently they wanted to sneak it by everyone.
November 11th, 2015 at 5:29 PM ^
Just went back and upvoted all the comments in this little discussion. I am so happy I checked this thread - bravo folks!
November 11th, 2015 at 9:19 AM ^
If they know they are keeping the guy, then it makes little to no sense to wait. The uncertainty can hurt recruiting.
November 11th, 2015 at 9:19 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^
It's not exactly stable at the top.
November 11th, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 8:58 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
Or do you think it was his staff, too?
If they truly like the direction they're going--and they obviously do--why shake things up unnecessarily?
November 11th, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
Not only were they happy with Kill, but the circumstances of his departure led to this decision. He's still around and highly respected. Hiring someone else is essentially firing Kill's staff. I can't imagine that would go over well with his supporters.
It' not like they could have gone out and gotten a can't miss replacement. They gave Claeys an unusually short contract. Looks to me like he's getting next year to prove himself as a HC.
November 11th, 2015 at 10:45 AM ^
Ya but one of them was to a ranked Michigan team by a goal line stand... That game could of gone either way.
November 11th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
And the other loss was to a (at the moment) playoff team in which they were competitive throughout. This seems like a good move.
November 12th, 2015 at 8:26 PM ^
He's Minnesota nice! "You're hired!"
November 11th, 2015 at 8:44 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^
no change in the culture. Recruiting shouldn't really be impacted.
November 11th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
The lack of an AD is the big stumbling block. Throw in what is likely to be a highly competitive market for schools looking for coaches, and I agree that it's the right move. Minnesota's gamble is that what Kill has built doesn't rely on him to keep moving in the right direction, with the likely downside probably only being slightly worse than current trajectories. I think that's a good bet to make when the alternative is likely a MAC-level coach or non-big name coordinator who would be a complete crapshoot.
November 11th, 2015 at 8:44 AM ^
Good for him. There's going to be such a market for coaches this year, if you have a good staff in place makes sense to give them a real run to see if they can keep up Coach Kill's progess. Now he just needs to learn some clock management...
November 11th, 2015 at 9:01 AM ^
Agree. If there weren't so many coaching vacancies, then it would make sense for Minnesota to try to snag one of the many talented up-and-comers around college football. But they're so far down the list of preferable destinations (no offense meant to the Gophers, but there are just an uncanny number of premier jobs available this offseason), it just makes the most practical sense to see if Claeys and the rest of Kill's staff can just continue with Kill's plan, rather than risk blowing up the incremental progress they've made over the last few years.
And Kill's plan (disciplined, strong running game and defense; limited passing) is probably the ideal one for building a program with as limited recruiting pull as Minnesota's.
In a few years we'll know whether Claeys is their Lloyd Carr or their Bobby Williams, and then in a (presumably) less congested hiring market, they can make a change.
Edit: also good points below by ctsgoblue about how the hiring makes sense given the turmoil in their AD
November 11th, 2015 at 8:44 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 8:59 AM ^
Keeps the program on the same direction and keeps the Kill influence around. Great move by Minnesota IMO.
November 11th, 2015 at 9:20 AM ^
IIRC he has been the interim HC during Kill's previous LOA so saying he doesn't have any "real" HC seems a bit harsh. Dude's pretty much been running the team for the past year/year and a half.
November 11th, 2015 at 10:00 AM ^
but you are immediately putting him at a recruiting disadvantage with the three year deal. Why not a five year deal? He's already the fifth lowest paid power 5 coach, what's the harm even if you let him go?
November 11th, 2015 at 10:07 AM ^
was probably the safe decision
November 11th, 2015 at 8:45 AM ^
3 years? He's going to go out and recruit kids without being able to give them even the slightest facade he'll be there their entire 4 years? Well, good luck with that, Minnesota.
November 11th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
So, you and the poster above are operating under the theory that no recruit would go to play for any coach who does not have at least 4 years left on their contract? That seems demonstrably false...
November 11th, 2015 at 8:46 AM ^
Ski-U-Mah
November 11th, 2015 at 9:10 AM ^
Best of luck to Tracy (except against Michigan)
November 11th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 3:52 PM ^
During the Minnesota game, I was like, I need to know what this means once and for all. So I Wikipediaed it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski-U-Mah_(slogan)
It's a bit cheesy IMO but hey, that's the charm of college football traditions.
November 11th, 2015 at 8:47 AM ^
November 11th, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
so they can shell out, say 4 million bucks a year for someone qualified like, say, Brady Hoke?
November 11th, 2015 at 8:48 AM ^
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November 11th, 2015 at 8:57 AM ^
But who is the worst?
November 11th, 2015 at 9:39 AM ^
TheGhostOfYost
November 11th, 2015 at 9:37 AM ^
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November 11th, 2015 at 9:38 AM ^
Does that lady still have a face?!
November 11th, 2015 at 9:43 AM ^
ended up being OK. Which really makes me feel better when my audible chuckles turn into outright guffaws after watching it a for a few more seconds.
November 11th, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^
eighty bajillion times and it STILL gets an audible chuckle from me. Unbefrickinlievable.
November 11th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
Amazing.
Time to google the backstory...
November 11th, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^
I can't decide if it's her hair or blood coming out of her head at the very end...
November 11th, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^
it's the watermelon she attempted to slingshot just exploding off of her face. I'm sure she had a concussion after this incident....
November 11th, 2015 at 8:53 AM ^
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