Gophers Name Tracy Claeys Permanent Head Coach

This is the right move. Jerry Kill has done a good job at Minnesota, and there isn't an urgent need for a change in direction. Minnesota needs to give Claeys another year or two as the Man to see if he has what it takes to continue the growth. What's nice here is that if it's obvious he's not cut out for the job after next year, they have less reason to "give him time" because the system will have been in place for years. They can cut bait quickly if he turns out to be a Tim Beckmann-like hire. The timing is right, too--lots of recruiting going on, he needs to be the face of the program. That's without even considering the Minnesota AD problems that have the department in some turmoil, and without considering how frenzied the coaching job market will be this off-season.

And that staff. Dilly Bars for everyone!

The alternative is opening up your program to the revolving door, literally sweeping it clean of everyone except the players, trashing a large percentage of recruiting, etc.  The typical upside gain is very very small to that from what Ive viewed in my lifetime.  One could even surmise that the gene pool of coaches out there is almost like a bell curve/gaussian distribution, a few great ones, a lot of good solid ones in the middle, a lot of slightly mediocre ones, and a few slugs.  The established great ones seem to not have to look for work very often, and so to enter into that requires either rail cars full of cash, or to cherry pick a young star slightly before his prime.

Kudos to the Minn athletic department to have the balls to stand up and make the veritable statement that they like good, solid, better than a wild array of instability and risk.

I would have just waited till the end of the season and looked for a better coach...I mean I don't think tracy claeys is going anywhere.

If they are truly committed to him being the long-term coach at Minnesota, then why wouldn't they give him at least a four year deal? Put in a low buyout in the event he isn't cut out for head coaching duties and call it a day.

But i think they needed to take a step back and see who is the best candidate available at years end. Personally i feel they jumped the gun.

Is the most practical.  With the amount of head coach openings available in the offseason as well as no permanent AD in place, it makes sense to hire him for 3 years and go from there.  

Building a nice program up there...

deserves it... congrats to him!!!

He's already off to a blazing start with an 0-2 head coaching record!

Mike Greenberg just picked Michigan to beat Ohio State and win the B1G championship v. Iowa.  So, kiss of death?  Would be so sweet.  

I think this is a great call.  Minnesota is on a nice trajectory and there's no reason to upset the apple cart, especially with the current coaching market.

Good for him and good for Minnesota.

The only way it could be justified is if Kill is going to still be closely involved in the football org, still being the man behind the curtain.

The initial performance of Claeys would certainly not lead me to lock him up for 3 years.

I think he might turn out to be a solid coach, if he can just learn some clock management.

My first thought is they should've waited for the season to end to see how it all goes, but for now, I think it's the right move.

Kill had built a solid program there, even a good one by Minnesota's standards. And with the amount of coaching jobs available right now, many of which are considered "better" jobs than what you'd get at Minnesota, there's a good chance they would've been starting from scratch with a subpar coach had they decided to clean house, and the last few years of building that program up would've potentially been for nothing.

Best of luck to them.

this is a great move by Minnesota.  Too many openings to find someone else to carry on with what Jerry Kill had done. 

Tough place to recruit to - but Minnesota desperately needs a RB on the level of what they have had in the past to be even competitive.  They should be able to compete with Iowa & Illinois on a regular basis, and behind Wisconsin and Nebraska in the future.  They would finish 5th in the east division of the B1G every year.

Go Blue!

people here, but I'd be concerned about his age and fitness level. From that standpoint alone I wouldn't give him more than 3 years.  When you have a Harbaugh in your league, do you really want a coach that falls asleep at 10pm with a bucket of chicken in his lap?  Okay, i couldn't help it.  That was indeed a bash on overweight people and I apologize, or maybe I was speaking in hyperbole.

good effort to try and keep going what Kill started in terms of culture, recruiting, system, etc.  Otherwise, you are starting at ground zero and in competition with a lot of places that are probably better destinations.  There will be several Power 5 teams that do not get the person they really want this year, I'll bet.

I was impressed with their OSU showing. I can see them coming out at a home night game pumped, but one week after losing your head coach, then having a game won and reversed on a replay, it would have been easy for them to come out deflated on the road in Ohio. Instead they made a real game of it.

Tracysota baby!

This is the right move. Why blow up the coaching staff when Kill was built Minnesota into a decent program. His assistants have great experience so this shouldn't be a problem.

This move is so Minnesota. Interim coach is 0-2, but his players are trying so hard. Uninspiring, but practical move for a program that hasn't really had much success recently. Kill did an okay job, but Minnesota was still a very average program. This move continues that trend. Minnesota has many more 8-5 years ahead of them. I guess that's the expectation if you're Minnesota.