Gophers Name Tracy Claeys Permanent Head Coach

Submitted by winterblue75 on


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#Gophers name Tracy Claeys Head Football Coach, sign him to a three-year deal. Details coming shortly.

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Mr Miggle

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.

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MI Expat NY

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.  

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PB-J Time

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...

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Blue Noise

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

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goblue224

November 11th, 2015 at 8:59 AM ^

Not dumb at all. Considering there is not a permanent AD and Clayes has no real real HCing experience. This was done now to avoid all the hoopla and spending that is bound to come this offseason with the jobs that will be open.

Keeps the program on the same direction and keeps the Kill influence around. Great move by Minnesota IMO.

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JClay

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.

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MgoBlueprint

November 11th, 2015 at 8:53 AM ^

Not sure about this one. Another poster made a good point about the staff continuity, but outside of that I don't see the benefit of committing to him when there's going to be a ton of decent coaches available. The three year deal seems more like an extended interim deal than a permanent head coaching contract.



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