Is the Gopher Football job down to Three?
by GopherNation on Nov 24, 2010 11:45 AM CST
in Gopher Football
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PrintDoogie over at 1500ESPN and the guys over at GopherIllustrated are tweeting that the Gopher job might be down to three guys.
- Troy Calhoun
- Brady Hoke
- Al Golden
This shouldn't come as a huge surprise to people as this was basically the short list of assumed realistic candidate (along with Kevin Sumlin). Mike Leach, Mike Bellotti, Jim Harbaugh and Chris Peterson are all very sexy names but we all knew they were not very realistic. Nothing is official and the fact that these names are leaking out might be smoke and mirrors before Maturi does pull that rabit out of the hat and we have a Tubby Smith type hire. But Let's assume these are the names and one of the three will be our next Golden Gopher head coach. We could do a lot worse than any of these guys.
Here are my thoughts on the three...
Al Golden
TDG Profile
Of the three Golden probably took over the program in the worst shape and he has turned them into a winner. Golden is young but he's been very successful in his short career. In 2001 he was name Virginia's defensive coordinator and was the youngest coordinator in D1 football. In 2005 he was named head coach at Temple making him the second youngest head coach behind only Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern. As defensive coordinator he took a Virginia defense that was giving up 27.6 ppg in 2001 to 17.7 in 2004 (17th in the nation).
What I like most about Golden is that he has proven to be a guy who coaches guys to play in his system. Defensively he runs a 3-4 and offensively he has been running what he calls an East Coast Offense, which is basically a single back with a tight end. It is a run offense used to set up a high efficiency passing game.
His current season looked to improve on his nine win season from last year. The Owls were sitting at 8-2 with two difficult conference games remaining. But Temple lost a close game with Ohio last week losing their best offensive player, running back Bernard Pierce. And then were handled by Miami (Ohio) last night, again without the services of Pierce.
What he is not is a known great recruiter. But he is a guy who has dealt with recruiting roadblocks and found ways to do more with less. That is what I'd love to have here. We could do a LOT worse than Al Golden
Brady Hoke
TDG Profile
Hoke has the most head coaching experience in this group. He spent six seasons at Ball State that culminated in a 12-0 regular season before he moved on to San Diego State where he is in his second year. His name might be the sexiest on this list, if you are into that sort of thing, because Hoke has taken a very bad SDSU program and will have them in a bowl game for the first time in 12 years. They will very likely finish 8-4 (assuming they beat UNLV) and raised some eyebrows when they very nearly gave TCU their first loss of the year. Their TCU game was the only game TCU has played that finished as a one score game and the Aztecs scored 11 more points than anyone else has on this dominant Horned Frog defense. It was a loss but they did turn some heads but making it much closer than anyone anticipated.
Hoke runs a spread offense that is balanced, typically running the ball 49.5% of the time. His coaching background is that of a defensive nature having coached the defensive line at Oregon State and Michigan. In his two seasons at San Diego State his defense gave up 30.5 ppg in year one and 23.5 this year. A touchdown improvement!
Hoke is a fiery guy who also seems to be teaching his players how to play football and then they actually improve over time. Hoke would be a fine hire and there is no reason to believe that he wouldn't be successful here.
Troy Calhoun
TDG Profile
Of this group Calhoun has easily had the greatest challenges. Weight restrictions and incredible admissions requirements, not to mention the added stresses of life in a military academy all make things very challenging to produce a successful football team. Calhoun has been very successful in a very difficult conference. In 2007 Calhoun led Air Force to wins over TCU and Utah, but has not been able to beat them since. That year they also beat Notre Dame on their way to a 9-3 season.
Let's not forget that he also won the TDG Bracket Challenge so at least some of us would be happy to see Calhoun take the job.
Among this final three Calhoun easily has the greatest winning % with a 33-18 record. Schematically it is difficult to know what Calhoun would run here at Minnesota. Currently he is running the wishbone a Air Force but most believe he would scrap that for a more traditional pro-style offense when he arrives at Minnesota. Personally I don't care if he runs the wishbone or spread or the run-n-shoot or whatever. What matters is that he picks one, recruits for it and teaches his teams how to execute it.
One can only wonder how successful Calhoun would be at an institution where he could recruit kids who are not A students who also want to pursue a life in the military. He competes with the likes of TCU and Utah while facing serious disadvantages and roadblocks along the way. So many people talk about the challenges in place at Minnesota and the lack of institutional support. Maybe Calhoun is the one guy who would come in and say "That's your biggest challenge? That's nothing, I can work around that." I'd be happy if he is given that opportunity here at Minnesota, if he'd be willing to come here.
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What do these three guys all have in common? They have all done more with less. They have all proven to recruit the right guys and they then coach them well. And they appear to be guys committed to building programs the right way. I'm happy that if this is truly is a final list (or close to a final list). Any of these three would be solid hires and guys who would be given this opportunity based on merit, not on salesmanship.
If I had a vote my order of this top three would be...
1 - Al Golden
2 - Troy Calhoun
3 - Brady Hoke
what would be your order?
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My list would go...
1. Calhoun
2. Golden
3. Hoke
But as you said, we could do MUCH worse than any of the three of them. Because of their track record I’d have infinitely more confidence in our program if any of them take the job than I did when Brewster was hired.
Ditto
1. Golden – Best Turn-around of the group.
2. Calhoun.
3. Hoke.
But I still get the feeling that somebody else is ultimately gonna get the job…
MULLEN!
I think you feeling that somebody else is ultimately gonna get the job is likely right. The U may Go For It and hire Dan Mullen, an SEC clear up and comer that will create incredible buzz and sell seats based on the hire aloan. Will need to pay more for staff though because SEC coaches are paid more money as assestants. Maybe that is the answer to closing the gap with our opponents in this conference. Think about it. WE WILL SEE!
by muststart28 on Nov 24, 2010 12:41 PM CST up reply actions
Indeed...
Pay Mullen $2+ Million/Year and give him the latitude to pay his assistants in the same class as the best of The Big Ten.
If we can get him I think it would be awesome.
I’m not too wild on any of these guys, except for Golden, but Mullen is a man who I could really rally behind.
Ladies and Gentlemen
you’re next Golden Gopher head football coach
"Baseball is the only major sport that appears backward in a mirror" ~George Carlin
by thewild_viking_twins on Nov 24, 2010 1:18 PM CST up reply actions
LOL
We might change the blog to The Daily Badger or something.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Nov 24, 2010 1:33 PM CST up reply actions
I still think...
Golden gets too much credit for a team that went from the Big East (when they had VT and Miami) to the MAC. I think that is the biggest reason for Temple’s turnaround.
That being said, I put all 3 of these guys in the same tier and would be happy with any of them.
Golden
I work with a guy now who knew Golden during his time at Virginia (he was a manager with the team at the time who aided him in recruiting). According to him, Golden was a great recruiter when he was there, he was just constantly outvoted by a lot of the other coaches on staff on certain players. Again, I’m only getting this from one student manager who worked with Golden at the time, but in his words, “If Golden had been allowed complete control over recruiting, Virginia would have been a regular 7-9 win team over the past few years. As it is, Groh was Virginia Tech’s best recruiter.”
In contrast, Golden was not a good recruiter while he was at Penn State. Maybe it was a similar situation to Virginia, but I’ve got no information aside from the two worst PSU teams since the 1930s (2003, 2004). Both were the product of his recruiting classes.
A problem you face with Golden is this: if he’s successful at Minnesota, will he leave for Penn State when Paterno finally hangs it up? Granted, some Minnesota fans might take that at this point, and he’s probably not at the top of PSU’s list (I think deep down, if all PSU fans were honest with themselves, they’d admit that it’s Tom Bradley’s job if he wants it), but it is something to consider.
I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.
Put a hefty buy-out in Golden's contract, then.
If you do that and Penn State still wants him, then that would mean we get a check as he exits and he was successful while here.
depends on how long Paterno hangs on
if JoPa only coaches one more season and Golden doesn’t have a miracle season this year then is he really going to be Penn State’s guy?
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Nov 24, 2010 1:38 PM CST up reply actions
Exactly...
That’s my point. I think this fear of Golden bolting to Penn State is much ado about nothing.
Calhoun
Golden
Hoke
If Golden is good here, I see him leaving for greener pastures
"Baseball is the only major sport that appears backward in a mirror" ~George Carlin
by thewild_viking_twins on Nov 24, 2010 1:13 PM CST reply actions
I will bet anybody that Hoke is not coming here
smoke and mirrors.
Hoke is the one who leaked that he talked to Minnesota. Hoke has his QB and his RB returning next season. He returns most of his defense. And 4/5s of his offensive line. This is a classic case of leaking info to get a raise and waiting a year because he has a good chance to be more successful next season. Then he lands a better job than Minnesota.
Hoke will not be your next Golden Gopher coach.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
I will take you up on that bet
if Hoke is hired, you have to put a couple of bucks in the Salvation Army Kettle and if he is not, I will. Deal??
by Texas Gopher on Nov 24, 2010 5:14 PM CST up reply actions
We're mostly in agreement...
Seems like everyone agrees (myself included) that Hoke is the consolation prize in this scenario. Calhoun and Golden are 1 and 1a on my list. I don’t see Golden getting the first crack at the Penn State job, I see a longtime assistant (Tom Bradley) getting first shot, with maybe Golden getting the job 5-8 seasons from now if something goes wrong. He’d still be under 50 and compared to JoPa, he’d be just a kid. So I would think he would be thrilled to be in the Big Ten, unless he views this job as a career-killer.
I am getting the feeling that Calhoun isn’t coming here, that Colorado will be the better fit for him as Boulder is less than 2 hours from Colorado Springs.
I don't think Golden will fear Minnesota to be a career-killer...
… after all, he did take the job at Temple, right?
I’d be thrilled if we get Golden, Calhoun or Larry Fedora as our next coach. Hoke is an improvement, but won’t get me overly excited.
That's funny...
…I was going to write 4) Anyone but Leach.
Leach is a talented coach, but not a human being I would want associated with our program. He needs 2 offices, one for him and one for his ego….plus a waiting room.
As for who I do like:
1) Calhoun
2) Golden
3) Hoke
I like what Calhoun has done with limited talent and it sounds like he is flexible. We’ll need that.
Why isn’t Sumlin on the list??
Not Crazy About Calhoun
1. Golden
2. Hoke
3. Calhoun
Nothing against Calhoun as a man or a coach, but I’m not sure that I want to have the Gophers running a gimmicky offense like Air Force does. I think there’s a definite ceiling to such a system. Besides, “Golden’s Gophers” has a nice ring to it.
True on "Golden's Gophers"
But I should point out, as GN has before, that Air Force’s option isn’t Calhoun’s offense. He ran pro-style offenses in Denver and Houston in the NFL before taking over Air Force. He left the offense in place because he felt it gave that team, with all of their recruiting and academic limitations, the best chance to win. It’s why I think he’d be a great choice because he would install the best offense that suits the talent we already have here.
I think Air Force's recruiting is actually an ADVANTAGE
Every one of those guys is an athlete—even the big guys on the lines. Undersized compared to other schools, sure, but the Gophers O-line was considered vastly undersized when they had Barber and Maroney, too. But you can use that to your advantage.
Also, the fact that guys are smarter cannot be considered a disadvantage.
Lastly, you know you are getting disciplined guys. I’m sure guys have been kicked off the team for whatever reason, but I would bet the rate pales in comparison to other programs.
You're right
Air Force gets “athletes” while everyone else gets “football players”
And it takes a hell of a coach to turn those athletes into football players, and not only do it, but do it well, and succeed in a tough conference.
"Baseball is the only major sport that appears backward in a mirror" ~George Carlin
by thewild_viking_twins on Nov 24, 2010 10:44 PM CST up reply actions
Undersized O-lines
A lot of people thoroughly dislike it, but small, athletic offensive lineman are better able to utilize the cut blocking technique. It’s out of vogue these days because 1)You want to attract future NFL offensive lineman, and the NFL loathes cut blocking and 2)safety of the defender, but Navy almost beat Ohio State using it last year.
I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.
Not crazy about any of these choices...
If these are my choices then:
1) Golden
2) Hoke
3) Calhoun
We need someone that can bring discipline back to both sides of the ball!
Looks like we can shoot for
being a perennial at the Dallas Football Classic!
Start the caravan heading down I-35 now.
7th place in the big ten here we are to stay.
- I HATE Hoke as a possible head coach.
- Calhoun is average, I can only hope he installs the tripple option.
- I think Golden has major potential, but he’s not staying here assuming that Joe Pa does not coach into his second century. So we just would be hiring sweet lou again.
So basically, none of these gets my blood flowing.
The other name i heard on the short list was Dan Mullen from Mississippi State (which would be just above Hoke to me).
Yawn
At least these guys have HC experience
We could just go after a positions coach at a D-III school
"Baseball is the only major sport that appears backward in a mirror" ~George Carlin
by thewild_viking_twins on Nov 24, 2010 10:46 PM CST up reply actions
Or how about a career position coach with no coordinator or head coaching experience?
What he lacks in experience and knowledge he makes up for in positivity and excitability! Sound better than one of the current candidates?
Golden and Mullen --
Rencito makes a good point about Temple’s switch to the MAC. Is Golden getting too much credit for the Temple “turnaround,” or is it largely a case of dropping to a less competitive conference? If winning in the MAC is good enough, why not hire Michael Haywood, who just destroyed Temple?
I also don’t see why Dan Mullen would be such a coup — his records are just like the ones that got Glen Mason fired here. All the Mason haters should hate him too, right?
Calhoun!
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