Eric Abojei: “I’m honestly disappointed. I was extremely excited to be coached under him this year. I’ll keep doing more research on what happened. God bless him.”

Neil McLaurin: “It’s a lot going on right now but hopefully things get settled by the time the new guys arrive. I couldn’t believe that he was fired, and I really wanted to get to know Coach CLaeys and being coached by him, but now we have to look forward and put that behind us. We have to prepare ourselves for the next head coach to be able to get the job done.”

Trey Creamer: “I’m trying to figure things out like the other recruits are.”

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Dominik London: “I’m trying to figure it out.”

Grant Ryerse: "My parents and I are talking tonight but we're just trying to figure things out for now."

Nate Bursch: "Have lots of mixed emotions."

Jimmie Terry:
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Javan Hawes:
Hawes deleted an earlier tweet saying he was committed but opening up his recruitment, and has since tweeted this:
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Blaise Andries:
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I'll update this as I get more responses.

To me this is the primary issue with Claey's firing and the other events that have transpired as well. Was it just?

Coyle's statement about this being the just thing to do made me ask just that. I write this not knowing everything about the events and all that has transpired or what has gone on behind closed doors, but recent events have been pretty overwhelming. As someone that has expressed my opinion (maybe a little extreme, but....)

Anyways, to me the issues break down like this

1. Title IX - The biggest problem...A Group of NCAA Lawyers are going to have to camp outside Pres. Elect Trumps office on this one...and quickly...Even Lawyers have a lot of problems with this one.

On a side note, I can appreciate one aspect of the issue. Increased physical violence on campuses and the need to protect students places a lot more pressure on Universities to protect students and deal with perpetrators.

2. U's bungling of this.
a. About everyone this side of China realizes the U has bungled this big time. The initial suspensions and hiding behind the laws. The timing and how the in general went about it. As one person stated "This is a textbook example how not to handle it". It smacks of Liberal Elite arrogance and the basic belief I have that Liberal elites are great at messing things up for the average man and then placing the blame on others.
b. The long (50 years) history of degrading football and to a lessor extent BB programs in favor of pleasing the liberal elitist.
c. The suspension of 10 players without due process right before the bowl game.
d. The double standard of protecting a girl who may well not be innocent yet publicly damaging 10 players probably for the rest of their lives. (not against protecting victims, especially to public exposure...that is necessary, but what about innocent until proven guilty)
e. Kaler's and Coyle's handling of this.
f. Coyle's firing of Claeys
i. was it just that "Just"
ii. Ulterior motive - Was this more about replacing Claeys with his own guy and this gave him the opportunity...Let me just say if this is the case, that wipes the "justness" of his decision right out the window IMO. Either this firing is about how Claeys handled himself and his position as HC or it is not! Don't use one to cover up the other.
iii. Coyle came across very strongly in his statement with the benefit of the players gone on winter break...I wonder if he would have had the same composure if they were in school at the time and he faced them.
iv. It is almost as if Coyle is telling the students "If you don't like it, feel free to leave!"

3. Claeys firing
This is where it gets even murkier, especially since I have wanted to see Claeys and staff retained.
i. The problem is if he did know about the suspensions, he should have been with his team and discouraged the protest. Claeys makes it appear he knew nothing about the suspensions and than left for San Diego. Although I truly believe the U bungled this by being so quick with the hatchet, I gotta side with Mason on This. Claeys should have stayed home and been there.

If Claeys knew and signed off (I can believe he knew since I seriously doubt Coyle's would have not told him first) yet left for SD without being sensitive to how the players would react, then endorsing their behavior rather than taking charge of the situation, I am afraid I have to agree that he should be fired.

Not only that, the players themselves should rethink how far they take their support of Coach Claeys on this.

Even though he is still young as a HC, and I have no problem believing he was not experienced enough to handle this and it was something not necessarily covered in the rules to coach by textbook, it showed some pretty pour judgment.

I do think the expressed concern of the players willing to boycott the game for the just treatment of their teammates was admirable, yet they should have made the decision after seeing the report not before.

Along with this, I wonder if the U simply did not have confidence in his judgment as a HC and his ability to keeping the players in check. Given the history of the U in regards to student behavior, this is at least understandable.

If the firing was am excuse to bring in someone else, this was a horrid mistake and will unnecessarily damage the U.

The players. Great they are standing for their teammates, but what is just in this situation. Being a long time fan (and conservative btw.) I can fully appreciate the frustration dealing with the U, the BOR, Kaler and Coyle who seemed to have no problem smearing 10 players, behave as if they are simply rightly dutifully doing their jobs and treating everyone as if they are not as enlightened.

Along with this the Title IX injustices to go along with the police and DA not wanting to press charges, but the U seems "out to get the players anyway" without considering the perceived attack on the entire football program.,

That said, they really should have at least read the report before protesting. Players that want to leave should step back at and breath first and really look at what is right. At this time, it is all about the brotherhood of the team and the damage the school has done. It really needs to be about what is truly just and right. If what is just and right dictates, that is one thing, but if it is about protecting players whose behavior is wrong and needs to be held accountable, that is another thing!

I know other issues have floated through my mind since yesterday, but just wanted to try to figure out what is a right and truly just position. As far as I am concerned, what is truly just needs to be first.

A little feedback is appreciated.

Row the boat...
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Pregame speech...
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Cool to see his direction and work ethic in year one back when he was 0-4 and he wasn't a big name...
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A week in the life this November...
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brutal

Dean Johnson, chairman of the Board of Regents spoke to KFAN today:

FWIW I thought Johnson did a good job and did not avoid any questions. He answered everything that he said he had knowledge of, and explained the process of the hearings that people were unsure about. Did not really answer anything about coaching search, as I'm guessing that was told to be avoided.

-After years in the state senate, house, and BOR, life is filled with controversy and your job is to fix it and find answers.

-There’s an old saying, “The buck stops here”, and it stops with me on the BOR, and it goes right on through the whole chain of people involved. What we have to do is learn from what happened.

-Most people thought alleged players and people thought it was over once the police deemed them not guilty. Did not realize EOAA was still doing investigation. Student code of conduct is more stringent than the law. That was not communicated well.

-This is not the first or last crisis at Minnesota. It is important how we manage these going forward. We talked about that aspect of it at yesterday’s meeting.

-The hearings will take place for the players this January to the panel, and they will give their side, the appeal will be sent, and they have 30 days to decide.

-Tracy Claeys is an honorable human being, and that makes it even harder for this entire staff. Graduation rates have gone up, attendance has gone up, and the team won eight and nine wins. I think he has done wonderful things for the University.

-On the other side, eight recruiting sites have rated us last in the big ten, and ticket sales have gone way down.

-Coyle said on behalf of the University that he thought it was best that they moved on. Johnson gulped, removed himself, and questioned if it was the right move, then accepted it and decided to move forward.

-Not sure on time period of the new coach, but the sooner the better.

-Claeys gets $500,000 buyout and coaches get one year salary and benefits.

-I traveled to San Diego for the bowl game with the coaches and players. I have nothing but respect for players and coaches.

-Not putting words in Mark Coyle’s mouth, but I think he was talking back to September 2nd, when the coaches and rest of us were sleeping. That’s not acceptable, and there needs to be more mentoring and monitoring of these players.

-Need to address the problem of binge drinking.

-Being a coach is more than just worrying about your next opponent. It’s also about caring about your players and making them into people of our society that are mature and help them grow.

-There was miscommunication. Claeys tweet was miscommunication. Things like that in the heat of the moment can get you in trouble. I believe he meant to stand up for the players that were not alleged of the punishment, but it came across that he was in support of all of the individuals.

-They felt they were not being heard and getting due process. It was a communication issue all the way.

-Leaking the report was both helpful and unhelpful. Once that was done, the tide changed. Different students of the ten, are alleged to have done different things. The hearing is so important because it presents each one to give their side of the story.

-I honestly can’t give a comment on the availability of the report because I don’t know. I expect they all (Coyle, Claeys, Kaler) had access, but I do not know that as a fact.

-Before we tweet, text, or communicate, we better have all the facts. Claeys did not have all the facts when he did that. Lesson learned. Know the facts before you speak and tweet.

-Our job is to hire and hold our president accountable. It is very difficult to be a college or university president. We have a confidential way for people to give feedback on his performance with reviews, and that happens every year. Athletic department now in the same category as Penn State, and Baylor.

-Told his wife that his New Year's resolution is to keep Minnesota out of the news unless its for a championship, or the cure for cancer.

-Not sure about Claeys and Coyle’s different stories on knowing about the suspensions. There is some frustration around the issue, but he does not know what is fact so he can’t comment.

Gophers wide receiver "commit" Javan Hawes has some interesting wording here. He's opening up his recruitment, but it's been fairly open anyway, as he just picked up an offer from Ball State, plus offers from East Carolina and Cincinnati's old staff a little bit further back.

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MONDAY UPDATE

It's my understanding that the football staff does not know if they'll be back next year. I do know that there's been contact with Western Michigan's PJ Fleck. Two months ago I first got word that PJ Fleck had "very strong" interest in Minnesota, and this was confirmed by multiple people. I'm not sure when Minnesota was first in contact with Fleck (I imagine a couple weeks now), but I heard today that Minnesota and Fleck had talked shortly before the Cotton Bowl. Now, I don't mean to say that Fleck will for sure be the next coach. I have not yet hard that he's been commital, just that he's reciprocated interest.
Coyle said tomorrow he'll meet with Claeys about the season. I'm not sure if that meeting is actually set (it may be, but I haven't been able to confirm that). Claeys on the radio sounded as if the meeting wasn't a for sure thing.

It's also pretty clear that Minnesota is not interested in firing Tracy Claeys solely for the sake of firing Claeys. If they were set on moving on from him, a move would have been made in the day or two after the Holiday Bowl.

PJ Fleck is the only target I know about. I do not know if Coyle has contacted other coaches or not, but right now he seems to be the top target. I also don't know if it's Fleck or bust, Fleck or Coach X or Coach Y or bust. As I said above, Coyle does not appear to be hellbent on firing Claeys and I think would only do so if he has his guy in place.

With the Cotton Bowl having taken place today, I would think we'll hear news by tomorrow afternoon, and if not by then, for sure by Wednesday.

TUESDAY EARLY EVENING UPDATE: CLAEYS FIRED

Like I said earlier, I've been told that PJ Fleck has strong interest in Minnesota. Given everything I've learned about the situation, I certainly expect him to be the top target.

Here are some other names. Some are significantly more likely/unlikely than others for various reasons that I'll break down in a hotboard soon, but I'm leaning on the side of inclusive right now: Troy Calhoun - Air Force HC, Les Miles - Former LSU HC, Craig Bohl - Wyoming HC, Bryan Harsin - Boise State HC, Greg Schiano - Ohio State DC, Philip Montgomery - Tulsa HC, Dave Clawson - Wake Forest HC, Scott Frost - UCF HC, Bo Pelini - Youngstown State HC, Ken Niumatalolo - Navy HC, Chris Klieman - North Dakota State HC, Scott Satterfield - Appapachian State HC, Lincoln Riley - Oklahoma OC, Bobby Wilder - Old Dominion HC, Skip Holtz - Louisiana Tech HC, Dave Aranda - LSU DC, Joe Moorhead - Penn State OC

TUESDAY NIGHT UPDATE

I had a conversation tonight that reiterated that PJ Fleck wants the Minnesota job bad, and that it will be "a layup" for Minnesota if he's Coyle's guy.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE

Again, every conversation I've had leads me to believe that Fleck has strong interest in Minnesota, and the Gophers have strong interest in him. I believe he's the top target and will most likely be the guy.

Could Kill's words deter Fleck? It's definitely possible. Remember, Fleck was an assistant under Kill. I was told by one person that Kill was one of several who recommended Fleck to Western Michigan. Fleck sent Kill an oar in 2013 after a seizure episode. I don't think the two necessarily talk frequently, but I believe Fleck has quite a bit of respect for Kill. On the flip side, regardless of the respect Fleck has for Kill, the conversations I've had suggest that his ambition and personality would make him likely to still make the jump to Minnesota. Someone I spoke with and trust is adamant that Fleck is looking to leave Western Michigan this season and that he's determined Minnesota to be a very good fit (independent from Kill's words).

Lastly, I've messaged a few Western Michigan recruits and while of course they all say they expect Fleck to be back next season, they haven't been told for sure that he will be. Also, worth noting just for amusement: their language kind of mirrors Fleck's, which I found kind of funny.

Other notes:

• Troy Calhoun has had a lot of success at Air Force but always seemed content staying there. I'm told he wants out of Air Force bad now, and that's why I included him on my initial list of other names to know about. I know that he interviewed at Purdue.
• Craig Bohl I'm told is very loyal to Wyoming. That doesn't necessarily mean that Minnesota couldn't flip him, but I don't think it would be the guarantee that everyone thinks.

WEDNESDAY EVENING UPDATE

Spoke with a friend who's a writer for the Boise State Rivals site, Mike Wittmann, about Harsin:

"I haven't heard anything. Only thing I've seen is same as you, that his name should be on the list. Don't know if you've seen anything about Harsin not being Coyle's first choice for Boise three years ago. I'll keep an eye out, but don't see that happening."

A lot of his information came from Stubbs Zanelli from Rivals who did a lot of research on Harsin back in September. He talked to people from Texas and Arkansas State from his previous stints for his previous research when Harsin was hired there.

He tweeted this yesterday:
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Everything we know still leads us to believe that Fleck is the clear frontrunner but we'll continue to do our research on other potential candidates.

WEDNESDAY HOT BOARD

Link: Coaching Search Hotboard

Nothing in this hotboard is new, but it provides some information on a handful of candidates.

THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE

I wouldn't really read much into the Moorhead turning down the offer news right now. I'm sure Minnesota is reaching out to others in case something falls last minute, and I'm sure some coaches are also having their agents release things to get raises. Minnesota also has incentive to get other candidate names out there for more leverage when negotiating. Again, everything I've heard indicates that Fleck really wants the job, and that he's likely the top target for Minnesota. Kaler and Coyle flying down and meeting with him the day after they fired Claeys supports that.

I'd expect news this afternoon or evening.
If there's not news by this evening, I'd be a little concerned that Fleck either turned something down because of Kill's words, BOR didn't want it (unlikely from what I've heard), or something unforeseen. Again, I haven't been given any indication it won't be Fleck, though. I don't mean to cause panic and don't believe there should be any panic right now -- just writing this because today is very likely the day.

Thursday morning update Pt. 2

The Regents have been told that the search is over and two candidates that Minnesota has reached out to want the job. One of them I imagine to be Fleck, and given what we know, I would be pretty surprised if he's not the one with an offer.

I would not expect any last-minute interference from the Regents. Coyle spent a lot of time getting them on board with the decision to get rid of Claeys and what was next.

Also, there's this tweet from Dan Barreiro:
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THURSDAY EVENING UPDATE

It's been quiet for most of the day, as I believe negotiations were going on with Minnesota and Fleck/his party in Chicago.

What I'm hearing right now is that the ball is in Minnesota's court. That news came from someone I trust but ultimately I can't confirm its truth. However, everything they've told me leading up to this aligns with what I've heard. This is obviously a unique time with the boycott, sexual assault case, etc. Kaler and Coyle want to make sure the transition goes as smooth as possible. From what I'm told they're doing background checks and looking into how Fleck has handled similar situations. An announcement may not come until tomorrow even if there are no red flags.

Also, over the past couple hours there's been Les Miles steam:
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I can confirm that there's interest in Miles, and have been given reason to believe that he may even be a top two candidate. I can't confirm that he actually came here.

6:50 PM Update:

Another text saying it will be Fleck.

Barring something last minute, PJ's the guy.

---

More links: My thoughts on the status of every commit // Commits react to Claeys being fired // Coyle presser summary // Coyle presser video // Recap: Glen Mason discusses Claeys firing // Recap: Regent chair Dean Johnson talks firing // Recap: Jerry Kill talks Claeys and administration on AM 1500

Serious question here. Two of Fleck's palyers at Western Michigan were kicked off the team earlier this season for holding a woman against her will in her dorm room with a knife and semi automatic gun and robbing her.

My question is, will Coyle have to get approval by the EOAA, or another special board before he can hire someone who was responsible for the social integrity of players on his team that did something that was actually charged by a court of law?

I know that sounds like an absurd question, but I put nothing past the politics at the U anymore.

(Not trying to break anything. Just perusing the internets... it seems like this might actually happen.)

Anecdotally seems that Coyle and Fleck met in Indianapolis this morning and the official offer was extended. We'll see if Coyle is a closer.

Gophers 2017 ATH commit Trey Creamer received an offer from Ball State University today. Javan Hawes was just offered by Ball State yesterday. They are trying to make their move on the Gopher commits this week.

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Ouch

http://www.1500espn.com/gophers-2/2...key-judd-will-never-step-foot-inside-stadium/

Spoke with a friend who's a writer for the Boise State Rivals site, Mike Wittmann, about Harsin:

"I haven't heard anything. Only thing I've seen is same as you, that his name should be on the list. Don't know if you've seen anything about Harsin not being Coyle's first choice for Boise three years ago. I'll keep an eye out, but don't see that happening."

A lot of his information came from Stubbs Zanelli from Rivals who did a lot of research on Harsin back in September. He talked to people from Texas and Arkansas State from his previous stints for his previous research when Harsin was hired there.

He tweeted this yesterday:

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Everything we know still leads us to believe that Fleck is the clear frontrunner but we'll continue to do our research on other potential candidates.

is there any real steam that it is done deal with Fleck or is Coyle really considering others

If Tracy Claeys did not send out the tweet that he did, do you think he is still the coach at Minnesota today?

Mason: "I really believed, I'm not so sure about just the tweet but if he handled the boycott from a stronger position. And lets not forget, he knew that boycott was coming and when it actually came out I don't believe he was even in Minneapolis. He decided to travel out to San Diego for the press conference for the Holiday Bowl. And I think Jerry (Kill) would agree with me that if I think that is coming as a head coach or a more experienced head coach I would say I'm not going to any press conference I better be right here trying to do damage control.

A long with it there have been side issues, there have been articles leading up to that the attendance in football was down this year. Then after the boycott it was coming out that especially after the petition that 70% of the season ticket holders were threatening not to renew their season ticket orders. You talk about the new facility, they're building that facility but they are not done fundraising. I know for a fact that fundraising isn't going as well as they would like, there were some potential contributors that because of this issue are putting their donations on hold right now. The way this whole thing was handled by Minnesota was very poor. You can point a finger at Tracy Claeys but you can also point a finger at a lot of other people as well.

I think it's a classic example of how not to handle a situation. How often have we talked about, you know you don't want to take a one day bad story and turn it into a two day bad story. This just goes on and on and on and on. You know when you talked about Tracy taking that three year contract, I know Tracy extremely well he was a student assistant for me at Kansas. While he was at the office one day I stopped in and said "Tracy let me give you advice as a friend, I said do not take this job under any circumstances unless you get a five year contract." He said "Coach I'll take it under any conditions I can." I said you're making a big mistake, they're in a bind, you got more leverage than you think, and they are not willing to pay the big bucks. If they pass on you they are going to go outside public opinion right now and they are going to have to hire an unknown assistant coach like a Tim Brewster. And he's not going to come for less than a five year contract, so you are exactly where you want it.

He took it on a three year basis, and I said there is nothing you can do about it now. But what you need to do is win at least 8 games, then hire me as your agent so I can get you a big time contract, and I won't even charge you. When it goes down again he won nine football games and by their standards and as many times as they have changed their thoughts so to speak. Dave I heard you talk about them being compared to Wisconsin, the other program that the Gopher faithful are compared to is Iowa. Iowa has had three athletic directors since 1968, they've had two football coaches since 1978. When you count up the number of athletic directors, I mean I had three during my tenure, my ten year tenure. When you look at the number of athletic directors, either full time or interim, and now the number of football coaches since I have been there it is alarming."

I heard only the later part of the interview, but my impression is that for a Regent he was less than completely supportive of Coyle and Kahler. He linked the Norwood with the management of the suspensions, something that would make me lose sleep if I were Kahler. Johnson was also complimentary of Claeys.

Strange but there is no reports anywhere. No word on the street. No tail numbers. Sitting in Kalamazoo? Quiet.

Where is Coyle? Anyone?

Former Gopher head coach and current Rutgers offensive coordinator Jerry Kill joined Mackey and Judd on 1500 ESPN this morning to share his thoughts on everything that transpired recently at Minnesota.


-It wasn’t just Tracy, it was the whole staff, and all of them that had been together for a long time. You never want anyone to lose a job. No one thinks about the other things like family.

-Has gotten calls from around the country of people who were shocked by the decision.

-I don’t know all the details about the situation.

-There my family. Response that he has is shock, and he’s still in shock.

-AD talked about class. I would say that the program has been ran in a first class manner, don’t think anyone in the country would argue. Before you make a statement like that, go back and find out where the program was, and where it is now.

-Players don’t know Coyle, coaches don’t know him. To call people out like that, is not professional. Not saying anything negative about him, just stating how he feels.

-If you want to fire someone because they didn’t meet expectations, just say it. But to go down and talk about their integrity and class is not the way to go. That’s overboard.

-I’m pretty well connected in the college world, and there’s been a lot of talking go on that they’ve been talking to people. You don’t fire a coach unless you have someone ready to go.

-Fire someone because you want to go in a new direction, that’s understandable. Don’t come at class and integrity. Coaches have represented Minnesota, and have put everything they have into the team. Do not call it a classless program.

-All three parties could have handled the situation with the sexual assault case better. It’s not just one person at fault, and it usually starts at the top.

-The people running that program are good people. As a coach you have to deal with things you don’t want to, and you have to do it.

-Claeys told him that if they think he didn’t run the program how they wanted, and don’t think he did a good job, that’s fine, he’ll move somewhere where it’s warmer. What else is he going to say? But when you come at the class and integrity of the program, that’s a different story.

-It’s hard for me to figure out what the administration has been thinking. A lot of the time you get a new AD and he wants to go a different way. At Syracuse he did that, and he fired another guy I know. You have to accept that. It’s a hardcore business.

- I imagine the win in the Bowl game made it hard for them, but I’m guessing the decision was made before that. That’s an educated guess.

-Our athletic director at Kansas State is very out in front. We have an attorney that represents just athletics. Those people are involved immediately when there’s situations like that, and they have to determine what they want to do and how to handle it. I don’t know how it all went down, but I know Tracy was in San Diego during the decision. Coyle should have been out in front of that situation before it came. Must have been a big lapse of communication. Everyone needs to work together to get a problem solved.

-I’m disappointed and partial because those guys are my family. I can’t answer about President Kaler because I don’t know how it played out from the beginning. I don’t know if they were honest the whole time with Tracy about his job status the whole time.

-I make mistakes everyday. I admit them, learn from them, and move on. I don’t know how involved Kaler was, but I’m upset we couldn’t all come together and work things out. It’s going to hurt the football program, and it already has.

-It seems like there has been one thing after another, from Norwood’s situation on.

-He stood up for his team. What was he supposed to do? If your son is on that team, what would you do? Should have never got to the point of the boycott, but once it got to that point, there’s no coach in the country that wouldn’t have done what he did.

-Throwing only one guy under the bus. I don’t think that’s right. That’s an impartial decision, but I don’t think that’s right.

-This is a place that doesn't have an attorney in the athletic department with 26 sports. There's one African-American cop on staff. There are very sensitive issues their with all parties that go deeper than just football.

-Disappointment is more so than anything. I care about the kids and hope the kids stay and hope they continue to build what they’ve built upon. We put a lot of blood in that program, it wore my ass out. Sometimes you work harder inside the gates of Minnesota than you have to outside. It’s something new every single day, and it doesn’t have to be that way.

-I hope it does pay off and does work out in the long run. There’s a lot of people that have gone through there that improved the program. That program is a lot better from when I got there to now.

Asked about Fleck:

-I’m not going to get into anything about who coaches and anything like that. I’ve seen it happen with Tubby, and now with Tracy. Whatever coach they pick, they pick. I’m not going to go into that.

- Check the record out, check the APR out, check all the service that has gone into it. I won’t forget that, and I won’t forget the program and I hope others don’t either. I would be blind, however, to say I wasn’t disappointed in how this was all handled.

-If I’m at Rutgers that’s different, but I won’t be stepping foot back into the stadium, and I won’t be stepping back to the University. We gave our best and the state of Minnesota. My daughters there, we’ll go back. We’ll go back to pro sports games, but I will never step foot in the football stadium, and the athletic complex we had so much to do with. I will never see it. I wish them all the luck in the world, and hope the decision Mark Coyle made is right.

I know I'm not Mr. Sunshine right now, but a decision has been made. While Claeys got a raw deal, a change likely had to be made as the stigma of this wasn't going to go away any time soon with him at the helm. The whole situation sucks.

I can understand the players frustrations and get why the @OPD77 s of the world have made their family decision (although I just wish a few more days could buffer the emotion). However, I just can't understand giving up as a fan RIGHT NOW. I get it if the search drags on and we lose 30 players, but let the emotion of it all wear off. I know many of you despise Kaler and Coyle now, but giving up on an affiliation for a university over a coach being fired is over-reactionary IMO. Sorry if that offends, it's just how I feel. Wait a few days, or maybe weeks. Let it settle. If it's still how you feel, I respect that.

Bottom line,he was not the "face" of the program. He will re-surface as a DC somewhere.

Just one day after the firing of HC Tracy Claeys and staff, WR commit Javan Hawes received an offer from Ball State.

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I wouldn't read too in-depth on this offer. With Minnesota being his only P-5 offer, I still expect him to be a Gopher if his offer remains enact with the new coaching staff.

Gopher linebacker Carter Coughlin usually isn't too vocal on social media, but he just posted a powerful statement on his thoughts of the suspensions.

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Mark Coyle, when asked about evaluating the onfield product and what made him make the decision to fire the coach, "I saw a team that competed. I saw a team that gave up halftime leads."

So, with that asinine statement, what is Coyle going to do when his new hire inevitably loses a halftime lead?