This may have been one of his better efforts. Meaning, he got the most out of what he had. The problem is, he did what he did with what he had because he did what he did to get what he had.
I don't get it. One half of football doesn't make or break a coach. Either you believe he is the man or he isn't. One year ago, they said he was the man with the 5 year extendo, now he gets fired for 22 minutes of play.
Let's say that carpet monster doesn't tackle that Iowa running back on that fourth down play that sealed the Iowa victory. Iowa scores a TD, gets the onside, scores another TD and they steal the win on a last second Hail Mary. Something tells me Mason doesn't get fired and he is back next year.
Soryy Glenn, you should have played well and lost to Iowa on the last day because you would still have a big 10 job.
Maturi is a wimp. He couldn't make the tough decision if they doubled his salary. The tough, but correct decisions would have been to fire Monson and Mason at the conclusion of their seasons last year, but he didn't. He completely sacrifices an entire basketball season because he couldn't fire a guy. Now he seizes the greatest choke job in college football history to oust his FB coach. To me it's obvious he didn't believe in these guys but he waited until these coaches basically fired themselves.
One good thing coming out of this is the possibility of Frank Solich. They said in the ST today that the Gophs were looking at him. IMO, he was a very good coach at Nebraska, but they wanted more than what they had. Any other names worth mentioning?
Elk River AA State Champions- 2001 Boys & 2004 Girls
For anyone who saw the conclusion of the Fiesta Bowl last night you were treated to a fantastic finish. I know very little about Boise St. other than they are orange, they play on blue turf, and their coach is a genius. This no name kid that looks like he is about 20 years old completely coached the pants off of the guy across the field when the game was really on the line.
It wasn't talent, tradition, money, or alumni that won the game for Boise last night. It was simply a guy in charge who put people in the right places with the right package.
That sequence to end the game last night gives me hope. Hope that even Minneosota with the right guy in charge could become something much better than an 8 win team concluding the season with a victory in Nashville or El Paso.
The FOX announcers made apoint to say that the Fiesta Bowl was case and point as to why there should be a playoff, but if there was a playoff 1) Oklahoma wouldn't have been a part of it as they were rated #10. 2) No way Boise St. plays the way they do, they had nothing to lose in that game and played as such which is what made it such a great game.
If I was Bruinks (sp) the second Maturi walked into my office and asked for the money to fire Mason I'd have fired him, not out of love for Mason but for shear incompetance. How do you give Mason a 5 year extension the year before then fire him now based on a 52 yard field goal? I though Mason should have been gone last year, but this isn't Ohio St. and Minnesota will have lean years, after putting 4 offensive guys in the NFL the past couple of years there was bound to be down year. Mason's biggest problem were his good years were never as good as they should have been and he couldn't recruit defensive players to save his life.
Solich would be a good fit, I like Mike Shula who just got canned at Alabama, as well. Shula's teams were always very good defensively and he had success in the SEC, not to Alabama's standards but at Minneosta the same success would be monumental. Mason was always a low tier bowl guy at Kansas and at Minnesota. The guy at Boise St. will get big bucks if he leaves, but it sounds as if Boise St. pays him alright, and based on their finish they'll probably start the season ranked in the top 8 meanng they don't need a lot of help to be in the BCS again.
Someone with big time division 1 coaching experience, not another guy that had one good year at a small school and coems cheap. Maybe a coordinator from the NFL. [/img]
For those with a big name itch, here's a few available who have not coached their last game yet.
Gary Barnett - might do what it takes
Terry Bowden - just keep him away from the President's daughter/s
Rick Nuiheisel - just keep him away from the office pools
Bob Davey - Notre Dame maybe seasoned him
Dennis Erickson-looking for a major conference job again
Dennis Green-roots are in the college game, bring em back!
Jim Mora Jr. - it's not Washington but that's not available anyway
George O'Leary - his resume should already be on file in the dome
I dont know. I like the idea of hiring someone who hasnt been fired yet.
Somebody in their late 30s early with solid coordinator/ smaller college head coach experience and who has been promoted through the ranks so far. Somebody who is hungry and wanting to make their mark.
Who that is , I dont know, but thats what I would like to see.
I dont know that a big name is going to come here anyway.
4 years or so from now should be a real treat for sports fans who have suffered watching Gopher football games in the Dome. What a piece of crap that is for the U.
A new stadium will help the program and make it a good experience to go to a game.
Isn't the dome about 70 degrees fahrenheit,....whether it is sunny, raining, or snowing outside? Aren't the sight lines directly towards the middle of the field,....no mattter the seat location? There are concessions open,...so I don't think the "suffering" is from starvation. Are the seats uncomfortable? What "suffering"?
Last Sunday, I witnessed the 94th consecutive Minnesota Vikings sellout in that "piece of crap".
Might the "suffering" be more attributed to the product (win/loss record) of the home team on the field over the last 25 years?
They have already made the choice to "start over", by firing the coaches.
That reminds me, Maturi has to have at least two pretty good friends in Mason and Munson,...sign to contracts,....fire them,....and lets us pay for them to do nothing for the next few years,....not a bad deal.
Literally starting over from the ground up (i.e. new building foundation) is another issue all together.
On Sept 5, 2009 the Gophers will open the new outdoor stadium versus The University of Nevada Las Vegas.
That day will mark the rebirth of Gopher Football. For anyone who thinks this stadium will automatically make the U an upper division Big 10 football team, I'm here to whiz on the parade. That will only come with coaching, talent, attitude, and some luck. However, I will guarantee that the new stadium will make Gopher football an event. People will fill the Bowl every home Saturday whether they are winning or not. Finally the Badger and Hawkeye fans that do get in will need to pay top dollar for their seat.
The Wild are now an event. Gone are the days of walking up to the Met and getting a decent ticket 10 minutes before the game and then having the luxury of putting your feet up on the seat in front of you.
The standings over the years have not shown me that our NHL product is any better but the fans keep coming out, even in the pre-season.
The fact that the Vikings still sell out is either a tribute or an embarrassment to their fans depending on your point of view.
The University of Minnesota will have its own venue with its own decorum instead of the maroon and gold temporary plastic sheets of decorations at the dome that look like crap.
The the Vikings can have the dome all to themselves. They deserve it.
The dome is a mausoleum. The Vikes are aided by the fact that football is America's sport and they only play 8 home games per season. Gopher football and the Twins do not belong in there. You can't share a stadium between 3 teams, and in the dome's case, it shouldn't be home to any.
I'd say the dome is a great place if I hadn't been to another stadium. The seats are small, no leg room, the concourses are narrow and if you sit down the left field line for baseball, you have a great angle to look at CF. If someone, let's say bigger than 5-5, 125 is on your right side, you can't see anything.
...the dome is a "piece of crap", and should not have been built (thank you, Sid Hartman and the Star Tribune).
I will get to the point. The U of MN seems to spend money at will, and nobody seems to care. Why?
They dozed down a fine football stadium in the former Memorial Stadium and now are going to build new for 300 million. They have TWO hockey arenas. We are now paying millions of dollars for at least two coaches they have recently fired. Is Clem paid off yet? This is nuts.
We all seem happy about this. Are we nuts,....or just stupid,....or we just don't pay attention,.....or we just don't care,.... or do we just rationalize it as being for the "common good"?
How can these people be held accountable? They do whatever they want, and we seem to love it all.
P.S. How many years to pay the principal for the new stadium, 300 Million/5 games per year/50,000 per game/$50 per seat? Should be about ready to doze it down and start again.
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