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Post by airman on Dec 31, 2006 19:41:56 GMT -6
Glen mason was fired today(new years eve) for blowing the big lead the gophers had against texas tech.
the AD is a smart cookie. at 12;01 am tonight the assistants contracts automatically rollover for another year. since they were fired today, they do not have to pay assistants.
nice new years gift to be unemployed.
thing is, the gophers will still be no more then a middle of the pack in the big ten no matter who they hire. the support is just not their from the U or from the fans.
I went to the NDSU (d1aa team) vs the Gophers this past fall. had a kid who played for them. the NDSU fans were smaller in numbers and louder then the gopher fans.
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Post by Yash on Dec 31, 2006 20:16:53 GMT -6
Can't say I agree with their decision. Mason has put 2 of the exciting young Rbs in the leauge (marion barber, l. Maroney) He has one of the best running games in the NCAA and he took a basement feeder and turned it into a bowl contender. What do you have to do now days to keep your job? 118 teams can't win the national championship.
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Post by coachjd on Dec 31, 2006 20:42:42 GMT -6
3 very good NFL RB's in league (Barber, Maroney, Tapea FB Phil) Utecht TE at Indy, Sedestrom starting LG St. Louis, Eslinger and Ben Hamilton OL with Broncos, will have another TE playing next year with Speath. Plus Mason graduated kids and turned the program into a respectable program compared to what it used to be. He was just not able to turn the corner and maintain a solid recruiting base with defensive players.
Mason's buyout would of been larger if he got fired in 2007 as well.
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Post by coachdawhip on Dec 31, 2006 21:15:22 GMT -6
Never thought he was a good coach, but shouldn't have gotten fired.
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Post by wildcat on Dec 31, 2006 21:28:31 GMT -6
2 coaches of major sports who were under contract fired in the same year....hmmmmmmm...if I'm a Minnesota taxpayer, I would be pretty P.O.ed! What is the cost to taxpayers for the buyout of both of those guys going to be?
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Post by groundchuck on Dec 31, 2006 22:10:46 GMT -6
I have to wonder what is going on at the U of M when they can the mens BB coach 7 games into the season, then fire the HFC who has at the very least left the program better than he found it. On top of that throw in the WBB players who transfered or quit the team during the off season and the AD has a big mess on his hands.
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Post by CVBears on Dec 31, 2006 23:25:07 GMT -6
It is stories like these that make JoePa and Bowden of FSU all the more special.
With cases going on like Mason's, we are never going to see another JoePa or Bowden.
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Post by coachjd on Dec 31, 2006 23:48:40 GMT -6
Boosters will end up paying for the buyouts for both basketball and football. AD was pressured to pull the trigger on both of them. He may not say that, but he does not have the marbles to pull this off without some big time support.
Womens basketball is a complete different story. A couple of starters thought they were running the show and the coach held her ground, so the starters quit and convinced some of the other team members to leave as well. The twin cities media blew that story out of proportion.
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Post by airman on Jan 1, 2007 7:23:02 GMT -6
2 coaches of major sports who were under contract fired in the same year....hmmmmmmm...if I'm a Minnesota taxpayer, I would be pretty P.O.ed! What is the cost to taxpayers for the buyout of both of those guys going to be? \ D1A athletic programs have to be self funded throught revenue and boosters. this is why when boosters want some one fired and threaten to take their money, the ad does what he is told. the only think the taxpayers pay for is benefit packages like health care and the like. some schools do not even offer retirement to their assistant coaches.
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Post by gldnglv165 on Jan 1, 2007 7:40:10 GMT -6
Hate seeing this happen. Mason seemed like a good guy and his acomplishments have already been posted on this thread. This year's recruiting class is probably a wash unless they have someone high profile lined up already. Sometimes I wonder if the booster who thinks he's the boss realizes how detrimental this sort of thing can be to a program. I'm not a Big 10 fan, but I can appreciate some of the parity that Mason brought to that conference. They gave Michigan some great challenges while he was there, and they won a few games Minnesota doesn't normally win, but I guess they feel they should be doing better.
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Post by groundchuck on Jan 1, 2007 7:51:54 GMT -6
Boosters will end up paying for the buyouts for both basketball and football. AD was pressured to pull the trigger on both of them. He may not say that, but he does not have the marbles to pull this off without some big time support. Womens basketball is a complete different story. A couple of starters thought they were running the show and the coach held her ground, so the starters quit and convinced some of the other team members to leave as well. The twin cities media blew that story out of proportion. I agree on all counts here JD. Maturi is saying it was his decision alone but I think he was getting tremendous pressure from admin and some boosters to can Mason. The WBB story was blown way out of proportion.
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Post by wildcat on Jan 1, 2007 7:53:16 GMT -6
Good to know it won't take public money to buy the contracts out...
The thing about Mason is that you don't get to squander a 31-point lead in a nationally televised bowl game when you are getting paid over a million and a half dollars to win football games...Mason might be a "good guy" and turned Minnesota into a respectable program, but that ain't enough when a guy like that is getting paid big bucks.
If I was an Iowa fan, I would be pretty pissed off at Kirk Ferentz right now...the guy is one of the top five highest paid college coaches in the country and his team consistently underachieved all season.
I guess what it comes down to is that it shouldn't be shocking when a fairly successful but very well-paid guy like Mason gets fired after a debacle like what happened against Texas Tech...
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Post by coachjd on Jan 1, 2007 8:05:10 GMT -6
Did Mason deserve to be fired? I would probably say yes. Has he been good for Minnesota football? Yes. He brought respectability back to the program that was not winning any Big 10 games 10-15 years ago. Was he able to turn the corner and become a consistent top 25 team? No way. He did his job here. He made football important at the Univ of Minnesota again. It does not matter who the next coach is. The next step is for the admin and board of regents to step up and increase funding so good assistant coaches can be hired. So the recruiting budget allows for the coaches to fly all over the country to find the athletes they need to compete. I hope the new on campus stadium will allow these things to happen. Look at Rutgers. Look what happened when the school funded the crap out of the program. Made a nice run this year and put a very good football team on the field.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2007 12:10:14 GMT -6
I heard at a clinic one time that Minnesota has the second lowest football budget in the Big 10 (Northwestern being #11). The coach can be making $10 mill. a year, but that doesn't mean the team will be competitive. I think it's more about facilities than the coaches salary. I think Mason is a good coach, but does anyone know why he left KU way back when? I think they had just finished a 10-2 season when he took the Minnesota job. KU may not be the premiere place to coach football in the country, but I don't see where Minnesota was much of a step up, considering where KU's program was at that time.
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Post by Coach Huey on Jan 1, 2007 12:46:51 GMT -6
Mason's Career Record Kent State 1986: 5-6 Kent State 1987: 7-4 * Two Seasons: 12-10
Kansas 1988: 1-10 Kansas 1989: 4-7 Kansas 1990: 3-7 Kansas 1991: 6-5 Kansas 1992: 8-4 (Aloha Bowl W 23-20) Kansas 1993: 5-7 Kansas 1994: 6-5 Kansas 1995: 10-2 (Aloha Bowl W 51-30) Kansas 1996: 4-7 * Nine Seasons: 47-54 Minnesota 1997: 3-9 Minnesota 1998: 5-6 Minnesota 1999: 8-4 (Sun Bowl L 24-20) Minnesota 2000: 6-6 (Micron PC Bowl L 38-30) Minnesota 2001: 4-7 Minnesota 2002: 8-5 (Music City Bowl W 29-14) Minnesota 2003: 10-3 (Sun Bowl W 31-30) Minnesota 2004: 7-5 (Music City Bowl W 20-16) Minnesota 2005: 7-5 (Music City Bowl L 34-31) Minnesota 2006: 6-7 (Insight Bowl L 44-41 OT) * Ten Seasons: 64-57 * Total: (21 years) 123-121 |
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Post by Coach Huey on Jan 1, 2007 13:00:00 GMT -6
Bowl Games Prior to Mason: 1961 Rose Bowl 1962 Rose Bowl 1977 Hall of Fame Bowl 1985 Independence Bowl 1986 Liberty Bowl Note: From 1918-1945, the Big Ten did not allow its teams to participate in bowls. From 1946-1974, only the conference champion was allowed to attend a bowl.
Bowl Games Under Mason: 1999 Sun Bowl 2000 Micron PC Bowl 2002: Music City Bowl 2003 Sun Bowl 2004 Music City Bowl 2005 Music City Bowl 2006 Insight Bowl |
10 Seasons Prior to Mason: 1996: 4-7 1995: 3-8 1994: 3-8 1993: 4-7 1992: 2-9 1991: 2-9 1990: 6-5 1989: 6-5 1988: 2-7-2 1987: 6-5 Total: 38-70-2
10 Seasons Under Mason 1997: 3-9 1998: 5-6 1999: 8-4 2000: 6-6 2001: 4-7 2002: 8-5 2003: 10-3 2004: 7-5 2005: 7-5 2006: 6-7 Total: 64-57
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Post by jjkuenzel on Jan 1, 2007 13:13:08 GMT -6
Mason was a good guy who brought respectability to the U of M football program. He had success, but just not enough of it. There were ample opportunities for him to turn the corner and make the Gophers a top tier big 10 team. The fact of the matter is that it just never happened. IMHO, he was at the end of the road. He had every opportunity to take the next step and it just never happened. As a gopher fan, I appreciate what he did for Gopher football and wish him the best of luck. At the same time, whoever they hire I hope he can build on the success that Mason had and turn the Gophers into a top tier big 10 team.
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Post by los on Jan 1, 2007 13:23:50 GMT -6
Very interesting stats coach huey, you can almost see when a new crop of talent came on board, took a couple seasons to develop, then graduate and move on. Looks like good consistent coaching to me. I think Tech could score 50 points on any team in a half, when they're on their game, not a good reason to be fired.
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Post by ocinaz on Jan 1, 2007 18:32:04 GMT -6
Who can Minnesota over take to break into the top tier of the Big Ten?
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Post by coachjd on Jan 1, 2007 18:43:15 GMT -6
Iowa and Wisconsin used to be in the same boat at Minnesota. With admin support and funding this would be a good place to start.
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Post by ocinaz on Jan 1, 2007 19:00:15 GMT -6
Good examples, listening to talk shows while they were here, all that was talked about was the lack of support for the Gophers. They pointed to the fact that there were only 2 newspaper writers here in AZ, and one was from the student newspaper.
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Post by jjkuenzel on Jan 1, 2007 19:51:26 GMT -6
Like JD said, if it can be done in Madison and Iowa City, it can be done in Minneapolis. That being said, Minnesota is a tough place to win no matter who the coach is. I remember seeing an ESPN article ranking the toughest places to win at and Minnesota was in the top 10 if not top 5.
ocinaz makes a good point. There is a lack of support for Gopher football. 40 years of bad season after bad season and apathy will set in. That is why I respect and am thankful for what Mason did. Hopefully the success that he had can be built upon by the next HC.
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Post by phantom on Jan 1, 2007 20:12:22 GMT -6
I think that Minnesota made a terrible mistake. It's a hard place to win for a number of reasons and Mason has won there consistently. It's true that the've never had that big, breakout season but you just have to keep plugging and those seasons come when they come. With their recruiting base, facilities, and resources ($$$$$) schools like Texas don't have to wait for that big year. Minnesota does.
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Post by groundchuck on Jan 1, 2007 20:24:36 GMT -6
I have my own thoughts on the subject but what is it about MN that makes it tough to win there?
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Post by phantom on Jan 1, 2007 20:32:33 GMT -6
I have my own thoughts on the subject but what is it about MN that makes it tough to win there? A limited recruiting base (according to the ESPN Rate the States article, 16 D.1 players last year), seemingly poor administrative support, and it's a tough sell for out-of-state recruits.
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Post by coachjd on Jan 1, 2007 21:38:16 GMT -6
no on campus stadium. Do not get parking money, only get a small % of concessions money, do not get any money from vendors. Have to share $$$ for the luxary boxes. 9th or 10th ranked football budget in Big 10. Media outlets look at Minnesota as a pro state (vikings, twins, timberwolves, wild) U of MN is 2nd fiddle. Why would a 4 star recruit from Florida want to come freeze his butt off here when he can go someplace that is warmer. You go to Iowa City and the town almost shuts down when the hawkeyes are at home. The atmosphere a the dome is terrible. Go to any other Big 10 venue and compare. I was at Northwestern 3 years ago and they even have a better college football atmosphere than Minnesota. Last year Tog and I partied like rock stars in Iowa City before the gopher/iowa game. It is so different at these places than here.
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Post by coachpoe on Jan 1, 2007 21:48:16 GMT -6
Another unjustified firing this year. I put Mason in the same boat as Dan McCarney at Iowa State. They took doormat programs that had just about zero success and tradition over the 40 years before they got there and turned them into consistent bowl teams. Minnesota, Iowa State these are schools that are tough to win at. If it was easy to win at these places then the coaches before them would have. Mason certainly didn't deserve to get fired, and breaking into the top tier of Big 10 football isn't realisitic on a year to year basis. As phantom said they can have a breakout year here or there, but it isn't going to happen consistently at Minnesota.
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Post by jjkuenzel on Jan 2, 2007 0:15:16 GMT -6
Whether the Gophers do or do not turn into year in and year out top tier big 10 team is irrelevant because that is now the goal. Maybe Gophers fans having been spoiled by the relative success Mason brought, but that is where things are at now. Mason certainly raised the bar, but he may have raised it beyond his own reach.
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Post by mnpasso on Jan 2, 2007 8:15:03 GMT -6
Coach Mason raised the bar - no doubt! There are several issues that he brought on himself though. First, the collapses and there have been many. I believe the big one was the Michigan collapse. That was their chance to turn their biggest corner. It was a defensive collapse and horrendous offensive thought process to run out the clock for an entire half vs. Michigan. Coach Mason had a "slim to none" rating for his relationship with the MN high school football coaches. He was good at burning bridges and then blaming everyone else. (Remember, they lost to Michigan, couldn't regroup the next week vs. Michigan St and then blamed the fans that they didn't get to go to the Alamo Bowl that year!!) 1 or 2 highly respected assistants did a great job of keeping the relationship alive with the MN high school coaches despite Coach Mason. Another example is their spring clinic. Poor attendance with minimal effort on their part. I'll throw it out there that he is not a treat to work for. Look at the turnstile of assistants that have been through during his tenure, especially defensive assistants. Look at how many took lesser jobs to leave. Lastly, defense! They were good for a only a couple of years (a few years back) and then were never able to get close to that again. As far as the Texas Tech game, deer in the headlight play calling once again, and the law of averages says Texas Tech will erupt at some point when you are 115th in the country in defense! Being a national embarrassment on every sports show wasn't going to help recruiting! Lastly, he tried to leave twice (The OSU job was understandable), and then last year wanted to be paid at a level of being in the top 4 coaches in the Big 10.
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Post by airman on Jan 3, 2007 16:14:30 GMT -6
kerry cooks left the gophers last season to come to wisconsin. before he left um assistants each got a $10,000 dollar raise. he went to wisconsin where he made $20,000 more then has base play+10000 bonus raise.
minnesota has always been at the bottom of the big ten pay wise. it is why people come and go.
Heck Notre Dame was not much better tell ty got there.
mn is last in revenue in the big ten for football teams. even northwestern makes more.
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