Minnesota Sports Forum

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:Fleck is here to try to succeed in the BIG 10 and then move to a big program. I'm not necessarily against it, but that's what's going to happen. Let's just hope we can keep him for 3 years for some stability and we keep going up so the next guy is a good pickup as well.

Pretty much.

Worst case: Tim Brewster v2.0
Best case: He's legit. And builds the foundation for a legit program for the next guy as he skips out of town for an even bigger, more prominent payday.

What if he builds the Gophers to be the next Michigan State type program? Could it be possible he stays? Just throwing out a bit of counterpoint.

It's possible. I just find it highly unlikely.

Harbaugh is making $9M. Do you think the U of M ever reaches the level to be among the nation's leaders for coaches salaries?

It's a worthwhile consideration. It seems MN has been willing to pay up for some guys lately to some extent. The Big 10 could easily be set up to be an even bigger money maker than it already is. That could mean more money to pay a football coach even at MN.

I'm biased towards the big 10 since so keep up with it way more than any other conference espcially since I live in Lincoln AND I pay attention to more than just basketball and football programs but it SEEMS to me there is some real movement towards being the Big10 being more than just one of the power 5 conferences it's looking to jump higher. We will see. Some programs in the money sports seem to be on the rise including the Gopher football team. We will see.

monsterpile wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:Fleck is here to try to succeed in the BIG 10 and then move to a big program. I'm not necessarily against it, but that's what's going to happen. Let's just hope we can keep him for 3 years for some stability and we keep going up so the next guy is a good pickup as well.

Pretty much.

Worst case: Tim Brewster v2.0
Best case: He's legit. And builds the foundation for a legit program for the next guy as he skips out of town for an even bigger, more prominent payday.

What if he builds the Gophers to be the next Michigan State type program? Could it be possible he stays? Just throwing out a bit of counterpoint.

It's possible. I just find it highly unlikely.

Harbaugh is making $9M. Do you think the U of M ever reaches the level to be among the nation's leaders for coaches salaries?

It's a worthwhile consideration. It seems MN has been willing to pay up for some guys lately to some extent. The Big 10 could easily be set up to be an even bigger money maker than it already is. That could mean more money to pay a football coach even at MN.

I'm biased towards the big 10 since so keep up with it way more than any other conference espcially since I live in Lincoln AND I pay attention to more than just basketball and football programs but it SEEMS to me there is some real movement towards being the Big10 being more than just one of the power 5 conferences it's looking to jump higher. We will see. Some programs in the money sports seem to be on the rise including the Gopher football team. We will see.

Maybe. I've lost interest in college sports a bit because of the mad dash for cash by these larger and larger conferences. We get it... it's about the money.

That's fair. I get it.

Except when it's not convenient to be about the money... then it's all about the student athlete experience and all that soft fuzzy stuff that they market to the masses. It's too disingenuous for me. Too obvious.

I was listening to the press conference as I was driving around town. Man, this guy needs to lay off the caffeine...talk about wound up! He is certainly high energy, but spews out clichés worse than Brewster...I think the media is going to have a field day with this guy!

But ultimately we just need him to be able to win...to recruit, scheme, coach up and game manage. If he can do that at a very high level, the media may chuckle about his gee whiz exuberance, but the fan base will be delighted!

longstrangetrip wrote:I was listening to the press conference as I was driving around town. Man, this guy needs to lay off the caffeine...talk about wound up! He is certainly high energy, but spews out clichés worse than Brewster...I think the media is going to have a field day with this guy!

But ultimately we just need him to be able to win...to recruit, scheme, coach up and game manage. If he can do that at a very high level, the media may chuckle about his gee whiz exuberance, but the fan base will be delighted!

Ugh... but to be fair... it doesn't matter what works for a slightly cantankerous basketball rube like me... as long as it works for 18 - 22 year old kids from another generation.

I was just ripped on for being "old" by one of my coworkers. And I'm now going to fully embrace my bitterness...

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:I was listening to the press conference as I was driving around town. Man, this guy needs to lay off the caffeine...talk about wound up! He is certainly high energy, but spews out clichés worse than Brewster...I think the media is going to have a field day with this guy!

But ultimately we just need him to be able to win...to recruit, scheme, coach up and game manage. If he can do that at a very high level, the media may chuckle about his gee whiz exuberance, but the fan base will be delighted!

Ugh... but to be fair... it doesn't matter what works for a slightly cantankerous basketball rube like me... as long as it works for 18 - 22 year old kids from another generation.

I was just ripped on for being "old" by one of my coworkers. And I'm now going to fully embrace my bitterness...

Ha, I actually thought of you when I listened to him...this guy is going to drive you up the wall!

I don't think Minnesota is the caliber of program to keep an up and coming coach if he proves himself in the next three years and it's not a money thing. Guys like him usually want to get to the top of the totem pole, not settle in around the middle. It's a prestige issue more than a money issue. Legendary college coaches are not made at Minnesota. They are made at big time programs which is why guys like this work their way up to the top and either become king of the mountain or they fail trying. If he had any ties to us I would think there was a chance to keep him, but without those ties I just don't see it happening. There's almost always a better program out there that is looking for the next big coach and those jobs just weren't there on this round of hires for him after Texas was filled.

The outside factor might be at play here. If he kills it here and we offer the same money he might have to take it due to his Ex-wife.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:Fleck is here to try to succeed in the BIG 10 and then move to a big program. I'm not necessarily against it, but that's what's going to happen. Let's just hope we can keep him for 3 years for some stability and we keep going up so the next guy is a good pickup as well.

Pretty much.

Worst case: Tim Brewster v2.0
Best case: He's legit. And builds the foundation for a legit program for the next guy as he skips out of town for an even bigger, more prominent payday.

What if he builds the Gophers to be the next Michigan State type program? Could it be possible he stays? Just throwing out a bit of counterpoint.

It's possible. I just find it highly unlikely.

Harbaugh is making $9M. Do you think the U of M ever reaches the level to be among the nation's leaders for coaches salaries?

It's a worthwhile consideration. It seems MN has been willing to pay up for some guys lately to some extent. The Big 10 could easily be set up to be an even bigger money maker than it already is. That could mean more money to pay a football coach even at MN.

I'm biased towards the big 10 since so keep up with it way more than any other conference espcially since I live in Lincoln AND I pay attention to more than just basketball and football programs but it SEEMS to me there is some real movement towards being the Big10 being more than just one of the power 5 conferences it's looking to jump higher. We will see. Some programs in the money sports seem to be on the rise including the Gopher football team. We will see.

Maybe. I've lost interest in college sports a bit because of the mad dash for cash by these larger and larger conferences. We get it... it's about the money.

That's fair. I get it.

Except when it's not convenient to be about the money... then it's all about the student athlete experience and all that soft fuzzy stuff that they market to the masses. It's too disingenuous for me. Too obvious.

Yeah and it's kinda funny when some people whine about pro sports for some of the same reasons but tout college sports.

There are always athletes at any level that are worth cheering for because it seems clear they would be out there playing regardless of the benefits afforded to them.

It's also fun watching some college sports with athletes that likely won't find a big paycheck when they are done playing that sport in college. For some of those teams the atmosphere is more what College sports probably should be about. It's tough to complain about players schools business making loads of money though obviously. I mean a big part of going to college is making more money right? It's not like people go into some vocations JUST because they love the idea of that job. Making some nice money at the end sure is a motivator also.

Jeez, I really want to be cynical about this Fleck guy, but I have to admit he's growing on me. He's at Williams Arena tonight for the OSU game, and he's all over the place...firing up the crowd with a megaphone, tossing plates to the Red Dragon on her unicycle, and doing a high-energy interview with the play by play guys. He misuses the word "elite" way too often ("How are you doing, Coach Fleck?" "I'm doing elite")...come on, PJ! But the guy actually looks like he might have some sincerity, which I wouldn't have thought from his press conference. Maybe this guy is the guy who can bring our football program back to national prominence. Wouldn't that be great?

In any event, it's fun having a football coach and basketball coach whose combined age is only 2/3 of Sid Hartman!

longstrangetrip wrote:Jeez, I really want to be cynical about this Fleck guy, but I have to admit he's growing on me. He's at Williams Arena tonight for the OSU game, and he's all over the place...firing up the crowd with a megaphone, tossing plates to the Red Dragon on her unicycle, and doing a high-energy interview with the play by play guys. He misuses the word "elite" way too often ("How are you doing, Coach Fleck?" "I'm doing elite")...come on, PJ! But the guy actually looks like he might have some sincerity, which I wouldn't have thought from his press conference. Maybe this guy is the guy who can bring our football program back to national prominence. Wouldn't that be great?

In any event, it's fun having a football coach and basketball coach whose combined age is only 2/3 of Sid Hartman!

"I'm doing elite" is that some new synthetic drug the kids are doing these days? Maybe that would explain some things.