Mark Coyle was announced as the University of Minnesota's athletic director on May 11, 2016. The introduction was highlighted by University President Eric Kaler ripping the state of the men's basketball program, which had suspensions for off-court behavior and the worst record (8-23) in 120 years on the court.
Approaching two years later, there's some surprise that among the highest-profile coaches, only the men's basketball coach — Richard Pitino — has survived.
Coyle fired Tracy Claeys after a 9-4 season in 2016, offering a couple of clichéd reasons for this, but doing so because the empty seats told him a large man with a low-key public personae couldn't sell football in this crowded sports market.
Then, in a period of 22 days starting on March 21, this came to pass:
• Coyle agreed to pay Don Lucia in full for 2018-19 to facilitate his departure as men's hockey coach, and replaced him with St. Cloud State's highly regarded Bob Motzko.
• Marlene Stollings received an offer to be the women's basketball coach at Texas Tech, Coyle basically told her "don't let the door hit you,'' and promptly hired beloved, untested Lindsay Whalen.
Coyle has the personality of a beige wall in public, and enjoys releasing statements over answering questions. He also took credit with Kaler for ending the brief walkout in December 2016 by the Gophers' football team, when the decisive outreach to the athletes involved neither of them.
What Coyle has been is aggressive in remaking the coaching staff.
