In my opinion, the fact that Jeff Horton and his fine staff have found a way to beat two of the better teams in the Big Ten -- Illinois and Iowa -- on successive weeks has changed the picture of hiring a new Gophers football coach.
I want the best for the University of Minnesota football program. I'm willing to listen to the reasons Joel Maturi has for not giving Horton a chance. But after checking with some coaches, I am convinced that Maturi, Dave Mona and the people who are going to decide on the new coach will have a hard time finding a better coach and a better staff and a better situation for the school than hiring Horton and his staff for at least two years for a lot less money.
Why would somebody like Brady Hoke of San Diego State (which beat UNLV 48-14 on Saturday to improve to 8-4), who did a good job at Ball State and has had one winning season at his new school, be better than Horton, who knows the personnel here and is an experienced Big Ten coach? And players such as outgoing quarterback Adam Weber and future quarterback MarQueis Gray have come out in favor of Horton being hired. They love and respect the man and want to keep on playing for the same staff. A lack of consistency has been one reason the program has struggled.
Hard to get right coach Among the coaches that I have talked to, one prominent candidate has told me the reasons he wouldn't consider the Gophers job are that, first, he's unfamiliar with new university President Eric Kaler; and second, he doesn't know how long Maturi will be on board as athletic director.
That's a big concern when it comes to this coaching job. And Maturi has only two years remaining on his contract and has not indicated whether he wants to continue after that.
Furthermore, this coaching candidate added that he doesn't consider the Gophers to be a good job and with few openings this year he would delay moving for another year. Yes, a coach looks at the Gophers job and sees that seven coaches have been fired since the 1970s and sees that it's been 43 years since the Gophers won a Big Ten title.
There are more reasons for hiring Horton and his staff, who would be paid less than a new coach would demand. In addition, keeping the current staff would allow for continuity both for the current players and for incoming and future recruits.
As it turned out, the hiring of Tim Brewster turned out to be a mistake if you judge him by his record. At the time Brewster was hired, Texas Christian's Gary Patterson and then-Florida assistant Charlie Strong, now the coach at Louisville, were available.