IS THIS THE YEAR FOR THE GOPHERS?

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted mm/dd/2005

 

 Years ago, when I worked for KFAN, I jokingly told my broadcast partner Eric Nelson  that the Gopher Football program was in such bad shape that they would not go to the Rose Bowl in my lifetime. It’s been more than 12 years, and the Gophers have not been close.

 

Call it the curse of Memorial Stadium, when the powers that be decided to destroy the historic site and move downtown to the Metrodome. Glen Mason, the current head football coach, has done a good job. His record is a respectable 51-45 since 1997, and the team’s gone to five straight bowl games — winning three — including last year 20-16 over Alabama.

 

 Mason believes he has another good football team, and they’ve established that they can run the football with the best teams in the nation.

 

Marion Barber III, the other half of the dynamic backfield, is now in the NFL, but the talented Laurence Maroney — a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate — should carry the load this season. He has rushed for 1,348 and 1,121 yards the last two seasons.

 

Maroney is a big time back, displaying great speed and averaging over 6 yards a carry. The Gophers start their season this Thursday, September 1 at Tulsa, on ESPN 2 at 9:15 pm. Mason is looking for a fat contract extension — one to rival other Big Ten Conference coaches — but so far, the U of M has not met his desire.

 

The question is why? After all, this is his ninth season. “I have great respect for Glen Mason and what he’s accomplished here,” said Athletic Director Joel Maturi. “People need to go back nine years ago and before that to remember how dismal the Gophers were. I was born and raised a Gopher and have always followed them.

 

“Quite frankly, it was almost an embarrassment —  and not just in terms of not winning — we were not even being competitive in many instances. Coach [Mason] has come here and made us competitive, and has gotten us to Bowl games.

 

“He has not cheated in the process, which I think is important for us to understand as well. He has raised the level and raised the bar. He would be the first I think to admit we have not gotten to that January 1 bowl, and there are three of them in the Big Ten. We aspire to get there and no one is more disappointed than he [that we haven’t]. We need to try to find a way to get us there.”

 

The Gophers play all of their top rivals this season at Iowa and Michigan, and at home against Ohio State and Wisconsin. If the Gophers were to win those four games, Mason would be in a tremendous bargaining position.

 

“Glen has two years left on his contract,” said Maturi. “This obviously is an important year to him, and very important to all of us. It’s just a situation that I need to evaluate every aspect of as I do with all of our coaches. A couple of them have one year, some have two years, some have longer.

 

“Obviously, the press is making a big thing of it. Glen and I spoke somewhat two years ago after a very successful season. We could not come to any real agreement. We spoke again at the end of last year, and there was no real agreement as to where we were going to go. I don’t feel that there is a sense of urgency now. I think there will be certainly at the end of the season. I don’t believe that recruiting is being effected at this time.

 

“We’ve got a good freshman recruiting class that we’ve felt good about that came here, and obviously, probably the decision will be made on what length of and extension would be made prior to the recruiting being finalized in February of 2006.”

 

Have the Gophers reached a crossroads that is critical to Mason staying or not staying? Maturi said, “The crossroads hasn’t been met in August. I think that we all know that this is an important season, but I think every season is important and we will utilize it as such. It’s not just about winning, it’s not just about how many people in the stands. There are lots of factors that go into evaluating coaches, and I do that each and every year.

 

“You need to remember, and I’m not implying that this is the case here, but when you negotiate a contract, maybe I offer somebody an extension and it’s not as many years as somebody wants.

 

“Maybe I offer them a salary but it’s not as high as they want. Maybe they want some perks that I am or am not willing to give. There’s lots that goes in; it’s not just a matter of you’ve got a two year or five year extension.

 

“And I think two years ago we had some impasse. That does not mean that I did not want him as our football coach and it does not mean that I don’t want him as our football coach  now.”

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