Maturi is in over his head

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 01/18/2006

Nothing exposes an athletic program more than a bowl game. It clearly defines where you’re at, where you’ve been, and in many cases, where you’re going.

I was there December 29, 2006, in Tempe , Arizona , to witness the greatest bowl collapse in the history of college football when the Gophers blew a 38-7 third-quarter lead, losing to Texas Tech 44-41. Having witnessed that, I must conclude that Joel Maturi has created a major mess at the University of Minnesota and is in way over his head as athletic director at the U of M.

He has completely bungled the handling of both the men’s basketball and football coaching situations. Dan Monson should have been fired last spring, but Maturi got cold feet and simply choked and let this guy stick around through the summer and start another year knowing full well Monson was way in over his head. Look at his record. Anybody who has watched Monson on the job since he took over for Clem Haskins could clearly see he was not cutting it. Now the U of M has to pay him nearly $2 million.

Then Maturi fires Glen Mason after 10 years and after giving him a five-year contract extension before last season. In Mason’s situation, just like Monson’s, all you had to do was look at his Big-Ten record. Mason, 32-48 in the Big Ten, walks with the U of M owing him $4 million.

If you coach in the Big Ten and you can’t win in the Big Ten — as Monson and Mason clearly proved of themselves over a long period of time — then how did Maturi justify re-signing both of these guys in the first place? Being the first athletic director to oversee both the men’s and women’s programs, Maturi has a standard that points to an inability to measure success and failure.

Considering that he is a graduate of Notre Dame, a school that has lost an NCAA-record nine straight bowl games, maybe — just maybe — Maturi has lost his sense of logic.

Fitz Notes & Quotes

Some Minnesotans actually believe and hope that Flip Saunders, former Timberwolves coach, will leave the NBA Detroit Pistons and $4 million a year to return to Minnesota , coach at his alma mater, and run the U of M men’s basketball program. Saunders has two years left on his current guaranteed deal with Detroit .

Some Minnesotan’s also believe that Tony Dungy, who has led his teams (Tampa Bay and Indianapolis) to the NFL playoffs eight years in a row, second-best all-time, will leave Indianapolis if he makes a Super Bowl run with Peyton Manning and the Colts, becoming the first Black head coach to reach the big game, return to coach at his alma mater, and run the Gopher football program.

Gopher boosters, read this carefully: If you want to make a statement and show how truly committed you are in the Land of 10,000 Lakes to your beloved failing athletic program, do what Alabama did and offer Dungy an eight-year, $32 million guaranteed contract. Or, offer Saunders an eight-year, $17 million deal.

I know both men very well; those are offers they would not refuse. If you really love this dormant athletic program as you say you do, just do it!