The stage was really set for Tracy Claeys to succeed Jerry Kill as Gophers football coach, with Minnesota leading Michigan 16-14 at halftime, in university President Eric Kaler's suite at TCF Bank Stadium.
I visited with Kaler, interim athletic director Beth Goetz and Dean Johnson, chairman of the Board of Regents, in the president's suite at the stadium and was given the definite impression that Claeys would soon be offered the job. They were impressed beyond words with the way the Gophers played against then-No. 15 Michigan in an eventual 29-26 loss.
Sources in the know informed me that Claeys, in a visit with Kaler, made a great impression and was no doubt the top candidate for the job. The only way Claeys would not have taken over for Kill would have been if Ohio State ran the Gophers off the field last Saturday by some ridiculous score like 60-0. The Gophers lost to the then top-ranked Buckeyes 28-14.
Kaler, Goetz, Johnson and some other members of the Board of Regents flew to Columbus for the game, and once Claeys showed he could coach two great games against two outstanding teams, the decision was made on the flight back from Columbus last Saturday. On Tuesday afternoon, Claeys was offered the job by Goetz, who brought the contract over and Claeys signed it.
Then early Wednesday morning, a happy group of Gophers football players heard the news before an announcement was made at a 10 a.m. news conference.
Claeys and his staff miss Kill, but they still came within one foot of beating Michigan and they might have upset the Buckeyes had it not been for a reversal of a roughing the passer call on quarterback Mitch Leidner that resulted in an Ohio State touchdown and an offensive interference penalty when the Gophers were moving the ball.
Negotiations went smoothly on the three-year contract, averaging $1.5 million per year ($1.4M next year, plus a $100,000 raise in each of the next two years), with Claeys not using an agent or attorneys. The deal was exactly the same as Kill's first contract.
Claeys was asked when he felt he had the job.