First-year University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle fired football coach Tracy Claeys and most of the team's assistants Tuesday while calling for a cultural overhaul in Gophers sports.
Coyle gave a blistering assessment of the football program, which has been engulfed in turmoil for three weeks, and declared Tuesday night a need for more "integrity and class" across athletics.
Gophers football has been roiling since Dec. 13, when Coyle suspended 10 players in connection with an alleged Sept. 2 sexual assault. The players responded with a two-day boycott, and Claeys publicly supported their stance, pitting him against the administration.
The Gophers ended their boycott and upset Washington State in the Holiday Bowl last week, finishing 9-4 in their best season since 2003. But a week later, Coyle made the decision to fire Claeys while eyeing sweeping change.
"When I was hired six months ago, I committed to everyone that we would have a program that competed at the highest level academically, athletically and socially," Coyle said. "With that as my foundation, I thought it was in the best long-term interest of our football program to make this change now."
Coyle reversed course after saying in late-November that Claeys and his staff would be back for next season. The players changed the equation Dec. 13 when they decided to boycott despite their coach telling them it could cost him his job.
Before informing Claeys on Tuesday, Coyle spent five hours meeting with University President Eric Kaler, Board of Regents Chairman Dean Johnson, Regents Vice Chairman David McMillan, general counsel Douglas Peterson and other school officials.
Coyle said he made the decision to fire Claeys himself and thanked Kaler and the others for their support.