Author: David Shama

The Vikings lost a game and perhaps their season in Chicago yesterday.  The Vikings, now with a 3-6 record, lost to the Bears in a game that last week Minnesota players were describing as “huge” in determining their fate.

Running back Toby Gerhart’s comments last Thursday were typical. “We need this win. …This is an NFC North opponent.  We’re trying to make a run halfway through the season now.  Make a run and establish ourselves and try to win the NFC North and get into the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl.”

By 3:15 p.m. yesterday the Vikings were looking up in the NFC standings at not only the 6-3 Bears but also the 6-3 Packers who come to Minneapolis next Sunday.  On KFAN Radio’s postgame show reporter Greg Coleman told coach Brad Childress the Vikings’ loss puts the team in “a tough hole to dig out of.”

“No question,” Childress said. “Weren’t good enough today. …Hats off to the Bears. They were able to do things we weren’t.”

Those “things” included moving the ball on offense and scoring points.  After trailing 14-10 at the half, the Vikings produced only three more points in a 27-13 loss.

It was nothing new but again in this game Vikings problems were exposed including an ineffective offensive line that neither run blocked or pass blocked enough to sustain drives and help generate points.  Adrian Peterson ran for only 51 yards and quarterback Brett Favre was often under pressure, seldom able to throw long.

Favre’s receivers had no better a day than the linemen.  Dropped passes characterized part of the problem and so too did receivers slipping to the ground leading to two Favre interceptions.

By game’s end Favre was working with a second string group of receivers because Percy Harvin was injured in the second half and Bernard Berrian (seldom reliable this season) sat out the game with a groin injury.  Sidney Rice, out all season after hip surgery, might be back to face the Packers but the Vikings missed him yesterday when they finished the game with Greg Lewis, Greg Camarillo and Hank Baskett.

In the we have seen this before “file” were pass coverage problems by the secondary.  Among those struggling was rookie cornerback Chris Cook who was criticized by Coleman in the second quarter.  “His confidence is shot,” Coleman said.

By late yesterday afternoon you wondered if the team’s season, with seven games to play, was shot, too.

Will Brady Hoke be a finalist for the Gophers football coaching job?

There may be more common sense reasons why Hoke could be a finalist than anyone else the Gophers will seriously consider.  It’s not known whether San Diego State’s head coach is interested or if Minnesota is in pursuit but it is likely the answer to both questions is yes.

Hoke’s resume is appealing and presumably so is his availability.  It’s likely Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi prefers candidates with previous college head coaching experience and Hoke, 52, has impressed at San Diego State and previously at Ball State.

He’s in his second season coaching the Aztecs, now with a 7-3 record after last Saturday’s 40-35 loss to national title contender TCU in Fort Worth.  San Diego State also lost to nationally ranked Missouri by only three points in Columbia.  The Aztecs were 4-8 last season, a two game improvement over 2008.  With two games remaining on the schedule, the seven wins total surpasses the previous 11 seasons.

At Ball State Hoke’s last team was 12-1 and ranked in the national polls for the first time in school history, rising to No. 12 at one point.  Just like he’s doing at San Diego State, Hoke’s record improved at Ball State and in his last four seasons he won four, five, seven and then 12 games.

San Diego State and Ball State are difficult places to turn out winners.  At San Diego State the Aztecs draw miniscule crowds, the athletic department loses money and turmoil has sometimes characterized the department.

Hoke’s salary last year was $676,800, according to https://college-football-coaches.findthebest.com/detail/79/Brady-Hoke.  Mountain West Conference coaches can’t earn anything close to what those in the Big Ten make because of smaller school and league revenues.

Offering Hoke a salary of over $1 million per year looks like big money compared to San Diego State, yet would probably be far less than what other finalists for the Gophers job will demand.  But in addition to money, Hoke could be attracted to returning to the Midwest where he not only coached Ball State but also spent eight seasons at Michigan.

Maturi likes to talk about the “right fit” when he has coaching openings.  Hoke’s Midwestern and Big Ten background is attractive.  He was associate head coach at Michigan and knows the Big Ten area, a plus for coaching and recruiting.

Hoke is intriguing, too, because of the reputation he and his staff have for teaching.  Better instruction will improve the performance of players regardless of talent.  Hoke’s assistant coaches include former Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Sipe, offensive coordinator Al Borges and defensive coordinator Rocky Long.  Borges has over 20 years experience as an offensive coordinator and Long had a solid record as New Mexico’s head coach where his teams were exceptional in rushing defense.

A former high school coach in the San Diego area emailed Sports Headliners about Hoke, describing him as a “great candidate” for the Gophers job.  The ex-coach said Hoke’s priorities are the kicking game, defense, running the ball and then passing. A lot of people who know football believe that is the formula to win at Minnesota, a program which for the better part of 40 years has been subpar defensively.

Before coming to Minnesota, Maturi was athletic director at a Mid-American Conference school, Miami of Ohio, and a Ball State rival.  Maturi might have a pipeline of information from his MAC contacts that could further persuade him to pursue Hoke.  Maturi is under a lot pressure to make the right hire and the better his information about a candidate, the better his comfort level.  That all could be an edge for Hoke.

What Hoke has going against him, though, is he’s never been a head coach at a BCS conference school.  And that’s a detriment to his resume because the Gophers minimize the risk in who they hire if they can attract a proven winner from one of the six BCS conferences.

Not convinced?  Except for Jim Wacker, who came from TCU and the now defunct Southwest Conference, all of the Gophers most productive coaches for the last 50 years were previously head coaches at major programs.  The least successful included Joe Salem from Northern Arizona, John Gutekunst who had been Minnesota’s defensive coordinator and Tim Brewster, a former NFL and college assistant with no head coaching experience.

Despite speculation last week, it’s very unlikely the Gophers will commit to an eight- year deal with a new coach.  That’s just too many years and too much risk unless Minnesota has the opportunity to land the highest of high profile coaches.

Minnesota’s Adam Weber made a record 49^th consecutive career start for a Big Ten quarterback last Saturday at Illinois.  The record has been verified by the Minnesota sports information department.  Department officials also said Weber will become one of three players in conference history to start 50 games when he plays his final game on November 27 at home against Iowa.  The two others are former defensive linemen, Ohio State’s Luke Fickell (1993-96) and Iowa’s Matt Kroul (2005-08).

The last three seasons have been difficult for the Gophers when they didn’t have wide receiver Eric Decker.  In Decker’s junior season, 2008, Minnesota didn’t win its last three games after he was injured.  Last year the Gophers won two of five games after he was injured, ending a disappointing senior season.  This year the Gophers have all kinds of problems even without Decker but he was so talented the argument could be made the Gophers might have won a few more games with their record setting receiver.  The Gophers are 4-15 in a three-year period without him.

The Minnesota State High School League continues to consider TCF Bank Stadium as a future site for the Prep Bowl but nothing is definitive, according to executive director Dave Stead. He said the challenge is finding dates that match the league’s needs with stadium availability. This year’s Prep Bowl will be at Mall of America Field November 26 and 27 (Minnesota-Iowa game, TCF Bank Stadium).

Last year the Prep Bowl and other tournament football games generated revenues of $832,792.  During the 2009-10 school year boys hockey tournament games generated the most money among all league activities, $1,352,025.  A large portion of revenues from league sponsored tournaments is used for tourney operating costs and also sent to participating schools to pay for expenses.

Stead spoke in Bloomington last week to the C.O.R.E.S group that includes many former educators and coaches.  C.O.R.E.S. is an abbreviation for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.   The group’s next meeting is January 13.

Jessica Aney not only excels in tennis, but also hockey. The diminutive 12-year-old seventh grader finished second this fall to Rochester Century teammate Kelsey Frechette in the Class AA singles championship.  Aney is also expected to have an outstanding season playing for Century’s girls hockey team.  She was recently named the 2010 Sports Illustrated Kids Sports Kid of the Year.

Dick Jonckowski is starting his 25^th year as Gophers public address announcer for men’s basketball.  His niece is Michelle Beisner, sideline reporter for the NFL Network.

Chicago’s Joakim Noah is no longer a fan of former Timberwolves superstar Kevin Garnett now in his fourth season with Boston. https://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=5789761