McKinley Boston told Sports Headliners during a telephone interview last week that he tried to hire Bob Stoops as Gophers football coach when Boston was Minnesota’s athletic director.

The Gophers were floundering after the 1995 season under coach Jim Wacker.  Wacker was 3-8 in 1995 and had won just seven Big Ten games in four seasons at Minnesota after Boston had hired him away from TCU.  The “Air Wacker” show was a success offensively, but the Gophers defense was a “bomb.”

Boston, now athletic director at New Mexico State, comes to town this week for Saturday’s game between the Aggies and Gophers.  He talked last Friday about his memories at Minnesota, where he played for the Gophers from 1964-67, and later served as athletic director and then as University vice president for student affairs.

Boston said back in the mid-1990s he had the commitment of governor Arne Carlson, University president Nils Hasselmo and Minnesota’s Board of Regents to take Gophers football “back to the glory days” of the 1960s.  “We knew the (public) perception that we were not committed (to improving football),” Boston said.

Stoops, then the defensive coordinator for coach Steve Spurrier at Florida, was one of the hottest young names in college coaching.  The Gophers were prepared to offer a $1 million per season salary, far above the going rate at that time for a big time head coach.

Spurrier, though, advised his young assistant (35) to wait another season, predicting the Gators would win a national championship in 1996 and Stoops could have his pick of head coaching jobs.  Stoops, who knew the Big Ten from playing and later coaching at Iowa, was also incentivized to stay at Florida by a $500,000 raise, according to Boston.  “If Spurrier doesn’t do what he did, I think we get him,” Boston said.

Oklahoma hired Stoops after the 1998 season and in 2000 he won the national championship.  His record at Oklahoma is among the best in the country and he’s won seven Big 12 titles.

Wacker was allowed to coach one more season at Minnesota after the Stoops mission failed, finishing 1996 with a 1-7 conference record, 4-7 overall.  By then Boston had moved into academic administration at the U and Gophers athletic director Mark Dienhart hired Glen Mason from Kansas as head football coach.

Boston has been athletic director at New Mexico State since December of 2004.  He hired Hal Mumme whose passing circus was similar to Wacker’s and so was his record, never having a winning season with the Aggies.  Now Boston’s coach is DeWayne Walker who played for the Gophers in 1980-81 and was defensive coordinator at UCLA before going to New Mexico State.  Walker’s first two seasons have been difficult, winning five games and losing 20.  Both New Mexico State and Minnesota are historically known as challenging places to win football games.

“I am very optimistic about this season,” Boston said last week.  “This is his (Walker’s) third year.  There’s a lot of chemistry and a lot of discipline.”

Boston, 65, plans to continue at New Mexico State for another “four or five years.”  This week will likely be his only return to Minneapolis as AD watching the Aggies since Minnesota and New Mexico State aren’t scheduled to play beyond this season.

On Friday night a lot of Boston’s Minnesota friends will gather for a homecoming party at J.D. Hoyt’s downtown.  “Minnesota was home for a long time,” Boston said.  “I spent a total of 15-16 years there.  Lots of friends and lots of memories.  I am looking forward to it (coming back).”

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There will be no more NFL comebacks for quarterback Brett Favre, according to his close friend Ryan Longwell, the Vikings placekicker.

Favre has had the public in never say never mode since leaving the Green Bay Packers after the 2007 season.  The offseason drama reached a peak last August when Longwell was part of a Vikings group who travelled to Favre’s home in Mississippi asking him to play a second season for the Vikings rather than retire again.

Longwell, Favre, and their wives have been friends for years.  The two played together in Green Bay and with the Vikings including the memorable 2009 season when Favre threw 33 touchdown passes, only seven interceptions and had a career high 107.2 passer rating.  The 12-4 regular season Vikings were within a couple plays of making it to the Super Bowl.

The NFL season opens in a few days but Longwell told Sports Headliners not to expect Favre to play the hero for an NFL team in need of last minute quarterback help.  “No,” Longwell said. “Not one ounce of one percent.  No chance.”

Last winter Favre and wife Deanna left their home in Mississippi to visit Longwell and his wife Sarah near Orlando.  The two men “talked a lot,” although they didn’t play golf as they often do.

Longwell said his former teammate, who turns 42 next month, has made a “good transition into life after football.”  Favre is happy being at home in Mississippi.

“He’s great,” Longwell said. “He’s at peace.  He’s at home, enjoying the ranch, enjoying his family like he should.”

How does Favre feel about his time with the Vikings including last season’s difficult 6-10 season?  “I think he’s very proud of them (those two seasons),” Longwell answered. “He should be.  He played the best quarterback in the NFL two years ago in ‘09.  There was no one better, and then last year there were a lot of extenuating things that it didn’t matter if you were the quarterback or the kicker, you had little control over them.  It was different here last year, but he valued his time and was very proud of what he did for two years because he played amazingly well.”

Among the Vikings’ struggles last year were Favre’s injuries.  He had 11 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions with a 69.9 passer rating.

Longwell was asked if the punishment of all those NFL seasons has left Favre with a particular physical malady.  “Yeah, I mean everything.  Nothing in particular,” Longwell said. “Just banged up from playing that position for 20 years in the NFL.”

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New Mexico State didn’t justify Boston’s optimism for the opening game, losing at home to Ohio 44-24.  The Aggies defense gave up 245 yards rushing to an Ohio team expected to be a MAC East Division title contender.  The Aggies were 2-10 last season.

Gophers coach Jerry Kill said at his weekly news conference today that Saturday’s game against USC showed that both starter MarQueis Gray and his backup, Max Shortell, are “capable of playing.”  Gray, a junior, remains the starter but Kill was asked if there is a quarterback controversy following Saturday’s strong relief performance by Shortell, a freshman.  “No, I don’t think so,” Kill said.

Kill said linebacker Brendan Beal won’t play next Saturday against New Mexico State because of a lingering knee injury.  It might be weeks before the sophomore plays again.  Another sophomore linebacker, Aaron Hill, is “questionable” for Saturday because of a hamstring injury, according to Kill.

The coach said he may continue to use running back Lamonte Edwards in pass rushing situations as was done at USC last week.

Ryan Longwell ranks 14^th all-time in NFL field goals with 339.  The Vikings kicker is 15^th in points, 1,583.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, who Sports Illustrated lists as a leading candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, was recruited by ACC schools for basketball while in high school in Cincinnati.

Vikings defensive tackle Letroy Guion is an avid outdoorsman and aspires to be a game warden after his football career.

Don’t be surprised if the NBA players union caves in its labor dispute with ownership.  Are there too many players who need their regular paychecks for the union to delay the start of the season?

Twins infielder-outfielder Trevor Plouffe has committed six errors this season, five at shortstop, one at second base.

The Twins, who had one hit in a 4-0 loss to the White Sox last night, have scored only 21 runs in their last 10 home games.  Eleven of the runs came in one game (Detroit, August 28).

The Northwoods League set a new attendance record for summer college baseball this year with a total of 901,652.  Northwoods alumni have joined major league rosters in recent weeks including Minnesota native Steve Edlefsen, now a pitcher with San Francisco.  Edlefsen played high school baseball for Bloomington Jefferson.

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