November 30, 2006 couldn’t have been an easy day for Jim Molinari. The man who recruited him to the Gopher sideline two years ago as a key assistant was invited to use the nearest exit out of Minneapolis. Both men were already reeling from the hangover of a dismal performance at the Old Spice Classic where the Gophers lost three straight to Marist, S. Illinois, and Montana, and then a 22 point drubbing by Clemson at Williams. Molinari’s reward? He gets his friend and colleague’s job with the hunchbacked tag of interim. Being named a head coach in the Big Ten should’ve been the best day of his professional life. But to have it happen this way makes it hard to break out the fizzy stuff and start hugging it out.
In the most challenging of circumstances Molinari has acquitted himself admirably. In short order he has established a new tone for a program that a little over a month ago was in rigor mortis and appeared an absolute lock for the conference basement. Without question this is a program whose recruiting woes and lack of team principles the past few seasons will prevent immediate gratification. But the things Molinari can control at this juncture–effort, attitude, defense, offensive philosophy, identity–are noticeably improved. The degree of competitiveness in the games since Clemson offer unmistakable evidence. The home opening win against a very solid Purdue team shows that Molinari’s approach can even yield big wins from his undermanned squad. That game was won on pride and desire. The team certainly wasn’t yet on strong enough footing to put a scare to the Badgers at the Kohl Center, but you could say the same about most programs in the country. In any case, observers and opponents expecting predetermined results from the Gophers have been forewarned. This team is going to compete.
Give credit also to the Gopher players who seem to be buying into the Molinari regime. “Coaches interruptus” takes the bounce out of everyone’s balls. Loyalty to the outgoing coach, guilt over his departure, and the inevitable internecine politics that arise with the transition can easily poison the locker room. And there were politics. One week into his tenure as head Gopher, Molinari informed fellow Monson holdover Bill Walker that his role as assistant coach was past tense. Walker had seniority on Molinari, having arrived at Monson’s side in 1999, and was referred to as the program’s lead recruiter. Reading the lines and between them it was evident that Molinari and Walker weren’t going to happily coexist:
“If someone takes over a program then what they usually do, whether it’s for three months or for however long I’m here, they get people who are philosophically on the same page,” Molinari said, “I have nothing against Bill, but we are miles apart philosophically.”
The release of Walker demonstrates the kind of take charge attitude you want from a head coach. But it could’ve easily backfired with player mutiny. Especially given that Walker was instrumental in bringing many of them to Minneapolis. But, observing the team’s cohesion and effort against Purdue, and the sound bytes after the thorough whipping in Madison, the team seems to have unified under the new coach. After the loss to the Badgers the Gopher players were uniform in their Molinari-tinged descriptions of a loss of defensive identity and impatience on offense.
And for the overall health of the program, especially vis-a-vis recruiting, the move away from Walker may be sound reasoning. One can’t fault Walker for bringing in Rick Rickert, Kris Humphries and Vince Grier. They were talented players who had tremendous upsides and if better managed, might’ve turned the program around for years to come. But, Walker (and Monson) failed to retain some of the state’s top schoolboys and worse, allowed some to slip to rival Big Ten schools. Kammron Taylor, Isaiah Dahlman, Jon Leuer (’07), Jared Berggren (’08), and Alan Anderson are examples of players that would’ve looked mighty nice in the gold and maroon. Patrick O’Bryant and Cole Aldrich are other notable escapees. The state university of Minnesota should not lose recruiting battles to Bradley. Whomever becomes the next head coach needs to do better.
While it is too soon to make the job offer to Molinari, Minnesota should not let the issue fester into April. And Joel Maturi should also not fall into the trap of chasing a baker’s dozen of sexy, big name coaches. These so-called homerun hires may have the immediate result of good publicity and bandwagon jumping from superficial elements of the alumni and fan base, but often do a huge disservice to the program. Minnesota wants someone who considers the job a destination, someone who won’t be throwing out resumes as soon as he notches a decent season. Maybe there’s a Minnesota version of Bo Ryan or Dick Bennett? That’s the right model to follow.
And maybe Molinari is the guy. A month of conference play is a minimal litmus test. But, judging from the bounce of the program since his arrival, even in the losing efforts, InterJim has earned a more than cursory consideration.
