Tubby Time Is Up

"You see, we started like this, and then..."

DWG is right that this isn't a time for celebration, but it was definitely the right move to send Tubby packing and move on.  It appears many want to make excuses for Tubby and give him the benefit of the doubt for 6 years of meh; but I'm done giving him a break.  Years ago I was the guy that would laugh at those that called for his head as he dealt with players leaving and injuries and disappointing finishes.

However premature those people were, they weren't necessarily wrong.  I thought this year might be the year that Tubby finally came through on the promise of being a B1G contender and he gave us a tie for 7th place with an 8-10 record?  After going 15-1, they finish out going 6-12?  They sported a 3-8 record on the road?  For all of the big wins this team had, and they had plenty, they doubled up on mediocre and disappointing performances.  Hell, even Dan Monson had two seasons in his chocolate fountain of a tenure where he was above .500 in B1G play.  Tubby never managed to do it and finished 46-62 in the Big Ten overall.  He did manage our first non-abdicated tourney win since 1990, which is pretty awesome.  Basically we haven't done shit since I've had a side-spike unless we were cheating.

Based on the press conference today, Norwood Teague sounds serious about turning this program around.  It's nice to hear some conviction in a time where most are probably ready to help tear down the Barn and sell the pieces for scrap.  Norwood for one is satisfied with getting kicked in the nuts every February and neither am I.  Now we also find out how well Teague can rally the boosters and gather funds as well as conduct a coaching search.  I think many expect a new practice facility and other perks (private jets, yo?) might be part of the pitch to lure a new head coach into Minnesota.  In addition, moving quickly allows the new coach to take a stab at changing some minds in recruiting as well as keeping what players Tubby did sign in the fold.