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U of M wrestling under investigation

J Rob has a better chance of doing time than keeping his job. He had a chance to save his reputation and he flinched. He saw the train coming down the track and rather than do the right thing he completely screwed the pooch.
 
Very respectable list.

grappler6 busted me for missing Hahn. Again, we all love Metcalf but it is doubtful he will get serious consideration for the Gopher job. Once he gets a few years of experience he may very well be considered for a job of that stature.
 
I wasn't serious when I said he would get the job, btw. It was more to point that they should keep JRob. I like the direction they're heading...down.
 
I wasn't serious when I said he would get the job, btw. It was more to point that they should keep JRob. I like the direction they're heading...down.
Well I don't. Much better to have a powerful rival next door than half a continent away I think. It's been a great rivalry that's served both schools. Same culture really, just two different versions.

Its sad to see a guy who's given so much to our sport leave under a cloud. In no way do I think JRob acted with bad intent. Maybe the world changed and he didn't get the message.

Assuming he leaves (just guessing), I'd say:
Eggum (unless he's tarred with the same stick)
Morgan (unless he has better things to do)
Hahn (unless he's unwilling to leave a good job for a tough one)
Kish (unless he's considered still too unqualified)
in that order.
There's way too much positive history at Minny to bring in an "outsider." If it is an outsider, he'd have to be "Sanderson" level – a real game changer.
 
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If Jrob is done, I really hope there is an outside hire. I don't think Eggum is the guy to lead the program back to prominence. The rivalry is most enjoyable when both programs are elite. I'd like to see Perry get the job.
 
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I'm more curious, in the short term, as to where the athletes on the team wishing to bail because this will land. The Dardanes ending up in IC might bode well for the Hawks in this regard.
 
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They will go outside the "family" with this hire as the new AD will put his stamp on the program. Look for Bono to end up in Minneapolis
 
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It's quite obvious to me that the program is circling the drain right now. They haven't been able to retain the top in-State kids for a while now, and this won't help alleviate that trend.
As an aside... I'll bet anyone on this or any forum that there is no way in hell Brady Berge ends up in Gopherland. Why would you commit to a program in such disarray?

Eggum has two chances of getting the job if JRob gets shown the door...SLIM and NONE.:p
 
One more thing... it's very unlikely names get released regarding who was involved, but watch which redshirt or current wrestlers leave the program before next school year and you'll have a decent idea about who was involved.

Unless the new AD cleans house, what parents of recruits would send their kids to that drug house aka Gopher wrestling?

Some think the new AD has to clean up the MBB program first, but this just might be a higher priority because of the national coverage this is getting.

This is a bit similar to Bowden and Paterno in that they lost control of their programs in their twilight years. J did some good things for Minnesota, but this could easily erase everything positive he accomplished.
 
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I wouldn't count Eggum out quite yet. The new AD has experience with the wrestling program, having worked at Minny for five or six years a decade ago. Cleaning house might well be forced upon him if this steamrolls, but I would think staying in-house isn't off the table quite yet.
 
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This is a bit similar to Bowden and Paterno in that they lost control of their programs in their twilight years. J did some good things for Minnesota, but this could easily erase everything positive he accomplished.
This is really the most analogous use of those names with respect to what is going on at Minnesota. I have always believed that when many coaches get older, they revert to being grandfathers instead of head coaches because the age of the wrestlers is similar to the age of their grandkids. Tom Coughlin of the NY Giants last year was another example. In the past, he never would have allowed Odell Beckham to get away with his on field antics last year. Jrob was trying to grandfather his kids and that just isn't possible in his position.
 
who could coach should be a new thread? Keep thinking names linked to the investigation will show up here. Who was supplying, dealing, using.
 
I wouldn't count Eggum out quite yet. The new AD has experience with the wrestling program, having worked at Minny for five or six years a decade ago. Cleaning house might well be forced upon him if this steamrolls, but I would think staying in-house isn't off the table quite yet.
Here's where I disagree. You'd have to be blind as a coaching staff for someone to be unaware that this dealing was going on. So that makes EVERY member of the staff culpable. Looking the other way or ignoring certain activity shouldn't be an excuse for anyone on the current staff.

We've all seen how the program has struggled recently. It's possible this drug dealing could somehow be a factor in that.
 
Here's where I disagree. You'd have to be blind as a coaching staff for someone to be unaware that this dealing was going on. So that makes EVERY member of the staff culpable. Looking the other way or ignoring certain activity shouldn't be an excuse for anyone on the current staff.

We've all seen how the program has struggled recently. It's possible this drug dealing could somehow be a factor in that.


Guys, kids using drugs or booze can hide it. It des not mean the coaches were blind or looking the other way. It sounds like when he found out he took some level of action. Everyone posting seems t think they have all the info. Truth is, none of us know what the real deal is. We don't know what he knew or did not. We don't know what he knew as the scope of the problem. We have what a kid told a paper. I believe that until the whole truth comes out he is owed the benefit of the doubt. Assuming he is going to jail or fired is very premature. If something more has come out that I am not aware of fine. But until then it is just piling on a rumor.
 
What I have gleamed from reading multiple sites is that J is pretty far removed from the day to day operations of the program. More of a CEO arrangement. This is why the problems might have not been addressed earlier. The rumors floating around are common until someone digs deeper.

However... With basically the entire staff being Minny alums, there could very well have been attempts to cover up transgressions or handle them in-house rather than get law enforcement involved until the last moment.

Privacy laws may prevent us from ever getting all the info. But you have to believe the AD can't risk insinuations of a scandal and this type of bad publicity, given the problems with Lil Ricky, aren't a good start to his tenure.

My opinion is that someone will negotiate an arrangement where Robinson exits the program, the AD cleans house, and they hire an entire new staff by next year.

We all know rumors can do more damage to a program than when info is made public. The new AD may not have too many options here.
 
All that makes sense but still...no real information. Just feelings from board messages and logical assumptions. All. Am saying is never bury a guy until he is dead.
 
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Guys, kids using drugs or booze can hide it. It des not mean the coaches were blind or looking the other way. It sounds like when he found out he took some level of action. Everyone posting seems t think they have all the info. Truth is, none of us know what the real deal is. We don't know what he knew or did not. We don't know what he knew as the scope of the problem. We have what a kid told a paper. I believe that until the whole truth comes out he is owed the benefit of the doubt. Assuming he is going to jail or fired is very premature. If something more has come out that I am not aware of fine. But until then it is just piling on a rumor.
Ya Think? I realize this is a big deal to wrestling folks specifically and people want to discuss it, but the speculation on who knew what and when, what they were thinking, etc., is just off the charts nuts.

As for the "Coaches should have known" crowd, your Mom has eyes in the back of her head, no mere mortal Coaching Staff on earth does.
 
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While we specialize in rumors around here... any ideas on who the purported "ex wrestler" might be. The so-to-speak kingpin of the Gopher Cartel?

Any way you slice it... this is a negative to Gopher wrestling. It also gives the Berge family an easier excuse to distance themselves from the Gopher program and join the Hawkeye Express!
 
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What if JRob has done nothing wrong? What if he acted on the Intel he had appropriately? What if based on what he knew, he did the right thing?

What if the whole thing is crap?
Just as likely as everything else said.
 
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What if JRob has done nothing wrong? What if he acted on the Intel he had appropriately? What if based on what he knew, he did the right thing?

What if the whole thing is crap?
Just as likely as everything else said.


Given the level of reporting here it is highly, highly unlikely the "whole thing" is crap. Even if it is conceded that sometimes such stories are proven false this stuff still hits 99.9% of the time or more. So I'm going to have to disagree with your "just as likely" comment.

That said, I don't necessarily disagree with your point that some may be burying J too soon. But this is a discussion and that's what message boards are all about.
 
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all I want to hear is that dardanes were not part of any of this
The early reports suggest some of the wrestlers involved may be redshirt freshmen. Anyone know who the redshirt freshmen at Minny are?;)
 
Not trying to be all high horse here. Just want to add some deserved praise for J amidst all the speculation for who's going to succeed him. He is one of the giants of the sport over the past 45 years, cares deeply about the lives of his wrestlers, and has the noblest of intentions, in my opinion. Whatever decisions he made here were his own, and he doesn't need me to defend him. But if I were creating a list of villains, he'd be pretty far down the list. This is a message board, and I have no issue with this discussion. I just don't want the above to go unsaid at the end of the day.
 
Given the level of reporting here it is highly, highly unlikely the "whole thing" is crap. Even if it is conceded that sometimes such stories are proven false this stuff still hits 99.9% of the time or more. So I'm going to have to disagree with your "just as likely" comment.

That said, I don't necessarily disagree with your point that some may be burying J too soon. But this is a discussion and that's what message boards are all about.


99.9%? You really think it is that high? I agree that smoke has some level if fire but come on. 99.9%. There has been nothing since this broke except reprints. 99.99% of the time stories are WAY over blown as well. Just as likely is spot on. As we have NOTHING, it is just as likely. Not say there is nothing. Discussion is great and all but it has been very directed that a good guy screwed up and should be fired with no evidence. These boards are seen. If it is seem he is guilty of something it will further harm his rep more than maybe it should be. Before we start counting on transfers or who is taking over, let's see if there is a need!
 
Not trying to be all high horse here. Just want to add some deserved praise for J amidst all the speculation for who's going to succeed him. He is one of the giants of the sport over the past 45 years, cares deeply about the lives of his wrestlers, and has the noblest of intentions, in my opinion. Whatever decisions he made here were his own, and he doesn't need me to defend him. But if I were creating a list of villains, he'd be pretty far down the list. This is a message board, and I have no issue with this discussion. I just don't want the above to go unsaid at the end of the day.

So true. But true integrity is measured on the actions of someone when they do not believe people are looking. We've had some pretty big, respected names crumble in the sports world in recent years and I don't have to say their names for you to know who I'm talking about.

That said, I will not pass judgement on J at this point. Seems premature.
 
99.9%? You really think it is that high? I agree that smoke has some level if fire but come on. 99.9%. There has been nothing since this broke except reprints. 99.99% of the time stories are WAY over blown as well. Just as likely is spot on. As we have NOTHING, it is just as likely. Not say there is nothing. Discussion is great and all but it has been very directed that a good guy screwed up and should be fired with no evidence. These boards are seen. If it is seem he is guilty of something it will further harm his rep more than maybe it should be. Before we start counting on transfers or who is taking over, let's see if there is a need!

Fair enough but if we all just sat back and waited for things to play out message boards would be pretty desolate places.
 
Fair enough but if we all just sat back and waited for things to play out message boards would be pretty desolate places.

Most of the time I agree. When it involves a reputation or possible criminal/losing job level, waiting is what we should do.
 
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