The Minnesota Golden Gophers have fired head football coach Tracy Claeys after just one full season with the team, according to multiple reports.
Can confirm reports. Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys has been fired, a person w/ knowledge of situation told @USATODAYsports. Story coming.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) January 3, 2017
This news comes exactly one week after Minnesota won the Holiday Bowl with a 17-12 win over Washington State, pushing them to a 9-4 record on the season.
However, the Minnesota made the most news when the entire team boycotted all football activities prior to the Holiday Bowl in order to protest the suspensions of 10 players for the game. Dan Wolken of USA Today reported that boycott played a major role in why Minnesota made the move now.
This was percolating well before the boycott, but the boycott gave Minnesota the opening it needed to make the move.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 3, 2017
Claeys took over as interim head coach in 2015 when Jerry Kill retired for health reasons, coaching the final six games of the season. In a season in a half with the Gophers, he went 11-8 with a 6-8 record in the Big Ten.
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