Tracey Claeys is a man who has largely spent his college football coaching career outside the spotlight. For 21 years, he followed Jerry Kill from Saginaw Valley State to Emporia State, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois and finally Minnesota.
He learned from Kill how to not only build programs into winners but also to maintain success. So Minnesota's announcement Wednesday that Claeys, the Gophers' defensive coordinator the past five seasons, would take over on a permanent basis did not come as a surprise.
It's also the right move for the immediate future.
Claeys received a three-year contract that will take him through the 2018 season.