Minnesota played under a microscope all season, and the close inspection revealed that the program is healthy and still in great shape moving into the future with Tracy Claeys.
And after he officially shed the interim tag a year ago, it’s now safe to get rid of the unofficial one that followed him around this season in what seemed to be an extended audition. All he did was guide the Gophers to eight wins, a fifth consecutive appearance in the postseason and a campaign that was competitive all the way until the final weekend. It's clear that Claeys stamped his claim on the full-time job and silenced the skeptics.