The first thing you should know about Gopher football coach Glen Mason is that he won’t say something just because it sounds good. Straightforward to a fault, Mason was honest about pursuing the head coaching job at Ohio State in January. A year earlier, he had also told the truth—that he had entertained but rejected offers from Michigan State and Louisiana State University. "I lead with my chin," is how he describes his style. "What you see is what you get."

So when Glen Mason flatly states that he is "done interviewing for jobs," that he intends to end his 29-year coaching career by building a consistent winner at Minnesota, you can believe he means it. "That’s what we’re planning on doing," he says of staying at Minnesota. "I hope so anyway. The only reason I say ‘hope’ is because more and more guys seem to get fired every year."

Mason is far from being fired. In 1997, he took over a team that had not won more than four games in a season since 1990. By 1999 he had the Gophers nationally ranked, won eight games, and went to the Sun Bowl. Last season he coached the team to the Micronpc.com Bowl. He has also maintained a focus on academics and graduation. He has created a climate that not only demands the best effort from everyone—from clerical workers to players to the head coach—but also appreciates and encourages those who respond. Students who don’t, because of grades or attitude or other problems, are allowed to transfer or remain in school quietly, without embarrassment.

His boss, Tom Moe, director of men’s athletics, is unwavering in his praise for Mason—and what it will take to keep him at Minnesota. "I’ve felt from the very first day he was hired that the future of Minnesota football is excellent as long as he remains involved," Moe says. "The burden is on the school, the employer, to create the kind of situation, with the kind of support required, that would encourage the coach to stay right where he is. . . . As long as Glen feels the program is moving forward and the program has the support it needs, I look for him to be here for a long, long time."

Minnesota’s is the third program Mason, 51, has turned around. At Kent State he led the team to its first winning record in a decade in just his second season. That kind of success at a small school doesn’t go unnoticed, and Kansas hired him in 1988. He inherited a program in disarray and won just one game that first year. Five years later the Jayhawks were playing in the Aloha Bowl. They reached 10 wins in 1995 and bigger programs again courted Mason. After a couple of years of rejecting offers, he finally accepted Minnesota’s head coaching job. Word in the media was that he had left some hard feelings behind in Kansas, although some of his on-and-off job searching was due to turmoil in his personal life.

So in early 2000, after the Sun Bowl, Twin Cities sports commentators got nervous when the athletic directors began calling. Fifteen years ago Lou Holtz had left the Gophers for Notre Dame, so

Glen Mason

there was a "here we go again" feeling among many. But until last June, Mason was working without a contract at Minnesota. Once a seven-year deal was finalized, he was not interested in hearing from other schools—until John Cooper was fired and the job at Ohio State, one of the perennial top 10 programs in the business, came open.

Mason has never hidden his love for the Buckeyes. He played under the legendary Woody Hayes, then coached under Hayes and Earle Bruce. "I made no bones about it: I’ve got a great amount of affection for Ohio State. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Ohio State," said Mason shortly after finding out Jim Tressel of Youngstown State would be the Buckeyes’ new coach. "Did I dream about being the head coach there? Sure I did."

At a hastily arranged press conference the day after finding out he would not get the Ohio State job, Mason patiently answered questions about his commitment to Minnesota. "People don’t have to agree with the action I took the last couple of weeks, but I hope they will look and say, ‘Hey, I understand where he’s coming from. He was up front with it,’" he said. "I hope they feel like they had the right guy at the University of Minnesota before this, and I hope they feel like that afterwards and for years to come. . . . I’ll tell you something: This guy is done interviewing for jobs," he continued. "I guess I’ll let my actions speak for themselves and let time judge."

Minnesotans were ready to understand that day. "I had 226 e-mails today," he said at the press conference. "About six had nothing to do with this, and the other 220 were all positive. . . . Minnesota people are very compassionate. They said, ‘We’re sorry if you’re disappointed, but we’re delighted to have you stay.’"

Six months later, Mason sounds both all-business about the current season and content that his legacy will be to turn his third reclamation project into a consistent winner. "Some guys are born on third base and think they hit a triple," he says. "That hasn’t been my career. It’s hard; it’s a fistfight every day, but it’s very rewarding."

He adds that he has no hard feelings toward Ohio State. "I’m bigger than that," he says. "I love Ohio State. I wish them all the success in the world. I hope they win every game every year except one—the one they play against us."

Mason admits he was initially disappointed with not being offered the Ohio State job, but adds that the following morning he "woke up excited, maybe in some ways reenergized. Why? Because I was going to a job that I love," he says. "I’m excited about the direction our program is going in. We weren’t born on third base and we’re not on third base yet, but sooner or later we’re going to get there."

Minnesotans continue to back their coach and to let him know they do. "There isn’t a day that goes by that someone doesn’t go out of their way to say, ‘Coach, we’re glad that you’re still here.’ I hear that from alumni, from parents, from my players. It’s very rewarding and humbling."

Chris Coughlan-Smith is associate editor of Minnesota.