Last week when the news came down the Todd Hoffner was going to be given his job back at Mankato few thought there was any real chance he would take it. Not after the way the MSU-Mankato suits saw to it that he was left to fight child pornography allegations on his own, and then eventually fired their head coach after he was cleared of the crime. The idea of Todd Hoffner returning to the place that seemingly ran him out of town is a bit stunning. Headshaking to many. So, with that a seemingly improbable situation has taken place. Todd Hoffner has returned to be the Head Coach of the Mavs.

I'm going to attempt to look at the many angles of this case and what the future might hold.

The Past Two Years
First off, I've been a big Todd Hoffner supporter since the day he was led off the field nearly 2 years ago. Like most, I felt the situation just wasn't passing the smell test. I kept waiting for the MSU administration to do the right thing and see that Hoffner wasn't guilty of anything real here and that he should be put back in his role as coach. As the months went on it seemed obvious that Interim Head Coach Aaron Keen was taking the Mavs to new heights and simultaneously the Hoffner situation was being portrayed as a pseudo Jerry Sandusky deal. It was easy to see that the administration didn't want Hoffner back, he was now toxic.

When Hoffner was cleared of wrong-doing it was apparently already too late. The administration had their arms folded and didn't want the further deal with toxicity when they now had their best football success as a school, without Hoffner.

While I personally put the primary blame on the District Attorney who continued to push this case forward, I do also fault the administration at Mankato for not simply doing the right thing when they were presented with the reality that Hoffner was not guilty. If the Mavs administration does the right thing (as suggested at the time) when given the chance, none of this drama occurs and we don't have this continuing soap opera.

Why come back?
Honestly, I would not. I'd continue on with litigation and attempt to make things right that way, recoup my expenses during this ordeal, while getting a fresh start in Minot. Obviously Minot State is not nearly the job that MSU-Mankato is and I'm not going to try and sell you that is. However, I personally would rather feel appreciated by those I work with and feel the love. As seen on Wednesday, Coach Hoffner isn't feeling the love in Mankato. I feared this.

I'm happy for Hoffner that he was granted the ability to make the decision himself. After all this man has gone through and the humiliation that none of us will be able to comprehend, he deserves to be able to given the opportunity to return.

In my opinion Todd Hoffner came back because he's a very proud man who was shamed by the Mavs administration and he wasn't content to let them get the best of him. By coming back, he doesn't win the war (there is no winner in all this), but he can proudly show his face in Mankato again with some level of vindication. I think Coach Hoffner feels that he should have never been taken off the field the way he was and that he wants back what is rightfully his. Who can blame a guy for that?



Also playing into this decision is the fact that his family is still in Mankato (wife, kids). I think that factor might have been a larger part of this decision for Hoffner than people realize. If Hoffner's family had already moved to Minot, I think this decision becomes a lot more difficult.

The problem at the end of the road is that while nearly everyone in the Mankato community felt Todd Hoffner was terribly wronged, they don't all want him back running the football team 2 years later. Much has changed. Coach Hoffner has to know that just because the court said he should have his job back doesn't mean everyone will be greeting him with open arms. To assume that would be aloof.

As crazy as it sounds, the Mavs team that Hoffner is returning to isn't really his team anymore. This isn't the same group of players that he last saw when actively coaching the Mavs years ago. The culture of the program has changed. The kids have bought fully into Aaron Keen's system and it's not the same style of leadership as Hoffners. Keen being a younger coach is identifying with the players more and is running shop in a more player-centric way. The Hoffner leadership hasn't been characterized quite in the same manner and is more of an old school environment. It will be a challenge for Hoffner to walk back into this situation after this type of different leadership and also tremendous success has taken place while Hoffner was gone. I'd like to think that Hoffner fully understood this and had some pulse of the current situation with Keen at the helm.

What do the players think about Hoffner coming back
If Wednesday afternoon was any indication, they are less than excited about Coach Hoffner returning to his post. Certainly this isn't a position they can hold forever and I expect things will slowly start to mend in the coming days. It does speak to massive chemistry and cohesion issues with the Mavs program going forward if not fixed.



Some of the standout players who played for both Hoffner and Keen have gone out of their way on twitter to praise Coach Keen as the best coach they've ever had and what an exceptional man he is. Certainly this speaks very well for Keen and the job he did at Mankato but at the same time it isn't a good look for Coach Hoffner.

While I first figured that Coach Keen would maybe get bought out of his contact due to rumors of Keen and Hoffner maybe not being able to co-exist going forward (after all that has transpired), but after seeing Coach Keen talking about how he was happy at Mankato it seems that he can play a vital role here for Hoffner. Right now Hoffner has little control over the locker room, but Keen does. Keen all of the sudden is key player here for the previous coach. Hoffner needs to get Keen to play peacemaker and mend the broken relationship that seems to exist between Hoffner and the players. Hoffner needs to become the CEO of the football program, the overseer. Let Keen run the offense (pretty much like he has been) and let Coach Dickert run the defense.



Basically, Hoffner needs to put everyone at ease here. Let the coaches and team carry on like they were before you arrived and let them know you aren't looking to change the good thing they have going, but you do need to let them know that you are their head football coach and you will have final decision on things. Personally I think this would ease tensions in the locker room, and I think Coach Keen has a very classy manner about him and could play a huge role here with regard to team cohesion. It looks like Keen is taking the high road and should be commended for that. If Keen decided not to play nice, I'm not sure Hoffner would have an "in" with the players like he will going forward. It's hard to see Aaron Keen staying with the Mavs long term given how his star has risen as a head coaching candidate, but that's not a right-now issue for the Mavs as they have the 2014 season creeping up here shortly.

Hoffner's time in Minot
The people up in Minot are pretty disappointed with how this Hoffner decision shook out for them and the way he went about things with Minot State in retrospect. The loyalty that he claimed to the Beavers and the promises to not go back to Mankato now seems relatively disingenuous. I realize that Hoffner might never have figured that he was going to get his Mavs job back, but you are still accountable for your words and promises made. Players believed in Coach Hoffner at Minot State and coaches relocated their professional lives to Minot for him. Luckily for them Minot has stated they will keep those coaches on, but hiring a new head coach (within the next 10-14 days as mentioned) will be challenging. One might assume that Mike Aldrich (runner up last time) would be the obvious choice, but we will see.

When Hoffner decided to email the Minot AD fifteen minutes before his presser to tell him of his return to Mankato, that was rather poor. The people of Minot took a chance on Hoffner when seemingly nobody else would and they deserved better treatment than that. The people in Minot were not the people who wronged Todd Hoffner, they were the ones who truly gave him a second chance.



All said, while nobody can really blame Hoffner for taking back the MSU-Mankato job that was rightfully his, one cannot turn a blind eye to the people who now are part of the fallout on the move back to the Mavs. This decision doesn't merely impact Todd Hoffner. Another name that could appear suddenly might be Chris Mussman (current SCSU OC), the former UND Head Coach for the last 6 seasons.

Truth be told, the people up in Minot will have negative thoughts and feelings towards Hoffner going forward but their wound will heal up much faster than the scars that have been put on Todd Hoffner and his family during these last 2 years.

Future Litigation
While no further litigation has been discussed in a public forum, you'd think that Coach Hoffner still has money on the table with Mankato and that a civil case would be imminent. Maybe the litigation ends now that Hoffner is the head coach again. Judging by the venom of Hoffner's legal representation, I kinda doubt it. There also seems like there could be a push for the dismissal of some of the decision-makers at MSU-Mankato that weren't looking to have Todd Hoffner return. Seemingly that would be something that we might see in the news months down the road.

So if there is a civil suit in the future, how's this gonna work? Hoffner is going to be the head coach of a school that he's got ongoing litigation with. If Hoffner is trying to patch things together with MSU-Mankato and looking to mend fences, having additional litigation against the school you are coaching for wouldn't seem to better the working relationship between all parties here going forward. At the same time, can you blame a guy for wanting to recoup his life financially after going through unthinkable defamation of character and his life being turned upside-down.

2014 Mavericks
While the players certainly got a chance to have their voice heard and wield some level of power in this situation, I fully expect the coming together to start taking place here shortly. While in college athletics it's said that the players chose the school, but most who follow things closely would say that the players buy into the coaches and then also the school as well.

I'm glad for Coach Hoffner that he was afforded the opportunity to get his job back at Mankato. I feel pretty sure that I wouldn't have returned myself, but that's Coach Hoffner's decision to make. In the end he and Mankato have a lot of mending to do and I hope that Coach Keen and the other coaches can work with the players to find a way to make things right for everybody.