Tim Brewster's Firing Should Lead to Significant Changes at Minnesota

Tim Brewster couldn't change the culture.

Promises of Rose Bowls, conference championships, and elite players were all left unfulfilled, as Brewster was fired Sunday with a coaching record of 15-30, only 6-21 in Big Ten play.

I know he was just a hair from going 45-0 and 27-0, but that just didn't happen. Instead, the Gophers have to start over, not even four years after they fired Glen Mason in favor of starting over with Brewster.

Having reached out to alum Tony Dungy and been rebuffed by him (though he says he'll help with the search), athletic director Joel Maturi is in full search mode, as offensive coordinator Jeff Horton finishes what is a lost season that will end up with Minnesota no better than 3-9 and probably much worse than that.

The reaction of fans varies. Some want the Gophers to shoot for a big name -- ala basketball coach Tubby Smith -- and others want Minnesota to hire a guy who will want to be with the program for the long run.

Either way, it's a crapshoot.

There is no safe bet when hiring a coach. Hot young coaches like Dirk Koetter and Dan Hawkins both struggled after leaving Boise State for BCS conference teams. Former assistant Randy Shannon is doing well at Miami, but longtime coach Ralph Friedgen has largely struggled at Maryland.

What Minnesota can do, however, is make sure they get a coach with a successful resume and much less "promise" and "bluster" than Brewster provided.

Here are some keys:

1. Get someone with experience as a head coach at something other than a high school. That might work at Houston, but high school coaching experience won't help as much at Minnesota. The Gophers need a more seasoned coach, either from college or the NFL (more on that in a second).

This isn't unlike the NHL, where guys like John MacLean and Scott Arniel couldn't get head-coaching jobs until they cut their teeth in the AHL, and now Kirk Muller is on that list. They were accomplished coaches, but that head-coaching experience is vital before NHL teams will let you run a bench.

Hiring Brewster proved to be a mistake, and you have to look at his lack of experience as a part of the problem. He may have known how to recruit, but he had no idea how to implement a plan, develop an identity on either side of the ball, or handle a coaching staff.

Now, Maturi has to get a coach who has experience as a head coach. It is a must.

2. Hire a coach who has ties to the Big Ten. Look around the league right now. The most successful coaches -- Jim Tressel, Kirk Ferentz, Bret Bielema, Pat Fitzgerald, and Mark Dantonio -- spent time in the Big Ten as assistant coaches before becoming head coaches in the league. Of them, only Fitzgerald is an actual alum of the school (Northwestern) he is at now, but the point is that all these coaches have worked within the culture of the league.

The Big Ten isn't like witchcraft or anything, but you don't see a lot of successful Big Ten coaches getting jobs at Florida or anything like that (notable exception is Nick Saban, but he left Michigan State for LSU after the 1999 season). It's a different way of doing things, and you have to understand the types of student-athletes who can succeed at these schools.

Just hiring the offensive coordinator from Auburn (Gus Malzahn), for example, isn't going to guarantee you anything.

Same thing if you try to pluck a coach like Gary Patterson from his current job (TCU). Patterson is great at recruiting Texas high-school stars. That state is so rich in talent that it's ridiculous, and Patterson does well getting top players to go to a Mountain West school.

Of course, if he takes the Minnesota job, he can't be guaranteed any kind of similar success in recruiting. Why would the star running back from Southlake Carroll say "No" to Texas so he could go to Minnesota?

3. Don't be afraid to take a chance. This doesn't mean hire another Brewster. Instead, it means don't be afraid to spend more money to get the right guy. Sounds like the Gophers are willing to do this, and that's a good thing.

Good coaches aren't just looking to get paid. They're looking for a school that has exhibited a commitment to the sport, and the willingness to make the sport successful in the long-term at some short-term cost.

They will want a lot of money for themselves and their assistants. They will want to make sure facilities are kept up at top-notch condition, and they will stop at nothing to make sure the program is promoted properly.

This is a great city in a great state, with a super new stadium, playing in one of the biggest conferences in college sports.

There are no excuses for what Minnesota has become, and now it's up to Joel Maturi to make sure things turn around.

TOP FIVE CANDIDATES (alphabetical order)
Paul Chryst, Wisconsin offensive coordinator --> Experienced Big Ten assistant who got a sniff from the NFL a few years ago. Knows how to help a successful program recruit, and could give the Gophers a few much-needed steals from Wisconsin, after the Badgers took so many Minnesota kids over the years.

Jim Harbaugh, Stanford head coach --> Could be tough to lure him out of the California sun, but he'll never do better than this at Stanford. Minnesota offers him a higher ceiling, and it brings him closer to his alma mater (Michigan).

Mike Leach, former Texas Tech head coach --> Probably got a raw deal, and it's reasonable to suggest he will get another head coaching job soon. Could be a Glen Mason-type, where his ability won't take a team to a BCS bowl, but he'll always be capable of leading his players to 7-10 wins and a bowl game.

Bob Nielson, Minnesota Duluth head coach and athletic director --> Brilliant coach at the Division II level, with a national championship at UMD and a stellar overall record. No Big Ten experience, but his roots are in the upper Midwest -- with stops in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota as a coach and athletic director -- so he isn't far from being a perfect fit.

Marc Trestman, Montreal (CFL) head coach --> Much to worry about here, including a nomadic career as an NFL assistant. He's done very well in Montreal, though, and his offense is among the better in Canada. Hasn't been involved with the Big Ten since he went to Minnesota, so it remains to be seen if he could win in college as a head coach. Will get play here because he's a Twin Cities native.

Sid Hartman's Out Of His Mind

We've driven down this road before, it seems.

After all, Sid Hartman has written for the Minneapolis Star Tribune longer than anyone reading this has been alive, I'll bet. The well-known columnist has become a parody in a way, because sometimes he writes stuff that is so crazy that not even he can believe it.

Thursday was the latest in a long line of that kind of stuff.

He decided to tackle the situation surrounding Minnesota Gophers football coach Tim Brewster. While a sane person could still defend embattled hockey coach Don Lucia at this point, it has to be assumed that even Brewster's family and close friends know he isn't going to last much longer at Minnesota.

Hartman says that shouldn't be the case. He invokes the names "Alvarez" and "Ferentz" to make his point, which is like using Bud Grant and Vince Lombardi to defend Chan Gailey.

Alvarez, now the Badgers' athletic director, went 11-22 overall and 5-19 in the Big Ten in his first three years. Wisconsin finished in 10th place in 1990, tied for eighth in 1991 and tied for sixth in 1992. In his fourth year, Alvarez was 10-1-1, tied for first in the Big Ten with a 6-1-1 record and then won the Rose Bowl with a 21-16 victory over UCLA.

... As for Ferentz, he was 11-24 overall and 7-17 in his first three years in the Big Ten. He was 1-10 overall and 0-8 in the Big Ten in his first year at Iowa in 1999 and 3-9 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten in his second year. In his third year, the Hawkeyes were 7-5 (4-4 Big Ten), went to the Alamo Bowl and beat Texas Tech 19-16.

In his fourth year, Ferentz coached the Hawkeyes to a 11-2 overall record and tied for the Big Ten title with an 8-0 mark. Iowa went to the Orange Bowl, losing to USC 38-17, and has had only one sub-.500 season (6-7 in 2006) since 2001.

Really?

Now, I'm the first to preach patience, but here are the nuts and bolts of Brewster's first three seasons in Minnesota.

2007: 1-11 overall, 0-8 Big Ten, lost to a I-AA team, outscored by 10.4 points per game
2008: 7-6 overall, 3-5 Big Ten, lost bowl game, outscored by 1.6 points per game
2009: 6-7 overall, 3-5 Big Ten, lost bowl game, beat a I-AA newcomer by three points, outscored by 2.9 points per game
2010: 1-3 overall, 0-0 Big Ten, lost to a I-AA team, outscored by 4.5 points per game

Alvarez took over a moribound program, steadily improved it every year, and it culminated with a trip to the Rose Bowl as his first class of recruits matured and he made some of his predecessor's recruits into very good upperclassmen along the way.

Ferentz took over a moribound program, steadily improved it every year, and it culminated with a trip to a major bowl as his first class of recruits matured and he made some of his predecessor's recruits into very good upperclassmen along the way.

Brewster didn't take over a moribound program. Glen Mason tok the Gophers to bowl games in 2002, 2003 (ten-win season), 2004, 2005, and 2006. Joel Maturi overreacted to Mason's team blowing a huge lead against Texas Tech in the Insight Bowl, and he fired the coach for no good reason a year after extending his contract.

Brewster came in, blew the whole thing up, posted the worst single-season record in program history, and talked about Rose Bowls. With the kind of bluster Brewster spewed from the start of his tenure in Minnesota, he shouldn't be given a ton of time to prove he wasn't full of crap.

After all the talk, it's been back-to-back Insight Bowls, where the Gophers have lost to national powers Kansas and Iowa State.

Of course, Kansas is a national power in basketball, not football. And Iowa State is a national power in wrestling, not football. So those losses really aren't anything to write home about if you're a Brewster supporter.

Yes they are 1-3 now, but they are 0-0 in the Big Ten. Nobody knows what the rest of the season will bring.

No, Sid, no one knows anything. That's correct.

But the Gophers need five Big Ten wins to even qualify for a minor bowl game, and they have to do it against a schedule that includes five ranked teams.

What's more likely is that the team has a ceiling of about 4-8 for the season, and that's not exactly showing improvement.

In fact, it seems like a step back.

Oh, and that South Dakota team that walked all over the Gophers "defense" a few weeks ago? They lost Saturday to North Dakota State.

38-16.

Preach on, Sid. Surely, you converted someone in the Cities to Brewsterism with your cheerleading Thursday. Just don't take too much pride. It doesn't take a lot to convert the insane.

College Football 2010: Minnesota

Yes, we're doing a College Football Preview again. Yes, you know I love Phil Steele's work. Order from his plethora of preview options here. I'm also armed with The Sporting News College Football 2010, and I picked up the Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook this year, too. I've also done research through local newspapers and school websites to try to get the most up-to-date information on the teams.

When Joel Maturi fired Glen Mason because his team blew a 31-point lead in a bowl game on a channel no one gets (NFL Network), he reached into the large pool of middling NFL assistants who are dying to become head coaches. He plucked Tim Brewster from the Denver Broncos staff, in part because a guy named Mike Shanahan absolutely loved him.

Brewster had worked as a recruiter at Texas, claimed the credit for bringing Vince Young on board, and proceeded to give the media a bunch of bluster about Big Ten titles and Rose Bowls and things the Gophers haven't done in so long that their fans probably don't even know the things exist.

Good thing he was a talker, because the product he fed Gopher fans in the Metrodome's final seasons convinced no one of his ability to coach anything. In his first season, the Gophers went 1-11, lost to I-AA newcomer North Dakota State, and made the Big Ten proud by losing non-conference games to Bowling Green and Florida Atlantic. Things weren't much better in 2008. The Gophers started 7-1, yes, but that would be it for the whole "winning games" thing. Included in a season-ending five-game skid was an improbable 29-6 home loss to then-hapless Michigan. Then Iowa closed out the Metrodome's history of hosting Gopher football by edging Minnesota 55-0.

Last year, Minnesota almost beat Wisconsin in early October, then almost beat Illinois and Iowa later in the year. And they almost beat Iowa State in their bowl game.

Almost.

There's heat on Brewster this year. He can't afford a lot of almosts anymore, because the fans are on to the fact that he's an ace recruiter who doesn't appear to be as good a game coach.

Unless he planned to blow two timeouts to challenge an obviously correct call in the Air Force game last year. Perhaps that was intentional.

Offense
Senior quarterback Adam Weber has gone downhill for most of the last two years. He flashed some ability as a freshman on a bad team, but hasn't done much on mediocre teams since.

Not sure what that means, but Brewster's insistence on a move away from the spread offense didn't help Weber much. The fact that Duane Bennett and DeLeon Eskridge never have presented a consistent ground threat hasn't helped, either. The presense of newcomer Lamonte Edwards will help a bit this year, but after the Gophers averaged all of 99 rush yards per game last year, there isn't anywhere to go but the right direction.

Backup quarterback MarQueis Gray ran some and threw little as a freshman. Seemed like a waste of a potential redshirt, but I'm sure Brewster had a plan.

The Gophers lose leading receiver Eric Decker, but they got a good taste of life without him when he missed the team's last five games with an injury. That he still led the team in catches and yards by substantial margins shows you the state of the Minnesota passing game.

It's feeling Minnesota.

Da'Jon McKnight and Troy Stoudermire will be expected to play significant roles, but their ability to do so is questionable. The team hopes junior Brandon Green can inject some life into the receiving corps.

Four seniors are expected to start on the offensive line. That might not be a good thing, because that line allowed 41 sacks last year. Imagine if Weber wasn't a pretty good athlete.

Defense
Help wanted. Apply within.

Not much went right on this side of the ball last year. Minnesota allowed over 150 rush yards per game, opponents hit 58 percent of their throws, averaged 217 yards per game, and the Gophers only posted 22 sacks. Nine starters, including leading tackler Lee Campbell and top playmaker Nate Triplett, are gone. It's not the 2007 team that couldn't stop anyone, but it was close, and it hurt the Gophers' ability to compete in conference play.

It's too bad that the losses are so heavy, because Minnesota's run defense showed signs of life late in the Big Ten season, and the defense played well in the bowl game even though Iowa State piled up a lot of yards.

Look out for linebacker Spencer Reeves, a potentially good player who could become a leader on the strong side. Minnesota needs a lot out of tackles Brandon Kirksey and Jewhan Edwards, because the pass defense will be hurting for some time. The safety position is a mess, as Kim Royston is recovering from a broken leg and Kyle Theret is suspended at least for the opener at Middle Tennessee.

Brewster has recruited athletes all over the defense, but there simply aren't any proven players around because of graduation and suspension. It's going to be very hard for them to be remotely good on defense for at least the first few games of the season.

Special teams
Senior kicker Eric Ellestad is a bright spot. He hit 13 of 17 field goals last year. His kickoffs weren't very deep, but he has a chance to get better in that area. Freshman Dan Orseske should handle the punting duties.

Stoudermire had fumble problems last year, but he is a capable returner. The coverage teams are meh, but as the overall team depth improves, the Gophers should see improvement in this area.

Prediction
Pain.

This isn't Minnesota's year. There's already a lot of grumbling in the Twin Cities for a coaching change. The Gophers are only a field goal favorite against Middle Tennessee State in their season opener. They have to play USC Sept. 18. The league home schedule includes Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, and Iowa, none of which look particularly winnable.

It just seems the deck is stacked against Brewster this year. It's nothing a great coach can't overcome, but Brewster has done nothing to make anyone around the Minnesota program think he's a great coach.

In fact, it's just the opposite.

Weber must shine as a senior, no matter the offense. He has to find reliable playmakers on the perimeter, and the Gophers simply have to run the ball better.

Even if these things happen, it might not be enough for Minnesota to win more than four or five games. If they don't, they could be looking at another 1-11 or 2-10 season, and that won't fly in Gopher Country.

2008 BIG TEN PREVIEW: 10. MINNESOTA

Welcome to The Ciskie Blog's 2008 College Football Preview. As usual, you can expect a rundown of every Division I-A (or "Football Bowl Subdivision", if you prefer) conference, as well as a brief look at the independents. Some of the information used to compile these previews came from various football preview publications that I took the time to review this summer. I give a full endorsement to Phil Steele's College Football Preview (the national edition, as well as his various regional magazines). I also have looked at Sporting News, Athlon Sports, and Blue Ribbon (via ESPN Insider). Information was also gathered from local newspapers and school websites. Please use the comments section or e-mail for feedback, questions, and any corrections you feel need to be noted.

MINNESOTA GOPHERS
Last year: 1-11 overall, 0-8 Big Ten (11th)
Postseason: Yeah, right

In good shape
Quarterback. I really like Adam Weber. He worked behind a pretty good offensive line, yes, but for a redshirt freshman QB to start every game on a terrible team and only get sacked 13 times says something. Weber took good care of himself, and he used his mobility well. The problem for Weber was his high number of interceptions (19), which is totally correctable with experience and coaching. Not only did Weber chuck 24 touchdowns and throw for nearly 2,900 yards, but he also led the team with over 600 rushing yards. 3,500 total yards for a freshman in the Big Ten? Yeah, he's good. He's also lucky, because he gets to throw to unheralded receiver Eric Decker, who caught 67 balls last year and will get more this year now that Ernie Wheelwright has moved on.

Needs work
Defense. The Gophers were flat-out embarrassing on defense a year ago, allowing nearly 230 rush yards and over 500 total yards per game. The 37 points per game allowed represented a double-digit increase from 2006. Coach Tim Brewster welcomes a new defensive coordinator in former Duke head coach Ted Roof. The hope is that he'll find a way to clean things up, with help from a handful of JUCOs Brewster brought in. The Gophers lose three of their top four tacklers, including S Dominique Barber and two LBs (John Shevlin and Mike Sherels). Brewster is trying to inject some speed into his linebackers, but will the speed be enough to overcome a lack of starting experience at the position?

Final thoughts
The hole Brewster (right) dug in his first season is massive, but he has help. Weber is a very good talent, as is Decker. Finding a running game is key there, because Weber can't afford to take the pounding that comes along with continuing to be his team's leading rusher. Roof has a huge project with the defense, but Brewster did bring in a tremendous recruiting class and he has tremendous hopes for the unit.

The schedule isn't very forgiving (the Gophers miss out on Penn State and Michigan State, but get to play Ohio State, Illinois, and Wisconsin all on the road. Yippee!), but it's likely Minnesota will find a way to win a league game or two this time around. Overall, something around four or five wins would constitute improvement, though it might not be enough to keep the vultures from circling. Minnesota moves into a new on-campus football stadium in 2009, and can ill afford for Brewster's big-talk act to keep producing losing seasons. After all, if they wanted the football program to suck, they would have kept Glen Mason around.