Gopher The Roses

University Of Minnesota Head Football Coach Tim Brewster Fired

I have not blogged here in a long time about Gopher football. I care and I have been attending, screaming my head off and supporting the team, just not had enough time to wrote about it.

This morning the following was sent out by the University of Minnesota and I expect I will do some writing in the coming days but likely on Minnesota Headhunter (my business blog):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                          Oct. 17, 2010

Contacts: Garry Bowman (612-875-0154) and Andy Seeley (612-269-2706)

Brewster Relieved of Head Coaching Duties

Athletics director Joel Maturi announced this morning that Tim Brewster has been relieved of his duties as head football coach and that his contract has been terminated. Brewster will be replaced on an interim basis by co-offensive coordinator Jeff Horton, according to Maturi.

“While I appreciate the passion and commitment that Coach Brewster has shown, it is clear that a change in the leadership of Gopher football is necessary,” Maturi said. “We have high aspirations for our football program and we are not satisfied with its current direction. The results so far this season have been unacceptable and the program has simply not shown enough improvement over the past three and a half years to continue with the status quo.”

Maturi said that he has had several discussions regarding the state of the program with university president Robert Bruininks in recent weeks and that the president was in complete agreement with the decision to remove Brewster as head coach. Maturi then told Brewster of his decision this morning.

Brewster, 50, was named Minnesota's 26th head football coach on Jan. 17, 2007. He signed a contract extension in January of 2010 and will be paid a buyout of $600,000 per that agreement.

Brewster coached a total of 45 games with the Gophers and compiled a 15-30 (.333) overall record, including a 6-21 (.222) mark in Big Ten games after yesterday’s 28-17 loss to Purdue.

During his three-plus years at the helm, Brewster guided the Gophers to a pair of Insight Bowl appearances, with his best season coming in 2008, when he guided Minnesota to a 7-6 record.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Director of athletics Joel Maturi, along with interim head coach Jeff Horton and a student-athlete will be available to the media at a news conference today at 1 pm. The news conference will be held in the home team interview room at TCF Bank Stadium. Media interested in attending the news conference should park in Sports Media Parking on either the northeast or northwest sides of Mariucci Arena. Additional sports media parking is available on the apron at Williams Arena. Please enter TCF Bank Stadium through the Dodge County entrance. Television outlets should park in the TV compound, where they can patch directly into the home team interview room.

-UM-

Minnesota Golden Gopher Football And Head Coach Tim Brewster Using Social Media Site Like Twitter and Facebook

Over the past year the University of Minnesota Athletic Department has done a wonderful job using social media and social networking sites to promote Gopher football and Head Coach Tim Brewster.

The main site or home for all things Gopher sports related is GopherSports.com

For Gopher football and Head Coach Tim Brewster the following sites have been created using social networking sites allowing for more access, news, photos and video:

Web Sites

• Play4Brew.com (official web site)
• Brew Crew Report (official blog)

Twitter:

• Head Coach Tim Brewster
• Gopher Football
• Gopher Athletics

YouTube

• Play4Brew

Facebook

• Play4Brew

Tim Brewster Radio Show

Link to the 9-6-07 Tim Brewster Radio Show

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Head Coach Tim Brewster

Tim Brewster Radio Show

Link to the 8-30-07 Tim Brewster Radio Show.

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Head Coach Tim Brewster

Coach Brewster, Beware The Superlatives

I wonder how long until people (let me call them critics) get tired of his enthusiasm and optimism. Minnesota folks are known for their passive-aggressive style. We love to tear people down right after being really nice to them. I know that goes for most parts of the country but we seem to do it really well. Brewster's rhetoric is a little heavy, but passion is real:

"Coach Brew" belted out his depth chart like a town crier. For those scoring at home, he used the word "tremendous" 13 times, "great" 21 times, "exciting" six times, "special" eight times, "passion" six times, "very" 16 times, "good" 12 times and outstanding "11 times.

and:

In the absence of a head coaching record at any level, we've been able to judge him only on his "tremendous passion" and "veryvery" gregarious style.

Those who like Brewster call him a salesman similar to Mack Brown, his boss at North Carolina and Texas. Those who don't like him call him a salesman similar to former Gophers coach Jim Wacker.

Yes, two in one day, Brewster's minions prepare for a revival. At least Tom Powers is not hiding his sarcasm. What a jerk:

Welcome to Phase II of Brother Brew's Travelin' Salvation Show. Now it's time to pack up the babies and grab the old ladies ...

"There's no limit to what we can do, where we can go," insisted Tim Brewster, head coach of the Gophers football team.

Yes, it's time for the actual tent revival to begin under the Metrodome big top. It's time for the laying on of hands in an attempt to heal an ailing program. Can Brother Brewster cast out the demons that have plagued past teams? Can he get the Gophers to rise - I say rise, brothers and sisters - above their considerable limitations?

(Insert "hallelujah" or "amen" whenever the urge strikes.)

(Articles from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press may require a free subscription and may be archived by the source after 2 weeks)

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Head Coach Tim Brewster

Gopher Football News

Articles from August 27, 2007:

Five to mull asks five questions regarding the defense. Anyone who says they have an answer is lying. And only five? There is more than that.

Speaking of, Defensive Coordinator Everett Whithers is featured in this article Hot seat, meet cool customer. He has a young group to work with and I am a little concerned that when the defense looked good during fall practice it was more because the offense was not hitting on all cylinders. I hope I am wrong. Regardless, I want to see how the players respond to a coach with NFL experience:

Withers left the NFL to become the Gophers defensive coordinator because he saw potential, not the past.

Besides, Withers said he is too consumed with the present to get sidetracked by anything else. He has installed an entirely new defense, one that is based on multiple schemes and an aggressive, attacking mentality. He wants to strike first, not engage in rope-a-dope defense.

Chip Scoggins from the Star Tribune has been writing an occasional blog post as well as his daily beat of Gopher football. I like his blog posts better.

From It’s game week:

To me, this is the best time of the college football season. Even better than bowl week.

Everyone is undefeated and has high hopes. Even the bad teams think they have a chance to be good. That’s what makes this week special for this college football fan.

I call it a tie between the excitement of the first week (games are not usually that good) and Bowl Week.

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Everett Withers

Gopher Football News

Articles from August 26, 2007:

Gophers' extreme schemer on Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Mike Dunbar and the “spread coast offense”. And that many years ago he was actually a defensive coordinator:

Coach Tim Brewster knew he wanted to run the spread offense when he became a first-time head coach, and Dunbar's name kept coming up in conversations with other coaches, including Texas' Mack Brown, Florida's Urban Meyer and West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez.

"The biggest thing about Mike Dunbar to me is that he's just a sage old veteran," Brewster said. "His calmness at calling plays and preparing an offense is really going to allow me a sense of calmness in what I'm trying to do."

A ROSY FUTURE? has many questions to ask and finishes with:

Bottom line

Brewster has his team believing in itself. But what happens when the Gophers suffer that first blowout defeat or heartbreaking loss? Brewster can do only so much, and he talks about the need for his 16 seniors to provide leadership. The schedule looks favorable, but Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio) and Florida Atlantic will face a Big Ten team that appears vulnerable and is filled with questions. How will the new QB look? Are there enough wide receivers to run the spread? Is the defense better? Will life after Mason be better? Or worse?

(Articles from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press may require a free subscription and may be archived by the source after 2 weeks)

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Golden Gopher Football, Spread Coast Offense, Mike Dunbar

Rocky Mountain News: Tim Brewster Expected To Be Announced Minnesota Golden Gopher Football Coach

The article Gophers focus on Brewster is posted January 15^th but because it was posted late I am guessing it is in the print edition today.

   

For starters:

Brewster spent Monday night in the Denver area with Gophers athletic department officials - including athletic director Joel Maturi - according to two league sources and was told before the dinner to be ready to return to Minneapolis today for a formal news conference.

Hey, so when I asked the other day if anyone had seen Joel Maturi now we know where he was for at least a few  hours on Monday.

   

And then:

Brewster did not return a call seeking comment Monday night, but he has told the Broncos he might get the job.

Might is not as definitive as I hoped but this could finally end on what would be day 16 since the firing of Coach Glen Mason.

Day 15 Rumors: ESPN Reports Tim Brewster Hired, Others Say Charlie Strong On Campus

Here I thought another day was going to go by with no real news and the chat forums abuzz with their “confidential sources” that seem to know absolutely nothing.

   

ESPN saves the day with this headline just in time for the local evening news Sources: Brewster to replace Mason at Minnesota.

   

Other media outlets are running with the story too although information is limited. Chicago Tribune with Ex-Illini player to be Minnesota coach and Sporting News with Gophers to hire Broncos' Brewster.

   

All of this while we have no confirmations from the University of Minnesota.

   

In fact as of this evening all we are hearing is “No offer has been made”,  “No one has been offered the job”, and “We have not hired a football coach”.

   

At the same time there were many “sightings” of Charlie Strong (Florida Defensive Coordinator) on campus today. Nice. Right after a snowstorm and the coldest night since last February. I hope he brought at least a windbreaker with him.

   

Long ago a football team meeting was scheduled for early Tuesday morning. Maybe, just maybe the goal is to make an announcement to the team or better yet introduce the new coach.

   

Then a press conference can be held.

   

And then we can all get back to our normal routines…

Day 14 Rumors: No News May Not Be Good News

Sid Hartman says Gary Patterson has the best resume Sid Hartman: Patterson has best résumé among Gophers candidates. I would agree.

   

I hope this comes to an end soon. I am worried that some of the people posting in forums on different web sites are going to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome or worse.

   

I had been one of the few who believe that the lack of news was good. My thought was that like all good searches it should be kept quiet until 30 minutes before the press conference.

   

The lack of news is starting to make me feel that maybe we have no viable candidates. It might be time for Joel Maturi to say something or leak a little to a trusted source.

   

Or at least leak his travel schedule and then we can get an intern to compare the travel schedules of the candidates. Maybe then we can draw some firm conclusion on who has been interviewed, where, and in what order.

   

Something else is on my mind, Maturi has been responding to email. But has anyone actually seen him? Do we know where he is?