Brewster Fired!
Maturi: Search for Brewster replacement starts now
By DENNIS BRACKIN, Star Tribune
University of Minnesota Athletic Director Joel Maturi said Sunday afternoon that he fired football coach Tim Brewster during a meeting between the two Sunday morning.
Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Horton will take over the head coaching duties for the season's final five regular-season games.
Maturi said the school will immediately begin a national search for Brewster's replacement, one of the reasons the school made the decision to fire Brewster in mid-season.
"I also told him how much I appreciated his passion, his commitment, the hard work that he has put in during his three and one-half years,'' Maturi said at a Sunday news conference. "There are a lot of good things about our football program because of coach Brewster, not the least of which are the improvements academically, the improvements of our student athletes in the community and the passion and energy and visibility that I think that he has brought. We're also aware that in the business today of big-time college football, it's about wins and losses.''
Brewster was 15-30 as Gophers' coach, including 6-21 in the Big Ten. Brewster's fate may have been decided when the Gophers lost nonconference games to South Dakota (41-38) and Northern Illinois (34-23).
Brewster signed a contract extension in January, and he will be paid a buyout of roughly $600,000 under that agreement, the U said.
Maturi said that he contacted former Gophers quarterback Tony Dungy early Sunday about the vacant coaching position, and that Dungy confirmed what most had believed -- he has no interest in the job. However, Maturi said that Dungy had agreed to help the university in any way possible to get the football program back on track, and Dungy's input into the coaching decision will certainly be sought.
However, Maturi said that the final decision in hiring a coach will be his. And Maturi discounted the notion that Dungy would head an organized search committee, saying such a process would hinder Minnesota's ability to move quickly in finding the right coach.
Rumors of interest in Minnesota's job started surfacing immediately. Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier reportedly has expressed interest in the job, and possible candidates could also include Canadian Football League coach Marc Trestman and former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach.
Brewster was hired on January, 17, 2007, less than three weeks after the university fired Glen Mason after nine seasons as coach.
Brewster was the NFL Denver Broncos tight ends coach in 2006, and had never been a professional or college head coach or coordinator.
Maturi admitted the risk involved in Brewster's lack of previous high-level coaching experience.
"I realize that my neck's on the line,'' Maturi said on the day that Brewster was introduced to Gophers fans. Maturi admitted then that most people reading Brewster's resume might have "put him in the 'no' pile, if you didn't do your homework. But I did my homework.''
Maturi said Sunday that he had not considered resigning because of Brewster's failure as a coach. The athletic director made it clear that he intends to fulfill his contract at Minnesota, which runs through June, 2012.
It became immediately apparent that Brewster was given to hyperbole. At his opening press conference, he coined the phrase, "Gopher Nation'' and pledged end the Gophers' Rose Bowl drought, which is the longest in the Big Ten, dating to the 1961 season.
"We're going to win the Big Ten championship and we're going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena [site of the Rose Bowl],'' Brewster said at his first press conference. "That's my dream, that's my goal and that's my belief. It will happen here sooner rather than later.''
Brewster arrived on campus with a reputation as a strong recruiter, and convinced university officials that his success would be based on upgrading football team's talent level through recruiting.
His recruiting classes were generally rated higher nationally than Mason's, but those ranking failed to materialize into victories. Brewster's problem to win at Minnesota are generally linked to the turnover among his top assistants.
During his four seasons the Gophers had six coordinators, divided evenly between offense and defense. The most obvious problem was the inability to focus on a single offensive style. Brewster employed Mike Dunbar and the spread offense the first two seasons. Brewster hired Jed Fisch and employed a highly-technical pro style offense the third year, then hired Jeff Horton this season, favoring a run-oriented, ball-control offense. The Gophers never established an offensive identity, and the defense was an ongoing struggle.
By DENNIS BRACKIN, Star Tribune
University of Minnesota Athletic Director Joel Maturi said Sunday afternoon that he fired football coach Tim Brewster during a meeting between the two Sunday morning.
Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Horton will take over the head coaching duties for the season's final five regular-season games.
Maturi said the school will immediately begin a national search for Brewster's replacement, one of the reasons the school made the decision to fire Brewster in mid-season.
"I also told him how much I appreciated his passion, his commitment, the hard work that he has put in during his three and one-half years,'' Maturi said at a Sunday news conference. "There are a lot of good things about our football program because of coach Brewster, not the least of which are the improvements academically, the improvements of our student athletes in the community and the passion and energy and visibility that I think that he has brought. We're also aware that in the business today of big-time college football, it's about wins and losses.''
Brewster was 15-30 as Gophers' coach, including 6-21 in the Big Ten. Brewster's fate may have been decided when the Gophers lost nonconference games to South Dakota (41-38) and Northern Illinois (34-23).
Brewster signed a contract extension in January, and he will be paid a buyout of roughly $600,000 under that agreement, the U said.
Maturi said that he contacted former Gophers quarterback Tony Dungy early Sunday about the vacant coaching position, and that Dungy confirmed what most had believed -- he has no interest in the job. However, Maturi said that Dungy had agreed to help the university in any way possible to get the football program back on track, and Dungy's input into the coaching decision will certainly be sought.
However, Maturi said that the final decision in hiring a coach will be his. And Maturi discounted the notion that Dungy would head an organized search committee, saying such a process would hinder Minnesota's ability to move quickly in finding the right coach.
Rumors of interest in Minnesota's job started surfacing immediately. Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier reportedly has expressed interest in the job, and possible candidates could also include Canadian Football League coach Marc Trestman and former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach.
Brewster was hired on January, 17, 2007, less than three weeks after the university fired Glen Mason after nine seasons as coach.
Brewster was the NFL Denver Broncos tight ends coach in 2006, and had never been a professional or college head coach or coordinator.
Maturi admitted the risk involved in Brewster's lack of previous high-level coaching experience.
"I realize that my neck's on the line,'' Maturi said on the day that Brewster was introduced to Gophers fans. Maturi admitted then that most people reading Brewster's resume might have "put him in the 'no' pile, if you didn't do your homework. But I did my homework.''
Maturi said Sunday that he had not considered resigning because of Brewster's failure as a coach. The athletic director made it clear that he intends to fulfill his contract at Minnesota, which runs through June, 2012.
It became immediately apparent that Brewster was given to hyperbole. At his opening press conference, he coined the phrase, "Gopher Nation'' and pledged end the Gophers' Rose Bowl drought, which is the longest in the Big Ten, dating to the 1961 season.
"We're going to win the Big Ten championship and we're going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena [site of the Rose Bowl],'' Brewster said at his first press conference. "That's my dream, that's my goal and that's my belief. It will happen here sooner rather than later.''
Brewster arrived on campus with a reputation as a strong recruiter, and convinced university officials that his success would be based on upgrading football team's talent level through recruiting.
His recruiting classes were generally rated higher nationally than Mason's, but those ranking failed to materialize into victories. Brewster's problem to win at Minnesota are generally linked to the turnover among his top assistants.
During his four seasons the Gophers had six coordinators, divided evenly between offense and defense. The most obvious problem was the inability to focus on a single offensive style. Brewster employed Mike Dunbar and the spread offense the first two seasons. Brewster hired Jed Fisch and employed a highly-technical pro style offense the third year, then hired Jeff Horton this season, favoring a run-oriented, ball-control offense. The Gophers never established an offensive identity, and the defense was an ongoing struggle.
Comments