Welcome Golden Gopher Football's latest O-Coordinator.

Wow. That was quick. Maturi and Brew weren't kidding. Rivals.com has broken the news that Jeff Horton, Detroit Lions QB Coach, will be the new Minnesota Golden Gopher Football Offensive Coordinator. Continuity (for both the offensive system and recruiting) was obviously a concern here, as evidenced by the quick turn-around-time in filling the position.

Alright - first off, get your "the Lions suck - why would we hire anybody from them" comments out of the way. Those of you who know Gopher Bandanna Guy personally know that I am likely the ONLY Gopher alum/fan who is also a die-hard Detroit Lions fan from the early 80s on. That said, I may be slightly more attuned to Horton's more recent work - namely the handling of #1 overall NFL Draft Pick, Matthew Stafford. Stafford was progressing along nicely this season, until he got dinged up (knee and shoulder). He showed flashes of absolute brilliance (game vs. Cleveland), and decent game management skills (@ Vikings). He was also developing an excellent on-field relationship with fellow rookie, TE Brandon Pettigrew (until he went down for the year with an injury of his own). OK - before this post devolves into a lengthy discussion of Detroit Lion football woes, I'll just say that overall Horton seemed to have done a good job in handling the high profile Stafford.

However, Horton (like our DC Cosgrove) does have the Badger stink on him. That comes from being the Wisconsin QB Coach from 1999 to 2005. That also includes his handling of ex-Badger NFL QB Jim Sorgi, who has actually carved out a nice NFL career as a backup to Peyton Manning. So there's good (Sorgi, Stocco, and Bollinger were all pretty decent B-10 QBs) and bad (Badger stink). I got over it with Cosgrove, and I can get over it with Horton. Another plus, he also has head coaching experience (U of Nevada and UNLV). I feel better already about this hire, given his experiences in college and the NFL.

Presuming he sticks around for more than a season - Horton will play no small part in shaping the future of this team, particularly through the development of MarQueis Gray and our young group of skill position players. His success or failure as our OC is also going to make or break Brewster's career as a head football coach. Whether you are a Coach Brew supporter as I am, or just want improvement in the win column for 2010, lets hope the 3rd time is indeed the charm for hires at this position.