Coach Brew - Boosting My Confidence Through Tremendous Surliness

I'm not sure if any of you have managed to make your way on over to the excellent Gopher Football blog 'Fringe Bowl Team', but if not, you're really missing out.  It's really the blog I wish this one could become, if I lived near campus and didn't have 2 little kids, a 50 hour a week job, and too many other sports interests to divert my attention.  But I digress - MV does a phenomenal job there and has daily updates on recruiting, training camp, and recently he's been catching video of post practice interviews with players and coaches. In particular, an interview with Coach Brew posted earlier this week (8/23) was a real gem.  And while I realize this was a topic batted about on Gopherhole the other day, I can't help but further reflect here.

First off, take the 10 minutes and watch it.  You'll be entertained by a Coach Brewster that maybe you haven't seen much of in the past.  This Brew is downright curmudgeonly with the media, and I like it.  I kinda wish he was like this all the time.

Or if you don't have the 10 minutes, zip ahead to 5:05 and listen to the question Brew receives about linebacker, Keenan Cooper.  His initial response is to incredulously repeat back the 8th grade level question, and then mid-way thru, shrug his shoulders and just go with it.  Then he looks at the camera and states that he wonders how much the interviewers think about the questions their asking, only to have the dolt (presumably Marcus Fuller) try and make the excuse that he 'just came from basketball practice and is, spaced out'.  Love it.

Shortly after, Brew gets snappy with Phil Miller (who's been more of a friend to the program than most writers in town).  Again, this exchange just brings a smile to my face.  And more importantly, it makes me feel more confident about this team's direction.

Why?  To me, Coach Brewster appears to be a guy on a mission, and he just wants to start playing football (he states as much later in the interview).  He's taken some lumps in the media for a good while, and he's no doubt fed up, and ready to lash out a bit.  And there's almost a hint of confidence (or even arrogance) in his demeanor that makes me think he knows something the rest of the Big Ten doesn't, and he can't wait to unleash it on them.  Maybe I'm just being my usual overly optimistic self, but I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that might be the case.

What or who might be unleashed, I'm not sure - Is it MarQueis at WR (who Dave Mona proclaimed would be 1st Team All-Big Ten - talk about bold)?  Is it Donnell Kirkwood at RB, who's turned a lot of heads in this preseason?  Or is it scheme, in the form of Horton's simplified offense?

Maybe all - maybe none. Either way, go get 'em Coach Brew, and GO GOPHERS!

Grab a Brew - don't cost nothin'.

Or perhaps something stronger (as our friend Bluto here has), if you're not a fan of Coach Brewster.  Of course, you all know that Gopher Bandanna Guy IS a fan of Coach Tremendous Brew.  So it comes as no surprise that I am pleased to see that the Pioneer Press has announced that the 'U' and Brew have come to terms on a 2-year contract extension.

This is the right move, in my opinion, since continuity is in order to make any hay at all out of this experiment with Mr. Tim Brewster.  I want to see it through now, for better or worse.  And if Joel Maturi agrees (and he seems to), then extending Brew two more years is the exact right length to do it.  Long enough to keep the recruitment train rolling for another year or two, but not so long as to completely hamstring the athletic department (a la Charlie Weiss at Notre Dame - ok, so maybe it didn't quite hamstring the Golden Domers financially- they just had another alum crack open a money bin like Uncle Scrooge to pay that slob). 

In 2009, Coach Brewster cleared a cool million in compensation, ranking 66th in a list of college football coach salaries.  That puts him 9th in the Big Ten, ahead of Pat Fitzgerald and Bill Lynch, which seems about right (Brew's ranking in salary that is).  MSU's Dantonio at $1.8 million is clearly the highway robber of the Big Ten.  So we're getting Brew relatively cheap on the pay scale of BCS conference coaches (and we should be).  The terms of this extension have not yet been released, but I'd anticipate a modest raise over the duration of the new deal.

So there we have it, the stage is set for 2010. Brew, Horton, Cosgrove and Lee will lead our favorite gridiron Gophs with the promise of stability for a few more years.  Let's hope that is enough to get this team on the upward track.  Now Brew could just find a way to keep Seantrel at home...

Brewster gets extension?

This morning, the Strib's Gopher Football beat reporter, Kent Youngblood, reported that Gopher AD Joel Maturi deemed that Coach Brew has earned a contract extension, and that the negotiations have already begun.

Stability was the key word Maturi used to justify his belief that Brewster should be extended. If you've read any of Gopher Bandanna Guy's posts on this blog in the past, you know that I agree with Maturi wholeheartedly. Which is not to say that stability is the only reason Brew should be extended, but it is a significant one in my mind.

So let's analyze this move a bit (assuming Brew does get extended). What are the pros and cons? Let's start with the pros - First, recruiting promises can continue to be made (playing time, positional guarantees, etc.). Second, the new out-state recruiting pipelines that are being established can continue to develop (Texas, Florida, Louisiana). Third, the young and upcoming players aren't forced to learn a different system (provided Brew keeps his coordinators in town). Fourth, the University doesn't send the message that "2 bowl games in 3 years gets you canned" to every other potential coaching hire in the country. And finally, re-upping with Brewster gives us a much better chance to retain him long-term should he make big gains in his 4th and 5th contracted seasons.

Now the cons. 1) We run the risk of continuing to have a football program without any kind of identity. 2) We run the risk of continuing the revolving door situation with coordinators. 3) We risk mediocrity or worse - what if Brewster cannot bring the program above the 6-6 (3-5) level throughout his tenure. 4) Reusse and Souhan will continue their campaign of negativity 'cause they don't like the guy.

So where does the Star Tribune online reading public fall on this topic? Well, the informal poll on the Stribs website when I checked had nearly 80% stating that Minnesota needed a coaching change, and 20% believed stability was more important (I should point out that this poll allowed multiple voting opportunities from the same computer, including 3 votes for the minority position by yours truly).

Now I realize that most of this 80% is made up of the mouth-breathers that still think we can land Tony Dungy or should hire back Lou Holtz away ESPN, but let's get real here people - NCAA Div 1 head football coaches don't get fired after their first 3 years. Especially when they make 2 bowl games, and expectations were not all that great. The only place the truly high expectations were coming from were the Gophers themselves. And that's where high expectation should be coming from at all times. Brew-haters - ask yourself if your opinion of Coach Brew would change at all if we had beat South Dakota State by 30. Or if we had beaten Illinois and were going to the Alamo Bowl instead. My guess is you'd still be hating on the guy.

My final take? Brew should be extended 2 years, unless the Gopher's showing vs. Iowa State on Thursday is absolutely dreadful. If that turns out to be the case, then back down to a 1-year extension, with another year possible if certain incentives are reached in 2010. Yeah, there's the possibility that Brewster won't agree to a 1-year deal, and if that's the case, let him sweat.

I'd love to hear other's opinions, on this polarizing topic within Gopher Nation.