Minnesota Fires Tim Brewster

Submitted by Geaux_Blue on

Minnesota is 1-6, 0-3 in Big Ten - Offensive coordinator Jeff Horton will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season

For those wishing to smack their head on the table just a little harder - Minnesota is not on the remaining schedule for Michigan

 

He will be paid a buyout of $600,000 stemming from a contract extension he signed in January. The extension ran through the 2013 season but included a lower buyout than his original deal with the school.

Brewster was informed of the decision Sunday morning. Maturi had discussed Brewster's future with university president Robert Bruininks several times in recent weeks, and Bruininks was "in complete agreement with the decision to remove Brewster as head coach," according to a news release.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5696038

More information as it becomes available

Blue Bunny Friday

October 17th, 2010 at 11:41 AM ^

I was making a joke about how many message board users/topics it would take to get RR fired. I think the meltdowns after losing (or winning!) football games are annoying. When I got a serious answer I tried to explain that Brandon has an amazing grasp of what's going on. My apologies for not making this clear.

briangoblue

October 17th, 2010 at 2:42 PM ^

you have to boycott for two days after a loss, and three after an ugly win against an inferior program. Of course I'm breaking that rule now, but I feel dumber for doing so and already regret reading some things that wouldn't be out of place coming from the mouth of some schizo on the street corner.

MGoRob

October 17th, 2010 at 10:51 AM ^

Maybe this time they'll learn their lesson after the firing of Glenn Mason.  There's a certain ceiling at Minnesota.  Accept it and don't fire a good coach (Mason not Brewster)

KC Wolve

October 17th, 2010 at 11:33 AM ^

Weren't there rumors of Mangino being hired as a "consultant" there a while back?  Would be pretty interesting if he got the job considering he came from KS and was fired.  They were another school that didn't know that he was as good as they could expect and probably regret firing him now.  

CB2009

October 17th, 2010 at 11:12 AM ^

 

Just thought this was kind of funny and way too dramatic:

 

Dear Gopher Football Season Ticket Holder:

I want you to be among the first to know that this morning I informed Coach Brewster of my decision to terminate his contract immediately as head football coach. While I appreciate the passion and commitment that Coach Brewster has shown, it is time for a change. In the interim, I have appointed Jeff Horton as the head coach for the remainder of the season.

This decision greatly impacts the future of Gopher Football and the goals we have for this program. Our vision is clear - to produce a team that we can be proud of and return Gopher Football to its rich history of consistently competing for championships.

I believe we are in a great position to attract the right coach to lead our program. We have a new, state-of-the-art football stadium and a world-class academic institution located in a major metropolitan market. Additionally, the Big Ten conference continues to thrive with the addition of Nebraska, divisional play, and a conference championship game.

I understand your frustration with the current state of Gopher Football. But we are convinced that we are going to find the right person to lead our program. I encourage you to continue your support of Gopher Football, and especially our student-athletes, throughout the remainder of this season and in the future.

Go Gophers,

Joel Maturi 

Director of Athletics

mgokev

October 17th, 2010 at 11:18 AM ^

Interesting.  I don't necessarily think it's too dramatic.  If this were a school like Notre Dame, Florida, etc. then perhaps.  Minnesota is in the unfortunate circumstance that the AD has to talk up the program and basically "campaign" his decision in order to keep people attending games and being positive enough about the program to actually want to spend money on it.

EDIT: He also has to campaign to keep his job.  Decisions perceived as stupid coaching hires and people not wanting to go to sporting events could get him the pink slip, too.

Go for 2

October 17th, 2010 at 11:27 AM ^

Minnesota was successful under Glen Mason because he had a scheme that took advantage of lesser talent.  Some colleges are like small market teams in baseball.  They have to maximize the talent they can get and develop a scheme that covers up deficits.   Glen was doing a great job of that.  I am unsure what Brewster was trying to do exactly.

Though I have to say, if Iowa and Wisconsin can field killer pro style teams, why can't Minnesota.  What advantage to those two schools have that Minnesota can't replicate?  This is a team that should be far better than this.

On a side note, if his Twitter messages are any indication of Brewster's inability to have an inner voice, how epic are those tweets going to be today.  "KILL....RAGE....EARLY TERMINATION...CONTRACT....HATE BIELMA....BURN HIS HOUSE DOWN....LIFE HATES ME....ARGGGHHH"

jmblue

October 17th, 2010 at 5:05 PM ^

Though I have to say, if Iowa and Wisconsin can field killer pro style teams, why can't Minnesota.  What advantage to those two schools have that Minnesota can't replicate?  

The advantage those two have is simply that they are currently established, while Minnesota isn't.  For a long time, Minn was a Big Ten power (they've won 16 conference titles) and those two were awful.  I don't exactly why Minn fell apart, but following their collapse Iowa and later Wisconsin filled the vacuum in that western Great Lakes region.  Now, a kid from there who has offers from both Minn and Wisc, or Minn and Iowa, is not likely to choose the Gophers.  They've just been bad too long.

BlueinLansing

October 17th, 2010 at 11:40 AM ^

coming weeks ago.  His little blowup last week with Bielema didn't help him any, no one likes an angry terrible coach.  (But, what Bielema did was bushleague.)

 

Minnesota will be in the same division with Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State.  Good luck with that new coach.  They are pretty much Kentucky or Vanderbilt of the SEC East.

Rabbit21

October 17th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^

That's basically what Minnesota had under Mason.  Success, even if limited,  breeds a desire for more.  I wouldn't be surprised if problems start to arise at Kentucky after a few years as well.  Some programs can reasonably be called sleeping giants, but Kentucky probably isn't one of them.

funkywolve

October 17th, 2010 at 12:24 PM ^

They should have seen the writing on the wall when Michigan went there in 2008, started Nick Sheridan at QB and pretty much put a beat down on the gophers. 

bronxblue

October 17th, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^

The radio announcers (I think it was Brandstatter who brought it up) during the UM game talked about the fact that the Minny papers said Brewster had to win yesterday or he would be out.  They thought it was horrible that the papers were making "football decisions", when I think most Minny fans were calling for Brewster to be canned after last season.  The fact that the papers basically reported that 1-6 wouldn't be acceptable really does not strike me as influencing the football team as much as pointing out the most obvious point in recent memory.

Minny is not going to be a BCS champion, but they should be able to compete for B10 titles when the schedule lines up right and be no worse than NW or Iowa most seasons.  Mason had some really good teams because he knew how to recruit for his system, and I suspect the next coach there will be one known for establishing an identity early.

A Case of Blue

October 17th, 2010 at 1:34 PM ^

I think B10 titles (even when the schedule lines up right) is a lot to ask for Minny, but they should be going bowling most years. 

I have a relative at Minny, and he has related to me that most people there are pretty disappointed that they built a nice new stadium (the "Gopher Hole") and haven't had a good team to play in it yet.

SysMark

October 17th, 2010 at 1:46 PM ^

Unless there are going to name his permanent replacement now, which I assume is unlikely, I don't see what they have to gain by firing the head coach at this point in the season.  Seems like bad form, especially at the college level.

arod

October 17th, 2010 at 4:11 PM ^

I can't believe that.      I mean, I'll bet most of their fans thought they would go 6-6 and this year, so I don't understand why people were pissed.  They can still go 6-6.    It's just like these bandwagoners who picked Michigan to go 7-5 and are now bitching.  Who ever thought that this Michigan team was going to win more than 2 conference games?

redwings8831

October 17th, 2010 at 6:08 PM ^

Well they've already asked Tony Dungy about coaching (he went to school there) and when that fell through they asked Tubby Smith (from the ESPN article in the first post).

"I've asked Tubby Smith if he wanted to coach football, but he's declined," Maturi quipped. "But we're out here to find a Tubby Smith. We're out here to find somebody that people can recognize, people have confidence in, and people are going to bring instant credibility and notoriety to the football program."

That would've been interesting. Anyone want Beilein coaching football here? Not me.

Chiz

October 17th, 2010 at 8:30 PM ^

I believe it's already been mentioned here but Brewster had a better Big 10 winning percentage than RR has.  Just sayin'   This is my first post and I like RichRod but the facts are the facts.  If he does not win at least 2 of the last 5 games, it seems like he must go.  Are we willing to tolerate a worst record than the Minnesota tolerated of Brewser?  When is it enough? 

dnak438

October 17th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^

The firing of Glen Mason, a successful football coach who led them to 7 bowls and 2 top 20 finishes in 8 years, is exhibit A.  Exhibit B:

The University of Minnesota is a leading public research University with a wide range of academic strengths. We are making new investments, focusing on areas of depth and promise, and redesigning a number of our academic units. Our goal is to be one of the top three public research universities in the world within a decade.

Minnesota is a good school, but why don't they set themselves a reasonable goal?  You know, like maybe top 3 research university in the Big 10?

gebe659

October 17th, 2010 at 11:58 PM ^

Prepare for hilarity.

Rumors coming out of Minny are that they will interview none other than John L. Smith for their head coaching position.

Really...