Is Minnesota Ready to Fire Brewster?

Normally, a coach who guides his team to a bowl game doesn't get fired.

Tim Brewster is not your normal coach.

Brewster has the Minnesota Golden Gophers headed to the Insight Bowl in Tempe, but his relationship with athletic director Joel Maturi has become increasingly strained after the coach's name somehow got connected to the recent opening at Kansas. There was never any interest on Kansas' part, and the belief is that Brewster's agent floated his client's name in hopes of getting a contract extension.

"There are rumors that he's going to Kansas, so I don't know," Maturi said after hearing about the report. "What can I say? So I can't guarantee it, no. I can't guarantee the decisions of other people."

Public opinion has also turned against Brewster. A Star Tribune poll asking if the coach should get be fired or be given an extension wasn't close. Over 70% favored a firing.

Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan made it clear where he stands:

"Brewster looked incompetent on the sidelines in the last three games of his third year on the job — against Illinois, South Dakota State and Iowa. He has ruined a productive quarterback in Adam Weber. He has fired a successful offensive coordinator against the wishes of his boss and replaced him with a coordinator, Jedd Fisch, who is overmatched.

"Brewster has proved otherwise insubordinate to his boss and has resorted to recruiting junior college players after three seasons on the job because his supposedly outstanding recruiting classes might be the product of the fertile imaginations that run recruiting websites."

Souhan finishes with this: "Maturi has three choices: Fire Brewster and hope he can hire someone better; extend Brewster's contract to remove the excuse that uncertainty over his future is damaging his recruiting; or dither.

"Dithering seems to be the worst of these three options. Even if you think Brewster should be fired, extending his contract at a low wage with a low buyout would give him a chance to succeed on his own terms and would remove any excuses for continued mediocrity."

Minnesota played in the Insight Bowl in 2006. The Gophers built a 31-point lead against Texas Tech, then lost in overtime, 44-41, When Glen Mason returned home, he was fired.

Mason was 64-57 in 10 seasons. Brewster is 14-23 and only 6-18 in the Big Ten. With confidence in his program eroding, Brewster needs a victory against Iowa State on Dec. 31.

Comments

[Danny]

FWIW, Minnesota actually played Kansas in the Insight Bowl last year.

[The Wiz]

Thanks for that, Danny. Correction noted.

[JC]

Brewster has unfortunately skated by the last 3 years. As much as I love watching him struggle, it doesn't help the big 10's perception nationally.

[Punky Brewster]

While at Texas, he recruited VY. Dude is a stud and deserves better than the toilet that is Minnesota.

[J.Pike]

RECRUITED Vince Young. RECRUITED being the key word. He has never been more than a position coach and is clearly not ready to be a head coach in major college football yet. Worse, his arrogance is making it less and less likely that he'll get a chance to keep his job - or get another one.

[Brodie]

He convinced a kid from Houston to go to Texas? Wow!

Seriously, Texas is the second easiest place in the country to recruit. They consistently lock down the top in state talent by the middle of September and then relax, Slobodan Milosevic could have brought Young to Austin.

[Skabordio]

The guy could sell ice to an eskimo but that does not make him a head coach in Divsion 1 college football. If you watched the games on TV this year it was putrid and I am not even referring to the performance of the players on the field. Brewster must have wasted 40% of his timeouts this year just because of inability to get plays out to the offense in time. I know Punky is going to fall on his face next year as well and it is my hope of hopes that the U of M football coach for the 2011 season is Kyle Whittingham from Utah, but I know that we will have Skip Holtz which is still better than what we have now.