Darren Wolfson: Tim Brewster's chili is hot -- is yours?

Donate To GopherHole



Getting rather heated about hearing about Iowa ...

"Also, many coaches work years without suffering an Iowa-like blowout..."

Like Mike Leach losing 65-21 last year or Urban Meyer 31-3 (while at Florida) or Kirk Ferentz 49-3 or Nick Saban 41-9 (while at LSU), Mark Dantonio 44-9, etc., etc., etc.? Pete Carroll so far? Not so great in the NFL though, losing 34-13 while at NE. My guess is that the list of "many" is pretty darn short. Hyperbole is one thing, but how about a smidgen of reality?
 

Umm, I don't think this article gave us anything we hadn't already been talking about on the board for a long time...ad nauseum in some cases. By the title I thought we might at least have a quote or two...
 


harrys ghost -- we'll have to agree to disagree...41-9 and 55-0 don't compare in my mind...arguing semantics though.
 

Not much substance to that article and, yeah, nothing we haven't already heard.
Also, I'll side with Harry's Ghost on this one and say that 41-9 is comparably to 55-0.
A blowout is a blowout.
 

Keep in mind, maybe of you are diehards, who frequent this board a lot...which is greatly appreciated...if apathy ever kicks in, then we have problems...but GH also, thankfully, is adding new members at a record rate...many people are catching TCF/on-the-field fever...so I am just trying to strike a balance, hoping many haven't recognized Brewser's contractual situation...and what may or may not happen based on this season.
 

Doogie, thanks for explaining your approach. I've appreciated your articles to this point and am glad you are on board here. I think we're all getting to that point where we can't wait for the season to start and we "diehards" are just looking for more meat.
 



Just take a stand one way or the other on him Doogie. The tone of your articles don't strike a balance, they simply have no point, and they don't appeal to anyone.
 

A couple of points:

Blow-outs happen. The Iowa game has probably been harder on the psyche of Gopher fans than on the team. It should be a good lesson and a good motivator for the team. In 1999 Coach Brewster was on a Texas staff when they beat Stanford 69-17. Stanford went on that very same year to win the Pac Ten championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

If Joel Maturi makes a decision about extending the coach's contract at the end of the season, it will be based more on the health and direction of the program and the quality of the entire coaching staff than on the wins and losses this season. In 1959 when many fans passionately wanted Murray Warmath fired, the AD stuck with him. I don't think it was simply because he thought Warmath was a good coach. I suspect a lot had to do with the quality of players returning to the team and the quality of the players in the pipeline. A national championship and three straight Top 10 seasons were the reward for the AD thinking longer term. The difference between the losing seasons of '57-'59 and the winning seasons of '60-'62 was not the quality of the coaching, it was the quality of the players.
 

Hey Doogie

We have seen this act before, but now it seems it is imbeded. A non story, a wishy washy praise, a faint rip of the coach..... we are not taking calls.
This isn't a radio show where you are trolling for listeners.
If you continue with this it will wear thin in the hole very fast.

I would best decribe it as fainthearted flaming, without a point.
 

husker70 said:
We have seen this act before, but now it seems it is imbeded. A non story, a wishy washy praise, a faint rip of the coach..... we are not taking calls.
This isn't a radio show where you are trolling for listeners.
If you continue with this it will wear thin in the hole very fast.

I would best decribe it as fainthearted flaming, without a point.
Click to expand...

Actually there is a very good point in the article. Maturi will have a big decision to make at the end of this year, like it or not, and sitting with this thumb up his ass again and not making a decision will not be possible.

The scenario's are varied, but basically:

  • We go to a bowl game. Two years on contract, needs a minimum two year extension for recruiting.
  • We don't go to a bowl game and this season goes in the <5 wins -- does Maturi stay the course and give Brewster 5 years or fold like a house of cards on the gamble he took when he hired Brewster? (Maturi has a much tougher decision if we end the season 0-8 for rivalry games under Brewster). To give him his five years, he'll need to extend the contract or he dooms Brewster to failure by cutting off his ability to recruit with only two years on his contract. Give him two and he runs the risk of paying for years of coaching that he may not get out of Brewster.
  • We contend for/win the big ten -- How high is high? How many years? 10? More? What does Maturi do to keep Brewster here to lock him up long term? And his coaching staff? How do we keep them and build continuity to repeat the banner year?

In any case, Maturi cannot do nothing after this season. He will have to make the hard decisions regardless of the outcome (how high is high in the best case scenario, how much patience does he have in the worst case scenario).

Leaving my personal feelings for both gentlemen involved aside, this season and next off-season will be interesting to see unfold. In the case that the next step is not clear (barring a complete collapse or a run at the title), it will be interesting to see what our AD will do with a difficult decision in his hands. What he should do and what he will do will have a tremendous impact on this future of this program, and that cannot be overlooked.
 



Doogie said:
harrys ghost -- we'll have to agree to disagree...41-9 and 55-0 don't compare in my mind...arguing semantics though.
Click to expand...

Well, sticking with Nick Saban then, how about 55-14 and 38-0 in the same year (1996)? Interestingly enough, I have noticed many football sites (Iowa, Michigan State) seem to not post scores for years with "bad" results so, my numbers probably understate things.
 

I do not agree that Maturi necessarily faces a decision on Brewster after this year. If he's going to be fired after only 3 years (and only 1 year with an upper classmen at QB which I think is significant), the Gophers would have to be terrible-like 3 wins terrible. If the Gophers only manage 5-6 wins, I have a hard time imagining an extension unless Brewster has nailed down his best recruiting class to date.

On the blowout topic, the Gophers, should never, ever lose to freaking Iowa 55-0 that might have been more embarrassing than losing the lead against Texas Tech. That said, final scores do not always tell the tale, I was at Hayden Fry's last game at the Dome, and the Gophers could have scored more on that day if they chose too. It can be just as embarrassing to get beat 35-7 or 35-14 if your opponent essentially shuts it down in the 3rd quarter as teams sometimes do.

Also on rivalry games, do not forget to include the games against Michigan.
 

Yeah, I use to think that Brew would get canned if he has a 2 or 3 win season, but then I remembered Rich Rod. Mich is hanging tough with that guy after he delivered the worst Mich performance in what...50, 60, 70 years?
 

Why the rip on Doogie?

1. He is one of few writing stories/critique's about the Gophers which is something many of you have been moaning about. Ok. So its not in the Strib or the Press.
2. I agree with Cali as Doogie is doing his take to present various scenerio's about Brewster's contract and how Maturi may deal with it. This is a huge issue.
3. This is a season when we may get some answers about Brewster. The two year honeymoon period is over and his attempt to build something from what Mason left behind in his quest to "rebuild" after ten years at the helm is ongoing.
4. Doogie isn't giving Brewster any free rides which I am glad to see. He is telling it like it is. I too have numerous concerns with Brewsters performance and decision-making thus far.
5. His point is that 2009 should unveil answers to many of our questions about Brewster and the team which is something that Doogie, or no one else for that matter, has. I can't recall a year that has so many questions which are very intriguing.
 

If Michigan was such a big rival, why are they off the schedule for 2-years? Iowa and Wisconsin, in my opinion, are the only rivalry games....off to Vikes practice...keep the healthy discussion going...love reading everyone's takes, even the ones that rip me to shreds.
 

I consider Michigan sort of a rival, but not they're not geographically, so hence, they fall off the rotation schedule. But he lost those games too so it don't really matter. The point is, he needs a Becky or Iowa win this year badly IMO, specifically Becky since it's in our house and I think they're not as strong as they've been in the past.
 

Not to nitpick and highjack the thread, but to simply say Tubby "fell into Maturi's lap" as Doogie did in the article, shows that Doogie was either careless with his words; has no understanding of the finesse which was required to complete the hire; or he just doesn't want to give Maturi his due on the hire.

To make it sound like Maturi was just sitting in his office one day when Tubby Smith called up and said, 'hey I'd like to come up to Minneapolis to be your coach' is doing a great disservice to what was a really masterful job by Maturi in luring Tubby here. It was a several month process that included some unbelievably complicated dynamics that could have thwarted the deal at any point.

There is no reason to downplay the Tubby hire at all. It is the signature hire of the Maturi tenure and Maturi should be given props for how he got it done. It should not be some "fell into his lap" brushoff mention.

Highjack over. Sorry.

Outside of that nitpick, I think Doogie is right on the money in his analysis of Brewster's contract situation.
 

The "Little Brown Jug" is not considered a rival game?

You lost me there Doogie. As your buddy Common would say: " Ya need a history lesson on Gopher football ma boy|!"
 

tjgopher -- I did underplay Maturi's role...Tubby and his people did approach the "U", but the process could've been botched many times along the way...so the fact he sealed the deal is very noteworthy.
 

ruppertflywheel -- When you only play 12-games, and neither team has the other in its top-2 as far as rivals, (for Michigan it's Ohio St. and Mich. St.), I can't fully buy in. I understand the significance of the Little Brown Jug, but if the Big Ten viewed that as such a big rival, they wouldn't go 2-straight years without playing.
 

if we include Michigan as a rivalry game we completely take away the meaning of what makes up a rivalry game (ie- we will make the term "rivalry game" a pretty watered down term). Wisconsin is our rival, we can add Iowa in there as 1-b because they border us, and as far as Michigan is concerned they are just a team that we happen to have a cool trophy associated with the game. I don't hate Michigan fans. I hate Wisconsin and Iowa fans, and even if you just happen to be from the state of Iowa I will hate you unless you prove to me you are actually a decent human being, to me stuff like that is what is associated with rivalry games. Maybe I'm too young?
 

doogie is right we are not rivals with Michigan. We play for a cool trophy and we may have been rivals five decades ago, but most in crosslake region realize that we are not rivals with Michigan. Their fans would never consider us rivals. no way no how. if a trophy means we are rivals then we are also rivals with Penn State. That means we are rivals with 40% of the big ten. too funny.

well balanced column doogie. keep it up
 

Last season the Gophers left the Iowa game on the field at Wisconsin. I hope that doesn't become a habit - going so all-out one week that nothinfg is left for the next.

Brewster needs a minimum of five years to show what he can do here. Many great coaches have needed more years than that to build a program to excellence. I think he has the likes of Cal and Southern Cal on the schedule too early, but we'll see...
 

That "column" sucked. Just a bunch of random thoughts about Brewster thrown together with a conclusion that is nothing but a slew of multiple open ended questions. Basically it looks like a thread that someone would start on this board, not an article that should be on the frontpage of growing website.
 

The column was fine and a lot of people here are too sensitive or defensive about any comments made regarding Brewster that are not 100% positive. This is a very important year for Brewster. So far his record is very poor and his most recent work is his worst ( the 05 finish filled with beatdowns). At the end of the season Joel is going to need to make a decision. Does Joel want to continue with this or not? It is up to Brewster to show Maturi that he should want to continue with the Brewster plan. In order to do that he is going to have to put together a nice season. That shouldn't be too much to ask. Win some games and avoid embarassment. Brewster is in year three here and has some nice talent to work with including a good qb and great wr left for him by the previous staff. I think he is going to have a real nice season with 8 wins including a couple special ones. He better or the offseason will be very tricky for everyone involved.

Oh and the 55-0 loss at home on senior day was very disturbing. If something like that happens again it is a fireable loss.
 

You can say that Doogie's report sucked if you wish, but 28 comments in response says otherwise. Like it or not, it seems to have done its job: it's encouraging us to talk about Gopher football on this board.

Brewster will have to fail miserably this year to lose his job or a chance at an extension. When he was hired, there weren't a lot of names knocking down our doors to coach here. A few intriguing assistants whose resumes were better than Brewster's, yes. But nobody with a track record as a head coach or anybody who you KNEW would be successful when given the opportunity. (The jury is still out on Lane Kiffen.)

So now, after Maturi took a BIG leap of faith on Brewster, he's going to hang him out to dry after three years of upgrading the talent? Try recruiting a competent coach after that.
 

I agree that it will be very tough to fire him after this year but what does the extenstion look like if we go 5-7 this year? Is it a one year extension? How much $? Will Brewster take it well? Would Maturi do the most idiotic thing and not fire nor extend? A good season this year makes all these things much easier for everybody. The pieces are in place for Brewster to have his first good season as Gopher coach.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom