Questions For Brewster Supporters

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Duluthguy

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I'll be honest, the Insight Bowl caused me to lose my last little bit of faith in Brewster. I was really hoping the team would show some meaningful improvement after 15 extra practices (other than fewer penalties), and that would be reason enough to believe in a brighter future. Now, I'm grasping for reasons to be optimistic, and I need be be educated on what exactly I'm not seeing.

Question #1: I agree with those who say Brewster is a good recruiter. I can also see merit in the argument that he needs more time to coach his own recruits. But, what exactly do you see to make you believe that Brewster is a good coach?

Question #2: If so many here believe that Brewster is such a good coach, why are so many posters already predicting such a poor record for next year? I know it's a tough schedule, but Brewster says it will be his best team yet. Good Coach + Best Team Yet + Fourth Year of Program = More Victories? Seems like every year posters keep pushing back their timetable for the team being good. Aren't most of the reasons for the low expectations ultimately the lack of improvement under Brewster so far? Wouldn't most posters have predicted 5 wins with that schedule four years ago?

Question #3: I know some anti-Brewster "haters" can be obnoxious (can't we all?), but why do so many posters insist that being anti-Brewster means that you are not a true Gopher fan? If Brewster is 3-9 in 2011, would you support his firing then? Would this then mean that you're not a true fan?

I cheer for the Gophers, not whoever the head coach may be, so I'll still be hoping for the best next year. I just can't find much of a factual basis for believing in Brewster's abilities. Maybe if the talent level overrides his shortcomings... maybe if he stops being blindly optimistic and critically evaluates the job he's done so far (or Maturi forces him to do so) ... maybe there's hope.
 

I agree with you Duluth, I have been critical of Brewster's coaching but have never questioned his recruiting ability. But I think that Fisch has been a major part of the problem, the defense played well this year and I give Cosgrove and Brewster credit for that but the offense has been horrible and blame Fisch, Brewster and Weber. Three years ago I could live with the poor passes or poor reads, now that he's a senior (with a new offense) that should not happen.
What frustrates me is the success you see at Iowa and Northwestern and you know that they have no more talented players coming out of high school, but their players have been coached up and learned a system and stuck with it.
Just my .02.
 

I guess you can call me a supporter because I think he should get at least 2 more years and I don't think he's been doing a poor job at all.

#1 - Because the players are placed in position to succeed. That offense failed to convert NUMEROUS chances to either put points on the board or get 1st downs and they just flat out didn't execute. I'm not placing all the blame on Weber, but he is a crucial piece of it. The defense looked extremely well coached to me, as they executed their gameplan rather effectively IMO, and there have been many times this season I have felt that way about the defense. The offense, they get chances, they just don't convert, and sometimes, as coaches, you can take blame for that, but it is also up to the players to make plays, and they just didn't make enough, plain and simple.

#2 - The schedule I think is the main thing holding a lot of people back. That and the fact that we will have a young defense on the field. I think personally we won't see a ton of dropoff, but we may see some inconsistency from this team because of the youth. I don't think 7 or 8 wins is out of the question really, maybe more if we get good breaks. But it could also be less with bad breaks.

#3 - Brewster has gone 7-6 and 6-7, he hasn't touched 3-9 territory since the first year. If in 2011, he goes 3-9, it's an obvious decision to move along, especially since he recruited the majority of players that will be on that roster. But to act like the guy has been a complete and utter failure after two bowl season is a joke to me, really. Michigan would kill for a bowl game right now and they hadn't missed a bowl game prior to last year for 30 some odd years and had just beaten Florida. I think people gottta realize during coaching changes, things can get a little messy, hence why I believe a little patience is in order.

Let's watch these young cats come in and get some playing time before we go selling Brew off as a failure and all that. If these kids are as good as advertised (which is FAR from a guarantee, but historically speaking, there's some credence to the relationship between recruiting rankings and performance), then we should see an improved product over the next couple of years, whether it is straight up wins, or at least in phases of the game. If we don't, it will be blantantly obvious that Brewster is not the answer, and hopefully not too many of the recruits he brought in leave the program when he is canned so we don't have to start completely all over again with the new coach.
 

Duluthguy said:
I'll be honest, the Insight Bowl caused me to lose my last little bit of faith in Brewster. I was really hoping the team would show some meaningful improvement after 15 extra practices (other than fewer penalties), and that would be reason enough to believe in a brighter future. Now, I'm grasping for reasons to be optimistic, and I need be be educated on what exactly I'm not seeing.

Question #1: I agree with those who say Brewster is a good recruiter. I can also see merit in the argument that he needs more time to coach his own recruits. But, what exactly do you see to make you believe that Brewster is a good coach?

Question #2: If so many here believe that Brewster is such a good coach, why are so many posters already predicting such a poor record for next year? I know it's a tough schedule, but Brewster says it will be his best team yet. Good Coach + Best Team Yet + Fourth Year of Program = More Victories? Seems like every year posters keep pushing back their timetable for the team being good. Aren't most of the reasons for the low expectations ultimately the lack of improvement under Brewster so far? Wouldn't most posters have predicted 5 wins with that schedule four years ago?

Question #3: I know some anti-Brewster "haters" can be obnoxious (can't we all?), but why do so many posters insist that being anti-Brewster means that you are not a true Gopher fan? If Brewster is 3-9 in 2011, would you support his firing then? Would this then mean that you're not a true fan?

I cheer for the Gophers, not whoever the head coach may be, so I'll still be hoping for the best next year. I just can't find much of a factual basis for believing in Brewster's abilities. Maybe if the talent level overrides his shortcomings... maybe if he stops being blindly optimistic and critically evaluates the job he's done so far (or Maturi forces him to do so) ... maybe there's hope.
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Good post. Since I'm not an huge supporter of Brewster's, I can't answer the questions for you but I would like to make a comment.

The premise of your complaints/questions are about Brewster's coaching abilities. Honestly, I don't think Brewster is that bad of a gameday coach. Certainly not as bad as Mason.

Where my concerns lie are with his ability to manage his coaching staff.

Too much turnover in OC and DC
The opposite of a killshot hire with Fisch
The debacle that was the Dunbar firing
The move to the spread (recruited for it), then switch to pro-style 2 years later
Disaster of a first year for Tim Davis
Regression of offense can be pointed to position coaches, style changes, which are Brewster's fault

X's and O's, gameday management, and knowledge of the game aren't my concerns with Brewster. It's everything else listed above. He's botched it big time.

With that all said, he still deserves at least 4 years. Next year is do or die time though.
 

I'll bite-
#1- He may or may not be a good coach, but he isn't a bad coach. He is coaching at exactly the level of Gopher coaches for the past however many years, with what is generally viewed as not the most talented bunch of young men.

#2- I expect 8-4 next year for me to call it a success. I am not pushing back the timetable for climbing the ladder, but...

#3-If Brew is 3-9 in 2011, there is probably little doubt of what his fate will be, but that would be 5 years. The reason why, barring NCAA violations, I can't justify a move next year is that you will not get another legitamate b10 coach candidate to touch this job with a ten foot pole if they aren't going to be given the time to establish the program. The what should be done eventually should be done immediately thought only works if you are at a school that people would literally turn down Notre Dame for, that ain't us.
 


I was greatly dissapointed by the bowl as well and have been hoping Brewster would give me a reason to defend him, but it's just one thing after another. I'm close to losing faith.

That said, I can't get around the fact that next year's schedule is BRUTAL!! I think 6-6 should be seen as a real accomplishment, with 4-8 or 5-7 seen as realistic goals along with winning a trophy & upsetting one of the big boys.

In the end we committed to Brew for 5 years and that's how I roll. If I give you 5 years, you get 5 years. I also happen to think 5 years is the appropriate time to judge a rebuilding program like Brew took on.

As a side note, I think Brew almost has to play Gray next season to buy himself some more time. He might be able to sell the future with a 5-7 record and some flashes of brilliance from Gray & the young defenders. 4-8 or 5-7 with Weber and I think he's gone (Even though I would give him a 5th year).
 

I completely agree with Pewterschmidt. A head college football coach is much more than an X's and O's guy. That is what the assistants are for. I believe the main reason for the slump in offensive productivity is the high turnover of OC's and new systems. The head coach needs to get his players pumped up and buy into the systems they are using. I think he's done a great job at that! However, he needs to get the players much more disciplined on and off the field. In the end, the decisions that are made off the field by the players are their own, but reflect poorly on the coach. Just look at Iowa last year and how many arrests they had, yet Ferentz was never questioned as a "good" coach.

On a side note, I'm not ready to write off Fisch just yet. I think that he tried to install too much right away, but the play calling was typically not the problem. The players did not execute. As long as they keep the offensive system and coordinator the same next year, I truly believe we'll see a much improved offense.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
He might be able to sell the future with a 5-7 record and some flashes of brilliance from Gray & the young defenders. 4-8 or 5-7 with Weber and I think he's gone (Even though I would give him a 5th year).
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I agree. Nothing will be more damning than another year of the same old same old. I think a mediocre year with some signs of change would help some of the cynics.
 




Costa Rican Gopher said:
the fact that next year's schedule is BRUTAL!! I think 6-6 should be seen as a real accomplishment, with 4-8 or 5-7 seen as realistic goals along with winning a trophy & upsetting one of the big boys.
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While some of the anti-Brew sentiment is over the top as well, comments like this are what make some of the Brew supporters seem like they are being blind followers. There's no way that 4-8 in year 4 should be in any way remotely acceptable. The schedule is difficult. Tough beans. Brew wanted it that way. And outside of USC it's just the luck of the Big 10 draw. And even then we still have games against South Dakota, Directional Tennesee and Directional Illinois. Yet to some here he can go 4-8 and it'll be the same 'look at the recruiting class he has! Be patient' line.

I'm not a Brew fan, but he will be here next year. To stay beyond that he needs to win 7-8 games, 1 trophy/big game minimum and show improvement in game day coaching and decipline. If he can do each of these to the necessary degree, my opinion is open to be swayed. Brad Childress has swayed me from 'this guy doesn't have a clue' to 'this guy's a medicore NFL coach.' I wish he could sway me further, but I'll take it for now. I'd take the same from Brew next year.
 

Unless you pay money to the program in sums that make a difference, no one gives a damn about what we say. I know it elicits conversation, but on this board, it isn't conversation that comes to a good end 99/100 times. Instead of everyone subjecting themselves to early onset rheumatic arthritis about how bad or great Brewster is, how about we talk about something productive, like how great our athletes coming up are?

As far as it's conerned, I will and always will be a blind follower to whomever is coach until the administration decides that another direction is the right one. That is why they make the big bucks. I just want to watch some damn football, I suggest everyone else do the same.
 

Middle Tennessee and Northern Illinois are hardly slouches.
 

In a nutshell, Brew deserves another season.

However, if all of these things happen next year. ...

(1) finish 5-7 or worse -- I agree the schedule is tough, but the bottom line is there are 7 very "winnable" games on the schedule next season. No reason in Year 4 the Gophers shouldn't be able to win 4 or 5 of those, then steal 1 or 2 they're not supposed to. ... and that's simply asking for a minimum expectation of 6-6;

(2) another winless November in the Big Ten (0-9 so far); and

(3) another doughnut vs. Iowa and Wisconsin.

I can't envision any scenario where Brew would survive to coach 2011 if it's more of the same of what happened this season.
 



First, I am a Gophers supporter and not a Brewster supporter. I just happen to think that keeping Brewster for 2010 is the best realistic option I am aware of; and if he's going to be our coach, we might as well support him.

here are my answers:

1) I don't see nearly enough to tell me he's a good coach.

2) I think Mason would have 4-6 wins with next year's schedule, Wacker would have had 1-4 wins, etc.

3) I think that if we don't win at least 5 games next year and beat wisconsin/Iowa or a ranked team, then Brewster should cease to be our coach as of November 28, 2010.

I believe in fairness and I believe it is only fair to let any coach have at least 4 years unless they violate NCAA rules or break the law. I also don't believe that there is some mystical coach out there just waiting for us to hire them with 3 weeks until signing day.
 

Wrong Title

Reading the thread, you should change the title of this post.
 

Rickman55 said:
Middle Tennessee and Northern Illinois are hardly slouches.
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No, but they should be considered "must wins" every year for any big time program. The Gophers and Gopher fans absolutely should not go into either those games expecting anything but a W. They may not be slouches but the should not be able to play with the Gophers. I think that expecting a victory against these two schools is a very fair expectation.
 

Iceland12 said:
Reading the thread, you should change the title of this post.
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Why? I think it's appropriate. And I think the questions are good ones and framed very reasonably as well.
 

MBAGuy said:
Why? I think it's appropriate. And I think the questions are good ones and framed very reasonably as well.
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They are good questions and they are framed rather well. Many of the responses are also well reasoned. No argument on any of those points. It's just after reading the thread not a whole lot of Brewster "supporters" have answered. ;)
 

I am a Brewster supporter. Why?

-Because I believe a man should be given more than 3 years to turn around a program that has been bad for the vast majority of 40 years.

-Because he is bringing in talent in my opinion that is a step up from any recruiting we have had here since Holtz.

-Because he is keeping kids that used to go to IA and WI here, at home.

-Because the jury is still out on whether he can coach or not. I am not convinced that the players he has coached are talented enough to win more than 3 Big Ten games. I also do not see that much than convinces me that he can coach up players, but I just don't know yet.

So, the bottom line is that the man deserves a chance to fail or succeed with the players he recruited. That is the bare minimum to judge a coach that took over a mediocre program with mediocre results.
 

minngg said:
I am a Brewster supporter. Why?

-Because he is keeping kids that used to go to IA and WI here, at home.
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This is not a smart-aleck question in any way. I just don't pay enough attention to recruiting and where kids are from, etc. So who are these kids that you're referring to that have stayed home that had other offers? Can you list them?
 

I agree with Monte and Rural. He needs his 5 yrs. The people that saw no improvement in the Bowl game just weren't looking at the individual parts of the team. Granted we want results, but to say that there was no improvement is just plain wrong. 5 better thrown passes, and we win 43-14. We were in position. The Defense got alot better when the coaches decided to be agressive on all downs and not just 1st and 2nd. The pass blocking was much better, and run blocking some, but along way to go. But another yr in the wt. room and a loss of some gut and I think the O-line will surprise. I don't think Fisch is going to be that bad. I think he had things too complicated at first, but he is learning and the Bowl game looked better. The biggest problem I see with Brewster is his love affair with Weber. Problem is I'm not sure Gray was the answer this yr. but he should have gotten alot more playing time. Next yr. we can't have another Weber meltdown and expect to improve. I gave Weber the benefit of the doubt previously, but no longer, he cannot do the job! That decision could bring down Brewster. I just hope when the coaches go thru the films, they become realistic about him.

I DO THINK THAT THEY ARE BUILDING THE PROGRAM THE RIGHT WAY, BY REDSHIRTING YOUNG KIDS AND BRINGING THEM ALONG SLOWLY,PATIENTS WILL PAY OFF. THATS THE ONLY WAY WE WILL COMPETE YR. IN AND YR. OUT.
 

Clyde Tester said:
No, but they should be considered "must wins" every year for any big time program. The Gophers and Gopher fans absolutely should not go into either those games expecting anything but a W. They may not be slouches but the should not be able to play with the Gophers. I think that expecting a victory against these two schools is a very fair expectation.
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Thank you! :clap:
 

littlebigboy said:
5 better thrown passes, and we win 43-14. We were in position.
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I am not certain I agree or disagree with what you have said. Many bad teams can say "if only we had done...". What frustrates me is that these things are what separate good teams from bad teams. Good teams don't have to say "if only".
 

Agreed, but when one person misses that many open receivers, you can't blame the team for not putting him in position and saying we have not improved.
 

ruralgopher said:
I'll bite-


#3-If Brew is 3-9 in 2011, there is probably little doubt of what his fate will be, but that would be 5 years. The reason why, barring NCAA violations, I can't justify a move next year is that you will not get another legitamate b10 coach candidate to touch this job with a ten foot pole if they aren't going to be given the time to establish the program. The what should be done eventually should be done immediately thought only works if you are at a school that people would literally turn down Notre Dame for, that ain't us.
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I'm not a huge Brewster backer. But this right here, is what I've been saying, and is enough for me to say we can give him another year or two. I mean hell, this program has been around for over a hundred years. A couple down seasons is a flash of dawn. Think of the bigger picture.
 

Monty519 said:
I guess you can call me a supporter because I think he should get at least 2 more years and I don't think he's been doing a poor job at all.

#1 - Because the players are placed in position to succeed. That offense failed to convert NUMEROUS chances to either put points on the board or get 1st downs and they just flat out didn't execute. I'm not placing all the blame on Weber, but he is a crucial piece of it. The defense looked extremely well coached to me, as they executed their gameplan rather effectively IMO, and there have been many times this season I have felt that way about the defense. The offense, they get chances, they just don't convert, and sometimes, as coaches, you can take blame for that, but it is also up to the players to make plays, and they just didn't make enough, plain and simple.

#2 - The schedule I think is the main thing holding a lot of people back. That and the fact that we will have a young defense on the field. I think personally we won't see a ton of dropoff, but we may see some inconsistency from this team because of the youth. I don't think 7 or 8 wins is out of the question really, maybe more if we get good breaks. But it could also be less with bad breaks.

#3 - Brewster has gone 7-6 and 6-7, he hasn't touched 3-9 territory since the first year. If in 2011, he goes 3-9, it's an obvious decision to move along, especially since he recruited the majority of players that will be on that roster. But to act like the guy has been a complete and utter failure after two bowl season is a joke to me, really. Michigan would kill for a bowl game right now and they hadn't missed a bowl game prior to last year for 30 some odd years and had just beaten Florida. I think people gottta realize during coaching changes, things can get a little messy, hence why I believe a little patience is in order.

Let's watch these young cats come in and get some playing time before we go selling Brew off as a failure and all that. If these kids are as good as advertised (which is FAR from a guarantee, but historically speaking, there's some credence to the relationship between recruiting rankings and performance), then we should see an improved product over the next couple of years, whether it is straight up wins, or at least in phases of the game. If we don't, it will be blantantly obvious that Brewster is not the answer, and hopefully not too many of the recruits he brought in leave the program when he is canned so we don't have to start completely all over again with the new coach.
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Funny you said that "Michigan would kill for a bowl game right now." You can't use playing in a bowl game as a benchmark for success. There are way too many bowls and the Insight Bowl was a great example of it. Two teams with losing conference records and the Gophers also end up with a losing record overall. This was an unsuccessful year for the Gophers and playing in some meaningless bowl game against a weak team won't change that.
 

Are we really going to fire Brewster if he only gets 6 wins?

My issue is that the previous coach faced above average performing mid-majors and failed routinely, and by my memory never faced three non-conference teams that had played in a bowl the previous winter. I doubt any but perhaps the '03 squad would have risen to that challenge. Yet he lingered for ten years. It hardly makes for an apples to apples discussion.

That being said, I am more interested in conference wins. Here the schedule does us no favors either. While many would look at the conference's elite being at home as a blessing it only robs us of home-field advantages we would have over the middling members of the conference with whom we have more in common in terms of talent and national stature.

I would love to drink in the koolaid and say we will steal two or three from USC, Penn State, OSU, or Iowa but realistically one win would be an accomplishment for this squad. That leaves us with three loses, perhaps four. So we are already half way (or more) to firing the man, for what? Failing to do what no coach in this program would have accomplished in the last four decades.

Amidst those remaining eight games we have to open at a ten-win program in Middle Tennessee who is returning its quarterback, leading running back and a bevy of young experienced receivers. We open our Big Ten road campaign in Madison, where we haven't won since 1994. Then perhaps we face our most winnable game in Purdue, though they proved that they were moving in the right direction after facing us, winning four of their last six. We then face Dantonio and Zook, two men who have plenty to prove next year and have been lauded in their recruiting efforts.

I would be happy if we won seven games, and ecstatic for anything beyond that. Does that make me a bad fan for accepting mediocrity? Perhaps. But I will tell you that we haven't seen that high of a level of mediocrity around here in a long time.
 

GopherFish said:
You can't use playing in a bowl game as a benchmark for success.
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Says who?

You don't think Michigan, Illinois, or Purdue would've liked to play in a bowl game this year?

No one in their right mind is holding it up as a final destination, but there's nothing wrong with using it as a benchmark.
 

Getting to a bowl game is a benchmark of success, but of course, not the only one.
 

Some coaches in the country have gotten their teams to overachieve in their first four years at the helm. Some had the gall to get their teams to overachieve in year one.

Since that hasn't happened in three years, it should be an expecation in year four.

Overachieve can mean for an entire season (Zook=Rose Bowl/won at Columbus in year three). I'll take overachieve in one game (Danny Hope/Purdue vs. OSU). It's not too much to ask.

Give him the meaningless extension that he didn't earn and let's see what he can do in '10.
 

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