Gopher Football
Disclosure ““ these are not exact quotes, but merely notes taken as the press conference
Maturi’s comments:
“¢ This morning Maturi met with Coach Brewster and informed him that he was being terminated
“¢ He appreciated Brewster’s passion, commitment and the hard work he’s put in
“¢ There are a lot of good things that Brew did ““ academics, passion, etc.
“¢ National search will start immediately
“¢ He apologized for the unfortunate leak of this decision, it was unfair to Brewster
“¢ He’s appointed Jeff Horton as the interim head coach
“¢ All of the coaches have been professional and are ready to prepare for the final 5 games
“¢ We have a great program, Minneapolis is a fine city, we have the resources and there is a commitment to have a winning football
program
“¢ Football is the engine to every athletic program, and our engine is sputtering
“¢ Many exciting things taking place in the Big 10 conference, it’s critical for the U to be able to take advantage of those changes
“¢ Going in a different direction now is very important. We are going to be able to look at candidates on our timetable
“¢ Hope that all of our students and fans come out on Saturday, and they support the kids wearing the maroon and gold
“¢ He has contacted Tony Dungy, and is not willing to get back into coaching, but is willing to help us find the right leader for this program.
“¢ As far as Brewster’s contract extension ““ you want to do what’s right for the institution and the coach. Last year, he felt it was appropriate to give him more time
“¢ The increase in the buyout is not significant, we did not lose a recruiting class
“¢ Who will make the next decision ““ and it will ultimately be his decision.
“¢ In 2007, Maturi said his neck was on the line with this hire, does he still? ““ Maturi will take responsibility for that, and it will be an attractive position for a coach that will win more football games
“¢ Advantages of doing this now? Never dreamt as an athletic director that I’d dismiss coaches during the middle of the year, and with Monson, it worked out well
“¢ Joked that he asked Tubby Smith to coach football, and he declined
“¢ Met with Coach Brewster at 9am this morning, he handled it well. The leak was unfair to him, he’s handled it well with the coaches, media ““ he handled it with class.
“¢ What was the final straw? To get a head start was important. It’s not fair for the kids to be booed. Please don’t boo our kids
“¢ Will there be a formal search committee? The reality of it is you will not hire a signifant coach doing it that way. May be a coordinator that is hired. If you want to get someone with someone that has more notoriety, you can’t do it this way.
“¢ We didn’t win enough, a lot of things are improved. A lot say he overpromised and under delivered. We’re a 1-6 football team.
“¢ Why wasn’t it important to hire a “œTubby Smith” like candidate? It was important, but the timelines were challenging. He was the best candidate available. At this time, we want a more recognized and achievable coaches.
“¢ Sell someone on the opportunity to get a top name coach here. Someone can come in and win some games, and they’ll feel really good about him.
“¢ Would Mike Leach be a fit at Minnesota? That’s what we’ll determine.
“¢ I’d like to name my head coach as soon as possible, could be before or after the season, it will be a better timeline than last time
“¢ June of 2012 is when his contract expires ““ will not having a president be tough? He doesn’t know the answer to that. If you pay someone and give him a 6 or 7 year contact that’s not bad security.
“¢ After the USD loss ““ he didn’t talk to anyone about making a change, but
“¢ Have you given any thought to resigning? Maturi said no, he has not considered it.
“¢ Did you get pressure from above to relieve Brewster ““ Maturi has taken responsibility for it, but did get approval from above. Maturi was the one that made the decision
“¢ Coach Horton is a candidate for this full time job
“¢ Coach Brewster and I decided it’s not in his best interest to stay on for the season
“¢ Are you willing to increase the salary of the new head coach? Those are the kinds of things we need to determine. Coach Brewster is making what he’s making because that’s the level he was at. We were prepared to pay more. Can we pay Saban or Urban Meyer
prices, no ““ but we can pay more than we are, and be competitive. Right now, our staff is paid competitively right now.
“¢ Maturi said he was proud to be at Wisconsin when they were in our situation, and was there when they won their 1st Rose Bowl.
“¢ Next time I get in front of you to talk about any candidate will be when we’re announcing our new football coach.
Jeff Horton
“¢ This is not the ideal circumstances that Adam and I would want to be here. I want to thank Coach Brewster for giving me the opportunity to come here. He was great to be around everyday. I know at times he got beat up for being positive and his energy. He never wavered in what he believed in. I feel like I let him down, that I wasn’t doing my job good enough to keep him here. It’s a challenging schedule, 3 teams in the top 10 out of the last 5. This is an exciting opportunity for our players. We need to find a way to let them have the excitement. I don’t think people realize the commitment, time and effort. No one hurts like our players hurt. Adam Weber leaves it on the field every Saturday. My sole job is to be an influence on this team, to lead us in the right direction. This is a chance for the students and this city to rally behind this football team. The kids are the ones that have the lifetime memories. We need to do everything in our power to make those memories positive. We need to have our team as prepared as we possibly can. I’ve been in the press box and called the plays from up there, I’ll come down to the field. We’ll have the best play available to beat Penn State.
“¢ It’s a bottom line business as a coach, and the bottom line is victories.
“¢ Whoever the next coach is to come in, will have a great group of players, the city of Minneapolis, and the stadium make a good package, and if you still with it, you can build a good program.
“¢ What do you plan on changing? Instilling confidence into players. Our big motto is “œFinish” we wear it on wristbands. Gotta get them to go out and play as hard as they can, for as long as they can. We aren’t going to change everything, we have to play better. We haven’t played well enough. We’re not finished, we punch in everyday, and we’re going to continue to do that.
“¢ Coach Brewster is going to meet later today with the players, we met with him as a staff this morning. He’s a good man, and a damn good coach.
“¢ What’s the team’s plan for recruiting? The main thing is talking to the guys who we have committed. We won’t bring anybody else in on trips, it won’t be wise to do that. We’ll encourage the kids to stay with that commitment. Make sure you’re making your decision on where you’re comfortable.
“¢ On Lou Holtz staff ““ what were your experience? He was a dynamic speaker, I never saw anyone that could turn on a crowd like he could. He’s a relentless recruiter, very demanding. I think there isn’t a coach out there that wouldn’t want to be the head coach of the University of Minnesota. This is a big time University, big time stadium, there’s not a coach that wouldn’t want to be part of that opportunity. I think Joel and everyone else involved won’t have a problem attracting a highly visible candidate.
Adam Weber
“¢ What’s this been like for you? It’s been a disappointment, you take it one week at a time, and you have 100% confidence that you’ll go into that week and win. I don’t think anyone cared as much as Coach Brewster. I feel very badly for him, because he takes responsibility.
“¢ Did you know his job was on the line Saturday? I believe a few of the older guys understood the magnitude of what would happen if we lose to Purdue. It’s about wins and losses. It does fall on the head coach. We didn’t discuss or talk about it. The general reaction from the team was disappointment. Coach Brewster takes the blame, but 110 players are out there. A lot of us feel disappointed that we weren’t able to win football games for Tim Brewster. Now we need to focus on Penn State.
“¢ You opted not talk to the media yesterday, why? I was very disappointed in our performance. I was too frustrated to address the media, not because of this decision, because of the game. Not until this morning did I realize that a change would happen.
“¢ Is this a better option to fire Brewster now? Not sure how it would play out, but this is the hand that was dealt. With Coach Horton as our leader, we’ll rally behind him. We want to end the season on a high note.
“¢ I haven’t spoken privately with Coach Brewster, but I will. He’ll always be my head coach, and the relationship will be lifelong. He’ll always be a special person to me.
“¢ My experience has been strange, but it’s all I know. I just take it one play at a time. I just focus on the present and the future. You just make the most of things, a coaching change, new offense, etc. That’s what I’m going to try the young players that will be impacted more by this than I am.
“¢ Do you think the Gophers are deprived of any resource? I believe everything is in place. It ultimately comes down to a football team coming together. Once you start winning, it snowballs. We had a taste of it, but weren’t able to keep it going. The University gives a student everything we need to be successful academically and athletically. We will have the success, I promise.
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