"Brewster's future positively in question"

[gold04]

I think it's too big of a gamble by Maturi to sign Brewster to an extension before this year. Brewster has been a head coach only in high school before he came to the Gophers. Maturi was right in waiting to sign an extension.

 

[Doogie]

As someone just pointed out here at Winter Park, maybe the biggest problem with the story is this quote from Maturi: "How many (coaches) have they had since Murray Warmath? They've had quite a few, and none of them have been successful."

I wonder how Mason feels about that? He had his issues, and choked away enough games, but also won some as well.

 

[Schnoodler]

Really in my mind the only reason to extend Brewster now is to stem the impact of the negative media. Probably not a good enough reason.

And alluding to a previous response, I agree I shouldn't throw all of the strib under the bus for Ruesse. They have done by far and away their best job ever of writing special interest pieces on the team. And I'm not being sarcastic. It's too bad Ruesse needs to color everything with his crap.

The bottom line is that Brewster is not getting fired this year without a massive collapse of the program, and he's not getting extended without massive success. So really the only thing affected is recruiting and public sentiment. To what degree?? Probably not as much as I worry that it might. In the end Maturi will judge the program based on if it's progressing or not, not some mythical won loss number. As long as it is progressing, Brew will be the head coach and the program will keep advancing.

 

[Schnoodler]

As someone just pointed out here at Winter Park, maybe the biggest problem with the story is this quote from Maturi: "How many (coaches) have they had since Murray Warmath? They've had quite a few, and none of them have been successful."

I wonder how Mason feels about that? He had his issues, and choked away enough games, but also won some as well.

By the same standards the local media is trying to hold Brew to I'd say Mason didn't do to well. How many 5-3 records did Mase have in the B10 in his ten years again?

how many times did he exceed that?

 

[calminnfan]

As someone just pointed out here at Winter Park, maybe the biggest problem with the story is this quote from Maturi: "How many (coaches) have they had since Murray Warmath? They've had quite a few, and none of them have been successful."

I wonder how Mason feels about that? He had his issues, and choked away enough games, but also won some as well.

Under Mason, the Gophers were middle of the road and not something anywhere near championship material. It also shows how Maturi assesses Mason's overall record and not just individual games. Mason won a few big games, but never raised the overall level of the team over the course of an entire season much less for a longer stretch, and he had 10 years to accomplish it. Unfortunately his tenior was marked with the wanting to be at OS like he felt other players wanted to be. His recruiting was without heart for players, resigned to the belief that the best players will want to go elsewhere. If he did not believe he could bring them to MN. why should they want to go there.

With Brew the Gophers have someone with a spark to try and raise the team to the next level. He may/may not get there, but the way the played against Cal, especially after the poor first half start was something to be proud of and an indicator that the team not only is starting to believe in itself but is pushing to break through to being a much better quality team.

 

[Saskatchewan Gopher]

As someone just pointed out here at Winter Park, maybe the biggest problem with the story is this quote from Maturi: "How many (coaches) have they had since Murray Warmath? They've had quite a few, and none of them have been successful."

I wonder how Mason feels about that? He had his issues, and choked away enough games, but also won some as well.

Why in the world is this the "biggest problem" with the story? I don't get that statemet.

 

[JPIIGopher]

As someone just pointed out here at Winter Park, maybe the biggest problem with the story is this quote from Maturi: "How many (coaches) have they had since Murray Warmath? They've had quite a few, and none of them have been successful."

I wonder how Mason feels about that? He had his issues, and choked away enough games, but also won some as well.

Mason moved the program in a good direction while he was here, but to have the talent we had in '99 and '03 and not bring home a bigten championship was a damn shame, and in my book, not successful. Successful coaches win championships at some point during their tenure. Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Purdue all won at least a share during the Mason years. Brewster should be and will be ultimately judged by whether he can bring a bigten championship back to Minnesota.

 

[UpnorthGo4]

Brewster should be and will be ultimately judged by whether he can bring a bigten championship back to Minnesota.

And as we all know, that is EXACTLY how Brewster wants to be judged as the Gopher coach. Mason was all about making excuses for why he couldn't win a championship in Minnesota.

 

[Doogie]

Why in the world is this the "biggest problem" with the story? I don't get that statemet.

maybe bad wording on my part, maybe better to say...maybe the biggest part that makes us pause...

Success is incredibly subjective, but hard to call Mason a massive failure...just curious, he's not tough to track down, just curious for someone to get his reaction to that quote.

 

[Monty519]

Mason was FAR from a failure. He got the program back on its feet and set the stage for the new place to be built. But I think the "sucess" Maturi is referring to is a Big Ten Championship, which is the main goal here, is it not? All types of coaches have come in since 1967 and have not succeeded in bringing Minnesota a Big Ten Championship.

 

[Schnoodler]

Yes, I agree that was the reference Maturi was making. He's focused on that. All the U of M programs are, football should be no different. But I don't believe Maturi is anywhere close to dropping the hatchet on this program, in fact I think just the opposite.

 

[minngg]

As someone just pointed out here at Winter Park, maybe the biggest problem with the story is this quote from Maturi: "How many (coaches) have they had since Murray Warmath? They've had quite a few, and none of them have been successful."

I wonder how Mason feels about that? He had his issues, and choked away enough games, but also won some as well.

Mase? In 10 years he finished 3rd in the Big Ten once. 32-48. He won some big games? Yes, he beat some good teams and then would turn around and lost to terrible teams. His non-conference schedule was a joke. Brewster should be judged on his Big Ten accomplishments. As Maturi pointed out, we have never really contended for a championship since Warmath left.

 

[Saskatchewan Gopher]

maybe bad wording on my part, maybe better to say...maybe the biggest part that makes us pause...

Success is incredibly subjective, but hard to call Mason a massive failure...just curious, he's not tough to track down, just curious for someone to get his reaction to that quote.

Hmmm, maybe that should be the next task of the reporter, happen to know any?

But, I do agree in that Mason was not a massive failure, but he wasn't about to take us any further than we were already. I just don't think his heart was in to the everyday grind that this job entails at MN, if, on the other hand, he was at tOSU he might have been up for that grind.

Go Gophers!!

SK Gopher

 

[craw0092]

If he wins the next two games, I extend his contract. Winning at NWern and beating Wiscy, does it for me.

 

[Schnoodler]

i always liked mason, up until his final year. It seemed obvious he was coasting. No longer had an eye to the next step for the program. I still like Mason, just not as the gopher coach.

 

[Hates Monikers]

Mason was FAR from a failure. He got the program back on its feet and set the stage for the new place to be built. But I think the "sucess" Maturi is referring to is a Big Ten Championship, which is the main goal here, is it not? All types of coaches have come in since 1967 and have not succeeded in bringing Minnesota a Big Ten Championship.

Right. Or at least challenge for a championship. Yes, Mason was 5-3 in his third season, good for a tie for fourth place in the conference. I would take that this year. Mason had seven more seasons, and had one more 5-3 season, good for another fourth-place tie. That was the best he did in 10 years. (If he wins that 2003 Michigan game, I think the rest of his time here could've exploded into something great. Alas, he lost.)

We have to define "success," I guess. I appreciate everything Mason did here, bringing the program back from the dead. But he couldn't get us past middle of the pack. Is that success? I think as long as Brewster is making progress, he deserves more time.

 

[calminnfan]

maybe bad wording on my part, maybe better to say...maybe the biggest part that makes us pause...

Success is incredibly subjective, but hard to call Mason a massive failure...just curious, he's not tough to track down, just curious for someone to get his reaction to that quote.

Mason was not a failure, but to gauge his time at MN as a success is very subjective as well. He took the program as far as his efforts dictated.

To many wins were against subpar opponents and in regard to recruiting talent, his excuses rather then hard work, perseverance and optimism. In his attitude, he alienated many HS coaches and parents of top talent in MN made mention that he never even tried to get the students.

I do realize the new stadium helps in recruiting, and Mason does deserve some credit for that, but there are also a lot of other benefits to the UofM that he could have and should have utilized in recruiting instead of saying...well the negative press keeps kids from coming, it is to cold, we can't compete with the top schools, ect. ect.

The top recruits had no reason to believe he could make the school a top school.

 

[Honyocker]

2009 The Defining Year? Hogwash!

Losing his temper is a complete non-issue to me, so many coaches do it, I couldn't care less.

My whole issue with this "2009 is THE defining year" for Brewster talk is he has a grand total of two of his classes in. How in the world can we possibly judge him completely when half the team isn't even his? More than half really, cause how much contribution are you gonna get from the '09 class this year? Not a ton. This whole thing is kinda ridiculous when you think about it? There are people literally saying if we go 3-5 he should be fired. You gotta be kidding me with that. Will that be disappointing? Yes, but fired?? Are you serious with that? This season has potential, but we still have a tough schedule. Just cause MSU and Illinois (who we really have no idea about since they've really only played one game) aren't quite as good as we thought doesn't make them automatic wins. They're still very talented teams. Wisconsin's always hard. The road games are all tough gets. That's 7 potential losses right there. Purdue for homecoming is the only game I feel comfortable declaring a win and you saw how they played Oregon. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses, but let's be real people, this season could very well not go how we all hope it does. Outside of Minnesota, expectations are not even close to as high as they are locally. Nationally, it's EXPECTED we go 3-5, I even saw some 2-6s. Locally, it's 5-3 or bust. I know we're impatient cause we've been losing for quite a while, but you can't hold that against Brewster, that's just not fair to him at all. It's like some people pretty much hold the last 40 years against him, and it's unreasonable to expect him to instantly turn everything all around and put us in the Rose Bowl. Give him REAL time to work, and by REAL time, I mean more than 2 1/2 years. And quit expecting/wanting/hoping/assuming he will fail and support the man while he is here. The program will be much better off for it.

Agree, Monty. I will wait until Brew's first real recruiting class (Feb. 2008) are seniors (Fall 2011). Then we will know something about what Brew's players and coaches can do. It is beyond silly to say a coach who has just two of his recruiting classes on the squad is in his "defining year".

 

[ilovethebarn]

Schnoodler, I usually agree with almost all of your posts, but I'm calling a big B.S. on this one. You have got to be kidding me with that comment! The STrib has given the Gophers INCREDIBLE coverage this year, absolutely incredible. Yet for some reason hardly anyone on here talked about the 24 page TCF Bank Stadium special, the huge profile on Decker right before the season, the profiles of the 1967 team captains returning to TCF Bank Stadium, the front page above the fold of the main section of the three generational family who couldn't wait to get to their seats at TCF Bank Stadium and on and on.

I challenge you to validate your comment that I bolded above. Please look back at the coverage that the STrib has given the team this year and let me know how they continue to spin things in a negative light. Let's just say for the sake of argument that this was the most negative article ever written on the Gophers, and it would still be positive coverage outweighing negative coverage in the STrib at lest 10 to 1, if not more this year.

It amazes me how Youngblood wrote positive profile after positive profile and many of these went completely unnoticed by GHers, or at least no one chose to post about it. Why is that? Why were there only a handful of posts about a 24 page special section?? Why was a huge Decker profile a few weeks back completely ignored on here? And how does the STrib continue to spin the negative? The facts just don't back that up.

Go Gophers!!

Bleed this is one of the best posts I have seen on the hole is a really long time. Thank you!

 

[Schnoodler]

In my defense I did acknowledge that my brush was too broad. I hope you didn't miss that post.

 

[gopher7]

The first sentence in this article should tell you everything you need to know about it. "As coach Tim Brewster begins his third Big Ten season, results so far haven't met lofty aspirations." WTF?????? Mark Craig is expecting results after 2 seasons? Brewster has a 5 year contract. He has played 2 Big Ten seasons, and has 3 left. He is 40% through his contract. The impact of his recruiting is only about 40% in place. His first full recruiting class is redshirt freshmen and true sophomores. Yet Craig is wondering if 2009 is Brewster's make or break year? Give me a break.

 

[Khaliq]

The first sentence in this article should tell you everything you need to know about it. "As coach Tim Brewster begins his third Big Ten season, results so far haven't met lofty aspirations." WTF?????? Mark Craig is expecting results after 2 seasons? Brewster has a 5 year contract. He has played 2 Big Ten seasons, and has 3 left. He is 40% through his contract. The impact of his recruiting is only about 40% in place. His first full recruiting class is redshirt freshmen and true sophomores. Yet Craig is wondering if 2009 is Brewster's make or break year? Give me a break.

Well, to be fair some of those expectations were laid by Brewster himself:

"We're going to win the Big Ten championship and we're going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena," he said. "That's my dream, that's my goal and that's my belief. It will happen here sooner rather than later."

 

[dpodoll68]

Well, to be fair some of those expectations were laid by Brewster himself:

"We're going to win the Big Ten championship and we're going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena," he said. "That's my dream, that's my goal and that's my belief. It will happen here sooner rather than later."

Here we go again with this BS. Show me one time, even once, when Brewster said that he was going to do it in Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, etc. or any other definitive point in time.

Sooner rather than later means nothing. I hope to pay off my mortgage sooner rather than later. Realistically, it will take me 20 years. I hope to live another 55 to 60 years, so 20 years down the road would be sooner rather than later. 20 years. So what is sooner rather than later for a Big Ten coach? Exactly.

Would you rather that the head coach at the University of Minnesota have expectations for anything less than a Big Ten championship? If so, let's get Glen Mason on the horn and see if he'd come back. His expectation was to go 7-5 and win the Motor City Bowl. That was an amazing success for ol' Grinnin' Glen.

The evidence against you being a Gopher fan is mounting by the second. This is the kind of dog vomit I'd expect from a Hogeye or Fadger - not a Gopher "fan".

 

[Hates Monikers]

Well, to be fair some of those expectations were laid by Brewster himself:

"We're going to win the Big Ten championship and we're going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena," he said. "That's my dream, that's my goal and that's my belief. It will happen here sooner rather than later."

That should be the expectation, or at least the goal, of every coach at Minnesota. But to think he should have achieved that by now, with two recruiting classes in school, is beyond ridiculous.

 

[Khaliq]

I never said that he had to go to Pasadena in the first few years, just that if that's the goal and the goal is to be achieved sooner then we need to see steady progress toward that. I fully agree with managing expectations, but to get the program to an elite level expectations have to be raised above where they were in the Mason years at some point.

I didn't even say that he's failed to live up to those expectations, just that there are some lofty goals for this program. Which is a good thing.

I'm not even going to respond to the "not a gopher fan" nonsense. It's tired and childish.

 

[Schnoodler]

It is infact the very thing that makes the media hacks appear the most hackish. They keep alluding to this as if it's some evidencs of something. "He said this so I'm just holding him accountable to his own words."

How about we hold the hacks accountable to pulling their heads out their ass and giving us some solid coverage and analysis for a change.

Everytime i hear this on the radio I'm reminded of just how unprofessional these so called experts really are.

 

[Khaliq]

Well, and I ask this without the intent of being pejorative in any way, what does that quote mean then? What type of time frame was he laying out for himself there?

 

[dpodoll68]

I never said that he had to go to Pasadena in the first few years, just that if that's the goal and the goal is to be achieved sooner then we need to see steady progress toward that. I fully agree with managing expectations, but to get the program to an elite level expectations have to be raised above where they were in the Mason years at some point.

I didn't even say that he's failed to live up to those expectations, just that there are some lofty goals for this program. Which is a good thing.

I'm not even going to respond to the "not a gopher fan" nonsense. It's tired and childish.

So what about this is not steady progress?:

2007 1-11 (.083)
2008 7-6 (.538)
2009 2-1 (.667)

Looks like a pretty steady upward trend to me.

Yeah, it's real "petty and childish". I have yet to see a single positive post from you regarding the Gopher program at large and Brewster in particular. There are plenty of things about which one could rip on Brewster, but taking a quote out of context, blatantly misstating the facts, and constructing them as a facade used to tear him down is getting real old, real fast.

You don't have to like Brewster as a coach or a person. But if you don't support him as our head coach, you don't support the University of Minnesota. If he is successful, the University is successful. Period.

 

[Khaliq]

So what about this is not steady progress?:

2007 1-11 (.083)
2008 7-6 (.538)
2009 2-1 (.667)

Looks like a pretty steady upward trend to me.

Yeah, it's real "petty and childish". I have yet to see a single positive post from you regarding the Gopher program at large and Brewster in particular. There are plenty of things about which one could rip on Brewster, but taking a quote out of context, blatantly misstating the facts, and constructing them as a facade used to tear him down is getting real old, real fast.

You don't have to like Brewster as a coach or a person. But if you don't support him as our head coach, you don't support the University of Minnesota. If he is successful, the University is successful. Period.

You're resorting to ad hominem and attempting to marginalize me because you don't like what I have to say. I also don't understand how that quote loses any meaning or takes on any new meaning removed from the context of his presser. It's a bold proclamation, which is good, and what exactly that means in terms of metrics and milestones is of course up for interpretation.

I also don't know what facts I've blatantly misstated, so if you could point them out to me I'd be happy to address them.

I really don't think anything I said necessitated such an uncivil response.

 

[Khaliq]

Gotta love the snarky, sarcastic, childish play on words involving the title. Since Brew frequently uses the phrase,"without question," the writer Titles the story 'Brewster's Future Positively In Question." What an A-hole.

Well, keep in mind it's often the editor who picks the title not the author. Which is a shame because the overall piece wasn't as salacious as the title.