...while I agree with your statement/implication that a coach's success is ultimately based on win-loss record (particularly in B10/11 play), your earlier comment about Brewster's Rose Bowl comment needs to be addressed.
What do you expect a new coach to say when he comes in? That winning a couple more games a year in the B10/11 is good enough? I don't want that in my coach. I want a coach who has a vision for the future, not just a couple more wins a year. I want someone who yearns for something greater - the Rose Bowl; a National Championship - and has a plan to make it happen. Don't you want that in your coach??
You do remember that the Gophers haven't been to the RB since Jan. 1, 1962 and haven't won/shared the B10/11 title since, what, 1967, yes? You do remember the apathy towards Gopher football (dare I say since the Vikings became the darling of the TC media?), yes? Props to Glen Mason for getting the program to be relevant again. However, relevant isn't good enough anymore. B10/11 titles and National Championships are the goal. So what is wrong with telling your fan base (and your opponents) that the goal at Minnesota is no longer 'being relevant' or just being 'good enough - it's now Rose Bowl?? How do you expect big time recruits to consider much less come to Minnesota to play if we don't have big time goals and aspirations?
Brewster did not say it would happen overnight. He needs time to get his players in place and he's only had two recruiting classes to do so - and NO, I do not and will not count the Feb 2007 class as Brewster's - that was Mason's class, as Brewster only had c. 3 weeks after being hired to (1) keep Mason's recruits and (2) try to convince some big time recruits from MN to stay home. He campaigned for an upgraded schedule to put Minnesota back on the national scene and make Gopher football "relevant" again. There are risks to this strategy. While we may have more talent and have more depth, our schedule this year is much harder than last year. Will we be an improved team? Unquestionably. Will that improvement lead to more Ws this year? That's the goal, but games aren't played on an Internet board, they're played on the gridiron.
Ultimately, Coach Brew will need to "walk the talk" and back-up that talk - on that you and I agree. That said, he has (in my view) two more years to prove himself. He's done a great job of improving the talent level and in infusing the football program with confidence and enthusiasm. He's made mistakes - I do to, as I'm sure you do as well. The key is to learn from those mistakes and not repeat them, for those who fail to remember are doomed to repeat them.
