BleedGopher
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Tim Brewster believes the people above him, the executives who ultimately will decide his fate, are still with him. And he is certain that the people below him, the players and assistants who take each loss most personally, haven't deserted him, either.
The other 5 million Minnesotans, though? The Gophers football coach has no illusions about his popularity in the wake of a 1-3 start to the season.
"I'm paid to win football games, and I understand that very clearly," Brewster said a day after the Gophers' third consecutive loss, a humbling 34-23 drubbing to Northern Illinois. "It's the fans' right to be able to express frustration when (their) team loses. But I can handle it."
There's certainly plenty of it. Message boards were full of rancor toward Brewster on Sunday, and talk shows debated candidates to replace the fourth-year coach. Wild rumors spread from site to site, but in the eye of the cyberstorm, Brewster calmly went about his normal Sunday routine of analyzing the previous game and planning for the next.
He added an increasingly obligatory task: making the case for keeping his job.
A sizable portion of Gopher Nation, after all, is demanding a drastic change. Brewster believes they will get one - but not the one they expect.
"We're good enough to win football games. And we will," Brewster said. "We're going to beat some teams in the Big Ten that don't expect to be beaten by Minnesota."
Any of the eight remaining opponents would qualify for that distinction, given the disheartening evidence turned in by the Gophers on Saturday. Their defense missed tackle after tackle, enabling Northern Illinois senior tailback Chad Spann to cavort through the defense as though he were playing two-handed touch. The Gophers allowed a blocked punt, committed a holding penalty that nullified a breakaway touchdown run, failed to gain a yard on a pair of fourth-down plunges and surrendered the seven longest rushes of the game.
"The kids gave a great effort, but we make too many mistakes," said Brewster, who is under contract for two more seasons. "I expected us to win three games, at least three, in the preseason. We've won one."
Who should be held responsible for that? It's Brewster, and he said he accepts that and understands that the focus will be on him and his job security until the Gophers win a few games. But he pointed out that Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz went 1-10 and 3-9 at Iowa before turning the Hawkeyes around. The Gophers' 2010 season is not lost, he insisted, not before the team has played a single Big Ten game.
"Every coach knows he's here to win football games. But you also have to understand that there's a process to get there," Brewster said. "I don't think there's any question that our program, and the players that we have in the program, are much further along than when we got here. We've improved our team each year - up until this point. It's hard for me to say we've made improvement in this season yet. But there's a long way to go."
Besides, he seemed to say, a one-season hiccup on the road to respectability is no reason to clean house.
"The answer in college football is not (to) change the coach out all the time. That's easy - change the coach, change everything," Brewster said. "That's not the answer. The answer is, make a commitment to be the best you can be at all levels. Add patience and understanding, and you'll be rewarded."
So how effective is Brewster's sales pitch? There's no telling at the moment; athletic director Joel Maturi and university President Robert Bruininks were both out of Minnesota on Sunday and unavailable for comment. Brewster said he has felt nothing but unwavering support from both, despite Bruininks' warning last week that "we're not going to be satisfied with mediocre results and a mediocre season."
His players, too, "were fighting and scratching until the end of the game," Brewster said. "The kids are just as invested as ever."
The pressure over his job status won't change him, the soon-to-be-50-year-old coach said.
"I know this - we've got the program in the right place. We're going to be a better team next year, and the year after that," Brewster said. "At the end of the year, everybody gets a grade. At the end of the year, we'll see where we're at."
Go Gophers!!
The other 5 million Minnesotans, though? The Gophers football coach has no illusions about his popularity in the wake of a 1-3 start to the season.
"I'm paid to win football games, and I understand that very clearly," Brewster said a day after the Gophers' third consecutive loss, a humbling 34-23 drubbing to Northern Illinois. "It's the fans' right to be able to express frustration when (their) team loses. But I can handle it."
There's certainly plenty of it. Message boards were full of rancor toward Brewster on Sunday, and talk shows debated candidates to replace the fourth-year coach. Wild rumors spread from site to site, but in the eye of the cyberstorm, Brewster calmly went about his normal Sunday routine of analyzing the previous game and planning for the next.
He added an increasingly obligatory task: making the case for keeping his job.
A sizable portion of Gopher Nation, after all, is demanding a drastic change. Brewster believes they will get one - but not the one they expect.
"We're good enough to win football games. And we will," Brewster said. "We're going to beat some teams in the Big Ten that don't expect to be beaten by Minnesota."
Any of the eight remaining opponents would qualify for that distinction, given the disheartening evidence turned in by the Gophers on Saturday. Their defense missed tackle after tackle, enabling Northern Illinois senior tailback Chad Spann to cavort through the defense as though he were playing two-handed touch. The Gophers allowed a blocked punt, committed a holding penalty that nullified a breakaway touchdown run, failed to gain a yard on a pair of fourth-down plunges and surrendered the seven longest rushes of the game.
"The kids gave a great effort, but we make too many mistakes," said Brewster, who is under contract for two more seasons. "I expected us to win three games, at least three, in the preseason. We've won one."
Who should be held responsible for that? It's Brewster, and he said he accepts that and understands that the focus will be on him and his job security until the Gophers win a few games. But he pointed out that Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz went 1-10 and 3-9 at Iowa before turning the Hawkeyes around. The Gophers' 2010 season is not lost, he insisted, not before the team has played a single Big Ten game.
"Every coach knows he's here to win football games. But you also have to understand that there's a process to get there," Brewster said. "I don't think there's any question that our program, and the players that we have in the program, are much further along than when we got here. We've improved our team each year - up until this point. It's hard for me to say we've made improvement in this season yet. But there's a long way to go."
Besides, he seemed to say, a one-season hiccup on the road to respectability is no reason to clean house.
"The answer in college football is not (to) change the coach out all the time. That's easy - change the coach, change everything," Brewster said. "That's not the answer. The answer is, make a commitment to be the best you can be at all levels. Add patience and understanding, and you'll be rewarded."
So how effective is Brewster's sales pitch? There's no telling at the moment; athletic director Joel Maturi and university President Robert Bruininks were both out of Minnesota on Sunday and unavailable for comment. Brewster said he has felt nothing but unwavering support from both, despite Bruininks' warning last week that "we're not going to be satisfied with mediocre results and a mediocre season."
His players, too, "were fighting and scratching until the end of the game," Brewster said. "The kids are just as invested as ever."
The pressure over his job status won't change him, the soon-to-be-50-year-old coach said.
"I know this - we've got the program in the right place. We're going to be a better team next year, and the year after that," Brewster said. "At the end of the year, everybody gets a grade. At the end of the year, we'll see where we're at."
Go Gophers!!
