I don't think anyone on the board knows for sure that we are having difficulty finding someone to become the Gophers OC, but it sure appears that way. If we are having trouble, I would guess it is for one (or more) of the following reasons:
Having a "run game coordinator" already in place- I think this makes it more difficult to attract someone who has been an OC on their own. Is it a step up to go from OC at a smaller D1 school to OC/passing game coordinator at a bigger school or more of a lateral move? Even if an OC is willing to share power, they still have to believe in the Davis run game philosophy and they have to get along with him on a personal and professional level.
Job security- Someone could look at Brewster's record over the past two years and feel like Coach Brewster is either on the hot seat or will soon be on the hot seat without a big year in '09. I don't believe Brewster is on the hot seat, but especially with this economy, you could see someone with a "safe" job now being extra careful about giving that job up to come to Minnesota.
Compensation- Just speculation, but maybe Dunbar still being under contract is limiting what Brewster can offer an OC in terms of salary.
I think that Heupel and Applewhite (if either was offered the job) had a relatively easy decision to stay where they are. They both carry big names nationaly due to their performance on the field as players. I think both of them are capable of getting a head coaching offer at a D1 school (though not a big time school) without ever being a coordinator. Why would either roll the dice on being the OC at Minnesota when that probably doesn't get them any closer to being a head coach than they are now? When a school hires a coordinator as a head coach, they almost always come from one of the very top programs in the nation. I see it as a much safer play to stay where they are held in high regard and either hope to become the coordinator at OU/Texas or get a head job at someplace like Rice/SMU, etc as a result of their name and association with a very successful program.
Having a "run game coordinator" already in place- I think this makes it more difficult to attract someone who has been an OC on their own. Is it a step up to go from OC at a smaller D1 school to OC/passing game coordinator at a bigger school or more of a lateral move? Even if an OC is willing to share power, they still have to believe in the Davis run game philosophy and they have to get along with him on a personal and professional level.
Job security- Someone could look at Brewster's record over the past two years and feel like Coach Brewster is either on the hot seat or will soon be on the hot seat without a big year in '09. I don't believe Brewster is on the hot seat, but especially with this economy, you could see someone with a "safe" job now being extra careful about giving that job up to come to Minnesota.
Compensation- Just speculation, but maybe Dunbar still being under contract is limiting what Brewster can offer an OC in terms of salary.
I think that Heupel and Applewhite (if either was offered the job) had a relatively easy decision to stay where they are. They both carry big names nationaly due to their performance on the field as players. I think both of them are capable of getting a head coaching offer at a D1 school (though not a big time school) without ever being a coordinator. Why would either roll the dice on being the OC at Minnesota when that probably doesn't get them any closer to being a head coach than they are now? When a school hires a coordinator as a head coach, they almost always come from one of the very top programs in the nation. I see it as a much safer play to stay where they are held in high regard and either hope to become the coordinator at OU/Texas or get a head job at someplace like Rice/SMU, etc as a result of their name and association with a very successful program.
