The panic mode and coach speak is starting to wear thin
This is pretty much my biggest beef with the Brewster era. Some of this stuff seems like a soap opera. If things do not go well in the current flavor of the
day, game or month whether it be offensive philosophy or defense or even the coaches that are in place things have happened that are very reactionary. The coach is hired and were all told that the "Spread" offense is where it's at. Were going to be a spread team, players all want to play in a spread offense and be playmakers on TV week after week. We hire Dunbar as the "guru" or one of the godfathers of the spread offense, and instantly force feed that system in place in year one without players that are capable of running that type of offense.
This was almost like watching Elliot Uzelacs first year under the previous regime in Mason where he had Cory Sauter try to run the option offense. We have a team of players that has been recruited for a running game that is based on zone blocking schemes, utilizes the cut block, control the clock and run the ball as well as anyone and we have solid tailbacks that can break tackles are good cut back runners, run well off those zone reads and stretch plays. QB not much is expected with the occasional throws to the boundary and to the deep post to the TE's.
Year two while running the "Spread" the offense struggles, receivers drop a lot of balls, and Weber to Decker is pretty much it for offense. Gophers struggle mightily to run the football with an offensive line that seems overmatched every week, the QB is constantly getting hit and were not completing very many passes to all of these WR playmakers that are recruited for the spread. The stop gap defensive coordinator Roof, that we lucked into, was hired that had improved things leaves after only one season for greener pastures of talent, and the Gophers lose there most talented player on defense in Brock at FS because he would not go to class enough to stay eligible. Offense struggles to improve or score points and Brewster, offensive line is still a weak link talent wise, and Brewster ask's offensive line coach to step down, resign and hires another Guru to institute a power running game and be the "Running game coordinator" In Tim Davis. Team struggles in bowl game running spread offense against Kansas, but we are trying to use larger slower lineman for mass to kick azz to end last season.
Year three ask said "spread" Guru Dunbar to resign or take a year of paid leave to go away while it leaks in the media that you are trying to hire another offensive coordinator and said individual say's to the media he has been offered the offensive coordinator job for the Gophers but has turned it down(This stuff all sounds kind of sordid and shady but who knows what is real and what is media driven on that). Then we get out the bullhorn in the media or newspaper about hiring an absolute "kill shot" hire for offensive coordinator. When names start to leak of who has been interviewed and those individuals have declined the job the final hire is a young gun Jedd Fisch formerly of the Broncos and Mike Shanahann's staff that is about the 4th to 5th choice. After selling everyone that the spread offense is the answer and recruiting a bunch of athletes that are suited for this type of offense the program and head coach have now decided that is not what you want, you are a Pro Style team, balanced with a power running game with a 50/50 split between pass and runs. Were going to run power sets with the QB under center a fullback and a tailback and were going to run the ball well " need to average 100 yards a game or 4 yards a carry". Defensive coordinator Gophers decide to offer the co-coordinator thing by promoting the defensive backs coach Ron Lee and hiring a coach who had been away from college football for a year Cosgrove (he does not seem like that bad a coach by the way and seems to make adjustments). New offensive coordinator comes in, is QB coach the changes throwing motiong of 4th year starting QB to over the top motion, being under center instead, from being in a shot gun set, and kind of a side arm slinger. All of these changes in philosophy in year three have occured in rapid fashion in reaction to struggles against conference opponents, losing or getting rid of coaches and the inability to score points against traditional conference opponents with strong defenses. When making the switch from the spread offense to this pro style offense in year three we are recruiting a ton of offensive lineman without addressing the weakness of defensive line particularly defensive end recruiting or pass rushers. At the same time we continue to show no improvement in the O-line play on offense and the staring QB looks shell shocked and bewilldered after taking weeks worth of hits against good teams. I will acknowledge that those DE's needed are really difficult to recruit because everyone wants and covets these. This was after ignoring the problems of offensive line in years 1 and 2 of the regime and changing wholesale offensive philosophies. We still have an offensive line that even the media or TV announcers calls bad and we go 9 quarters without scoring a point with very little change in the faces up front.
The long story short is that this whole regime has been constant chaos, change, and quick reaction or in constant flux to short term failures, coaches leaving and struggles on the football field. If there is one thing I am hoping for from the present head coach or regime of Brewster is this.
Please stick to something hang your hat on the wall, or put a nail on the wall tack something to it and say this is it, sink or swim with it. I know Minnesota is a tough place to coach and win, nobody signs up for this sh!t storm lightly, we fight a ton of negativity, we all know how hard this place is to win, because we have seen this movie and parade, for umpteen years of lousy losing, crazy wacky plays, coaching changes and bad luck, lousy officiating and poor records for football in the big 10.
Thusly, I and I think many fans have no interest in changing coaches but do want the coach to hang his hat on something, fish or cut bait, this is what we do well and stay with it. I'm not saying we bang our heads against a wall stubbornly until we can't do that anymore but we have got to stop this perpetual change business and find something we are good at and replicate it. Find out what the players do well and tailor yourself to that. We need the Gophers to DEFINE themselves a niche or identity and go with it. That will serve them well in the years to come if they can do that. Find your niche and build. The Gophers need that for progress to continue. When can we win at Minnesota and stop this endless parade of start, stop and restart with coaches. Can we dig out of the wasteland, I think we can but we need to catch a break, and some luck. Something is going to have to bounce our way to turn IT.
