The Fisch hiring could still be a kill shot.

Fisch was the killer shot, he killed the offense. I think next year there's potential to be a lot better on offense. These next four games will be a trial run to see how the offense will be run next year.
 

This is just speculation & rumors so take it with a grain of salt but when Dunbar was brought here it was said that he was helping Brewster out a lot because he had previous HC-ing experience and was pretty much running the team WITH him that first season while Brewster was still learning and getting into the groove of being a HC.......

Gotcha, I guess that could be possible.

I do remember hearing that Dunbar and Brewster were not on the same page a lot. It seems that Dunbar did not want to change the way he ran his offense, while Brewster wanted to make some changes (like QB under center on 3rd in short, etc.). I think if Dunbar would have been willing to change, he would still be here. Don't know for sure, but just my opinion.
 

Dunbar didn't get along with Cal's coach either, but their offense also struggled the next year after he left.
 

Minnesota sports has a relatively low budget when compared to the big time programs. This could change if we keep filling our new stadium and with a revitalized basketball program, but it has not yet. Because if this we hired a new head coach and two years later an OC under an on-the-job training plan. I think we might have qualified for some Federal grant-in-aid money for these moves. I sure hope Mature remembered to apply for it.

Because of this we will have to be a little more patient than if we had, say, put together a $3 million package and gotten Lane Kiffin and his assistants.


---Ummm....FYI, Lane Kiffin WANTED the Gopher job. Maturi picked Brewster over him. At the time I wanted Kiffin to come here. Kiffin was actually angry he didn't get offered the job and only took the Raiders job because literally no one else wanted it. I still have high hopes for Brew here at the U though.
 




play calling

the OC has made some innovative plays and excellent calls, but the execution has been lacking woefully and a lack of discipline with far too many penalties
 

I think the mistake was hiring Dunbar in the first place. not that I had a huge problem with him but it clearly wasn't a match for Brewsters style. He should have stayed true to himself coming in and going with the pro style attack. It had to be corrected at some point, the sooner the better I guess.

As for Fisch I'm not impressed so far. Either we have no strengths or he has failed to play to them. But clearly you can see where a little better execution would have made a big difference in how we percieve him. As a first year OC he gets some slack in these 'blow ups', but it is absolutely his job to clean that up. Just like the rest of the staff patience is the word du jour.
 

Unfortunately it could be to Brewster's coach career. Firing Dunbar really didn't make much sense to me back than and it makes no sense to me now. I thought the offense under Dunbar did a decent job and could score some points. In year one, we had a freshmen QB and Mason's players learning a new system putting up decent numbers. Most of us thought with improved players (speed) the system would take off and help with recruiting. Year two we improved but still had some of the same problems getting short yardage conversions. Of course we were still playing with Mason's players who were recruited to play a zone running attack offense.

You omit that year two, we went from an experienced, veteran Oline in year one to a bunch of redshirt freshman and sophomores. That has had more effect on the last two years than anything - except maybe the second change of Off coords and schemes.
 



---Ummm....FYI, Lane Kiffin WANTED the Gopher job. Maturi picked Brewster over him. At the time I wanted Kiffin to come here. Kiffin was actually angry he didn't get offered the job and only took the Raiders job because literally no one else wanted it. I still have high hopes for Brew here at the U though.

That's how I remember it also. I do wonder though how Kiffin would have done without Tennessee's talent, both in players and assistants.

The luster might also have run out on his USC "twin" Sarkassian after losing 4 out of his last five up in Washington. They have given-up 34 plus a game during that period. It would be nice to see the Huskies turn it around and get back into the Gophers Non-Conference Schedule.
 

I am so glad Kiffen didn't end up here. At the time I thought it would have been a great choice. Now not so much.
 

I think the mistake was hiring Dunbar in the first place. not that I had a huge problem with him but it clearly wasn't a match for Brewsters style. He should have stayed true to himself coming in and going with the pro style attack. It had to be corrected at some point, the sooner the better I guess.

As for Fisch I'm not impressed so far. Either we have no strengths or he has failed to play to them. But clearly you can see where a little better execution would have made a big difference in how we percieve him. As a first year OC he gets some slack in these 'blow ups', but it is absolutely his job to clean that up. Just like the rest of the staff patience is the word du jour.

I agree that hiring Dunbar was most likely a mistake.However, sometimes when you make a mistake and try to fix it you only cause more problems. I think Brewster would have done himself a favor going pro-style in the first place. He came form Denver which used a zone blocking scheme that our team had some experience running. I'm guessing he knows more about the pro style than the spread. Problem is now we have a dynamic player in Gray that has only played out of the shotgun. (I'm guessing he ran the spread at Ben Davis) How good will Gray be if he has to go under center? Many talented QBs struggle with this change. Such as Vince Young.
 

I think that's why he is not starting yet. It will take time for hime to make the changes. But Gray is a great athlete, maybe this isn't as good a fit for him coming out of high school as the spread would have been, but it might be the best thing for him. After he makes his adjustments he'll be better suited for the next step if he's good enough. And if not, Alipate is right for this offense and he's pretty talented too. And then there is Parish right behind him and who knows what comes next.

What if Dunbar's system turned out to be ill fitted to Brewsters mentality like we think yet he had these great up and coming recruits playing for him. He might have been good enough to never get fired but never great. Then what? Better to get it over with and move on asap.

It's painful, and I don't like it. But probably a necessary evil.
 



I am so glad Kiffen didn't end up here. At the time I thought it would have been a great choice. Now not so much.

I totally agree with this assessment. I'm almost starting to regret that he has ties to the state of Minnesota.
 



I think Fisch is doing a good.play calling seems right on..Dunbar never having a fullback in the game even on short yardage plays and establishing any kind of running game got him the heave ho.His 2 yard passes on 3rd an 1 getting batted down all the time was insane.Fisch is doing a much better job than Norm Chow is at UCLA for the past 3 years so lets give him some time.
 

Maybe my memory is failing me but didn't Brewster tout the exciting spread offensive system he was going to implement during his introductory press conferences? The Dunbar hiring made all the sense in the world given what Brewster was saying he was all about back then. The seemingly abrupt shift to "I'm about power running" made no sense to me given what Brewster originally said as well as the players he was recruiting. I know some here don't give any credence to establishing a team identity but I don't think it can be minimized. You need an identity and a stable game plan to allow you to recruit the right kids and put them in a position to succeed. At the end of the day that really is the primary responsibility of the head coach. Coordinators can change - although it's not desirable - as long as the incoming coordinator knows what the team is about and what the head coach wants to do with his team. Right now we're on our second O scheme in 3 years and the play calling this season, even in the games we've won, leaves me scratching my head as to what it is the coaching staff is trying to establish and set up. We do need to establish an identity on offense and soon or we risk losing more games on the field and with key recruits. After all, how do you convince a kid that he's needed if you can't definitively explain why or how...

This isn't a reason to fire anyone but it a cause for concern...
 

Maybe my memory is failing me but didn't Brewster tout the exciting spread offensive system he was going to implement during his introductory press conferences? The Dunbar hiring made all the sense in the world given what Brewster was saying he was all about back then. The seemingly abrupt shift to "I'm about power running" made no sense to me given what Brewster originally said as well as the players he was recruiting. I know some here don't give any credence to establishing a team identity but I don't think it can be minimized. You need an identity and a stable game plan to allow you to recruit the right kids and put them in a position to succeed. At the end of the day that really is the primary responsibility of the head coach. Coordinators can change - although it's not desirable - as long as the incoming coordinator knows what the team is about and what the head coach wants to do with his team. Right now we're on our second O scheme in 3 years and the play calling this season, even in the games we've won, leaves me scratching my head as to what it is the coaching staff is trying to establish and set up. We do need to establish an identity on offense and soon or we risk losing more games on the field and with key recruits. After all, how do you convince a kid that he's needed if you can't definitively explain why or how...

This isn't a reason to fire anyone but it a cause for concern...

This is the problem with hiring a coach who had never been responsible for developing a game plan. Let's just hope he learns soon what he truly wants and how to implement it.
 

Maybe my memory is failing me but didn't Brewster tout the exciting spread offensive system he was going to implement during his introductory press conferences? The Dunbar hiring made all the sense in the world given what Brewster was saying he was all about back then. The seemingly abrupt shift to "I'm about power running" made no sense to me given what Brewster originally said as well as the players he was recruiting. I know some here don't give any credence to establishing a team identity but I don't think it can be minimized. You need an identity and a stable game plan to allow you to recruit the right kids and put them in a position to succeed. At the end of the day that really is the primary responsibility of the head coach. Coordinators can change - although it's not desirable - as long as the incoming coordinator knows what the team is about and what the head coach wants to do with his team. Right now we're on our second O scheme in 3 years and the play calling this season, even in the games we've won, leaves me scratching my head as to what it is the coaching staff is trying to establish and set up. We do need to establish an identity on offense and soon or we risk losing more games on the field and with key recruits. After all, how do you convince a kid that he's needed if you can't definitively explain why or how...

This isn't a reason to fire anyone but it a cause for concern...[/QUOTE/]
Right on!
 


Fisch's calls have players open, but some of those balls thrown by AW are just terrible. I can still see NTA(48) open in the end zone and AW tossing that awful ball at the SD game. Decent QB and that game woulda been 17-0 at half.
 

Jedd Fisch

Hey everyone, was Jedd one of Tim's co-coordinators at Denver at one time? I may be wrong, but I thinkl he was. If so, the good ol boy system is alive and well. Amen.

Go Gophers!!
 

Hey everyone, was Jedd one of Tim's co-coordinators at Denver at one time? I may be wrong, but I thinkl he was. If so, the good ol boy system is alive and well. Amen.

Go Gophers!!


Fisch was with Denver for the 2008 season. He was wide receivers coach. Baltimore prior.

Never been a coordinator.
 

Fisch joined the Broncos' staff after Brewster left. Highly recommended by Shanahan, though, so that Denver connection didn't hurt.
 




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