Why was Brew brought in.........

[NewEngland_Gold]

to rescue a Minny program wandering in the Dome desert of modest accomplishment?

Joel M and the Administration knew very clearly up-front that Brew had never had D1...or any...collegiate head football coaching experience.

Also..a big key in their decision-making...they did know Brew is a terrific recruiter and the Gs desperately needed national talent to supplement the small pool of high-level in-state D1 players in order to pull the Gopher glory wagon to the mountain top. No doubt Joel & Co are very pleased by Brew's recruiting success and they expect more to come over the next several years with the Bank in place.

What they didn't know...and noone does... is if Brew has the ability to develop into a successful head coach measured by wins/losses and negotiating the G wagon to or near the top of the BT mountain. JM certainly has given him the freedom to make big staff changes when things were not working...so we know they both are flexible enough to switch up when necessary.

Also, we do know that he and the staff he has hired can coach players to a high level of ST play (his Special Forces)...no question...most everyone here seems to agree to that and salute the talented players he has brought in who are making it happen. Can Brew at this stage of his tenure coach O/D at a high level? In my view, no...he is dependent basically on the O/D staff for the game plan etc...and has delegated that to his O/D coordinators just like Mase did with his STs and D while Mase concentrated on the OL/running game.

Unfortunately, unlike Texas and USC, IMHO the Gs do not have the talent level...and may never have that talent level...to take the CEO/delegation approach to coaching. With the CEO approach, Brew is working to establish the program somewhere halfway up the mountain and to his credit has the Gs about where they were under Mase with the plus of a tougher, more competitive NC schedule.

Back to his boss Joel. Joel knows all this and realizes the program has taken quite a coaching risk with Brew: he'll get the players, but can he coach them to the top? Joel doesn't know the answer to that and will probably only offer Brew an extension if he sees some measurables/metrics beyond recruiting and academic success that point the program definitively topside...at least periodically, if not regularly.

In the meantime, my guess is that Joel will sit tight and give Brew plenty of time to become a rounded head coach capable of coaching and inputting to the O/D schemes on a knowledgable basis. If Brew can't grow in that direction, the AD will likely look elsewhere to for a return to GG fb glory, probably using the "Tubby model" of combing a solid recruiter and a proven D1 coach. Joel looks like a genius with that coup.

JMHO from afar...maybe other Ghers closer to the action have a better view...

 

[centerofmn]

I honestly don't think it was the coaching yesterday that killed us. Our defense failed to stop the run. There is not much defensive scheming a coach can do to help that. They were just blowing up our D-line and trucking over our secondary. We were missing tackles and not getting penetration, not to mention very little pressure on the QB when he was throwing.

On offense, too many turnovers. Too many penalties. Not to mention Weber blowing a couple of wide open passes. That was about it.

To me, this game was really about our defense. Our offense put a respectable amount of points on the board. Granted, the turnovers really killed us. However, our defense cannot allow 300 rushing yards a game if we want to win.

 

[NewEngland_Gold]

I watched the ESPN-cast and did not have the pleasure of attending the game. Based on that view, my take:

Defense: the ESPN analysts repeatedly praised the G front...esp the tackles...the problem was that as Clay ran wild in the second half they pointed out that the DL did not shift to the strong side. That's on Brew/Cos for not recognizing it...maybe they should be plugged into the ESPN feed.

Penalties/Poor tackling etc: In my view, that's on coaching and lack of player discipline. For the NW game, that was a focus for Brew and they had one penalty. Somehow that was a one game fix.

Play calling: Bob G had many criticisms here, but said JF was learning on the job. I doubt Brew had any material impact here...although he should have as HC because there were some wierd calls in the RZn.

 

[Schnoodler]

You do probably make the best point NE that I don't think anyone really knows how to weight in coach Brews evaluation. He came in an inexperienced head coach and needs to grow into the position. No coach is perfect, they are better at somethings than others. Coach Brew is really good at recruiting, probably player evaluation, and I get the sense at running a decent program. Can he coach? I like how you point to the areas he knew best coming in and that is ST and TE, they both do really well. I think that's the level of performance we'll eventually see out of the rest of the team.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

Recruit, market Gopher football and field a more competitive team.

I will reserve my judgement on his success for another two years.

 

[magpie]

I posted it in another thread and can find/paste the supporting numbers here if requested, but keep in mind that Mason (who was decent) took Wacker's cupboard and managed to go 5-3 in the Big Ten by his third season, and pretty much stick around 45% Big Ten win percentage from there. Mason surely left better players than Wacker did, so it's not unreasonable to ask the better recruiting Brewster to produce at least 4 Big Ten wins this year. Having lost to Wisconsin, I'm not so sure that will happen anymore. Illinois and Purdue are capable of an upset, and it really depends on which Michigan St team we see. The road games are pretty much given losses, considering their ranked competition.

 

[upchurch]

Now that this season is lost in terms of major bowl, Big 10 champ, etc. Let's start opening things up and play with some balls. And let's play the younger guys. These seniors are going nowhere. Decker is an amazing player, but the rest are averahe. Let's gp young. I keep hearing how great our tackles are. Really? Get the young guys in there.

 

[STPGopher]

Now that this season is lost in terms of major bowl, Big 10 champ, etc. Let's start opening things up and play with some balls. And let's play the younger guys. These seniors are going nowhere. Decker is an amazing player, but the rest are averahe. Let's gp young. I keep hearing how great our tackles are. Really? Get the young guys in there.

If you mean the DT's, Edwards and Kirksey play throughout the game. They are part of the rotation.

 

[GopherRock]

Mason surely left better players than Wacker did, so it's not unreasonable to ask the better recruiting Brewster to produce at least 4 Big Ten wins this year.

I guess I wasn't old enough to remember what kind of players were left over from Wacker, but I can tell you that between the end of the Mason era and the Dom Jones and Co. fiasco, there was NOTHING in the cupboard when Brewster started.

 

[thailleagle]

I guess I wasn't old enough to remember what kind of players were left over from Wacker, but I can tell you that between the end of the Mason era and the Dom Jones and Co. fiasco, there was NOTHING in the cupboard when Brewster started.

Sherrels, Decker, Weber? Take away all 3 and tell me how many games we win in the last 3 Seasons........

 

[Schnoodler]

it was pretty ugly. you couldn't even name a one deep that first year. Now we can go three deep almost everywhere. The difference is enormous. Another two years that three deep is all talent.