Author: David Shama

Gopher athletic director Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners earlier this week he doesn’t think the University will lose Tim Brewster as its football coach after this season.  The Gophers have drawn national attention for their surprising 6-1 start after being 1-11 last season and there’s some early speculation about Brewster winning college coach of the year awards.

In the win or else world of college football, there are attractive job openings every fall.  Clemson is using an interim coach and the University of Washington job is almost a cinch to become available.  Tennessee and Syracuse are other possibilities.

The 48-year-old Brewster is a hot name at the moment because people look at Gopher football as almost a graveyard for coaches, yet the dynamic coach has been raising Minnesota’s profile with his aggressive recruiting and the team’s No. 24 national ranking.  The assumption is if he can win at Minnesota, just think how he could flourish at a school with more resources.

With five games remaining on the schedule, including a possible loss tomorrow at Purdue, the Gophers and Brewster still have lots to prove.  But there’s no doubt that as of today the season is a success for the Minnesota program and has thrust Brewster’s name into the speculative candidate pool among high profile young coaches.  If you ran a search firm, this guy is on your “A” watch list.

Maturi was asked on Tuesday if he’s concerned about losing Brewster to another school after this season.  “In all honesty, no,” Maturi said.  “Because I think Tim Brewster believes this is a good fit for him, just like I believe he is a good fit for us. …”

Maturi mentioned past speculation that highly respected basketball coach Tubby Smith would leave the Gophers after last season, his first in Minneapolis.  Maturi said he thinks both Smith and Brewster are “really happy here.”  Maturi detailed the elements he believes both men enjoy including the local lifestyle, the University, support from the administration and belief they “can win” here.  If all that is in place, then Maturi asks, “What rainbow are you chasing?”

Brewster confirmed his job satisfaction to Sports Headliners.  “I am very happy with what I am doing,” he said.  “I am very focused on…allowing the Gophers to reclaim their rightful place amongst the elite teams in college football and that’s going to take a lot of hard work. I enjoy that.  I enjoy the prospect of building this program back into something that’s very special.  I don’t know how many times you can do that.  It takes a tremendous amount of passion and energy, and so I am pouring my heart and soul into this program.”

Brewster reportedly signed a five-year contract for about $1 million per year when he came here in January of 2006 from the Denver Broncos where he had been an assistant coach.  His salary is low compared to what many coaches at major schools earn but Maturi reviews the work of all coaches in his department annually and a lot of Gopher wins this fall is likely to produce a raise.

Maturi isn’t worried about finding the money to reward his coach.  One resource will be increased revenues from moving into the new TCF Bank Stadium next season.  Another will be more cash flow from a winning and improved team.  “We’ll do the right thing,” Maturi said.  “We don’t have a lot of money in the bank but we’re not broke. …”

Maturi hired Brewster, a career assistant coach in the pros and college, a man who had never been a head coach or coordinator on those levels.  He saw a guy who had a national reputation as an exceptional recruiter and a man who others told him could coach, too.

As Maturi said, it’s been a nice fit so far.

Maturi said he never stopped believing in Brewster, even with the 1-11 season last year.  He wanted to make sure after the season that Brewster didn’t change who he was and what he believed in.  The Gophers went through a major transition with the new coaching staff including adoption of the spread formation.  Some observers think that change cost the Gophers some wins and Maturi said he thought Minnesota might have won four games with the old coaching staff and system.

It will be two years next month that Maturi dismissed Dan Monson as basketball coach, an unusual move early in the season.  Maturi said he made the decision not just for the University but for Monson, too, because the situation with the basketball program was becoming “ugly” with all the public negativity.

The Gophers are at Purdue tomorrow for a difficult to predict game.  Brewster is pleased with the two weeks off he’s had to rest his team and let players recover from injuries (among them is cornerback Marcus Sherels who injured his shoulder on October 4 but will play tomorrow).  But former college coach Gerry DiNardo, now a Big Ten Network analyst, said earlier this week that teams can lose timing and momentum during a bye week.  The Gophers, 6-1 and coming off a major win at Illinois on October 11, play a Purdue team that has lost four straight games (0-3 in the Big Ten) and has an overall 2-4 record.  The Boilermakers seem like a team with dissension.  Earlier this week coach Joe Tiller talked about star running back Kory Sheets, criticizing his lack of “intellectual” growth at Purdue, after the Boilermaker running back complained about the offense and quarterback Curtis Painter.

Brewster said he didn’t “know if there is a better punter in the country” than Gopher senior Justin Kucek.  He’s tied for fourth among Big Ten Conference punters with a 41.8 average and he’s also helped the Gophers with accurate placement.  Kucek, a Canfield, Ohio native, said the Gophers were the only major college football school to offer him a scholarship coming out of high school but that a former pro punter told him this off-season he could have a future in the NFL.  Mark Royals worked with Kucek and assisted with directional punting.

Fox reported during last Sunday’s Vikings-Bears telecast that Brad Childress thought Adrian Peterson might run more effectively without a lead blocker in the backfield in front of him.  But on Monday the Vikings’ coach wouldn’t say that and said Peterson, the NFL’s second leading rusher, ran for a 54-yard touchdown in the Bear game with a lead blocker.   “I’ve got a sense what I think about that but like I said I am not going to put it too far out there,” he said.

Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe has been a disappointment to many observers since coming here in 2007 as a free agent from the Giants, but last Sunday he caught four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in the 48-41 loss to Chicago.  Childress said Shiancoe is becoming more comfortable here including as a blocker.

Carleton (3-1 MIAC, 5-1 overall) and St. Thomas (3-2 MIAC, 4-2 overall) play on the Tommies home field tomorrow in perhaps the conference’s game of the week.  Concordia also has a 3-1 conference record and five teams have two MIAC losses.  The conference champion or co-champion could finish with two defeats.  Both Carleton and St. Thomas experienced last minute losses last week and one will have an opportunity to strengthen its position in the title race (MIAC schedule ends November 15). Carleton features a passing offense led by senior quarterback Shane Henfling. St. Thomas offers a balance of run and pass using sophomore tailback Ben Wartman and freshman receiver Fritz Waldvogel.

Daktronics has been selected to design and build a multimillion dollar, integrated video, scoring and advertising display system at Target Field, the new Twins ballpark scheduled to open in 2010. The integrated system will include 50 digital LED displays, scoring and statistics systems, and fixed advertising panels.  The centerpiece of the system is a large, high definition display that will measure approximately 101 feet wide by 57 feet high, featuring Daktronics HD-X LED (light emitting diode) video technology.

Jim Dutcher told Sports Headliners that because of the team’s “awful” nonconference schedule, the Gophers won’t know how good they are until the Big Ten season.  Minnesota is playing a Charmin-like nonconference schedule but Dutcher, the former Gopher coach and TV analyst, thinks Tubby Smith’s second team might finish third or fourth in the so-so Big Ten.  While there’s been a lot of hype about the incoming players, Dutcher likes the Gopher “veterans.”

The Wolves will unveil a new court at their home and regular season opener on October 29 against Sacramento.  There will no longer be a parquet playing surface.

Wolves second-year forward Corey Brewer has been involved in the non-partisan “Respect My Vote” campaign that encourages low-income people ages 18-29 to vote on November 4.  He’s been featured on ESPN.com and Dime Magazine for his efforts.

Wolves forward Ryan Gomes has purchased a home in Chanhassen where he lives with his wife and new baby daughter.

Coach Don Lucia’s 2-0 Gophers play in Madison tonight and tomorrow evening against a Wisconsin team that is 0-4 for the first time in its modern hockey era that began in 1963-64.  All losses came against teams that are in the top four of this week’s national rankings.  Freshman forward Jake Gardiner from Minnetonka leads the Badgers with five points after producing five assists in his first four games.  The Badgers are 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the WCHA while the Gophers have played only twice, two league wins last weekend against St. Cloud State.

With John McCain unlikely to win the White House, his decision not to choose Tim Pawlenty as his running mate looks like a positive for the Minnesota governor.  A political insider said, though, that earlier this year Pawlenty had reason to believe he was the VP choice.