The Gophers now have an agreement to work with a search agency to assist in identifying candidates for the football coaching position, according to athletic director Joel Maturi.  He said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle yesterday he will work with Parker Executive Search of Atlanta.

A national search firm acts as a middleman between a school and either a coach or his representatives.  In the early phases of communications it can be helpful to both sides to have the search firm making contacts.

The Parker agency will help Maturi fill the opening created when football coach Tim Brewster was fired last week.  Maturi is expected to make the final choice for the new coach but the input of the search firm could be significant.  President Bob Bruininks and others who work for the University of Minnesota are also expected to advise Maturi.

Parker was involved with Tubby Smith becoming the Gophers basketball coach in 2007 and it’s obvious Maturi has confidence in the agency.  The firm’s website says Parker specializes in searches for colleges and universities, both on the academic and athletic sides.  https://www.parkersearch.com/dan_parker.html

The new Gophers football coach could arrive on campus before Minnesota ends its season on November 27.  College football vacancies are usually filled in December.  The Gophers might not have someone working in Dinkytown until December but an early arrival date wouldn’t be surprising.

It’s not historic but is unusual for a major college football program to be searching for a coach in October instead of November or December.  That gives Maturi a head start in identifying candidates, and names will include unemployed coaches who could be available for work immediately.

Hiring a Gophers head coach within the next few weeks would provide more time to recruit and pull together a solid freshman group for 2011.  Minnesota was caught in a bad spot after firing Glen Mason on January 1 of 2007.  By the time Brewster was hired a couple weeks later the recruiting window was nearly closed.

The timing of firing Mason was bad, too, because the candidates pool for his successor had really been picked over.  This time around the Gophers are at the front of the search line and could decide a former coach is the best hire.

Hiring from among the unemployed may save Maturi from having to deal with current coaches who send mixed messages.  A coach at a top 25 school may tell Maturi they want the Gophers job but that Maturi must wait until the regular season or even post season ends.  Guess what?  Even if the coach is sincere, he may change his mind.

Former head coaches like Phil Fulmer of Tennessee and Mike Bellotti from Oregon have been mentioned as possibilities for the Gophers job.  Someone like that would provide timing assurances that a present coach cannot, but the vote from here is that’s not a good enough reason to hire from the unemployed.

The mission is this: set the criteria Ski-U-Mah high and make sure you hire a great coach.  Even if you find him under Goldy’s Christmas tree.

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Ryan Longwell, a Vikings captain, said so far this season there have been no player council meetings with head coach Brad Childress.  Longwell also said there have been “less fires to put out” and the team benefits from a veteran locker room.  “We kind of know what to expect from each other,” Longwell said.  “We all kind of handle our position groups.  If there’s an issue, the guys in the locker room know who they need to go to.  So it really hasn’t been necessary.”

Longwell, a former Packer, is targeted by mouthy fans when the Vikings go to Green Bay. “When I go on the road in this league you just kind of go numb with the ears,” he said.  “Although you hear everything, you don’t really listen to everything. …”

Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards told Sports Headliners that if details aren’t worked out by next month between the NFLPA and ownership regarding a new collective bargaining agreement there’s likely to be a disruption of the 2011 season.

Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin will sign autographs as part of an appearance tonight at the Outback Steakhouse in Inver Grove Heights.  There will be a live webcast interview, www.larry-fitzgerald.com.

A pro scout told Sports Headliners Gophers senior quarterback Adam Weber has “regressed” during his career at Minnesota.  Weber, he said, is too inconsistent to be drafted in the early or mid rounds by an NFL team, and likely will be pursued as a free agent.

Including his redshirt freshman season, Weber has had four offensive coordinators at Minnesota.  It’s impressive that despite all the change Weber has succeeded in becoming the fifth player in Big Ten history to throw for over 10,000 yards.

With good reason, Gophers booster Gene Allen is upset with a Minnesota GOP advertisement that compares President Barack Obama with Tim Brewster.  “They both let us down,” says the ad.  In a letter to the Star Tribune, Allen writes that the GOP owes the coach an apology.  More on “The Moment” at https://www.mngop.com/inner.asp?z=6

The Wild will make its third national television appearance of the season tonight playing against the Kings on Versus.  The club is scheduled to make a franchise record 10 national television appearances, nine on Versus and one on NBC.

Wild Curator Roger Godin is donating the proceeds from his newest book, “Red, White and Blue on Ice: Minnesota’s Elite Teams and Players of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s”, to the Herb Brooks Foundation’s Rink Rat program. The foundation provides inner-city children with opportunity to play and learn about hockey at no cost. Godin will host book signings at Xcel Energy Center before Wild games on November 2, and December 3, 16 and 20.

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The Gophers will enter tomorrow’s game at home against Penn State (3-3) as more than a touchdown underdog.  The Nittany Lions can’t be too impressed with Minnesota’s record, 1-6.

That might give Minnesota an edge and interim coach Jeff Horton expects the Gophers will dedicate the game to fired coach Tim Brewster.  “I think so,” Horton said.  “It was really emotional in here on Sunday (when Brewster said goodbye).  You could tell.”

Penn State is 0-2 in Big Ten games.  The Nittany Lions have often struggled this season to score points including producing a total of 16 in the first two league games.

Since taking over as interim coach on Sunday, Horton has received hundreds of fan emails about MarQueis Gray but don’t expect Gray to replace Adam Weber at quarterback.  “Our best chance for success right now (is) with Adam at quarterback and MarQueis at wide receiver,” Horton said.

Horton was offensive coordinator when he and Brewster approved making Gray, perhaps the best athlete on the team, both a quarterback and wide receiver.  Gray, a sophomore, hasn’t taken a game snap this season at quarterback for the Gophers.

Among the most common storylines in football is for fans to want a quarterback change on a losing team.  But while Weber has been inconsistent throwing the ball, he has the approval of Horton and before that Brewster.  Gray has boosted the talent pool at wide receiver, catching 26 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns.  His ability to both catch the ball and make runs gives the Gophers an impressive pair of wide receivers with Da’ Jon McKnight.

Gray was troubled with plantar fasciitis earlier in the season but is healthier now. Opposing defenses have been focusing on Gray and he hasn’t been as effective as earlier in the season.

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