University of Minnesota Athletics Director Joel Maturi announced today that Tim Brewster has been named the 26th head football coach of the Golden Gophers. Here are the comments from Brewster's address to the media earlier today:
Athletics Director Joel Maturi
“It’s great to see so many people here this afternoon. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the storied history of Golden Gopher football.
“Eighteen days ago I promised you that I would do everything I could to hire the best football coach and the best fit for the future of the University of Minnesota football program. I’d be remised if I didn’t thank Phil Esten, Marc Ryan and Tom Wistrcill from our athletic office, Vice President Kathy Brown and President Bruininks, who were all extremely involved in this process. It certainly was a team effort.
“When we went on this search, we were looking for an individual who we knew wanted to be the head football coach at the University of Minnesota. We wanted a coach who we believed could energize our students, our alumni and our fans, a coach who understood that we are committed to improving the academic performance of our student-athletes, and that we are committed to doing everything we can to bring a Big Ten Championship to the University of Minnesota. Tim Brewster fits those qualities.
“Tim has been groomed by some outstanding coaches if you’ve read his resume. I don’t believe there’s anybody more respected in the college game than Mack Brown. Tim has worked for two of the greatest in the professional ranks, Marty Schottenheimer and Mike Shanahan. You know that he’s been recognized as a national recruiter of the year, and as an old coach I realize that I always won more games when I had better players.
“I think it’s important to recognize and realize that he possesses the same values and vision that we have for athletics here at the University of Minnesota. It’s about the student-athletes, it’s about doing things the right way and it’s about our student-athletes leaving with a degree and hopefully with a ring.
“Before I introduce Coach, I’m going to introduce some people who were very important to the process and very important to him certainly. Please welcome his wife Cathy and two of his sons, Clint and Nolan. We’re excited they’re here.
“Gopher fans, your football coach at the University of Minnesota, Tim Brewster!”
Head Coach Tim Brewster
Opening comments:
“Thank you very much. This has been an extremely exciting process for me. I’d like to thank Joel and President Bruininks, Marc Ryan, Tom Wistrcill and Kathy Brown. They were all instrumental in this process. When I was initially called about interviewing for this job, I was extremely excited about the job. As I continued to do my research on this job, I got more and more excited every day. What I want to do is talk about a few of things: this university, my vision for where this program can and will go, the type of football players we’re going to have at the University of Minnesota and what all of our expectations are.
“The number one thing everyone says about Tim Brewster is that he’s a great salesman. Well, I tell you what, you’re not going to be a great salesman if you don’t have a great product and at the ‘U’, we have a great product. The more I looked at the product, the more excited I got. We have one of the best academic institutions in America today and a top research university that is No. 1 in a number of different areas. I’m just really amazed at the academic reputation of this university. When I go into homes and talk to parents about the University of Minnesota and what it can do for your career when you’re done, I can do it with a tremendous amount of pride and conviction because it’s real. There’s a lot of people out there selling falsehoods in recruiting. Not everybody tells the truth, but when you talk about the University of Minnesota, you can speak truthfully about one of the finest academic schools in the country.
“From there, we have tremendous facilities and we have a great city. The Twin Cities is an outstanding area. It’s a very friendly town. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here today and how friendly everyone has been to me. It’s a very, very warm town.
“The thing I want to do the most is get out and sell this program to the people of the great state of Minnesota. I want to reach out to the people and make sure everybody understands that on Saturday afternoon when the Gophers line up, we’re all lining up together. We’re in this thing together. I want to reach out to every part of this state because I’m so proud to be the head football coach at the University of Minnesota. I want to reach out and sell this program and it’s going to be an easy sell for me. It really is.
“Along those lines, what we want to be able to do is recruit the state of Minnesota extremely well. We’re going to start here first. We’re going to recruit every kid in the state of Minnesota who we feel can help us a Big Ten Championship and take us to the Rose Bowl. I’m going to personally recruit the state of Minnesota. Every young guy in this state is going to hear a lot about Tim Brewster, because I’m going to write him, I’m going to call him and do everything I can do to help these young guys decide to be Gophers.
“We’re going to handle the state of Minnesota and we’re going to get out around the country. We’re going to get into the state of Texas, Florida and California and get athletes. I have great contacts in the state of Texas. I coached there for four years and understand the state extremely well. We can go down there and get players, but we’re going to understand that we’re going to start at home.
“Kids coming here to the University of Minnesota have the opportunity to play in an on-campus stadium that will be finished in 2009. Everybody is excited about getting football back on campus. It’s going to be absolutely tremendous for everybody to be able to play right here on our campus. It’s going to be a stadium that is as fine of a stadium as there is in the country and it’s one that everybody is going to take a great deal of pride in.
“The other thing I wanted to talk about is the type of football team we’re going to have and what the expectations are for this football team. My expectations from day one are going to be to win the Big Ten Championship. That’s what the seniors deserve and what everybody deserves. I met this football team this morning at 7:00. You talk about excited, I think we were both excited to see each other. I was looking for one guy in that room to be slumped down in his chair and not sitting on the words I was saying to these kids. I’m going to tell you, I couldn’t find one of them. Every single one of them was sitting up in his chair and was excited about what we’re talking about.
“Our expectation is to win a Big Ten Championship now. We’re not interested in any rebuilding process. I’m very fortunate that I’m not coming into a situation that is decimated where there are no players. There are players here. Glen Mason did an excellent job at this university and coached these kids well. They’ve won a lot of games. They’re not void of talent, so we’re in a little different situation here than it is at most places that are going through the hiring process. I’m very excited that it’s not a complete rebuilding process.
“My address to the team this morning involved two things: I want guys who are physically tough people and I want players who are passionate. I want players who love the game of football, because make no mistake about it, I love football. It’s been awfully good to me. It’s been my life. I love football and I’m going to surround myself with people who love football. These players have a thirst right now and I’m going to give them what they’re looking for. I promised them one thing, and that is I will never let them down. I’m going to have my football team prepared to play on Saturdays. We’re going to play with pride. We’re going to play with toughness. We’re going to play with passion and we’re going to win. We are going to win. We’re going to win the Big Ten Championship and we’re going to take the Gopher nation to Pasadena. That’s my dream, that’s my goal and that’s my belief. It will happen here sooner rather than later.
“What type of football team are we going to be and what type of kids are we going to recruit? Our process there, again, involves talking about toughness and passion. We want kids who are smart and who are going to be able to make plays. What do I want out of their experience here? 1) I want them to get a degree, and 2) I want them to represent this University in a fine fashion at all times. I’m going to communicate with these kids every step of the way make sure they understand what’s acceptable and what’s not. Once kids understand what’s acceptable and what’s not I think you have a much better shot chance for success.
“The last thing I’m going to talk to these kids about is making sure they do things right every single day. I’m going to be consistent with what I do. I want them consistent with what they do. I want them training and working every single day towards winning a championship for the Gophers. All I can say is that it is an extremely bright future at the University of Minnesota. I’m extremely lucky to have been chosen as the head football coach at the ‘U’. I take that responsibility very, very seriously. I pledge to you that I’m going to do everything in my power to bring a championship to the Twin Cities and these kids are going to be passionate, they’re going to play hard and they’re going to represent you well.
“Remember, I can’t do it myself, we can’t do it ourselves, but collectively, we can win a championship. I’m thrilled to be here and to represent you, the people of Minnesota. Thank you."
Questions from the media
On who his staff will consist of:
“I am not in a position to talk about staff as much. What I want to be able to do is evaluate Coach Mason’s staff first. I want to be able to talk to each and every one of his staff members. I have some great ideas about what I want to do. I have come into this situation prepared, but I feel like the way I need to go is to have full consideration of Mason’s staff and I will move forward from there.”
On his offensive and defensive philosophies:
“You can expect to see a lot of passion, a lot of energy and if these guys play like their head coach wants them to play, they are going play the game like it was meant to be played: smart, tough, passionate and disciplined. Those are all things that make a good football team and that is how our team will play here. I won’t know what our team can do until we get through spring practice and really evaluate these kids. I want to do what they do best. We are going to be exciting, tough, and we are going to have fun doing it.”
On this being his first head coaching position:
“I have been an assistant coach for 19 years and some guys prepare to be head coaches every step of the way. I feel like I was one of those guys. With that in mind, I made great decisions about who I wanted to work with. I did everything I could do for Mack Brown at the University of Texas. I am still waiting for my bonus for recruiting Vince Young. I was a recruiting coordinator for him and at North Carolina was a special teams coordinator. Mack and I are extremely close, so I studied the game with him.
“I never chased (job) titles. A lot of guys in this profession chase titles. What I chased was knowledge and understanding. I thought it was more important who you worked with opposed to what your title was. I was on a quest to learn rather than jump around. I only moved my family once in 13 years between North Carolina and Texas. I never lost sight of the fact that I wanted to be a head coach and I felt like I was with a great guy in Mack Brown. I have been with three awesome guys and hall of famers: Brown, Marty Schottenheimer, and Mike Shanahan.
“What I want to tell you is that I have studied, I’ve prepared, and my preparation is done. Joel Maturi and I had an extensive interview and we talked a lot about this issue and I have tremendous confidence in my ability to lead this program.”
On what his approach will be with athletes who have already committed:
“I cannot comment on the commits, but I am certainly going to look at the young men here in the state of Minnesota very closely and am going to do my best to persuade these guys to be Gophers. I am well into the process and I have already evaluated all of the commitments. I am looking at some kids from the state of Minnesota that have committed elsewhere and we are going to see if we can change any of their minds to come back and be Gophers. I feel really good about where we are at in the recruitment process, especially about the kids in Minnesota.”
On what attracted him to this job:
“I feel like I am a Big Ten man. Everyone knows I played at the University of Illinois and I know the Big Ten extremely well. I knew of the Golden Gophers’ reputation but didn’t realize the University of Minnesota has won six national championships, 18 Big Ten championships, and gone to numerous bowl games. As I continued to study the academics of the school, the tradition, the football history, and the University itself, I got excited. It is the state university and any time you have the opportunity to work at a state university it is special. I knew it was special situation and obviously I was very excited to get involved.”
On what prompted his move to Denver:
“I really enjoyed Marty Schottenheimer. I had three years with Marty that were just outstanding. He is one of my best friends and a mentor. When Mike Shanahan calls you and says he wants you to join his staff. He said, ‘Tim, I want you to come work with me and want you to come learn’. I feel like he is the finest football coach in America today. Mike Shanahan is absolutely the best as on offensive strategist. When he afforded me the opportunity to come train and learn from him and sit side-by-side with him, I said, ‘What time do you want me to be there?’ There was no question that I was going because once again, it is not about titles but rather knowledge.”
Maturi
On the process of hiring Tim Brewster:
“It’s a very extensive process. I was fully aware of the significance of this hire. I said very openly and very publicly that this was probably the most significant hire that I will make as the athletics director at the University of Minnesota. Because of that, I also consistently said that we were going to take our time with it. I said it was going to be thorough, it was going to be extensive and when we made an announcement that it was going to be the right fit and the right person.
“Quite frankly, I had more than one coach call me about Tim Brewster before we ever met with the search firm. There are some colleagues and acquaintences that I have in this business and said that I should look at this guy. Quite honestly, I had never heard of Tim Brewster. But these were people that I have great respect for and therefore you write the name down and start doing your homework.
“The process was such that we did meet with our search firm. We looked at a significant number of names of people that we thought might consider this job. We whittled that number down and made a decision to have initial interviews. We whittled those down and that was my first contact with Tim was that first interview process. I’ll have to say that when he left the room, I said, ‘That guy is for real.’ He was certainly going to be in our pool very seriously but we had other people to interview. After that set of interviews, I really did my homework. I’ve spoken to Mike Shanahan on more than one occasion. I’ve spoken to Marty Schottenheimer. I’ve spoken to Brad Childress. I’ve spoken to other colleagues that I have in the profession about Tim. I’ve spoken to the grounds crew at Mile High Stadium because I wanted to know what kind of a person, not just what kind of football coach we’re getting.
“Everybody I spoke to kept saying great things about his passion, about his energy, about his commitment and about how kids love to play for him. I said, ‘You know what, this guy will fit at the University of Minnesota.’ So we talked to President Bruininks on numerous occasions. Kathy Brown and I spent many hours in his office talking about the process and we decided to take another look at this guy and we did. Kathy met with him and President Bruininks was on the phone with him and we all felt very comfortable when we offered the job to Tim Brewster.”
Brewster
On his agenda for the next 48 hours:
“I won’t be getting any sleep in the next 48 hours, I know that. There are a lot of things to do. One of the things I have to do is pass the NCAA test so I can go out and recruit. I can call kids, but I have to get out on the road. There’s a test I have to take and therefore need prepare for that. No. 2 is that I really want to show sensitivity to Coach Mason’s staff. I want to sit down with each one of those guys early tomorrow morning and see if there’s a potential fit for them on my staff. I have a number of guys who I am very excited about and are ready to go to work. We are going to wake up talking about recruiting, we’re going to go to sleep at night talking about recruiting and we’re going to dream about recruiting. We’re going to bring football players to the University of Minnesota. We’re going to bring talented athletes to the University of Minnesota at a level that hasn’t been done before. That’s all part of the process. I’ve already started the recruiting process. I’ve talked to some coaches and I’ve identified the players that I want to recruit right now. I know exactly who I want to recruit in the state of Minnesota. I hope to change their minds if they’ve decided to leave the state. Right now, I’m very pleased with where we are at as far as the initial stages of my program.”
On his relationship with Brad Childress:
“I’ve known Brad Childress for 25 years. He was the running backs coach at the University of Illinois when I was there as a tight end. He was only a couple years older then me, but he was a young coach. He is a very valued friend of mine. I believe very strongly in Brad and together, with myself here and him at the Vikings, we can really make some fun things happen in this town. I think we’re going to. I think he’s a great football coach and an outstanding guy. He’s an outstanding football coach and a very good friend.”
On his plans to run the football:
“We’re going to run the football, I promise you. Minnesota has always run the football. We are going to run it, we’re going to throw it and we’re going to do whatever it takes to win.”
On the difference in recruiting here compared to at Texas:
“Recruiting is recruiting. There’s a great product at the University of Texas, which I sold. As I got involved in this job, I looked at what the University of Minnesota and saw what a great product it is. It’s not going to be a tough sell when you think about the new football stadium and the tremendous academics, academic support and this wonderful city. I’m telling you I can’t wait to sing the praises of the ‘U’.”
On the short amount of time before signing day:
“As soon as I pass that test, I’m going to get these young guys on the phone and talk to them. Some of them are so close that they can come and visit me and sit down in my office and talk about the education they can get at the University of Minnesota. If we have something this special and this close, I never understood why someone should leave the state. There’s no reason to leave the state. We’re going to get going on these guys. Obviously, we’re under the gun a little bit time-wise, but I’ll make up for lost time.
On his greatest anxiety about being a head coach for the first time:
“I feel like my preparation is so complete that I don’t have fear or anxiety. What I’ve got is total exhilaration about being the head football coach here. If you’re not prepared, it’s a lack of confidence. What I told the football team at 7:00 was, ‘I won’t let you down. Every Saturday, I’ll have you prepared to play and win.’ That’s how I feel about my preparation. I’ve worked extremely hard for a long time. I’ve studied the game at its highest level. I told Joel that I went to the National Football League to get my PhD in football. I was a great recruiter and a good football coach, but I wanted to study the game at a level in which you can’t do at the college game. I coached in the NFL for five years. I’m rested, I’m relaxed and I’m ready to get on the road and go recruit. I’m ready to get this program going.”
On previous head coaching opportunities:
“I turned down the opportunity to interview at Iowa State. Was it a disappointment to not get the Illinois job? Certainly, at the time. Everything happens for a reason. My destiny led me here. I’ll give you a little lesson on fate. I’m having dinner with Joel and Kathy Brown and my wife Cathy. We’re in a hotel in Denver and we were going to go into Joel’s room and have more conversation. So we’re on the third floor and I’m starting to get a little antsy. I asked, ‘Where are we going?’ Joel said, ‘We’re going to Room 3073.’ I said, ‘No, we’re not going to 3073. This is a huge hotel.’ 3073 was the same room I was in every Saturday night of every home game as a Bronco. You guys figure that out. There’s some definite fate involved in this deal. For whatever reason, the Illinois deal didn’t pan out. They have a tremendous coach in Ron Zook and I’m looking forward to competing against the Illni very much.”
On his coaching philosophy:
“I want to be able to run the football. I want to establish the fact that we have an element of toughness. We will run the football. What I want to be able to do is play-action pass and move the quarterback around. I want to do different things in the passing game and take advantage of the weaknesses of the defense. I want to see what I’ve got in a quarterback and wide receiver and that talent level will dictate exactly where we go with the passing game. Exactly how much emphasis is on the running game and what needs to be done.
“People ask: ‘What do you do? Are you west coast? Right coast? Do you run the ball? Pass the ball?’ We’re going to do what we can to win, physically and with an element of toughness. What are we going to do on defense? We’re going to run real fast and dictate tempo to the offense. That’s one thing that Mike Shanahan taught me more than anything is that with formation, motion and shifts you can dictate to the defense exactly what you want to do and create matchups. On defense, we want to get corners that can play man-to-man coverage and four defensive lineman that can rush the passer. We don’t want to bring five or six men to get pressure. We want to play zone defense and play a mixture of cover and front. Again, talent will dictate what we can do, but I know that we’re going to take an aggressive mentality to whatever we do on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game. I think the kicking game is such a hidden weapon and I’m looking forward to them playing a major role on our special teams.”
Courtesy: Alicia Jerome/University of Minnesota
