Another Disappointing Minnesota Gopher Football Season: Now What?

Year three of Gopher football under Tim Brewster is in the books. To say that his first three seasons have been unimpressive would be an understatement.

After Thursday's painful one-point loss to Iowa State in the Insight Bowl, Brewster is still winless in his biggest games.  He's 0-2 in bowl games. He's 0-3 against Wisconsin. He's 0-3 against Iowa, including the last two games which the Gophers failed to score a single point.

By most accounts, Tim Brewster's been on a short leash.  That leash just got shorter. There's probably a booster or two ready to have Brewster fitted for a choke chain.

The question that's on most fans' minds now is, "Now what?" Brewster claims he needs a contract extension to aid in recruiting, but he hasn't exactly earned it. Still, it's a tough sell when you walk into a recruit's home, and he has no idea if you'll be his head coach when he leaves the program.

Gopher fans had hoped Brewster could do what his predecessor couldn't—get the team back to the Rose Bowl.  It sure doesn't look like that's possible now, but you can't predict the future. 

Brewster's best recruiting class was two years ago.  What happens if Brewster is fired?  Do some of those players leave?  If they stay, do they fail to live up to their potential, or do they exceed expectations and take the team to the next level?

If Brewster isn't extended, who does the university get to replace him? Tony Dungy is at the top of everyone's list, but all signs point to the former Gopher having no interest in the job.

With the surprising firing of Mike Leach in Lubbock, the former Texas Tech coach's name would certainly come up. Pro: he could definitely help the struggling Gopher offense. Con: his "situation" with Texas Tech that led to his firing could be a public relations nightmare and more than the university is willing to deal with.

Ultimately, I have no idea how this is going to play out. Something has to change. The Gophers have to get better, or Brewster's got to go.

If he goes, Gopher fans need to prepare themselves for another frustrating rebuilding process. Brewster did one thing right when he got the job. He built the team his way.

Glen Mason had built a relatively successful program. Brewster realized that what Glen Mason had built wasn't good enough to win the Big Ten. Brewster's eventual replacement is probably going to figure that out as well.

A coaching change is more than likely going to bring another change in personnel. Brewster's recruited much differently than Mason. A new coach is going to recruit athletes that fit his system. That's going to take time.

Nobody wants to be patient with their favorite football team.  They want a winner, and they want it now. Brewster talked about winning from day one. That may end up being his downfall.

Brewster's vision may have been to put a winner on the field, but the clock might run out on him before he puts together the right nix to win and win big.

If I was running the show over at the U, I have no idea how I'd handle Brewster. He's shown little to give me confidence that he can win here.  The problem I have is that so many of his recruits have flashed potential.  Granted, most of those are defensive players, but as the old adage says:  Defense wins championships.

The schedule's tough next year, but if this team ever aspires to be a champion, they need to beat some teams that they aren't supposed to beat. I give Brewster next year no matter what happens. 

Brewster has one season, and his entire future depends on it.  The Gophers play on New Year's Day 2011 or he's relieved of his duties. I'm impressed by his recruits, and I want to see how they develop.

Putting everything on the line next season gives what will be a relatively young team a ton of experience winning big games and sets them up for a Big Ten title in 2011.  Failing to meet those expectations gets the Gophers a new coach and a fresh start.  Go big or go home.  Get it done, Coach Brewster.