TIM BREWSTER

'Tim Brewster' (born October 13, 1960, in Phillipsburg, New Jersey) is the head football coach at the University of Minnesota and the 26th head coach in team history. It is his first college head coach job. He is known well as a fierce recruiter.Patrick Reusse, Don't give up yet if U goes with 'no-name' Brewster, StarTribune.com, Jan. 16, 2007

Contents

Playing career

Coaching career

High School

Early college

NFL

Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach

Coaching record

Personal

References

Playing career

As a football player coming out of high school, Brewster was in between playing wide receiver and tight end. He enrolled at Pasadena City College, at the time a major junior college program, and was recruited along with five other players to transfer to the University of Illinois where they were looking to throw to a tight end.Chip Scoggins, Tim Brewster: Gopher on the go, ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007. At Illinois he was a two-time All-Big Ten Conference selection as a tight end.Chip Scoggins, It's official: Brewster is new U football coach, ''Star Tribune'', January 16, 2007. At the end of his first season he played against the University of Alabama in the 1982 Liberty Bowl, Bear Bryant's final game.Chip Scoggins, Tim Brewster: Gopher on the go, ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007. In his final season he captained the Illini during their run to the 1984 Rose Bowl.Chip Scoggins, It's official: Brewster is new U football coach, ''Star Tribune'', January 16, 2007. He was a player at Illinois at the same time current Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress was an assistant coach.Patrick Reusse, There's a Gopher Nation? If so, it's a dinky one, ''Star Tribune'', January 18, 2007. He graduated with a degree in political science. Following his college career, he made an unsuccessful attempt at establishing a professional playing career in the NFL. He was cut during training camp for both the 1984 New York Giants and the 1985 Philadelphia Eagles.

Coaching career

High School

Brewster began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Purdue University in 1986 under Leon Burtnett. Burtnett was fired mid-way through the season leaving Brewster selling cars in what he describes as the "most miserable experience in my whole life."Chip Scoggins, Tim Brewster: Gopher on the go, ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007. Soon afterwards he was hired as head coach at Central Catholic High School in Lafayette, Indiana. Legendary coach Bear Bryant, when they met in 1982, advised him, after hearing of his interest in coaching, to coach high school and "really learn the game".Chip Scoggins, [Gopher's Brewster on the Go], ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007. During his two years there (1987-1988), he directed a pass-heavy, wide-open offense that enabled its quarterback to lead the state of Indiana in passing both years. His record at CCHS was 15-8. Still, Brewster longed to go back to the college ranks.Chip Scoggins, Tim Brewster: Gopher on the go, ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007.

Early college

Brewster found out about a young head coach starting at the University of North Carolina, Mack Brown. Not really knowing him, but hoping to get a position, Brewster drove to Chapel Hill and convinced Brown to hire him as an unpaid volunteer assistant for the 1989 season.Chip Scoggins, Tim Brewster: Gopher on the go, ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007. He gained a full-time job before the following season, and served as a special teams coach, tight ends coach, and recruiting coordinator under Brown.
When Brown was hired as head coach at the University of Texas following the 1997 season, Brewster followed him and worked as tight ends coach from 1998-2001.^[1] As a recruiter for Texas, he helped land a number of highly touted players, including Vince Young.Jeff Shelman, New U coach: Rose Bowl is the goal, ''Star Tribune'', January 17, 2007.

NFL

After 13 years with Mack Brown, Brewster decided to try coaching in the National Football League to "enhance my Xs and Os [. . .] and study the game at a level without distractions" that come with college players and NCAA requirements.Chip Scoggins, Tim Brewster: Gopher on the go, ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007. Brewster gained his first NFL coaching experience when he was hired as the tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers, a position he held from 2002 to 2004. He is widely credited with the rapid ascent of Antonio Gates, who went from an undrafted free agent in 2003 to a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection in 2004, only his second year in the NFL. Brewster was held in such high esteem by his peers that he served as assistant head coach during the 2004 season.
He was hired by the Denver Broncos as their tight ends coach prior to the 2005 season, and served in that capacity for two seasons before moving on to the University of Minnesota.

Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach

On January 15, 2007 it was reported on ESPN.com that Brewster was the choice of University of Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi to replace Glen Mason as the Gophers head coach.^[1] Various local news outlets, including WCCO and the Star Tribune, could not confirm the veracity of the report. The following day, January 16, Minnesota associate athletic director Tom Wistrcill confirmed that Brewster was indeed the University's choice, with the contract signed in the early morningChip Scoggins, It's official: Brewster is new U football coach, ''Star Tribune'', January 16, 2007.. He was officially presented as the new head coach on Wednesday, January 17 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota campus. At his first press conference, Brewster stated that his immediate goals for the program were to "win the Big Ten championship" and "take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena."Jeff Shelman, New U coach: Rose Bowl is the goal, ''Star Tribune'', January 17, 2007.
Brewster signed a five-year contract worth $1 million annually: $400,000 in base salary, $400,000 in supplemental salary and $200,000 in deferred compensation that will vest after his contract expires.Jeff Shelman, New U coach: Rose Bowl is the goal, ''Star Tribune'', January 17, 2007. Additionally, he can earn up to $700,000 in annual bonuses if the Gophers reach several goals including: win the Big Ten title ($200,000; $75,000 for second place), the national championship game ($300,000 for reaching the game; an additional $50,000 for winning), any non-title BCS bowl game ($200,000; $100,000 for each bowl game played on New Year's Day or after that is not a BCS game; $25,000 for pre-New Year's Day bowl games), as well as reaching maximum goals in two academic categories, the Academic Progress Report (up to $50,000) and sixth-year graduation rates (up to $100,000 for 75%).Dennis Brackin, Brewster could earn $700,000 in bonus money, ''Star Tribune'', May 16, 2007. He decided not to retain any of his predecessor's assistant coaches.Chip Scoggins, Brewster cuts last tie to Mason's staff, ''Star Tribune'', January 19, 2007.

Coaching record

Personal

Brewster and his wife Kathy are the parents of three sons. Oldest son Eric is a wide receiver at Northern Arizona University^[3]Chip Scoggins, Tim Brewster: Gopher on the go, ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007.. Their son Clint, a senior high school quarterback and 4-star-rated recruit, had already given a verbal commitment to play for Illinois (Tim's alma mater) before his father took the Gophers job.[1]Jeff Shelman, New U coach: Rose Bowl is the goal, ''Star Tribune'', January 17, 2007. However, a week before signing day, Clint announced that he would sign with Minnesota. ^[4] Their youngest son, Nolan, is a highly-recruited strong safety prospect in the class of 2008.Chip Scoggins, Tim Brewster: Gopher on the go, ''Star Tribune'', January 21, 2007.
Oddly enough, Brewster admitted that since being a player on a visiting Illinois team in 1982, he had never visited Minnesota, other than the airport, in the 25 years between the game and becoming the head coach of the Gophers.Patrick Reusse, There's a Gopher Nation? If so, it's a dinky one, ''Star Tribune'', January 18, 2007. Brewster was born in the same year the Gophers were awarded their last national title.^[5]

References

1. Gophers' guy: Brewster to replace Mason at Minnesota, ESPN.com, Jan. 16, 2007
2. Gophers' guy: Brewster to replace Mason at Minnesota, ESPN.com, Jan. 16, 2007
3. Eric Brewster Player Bio, Northern Arizona University Athletic Website, ''Accessed Jan. 20, 2007''.
4. Brewster Coming to Minnesota
5. Bruce Hooley, Brewster aims to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena, ESPN.com, March 8, 2007.