When Tim Brewster was named Minnesota’s head football coach in January, he wanted his first phone call to be a special one. It was to none other than Big Ten legend and Penn State head coach Joe Paterno.
Paterno’s wife answered the phone, informing the legend that it was the “coach from Minnesota.” Paterno first thought it was recently dismissed Glen Mason.
Before coaching a single college game, Brewster couldn’t hold back from Paterno how privileged he felt to become a part of the same ranks as the Hall of Famer. As he looks to achieve a similar legacy, he has demonstrated himself to be a history buff, remembering the times when the Golden Gophers held the same ranks as the Nittany Lions do now.
“It’s humbling to be entrusted in a program that has such a rich, storied tradition,” Brewster said. “There are only three or four schools that have won as many championships (as Minnesota). I want to restore the great traditions of this program.”
Minnesota has captured 18 Big Ten championships, which ranks third in conference history behind Michigan (42) and Ohio State (31). But the last time the Gophers won a conference crown was 1967, when they shared the title with Indiana. Both schools hold the longest drought in the conference.
Though Paterno and the rest of the Big Ten have only seen Brewster’s plan for a few games, the Gophers are 1-5, his players have gotten a huge dose.
“The first few months have been unbelievable,” senior running back Amir Pinnix said. “He’s brought a newfound energy and enthusiasm that has carried over not just to us players but the state of Minnesota as well. We’ve been working really hard because of it.”
Brewster directed his energy to the future of his football program by intensifying his recruiting efforts at the local level. During the offseason, he made an immediate message of commitment to in-state prospects, sending at least one staff member to each of Minnesota’s 392 high schools. Brewster himself said he visited over 100 schools.
“We need to re-establish the state of Minnesota as being our own,” Brewster said. “We need to make certain that all kids in our state who want to win a championship stay at home. It’s about winning at home.”
Brewster is no stranger to the competitiveness of the Big Ten, as he was captain at Illinois for four years, leading the Illini to their last Rose Bowl berth in 1984. With a hunger for developing a winning attitude, he chose to hold his first training camp on the campus of a national championship team. And no, it wasn’t Gainesville, Fla.
The Gophers traveled up north to the campus of Minnesota’s Division-III powerhouse, Saint John’s. Brewster spoke with another coaching legend, John Gagliardi, about his championship-winning formula.
Gagliardi has coached the Johnnies since 1953, leading his team to 25 conference titles and four national championships in 54 seasons manning the sidelines. Last year, he became the first active coach ever to be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
“You can even learn something from a pop warner league coach,” Brewster said. “If you think you can’t, you’ve got problems. I can learn something from people who I meet every day.”
The minute his first training camp session began, Brewster’s players learned something new. Minnesota was one of the worst disciplined programs in the Big Ten last season, finishing 10th in the conference in penalties. At the first practice, the no-nonsense approach under their new head coach was set.
“From day one, it was clear,” senior offensive lineman Steve Shidell said. “The players who are going to play disciplined football are the people who give us the best opportunity to win. Those were the players who were going to get the job.”
Before returning to college, Brewster was coaching at the highest level. He spent the past six seasons in the NFL, coaching tight ends for the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers.
Brewster and the Chargers snagged one of the biggest sleepers of the decade, signing Kent State tight end Antonio Gates to an unrestricted free agent contract in 2003. Since working with Brewster as a rookie, Gates has scored 34 touchdowns, which ranks second to Indianapolis’ Marvin Harrison for most scores in that period.
To Brewster, it is his job to diagnose talent. But for his players, they see their new head coach as a man with a window to the future. Pinnix entered his senior season coming off a 1,200-yard rushing campaign, with his eyes on a greater prize.
“The NFL is the place a lot of players on our team want to get a chance to go to,” Pinnix said. “With a coach with that experience, he’s telling us things not just for telling them. He’s helping us get to that next level.”
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