Friday Randomness Begins With Joel Maturi

As his alma mater searches for a new Athletic Director, Joel Maturi is saying all of the right things. Asked by Charley Walters what he would say if the big-wigs at Notre Dame came calling, Maturi responded thusly: 'Thank you, but I love what I'm doing."

Noting the rumors surrounding Maturi, the Minnesota Daily put together a well-done look at Maturi's tenure, beginning with his charge in 2002 to be the first Athletic Director to oversee both the men's and women's departments. Maturi has had some great moments while in his chair and some not so great moments. Here are some highlights.

The Good:

*** Saved men's and women's golf in 2003 thanks to a fundraising effort. Talks of cutting programs has diminished overall, thanks in part to a budget that has remained in the black, if not swimming in cash like, say, Florida.

*** Laid the groundwork for the new football stadium by securing TCF Bank sponsorship and subsequently pushed the stadium package through the state legislature.

*** Hired Tubby Smith

*** Cleaned up the men's basketball program after the Clem Haskins scandal

The Not so Good:

*** Gave Glen Mason a 4-year contract extension in January of 2006. Fired Mason in December of that same year. Mason received a $2.2 million buyout.

*** Was AD when two men's tennis coaches were suspended after committing six NCAA violations. Cheating in tennis?

*** Seemed to have trouble pulling the trigger with Dan Monson. Monson received a $1.1 million buyout in December 2006.

Please feel free to add your own.

My biggest criticism of Maturi probably centers around the handling of the Glen Mason situation. Eleven months after extending his contract, Maturi acted rashly after an embarrassing loss to Texas Tech and fired Mason. Like most of you I rejoiced at the decision, but it was late in coming and it might tell us something about Maturi's decision-making ability.

That said, I hope Maturi lives by his word and tells any potential suitors that he's happy where he is. Maturi deserves loads of credit for bringing an open-air football stadium to the U. He landed Tubby Smith and the men's basketball program is turning around. Maturi hasn't been perfect, but he's done a pretty damn good job.

What do you think?

*** Three members Tubby Smith's incoming class will be at the U for summer school. They are Ralph Sampson III, Colton Iverson and JUCO transfer Devron Bostick. Paul Carter will be finishing up his freshman classes in summer school at his junior college. Devoe Joseph is planning to try out for the Canadian Olympic team. Sounds pretty cool for the kid, right? Tubby's not so sure.

Per Sid Hartman's column, Tubby said: "I looked at that roster, and the people that Canada is inviting, all of them are veteran players," Smith said. "So, he might need to get here. I don't want him to waste his summer if he's not going to be [playing much]."

*** Most of us know that a certain segment of University of Kentucky basketball fans are delusional. When I read the headline of this post from Kentucky Wildcats Blog, I was envisioning a post that would be outlandishly partisan and, of course then, off base. The headline: "U of K Basketball - Is UK Basketball Bigger than the SEC?"

Thankfully the post is coherent and honest about the state of the SEC, noting the recent success at Tennessee and Florida. That success brings in money, which props up programs. If I was asked to answer the rhetorical question, is UK basketball bigger than the SEC, my answer is simple. Not even close.

Florida is the cream of the crop in the SEC. Back-to-back national chippers isn't something that will be easily overcome. The blogger writes this about UK returning to prominence:

U of K basketball is still U of K basketball though. It will just take more time and effort to dominate the SEC like in years past. The name Kentucky on the front of a jersey is still very appealing to many recruits and I’m sure U of K basketball will continue to grow in tradition with many talented players and championships.

I'm not sure the UK brand is as irresistible as some UK loyalists might believe. The UK name is surely appealing, but the days of five to 10 programs across the country dominating are over. The AAU circuit is producing more top-notch talent and the money behind big college programs is propelling many former also-ran programs into prominence. And I'm also not sure Billy Gillispie has the charisma to compete with Billy Donovan and Bruce Pearl. Donovan and Pearl each have established their own personal brands. But the perception of Gillispie is that he's a hot-headed jerk. Just my opinion.

*** A name to watch in the 2009 basketball recruiting wars is Milwaukee Bay View point guard Johnnie Lacy. Marquette seems to be the favorite, per this Rivals article, but the Gophers as well as Purdue and Tennessee are in the hunt. Lacy is one of a handful of point guards Tubby Smith is looking at, in an attempt to shore up one of the team's weaknesses. Lacy is a 4-star product. Snatching a recruit from Wisconsin would be fantastic to send a message to Bo Ryan, even though Bo's 2009 scholarships are all used up.

*** Tim Brewster is taking some heat for his comments that last year's one-win football team "very easily could have been a six-, seven-win season, easily." For more on the same subject, check out Sunday Morning Quarterback's take. It's definitely worth a read.

That's all for today. Have a good weekend!

Friday Randomness Talks Brewster's Recruiting

Grandpa Sid Hartman had an interesting tidbit in his column this week on Tim Brewster's hyped 2008 recruiting class.

The big question about the Gophers football team's highly ranked recruiting class is how many of the players haven't passed their entrance tests or don't have the credits to gain admission to the university. The scholarships given to recruits include money for enrolling in summer school. Some people, who should be in the know, report that coach Tim Brewster is not happy with some of the decisions that the school's admissions office could make. More than a couple of
the top recruits might not be admitted.

That's the first indication that Tim Brewster's top-20 national class might not be all he's spun it to be. On its face it is impressive that Brewster was able to lure as much talent as he did to Minnesota after a 1-11 season. But, as Papa Sid reports, this recruiting class might well take a step or two backward before the first game is played this fall.

I'm no expert on college football recruiting and on the kinds of things that are offered to these kids (like money for summer school), but it would seem to me that doing such a thing is a measure taken by a coaching staff or administration that values winning way too highly above academics. Didn't Brewster learn anything from the Harold Howell experiment? Every other college passed on Howell because of academics (and also probably because his football skills were poor) but Brewster bit at the opportunity to bring in an athlete despite academic issues. The result? Howell struggled on the field before being unceremoniously booted for academic reasons.

So, the question is who is this year's Howell?

*** So, the SEC is considering starting its own network. You didn't see much ranting here against the Big Ten Network, because living out in Northern Virginia and having DirecTV, I absolutely loved having it. I was able to watch every Gophers basketball game. How sweet that was.

But for the blog Coaches Hot Seat to opine about how grand the BTN was, well, they obviously weren't paying that close of attention. Basically, I'm nitpicking' here as much of the rest of the piece is spot on. But here's the' line that I couldn't help but add my two cents on.

Overall the Big Ten network programming is very well done, and the studio shows and play-by-play/color commentators are practically network/ESPN quality

Yeah, um, the production on the BTN, the commentators, the color analysts, the booth guys especially, were close to downright horrible. Gene Keady, while aesthetically pleasing, is not cutout to do booth work or color commentary. Gary DiNardo and Howard Griffith? I couldn't stand to watch them, and I don't think I was alone.

*** Highschoolhoops.com ranks Royce White as the #2 small forward in the 2009 recruiting class. Of the Minnesota commit, the Web site states: "White is one of those rare players who mixes superior talent with hustling. The Minnesota bound forward also finishes around the basket with ease." That sounds good to me.

*** If you weren't aware, Minnesota AD Joel Maturi seems to be a prospect to fill the same position at Notre Dame. Maturi has only stated (that I've seen) that he's happy at Minnesota. But one has to think an opportunity to go to his alma mater would be appealing. Goldhelmet.com did a rundown of ND AD candidates and listed the good and bad on Maturi. On the good side was his effective lobbying to get the football stadium passed and his hiring of the late Terry Hoeppner when Maturi was at Miami (Ohio). The bad? You guessed it, the "questionable" hiring of Tim Brewster.

Year In Review: Closing The Book On 2007

PJS Note: I've been falling behind in my effort to finish this series, so I'm going to wrap three final planned posts into one. This final installment will cover the Gopher and Vermin of the Year and a reflection on my favorite post during the first year of PJS.

I created Paging Jim Shikenjanski in May for a handful of reasons, but the largest reason is because I saw an opening to provide thoughts, analysis and perhaps some original reporting. The fact is, our periodicals in Minnesota don't rate interest in Gophers sports high enough to lend Gophers sports considerable coverage. Like many of you, I was turning more often to paid services like Rivals and forums like the GopherHole for broader coverage. I also saw a blogosphere that lacked voices for University of Minnesota sports. I began this blog about the same time that Tom at Gopher Nation started his blog. And I'm pleased now that others have popped up.

So long as I continue this blog, I'm going to try and give completely meaningless awards to members of the Gophers sports community. And since it is my wont, they will be both positive and negative. But I'd like to start by revisiting the post that first brought PJS to a broader audience--the post that brought a link from the Star Tribune and many well-read blogs across the country.

PJS' Favorite Post of the Year

About one month after I began PJS, I stumbled upon a thread in a Notre Dame forum where a poster going by the name of MN Irish made a startling (and humorous) claim about our new football coach Tim Brewster. At the time, almost every member of Gopher Nation was completely enamored with our new coach. With his penchant for positivity, Tim Brewster was seen as the anti-Glen Mason. He was relatively charming. He had ambitions for the program. He told us he was going to take us to Pasadena. We learned quickly that he knew how to sway public opinion. But the little nugget that I unearthed in June shed a different light on our new head man.

The allegations were as follows: At a meet-and-greet for Brewster, an Irish fan claims to have approached Brewster to congratulate him on his new post. They eventually began to talk about recruiting, and the Notre Dame fan mentioned that the Gophers and Irish were after some of the same players--an obvious reference to Michael Floyd. And then the juicy stuff from the post on the Irish message board:

"In what I can only describe as bizarre, Brewster basically went off on me, saying how sick he was Notre Dame and our arrogance, pompous attitudes, and fear of playing Minnesota in their new stadium. When I told him it was the collective opinion of ND fans that it was our athletic director who wouldn't budge the schedule, he went off on Weis of all people, called him a "slob, a disgrace to Notre Dame, with his dirty mouth and appearance" or something similar. He said Notre Dame could never recruit another Minnesota player until Weis was under 350 pounds."

Not knowing the veracity of the claims, I didn't judge Brewster in my initial post on this topic here. My post set off a mini fire storm. I received emails from Brewster-backers telling me I wasn't a Gophers fan for relaying the above information. Eventually, the viral nature of the Web took hold. The Star Tribune's Michael Rand linked to the post at the time saying something like "This can't be true, but that doesn't mean you can't read it." Eventually many other blogs sent their readers to PJS.

And while that was all good and well, what makes this post stand out to me is the following. About a week after talk of Brewtser's Weis rant circulated, the STrib's Patrick Reusse picked up the topic and decided to address it with Brewster. For the record, Brewster denied the allegations. I covered that development here. I'm proud of this post not because it made Brewster look bad or because it brought many new readers to PJS, but because the post helped set the record straight. By re-posting MN Irish's claims, many others knew that Brewster was being kicked around by Notre Dame fans. And eventually Brewster was given an opportunity to address the allegations. No matter if you believe Brewster said these things or not, I submit it was a good thing that this blog shed light on these allegations that were already out there. And I'm pleased that post might have led to Brewster giving his side of the story.

And, yes, the post was fun because, in fact, Weis is fat and the little scandal allowed me to point that out!

Gopher of the Year

I kicked around numerous possibilities for this not-so prestigious award. Tubby Smith took Minnesota by storm, and his recruiting class combined with the improvement he has brought to men's basketball is nothing short of amazing. But, Tubby hasn't put in a full season yet and he will be in position for many honors in years to come. There is wrestling coach J. Robinson and his departed star Cole Konrad; good candidates both. But my nod is going to a man who has been received his fair share of criticism here and other places: Joel Maturi.

The year that was will likely be at the center of Maturi's legacy at the University. It's not often an athletic director has the chance to hire a football and a basketball coach in the same year. Maturi did just that and struck gold with Tubby Smith. Many of us wanted Maturi to jettison Dan Monson one year earlier than he did. But Maturi's patience proved wise in March when a national championship coach with a stellar resume decided the Twin Cities would be a perfect place to repair his suddenly sullied reputation.

The jury is still out on whether Tim Brewster was a good hire or not. When Maturi introduced Brewster to the maroon and gold faithful, our athletic director told us that Brewster was a recruiting guru who could bring better talent to the football program. While I haven't covered football recruiting extensively, Brewster has delivered in that area and is poised to bring Minnesota a better freshman class than Glen Mason ever did. So, Maturi was honest with us about what he hired.

Additionally, and this is speculation, I imagine Maturi had wiggle-room to make one big-money hire or two mid-level hires. He likely didn't have the money available to pay big bucks for both football and basketball. So, Maturi had to make a call. He took a risk on Brewster, but that gave him the ability to go for a high-profile coach in Tubby Smith. Maturi could have made a larger gamble, and hired a middle-of-the-road basketball coaching prospect and the same for the football team. But I believe he made the right choice in hiring one sure thing, especially considering the football program is going to receive a boost in interest no matter what with the opening of TCF Bank Stadium.

For 2007, Joel Maturi gets my nod as the Gopher of the Year.

Vermin of the Year

Once again there were quite a few people in contention for this dubious honor. We had alum Denny Neagle receive a mention in The Mitchell Report. We witnessed alum Kevin McHale trade Kevin Garnett, culminating his decade-long effort to turn Minnesota professional basketball into a nationwide laughingstock. There was Tim Brewster's blather-filled 1-11 season. And most recently Kyle Okposo ditched his teammates in the middle of a disappointing season at Mariucci Arena.

But this year's Vermin of the Year far outdid the competition by bringing bad press and shame to the University of Minnesota. PJS' 2007 Vermin of the Year is Dominic Jones. After a lengthy and annoying investigation into an allegation of sexual assault committed by Gophers football players, in July we had a development that brought just ridicule and a black eye to the University.

I wrote the following at the time here:

The Star Tribune reports today that Minnesota football player Dominic Jones has been charged with third degree sexual assault, after a lengthy investigation.

Attached here is the juicy stuff, and by juicy I mean thoroughly disgusting. This is the charging document, and it isn't suitable for those not wishing to read graphic sexual exploits. I'm not going to quote it here, but by all means read the document in its entirety if you want to know what really is alleged here.

To summarize: Lots of vodka, dorm room, passed out college student, college football players, ejaculation, DNA evidence and digital documentation. DISGUSTING!

I haven't followed further developments in the case and honestly don't know where the charges against Jones stand as I write this. This mindless, stupid act brought the required press attention at a time when Tim Brewster was preparing for his first season on the job. Jones was pegged in the starting lineup as a starting corner back, and we all know that if it were not for this shameful indiscretion, the Gophers really could have used him.

To his credit, Tim Brewster acted quickly and forcefully in his decision to suspend Jones indefinitely from the football team. That sent a message, in my opinion, from day one that Brewster was not going to tolerate lawlessness on his football team. In one fell swoop, Brewster initiated a culture of accountability.

For 2007, Dominic Jones is your Vermin of the Year. I hope at this time next year I can have more fun with this and give this honor to someone like McHale, who I'm just clamoring to hammer.

Year In Review: Lightning Strikes For Maturi

At this time one year ago, Minnesota basketball fans didn't have much to cheer about. The Dan Monson era had ended with a thud. And that was actually OK considering the Clem Haskins era ended in shame.

After a disappointing season in 2006, I was one of those disgruntled University of Minnesota alums who wrote to Joel Maturi asking him to relieve Dan Monson of his duties. I cited what I saw as a lack of growth in our players' development and an inability to recruit at a level needed to compete in the Big Ten, among other things. Maturi offered a professional response, and despite rumors to the contrary, decided to give Dan Monson one last try. In hindsight, giving Monson one more bite at the proverbial apple worked out wonderfully even if it seemed misguided at the time.

After a team-worst 9-22 season, lightning struck for Maturi. He landed the biggest fish in the pond, and quieted those clamoring for someone like Rick Majerus or Flip Saunders. Other names on the list to replace Monson at the time were Sean Miller of Xavier or Chris Lowery of Southern Illinois. Both might have been great hires, but they didn't have the name cachet that Smith had and they certainly wouldn't have provided the U with a "shot in the arm."

Tubby Smith had just completed a not-good-enough season at Kentucky, where his Wildcats had failed to make it to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season. As all of us have now learned, that's simply not acceptable in the Bluegrass State, even if the coach in question had won a national title. Tubby Smith wanted out of UK. UK's rabid fans wanted a new start of their own. And Joel Maturi had an opening at the right place at the right time.

It's my belief that a strange set of circumstances led to Tubby Smith coming to the University of Minnesota. The STrib's Grandpa Sid reported at the time that the process to land Smith began just a few short weeks before the announcement was made in late March. And the benefactors of those circumstances are those of us who bleed maroon and gold and Maturi himself.

All of that said, the hire of Tubby Smith was a great one, if it was completely inconceivable at the time. And it was the brightest moment of 2007 for University of Minnesota fans. And that's saying something considering game results are usually more exciting than introductory press conferences.

So, if it's fair game to criticize Maturi for the poor timing of the dismissal of Glen Mason and the subsequent rushed search for a football coach, it's certainly reasonable to give our plaudits to Maturi for landing Tubby Smith. Great hire, Joel.

Year In Review: Maturi Hires Some Guy He's Never Heard Of

A little more than two weeks after Glen Mason was shown the door, Athletic Director Joel Maturi and University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks found the man they wanted to bring a new vision to Gophers football. The new coach was a new name to the vast majority of Gophers fans.

On a blustery Minnesota morning in mid-January, we learned Tim Brewster would be having a press conference to announce he had agreed to terms with the University. In unison, much of Gopher Nation scratched their heads. Who is Tim Brewster? Why did we hire someone with no head coaching, or coordinator experience? If Brewster has never been anything more than a tight ends coach, why is he the best coach to take a high-major, middle-of-the-pack football program and oversee its ascension to the top of the Big Ten?

In short, Gophers fans were stumped. Maturi finally stepped up and pulled the plug on the Glen Mason era. But with the AD's first big hire at the University, he goes for a no-name coach, one we later learn our AD had never even heard of himself. A startling decision to say the least.

There were some positives. Brewster was pegged as a top-notch recruiter. He had landed Vince Young while on staff for Mack Brown at Texas. And under Brown at North Carolina, Brewster took some credit for landing Julius Peppers. There were others too: Brewster was tight ends coach for the NFL's Chargers during Antonio Gates' rise to stardom. He had most recently worked under one of the NFL's most respected gurus in Mike Shanahan. While his resume lacked in some areas, it looked good in others.

So, the decision makers told us that Brewster would work to build a fence around the state of Minnesota. We would no longer lose homegrown products to Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan. Here is Maturi, via Chip Scoggins at the Star Tribune, introducing Brewster to his new fanbase:

"Coach Brewster has a great reputation as a man of integrity, vision and energy," Maturi wrote in an e-mail. "He is known as a tireless recruiter and he wanted to be a Gopher. From the dozens of people we talked to around the nation, Coach Brewster stood out as a person that could take us to the next level."

Later on January 16th, Brewster took to a podium in Minneapolis, Maturi cheerleading at his side, and professed that this was the beginning of a new era in Minnesota football. He talked of the storied history of the program only our grandfathers can recall. He talked about how this current team can win now, and he talked about taking "Gopher Nation To Pasadena."

Brewster immediately set the bar very high:

"My expectations from Day One is that we are going to win the Big Ten championship," he said. "We're going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena (the site of the Rose Bowl)." He was asked if he had concerns about his lack of head coaching experience. "I don't have fear. I don't have anxiety. I have total exhilaration," he said in a mild Texas accent despite having been born in New Jersey. "If you aren't prepared, then you have anxiety. ... For 19 years I've been an assistant coach [and] I've always made great decision on who I worked for. ... What I chased was knowledge [rather than] what my title was."

The man entered the Minnesota sporting world with bravado.

Later in the Year In Review, we'll look at how Brewster performed during his first season on the sidelines. But for now, I want to concentrate on the coaching search. As I suggested in the previous post about the dismissal of Glen Mason, the coaching search was made to be hurried by the poor timing of Mason's dismissal. Had Mason been fired at the end of the regular season--before the Insight Bowl debacle--the Gophers would have had a month or more to find a coach instead of two weeks. But a quick decision had to be made because the early signing period was imminent.

As in any coaching search there was rampant speculation about who would be the next coach. The names varied from the never-going-to-happen (think Tony Dungy) to the PLEASE! department (Think the degree-less Mike Tice and Eden Prairie High School coach Mike Grant). But other names were out there: former USC coordinator now Oakland Raiders Coach Lane Kiffin, UCLA Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker (former Gopher), Wisconsin Offensive Coordinator Paul Chryst and North Dakota State Head Coach Craig Bohl. Each of those five names appealed to me for different reasons.

Each of those names had something Brewster doesn't: big-time coaching experience. Bohl has built a program. Kiffin has been part of greatness at USC. Chryst has run a Big Ten offense (for our arch rival, another plus). Walker brings a BCS track record and a Minnesota tradition. Brewster, well, Brewster had coached tight ends and been a recruiting coordinator. Suffice to say, the name Tim Brewster came out of left field.

I might be overly skeptical, but I fail to see why Maturi and Bruininks couldn't have sought a coach with both a coaching and recruiting track record. But I already know the answer to that. They weren't so much looking for a coach. They were looking for a salesman. They were looking for someone who could boost ticket sales and interest as the University pushed to raise millions of dollars for its new outdoor, on-campus, football stadium.

The Star Tribune's excellent columnist Jim Souhan made this point the day after Brewster was hired:

As the search began, the U braintrust had a rare epiphany. What this program needed was not a play diagrammer or a retread. What this program needed was a credible and persuasive salesman. Someone who could sell tickets and raise stadium funds, who could promote the program 12 months a year and attract recruits from Hibbing to Houston. The anti-Mason.

Let me suggest that the "U braintrust" was at least partially wrong. What the U needed was a salesman who could light a fire under a disinterested fan base AND diagram plays. So, Maturi and Bruninks went with a coach who they knew could do the one thing they felt they needed most: influence public relations in the short term, nevermind the longterm consequences. So, they hired a man who they had never heard of.

Maturi admitted that during the press conference introducing Brewster. Maturi said:

"Quite frankly, I'd never heard of Tim Brewster," he said. But as he checked around "everybody had great things to say about Tim Brewster. Kids love to play for him."

Never heard of your new coach!?!!??!!

To me that is astonishing. The University of Minnesota is in a big-time athletic conference. Yet when the search began for a new football coach, our athletic director hadn't even heard of the man now leading our progarm! Time may vindicate Joel Maturi but with a year behind us to look at this, the decision to hire Brewster clearly appears to be one that was A) rushed and B) made with one overriding priority in mind: finding the anti-Mason. It appears that Brewster was sold to Maturi, by a search committee, by high profile coaches and by Brewster himself.

It's too early to know if Brewster will be a failure as head coach at Minnesota. But with 20-20 hindsight, I think we can agree that Joel Maturi--by all accoutns a good man--put himself in position to take some criticism for this hire whether it works out or not.

This was Joel Maturi's first big coaching search as AD. And I sumbit he failed the test.

Year In Review: The Mason Firing

Even the most staunch Glen Mason haters were caught a little bit by surprise when on the eve of the new year Joel Maturi axed the coach who became to be known as "Mediocre Mason" during his decade long stint as Minnesota's football coach.

Here's what FireMason.com wrote on Dec. 31, 2006: The loss to Texas Tech in the Insight Bowl in classic Mason fall-from-ahead fashion has apparently led to the coach's dismissal. The late-season three game rally that qualified the gophers for the bowl had admittedly and obviously left me lacking motivation, as I assumed that the coach's future was secure for another year. The firing is a welcome and surprising holiday gift. Kudos to everybody who took the time to write to Joel Maturi and the other big-shots. This could have and would have gone on longer if we had let it.

I was watching that game in the comfort of my living room last year, watching with joy as the Gophers piled up a tremendous lead. Eventually, the girlfriend said "Charlie, this game is over. Let's watch a movie." I agreed, and suffered through some painful romantic comedy. After it ended, I flipped on the 4-letter (ESPN) and saw coverage of the biggest collapse in college bowl history.

It was typical Glen Mason football: show some signs of life, before falling hard. And that epitomized the Gophers of 2006 (and the Mason era for that matter). The Insight Bowl debacle opened up old wounds: Think 4th quarter of Michigan 2003, for instance. But as we now look back almost one year later, we have to ask was it the right move?

I will say now that it looks in retrospect like a panic move. Had Maturi wanted to fire Mason all along, he should have done it prior to the bowl game. The dismissal after the Insight Bowl smacks of desperation--an AD who was getting hammered with e-mails suggesting he should have fired Mason earlier. An earlier dismissal would also have allowed a more thorough coaching search process. The late dismissal forced the Gophers athletic department into near panic mode to find a new coach, as national signing day was less than 40 days away at the time. We ended up with Tim Brewster, who has excelled in the recruiting department and sputtered on the sidelines. And Maturi had cause to fire Mason earlier. The Gophers started 3-6, and 0-5 in the Big Ten. What's more striking about Maturi's decision making is that he fired Mason almost exaclty one year from the day he signed the coach to a contract extension. That meant that Mason received a $3.6 million parting gift. There's something to be said about giving an embattled coach a vote of confidence, it's something far different to give him that type of security without earning it.

Overall, I think I can speak for the majority of Minnesota fans in saying that Glen Mason's firing was a welcome developement. Could it have been handled better? Yes. Earlier? Yes. Did Maturi make the right decision? Yes. Did it look like a decision made out of panic? Absolutely. Are we better off now? That jury is still out. But I'll say this. As a Gophers fan, I was tired of Mason's excuses and the fact that he was apparently OK with mediocrity. Maturi and University President Robert Bruininks said they felt the football program needed a "new voice."

As the year in review continues, I'll take a look at their replacement for Glen Mason and examine whether or not they hired the right "voice."

Say It Ain't So, Joel

Just when you think Tim Brewster might right the Gophers' ship, Joel Maturi pulls you back down.

I read with great pleasure an item in the Fargo-Moorhead Forum earlier this month that suggested Brewster had no intention of scheduling North Dakota State in the future. The Gophers will face the North Dakota State for a second straight season when the Bison head to the Dome later this year, in a game that the national television networks are fighting for the rights to televise. You see, Brewster would like to schedule a big-time opponent for the maroon and gold. Texas, perhaps--a team he has some history with. Once upon a time, the Gophers and Notre Dame were no strangers.

Now, Glen "Mediocre" Mason made a living by schedling cream puffs for the Gophers to beat. In order to be bowl eligible, a team must win 6 games. Last year, Mason's squad finished 6-6 during the regular season, with the help of a 10-9 win over NDSU. Without that win, the Gophers wouldn't have had a chance to blow a 98 point lead to Texas Tech in a December bowl game.

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Does NDSU really help us?’ ” Brewster said. “I want to make sure our nonconference games benefit the University of Minnesota more than the team the Gophers are playing.”

This is not a new issue here at PJS. In our short existence, we've harped on the Gophers' football schedule here and here. So, it was with great satisfaction to see Brewster showing he has a sense of what Gopher Nation really wants. From the same article, Brewster continues to sum up the thoughts of pretty much every Gopher fan I know.

“When we’re recruiting nationally, and a young man says, ‘Who are your nonconference games this year?’ and we say ‘Bowling Green, Miami of Ohio, Florida Atlantic and North Dakota State,’ what do you think the reaction is?” Brewster asked, rattling off Minnesota’s nonconference schedule this fall. He answered his own rhetoric by slumping his shoulders and letting out a disappointed groan, mimicking how a blue-chipper might react.

As much as NDSU fans, coaches and administrators might not like what Brewster is saying ... he's exactly right.

But Maturi essentially bitch-slapped Brewster for working to give Gopher fans what they want. In a differnt article in the Forum, Maturi puts Brewster in his place.

"In the end, it’s my decision,” Maturi said. “Much of this is financial and doing what’s the best thing for your program in looking at the big picture.” Maturi said he and Brewster have a great relationship, but they have yet to sit down and talk about scheduling philosophies. The Bison and Gophers play next fall, but have nothing set after that.

So, Maturi just undermined Brewster and admitted to not having discussed scheduling with his new coach. Certailny, there are financial realities not available to PJS, and Maturi certainly received calls from NDSU's administration. If nothing else, it'd be nice, if Maturi and Brewster were on the same page.

And in a perfect world, it'd be nice to have another reason to tune into a Gophers nonconference football game. Perhaps to tune in and see the type of program Brewster is talking about turning Minnesota into.