Former Gophers Head Coach Tim Brewster Finally Gets His 2nd Chance

By    |  
Updated:
Tim Brewster - Minnesota at Northwestern
Credit: Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

It’s been 14 years since Tim Brewster was the head football coach at the University of Minnesota (2010). But from 2007-2010, Tim held the reins for one of the worst Minnesota Gophers football programs in the school’s history. When it was all said and done, Tim went 15-36 while leading the Golden Gophers, and 6-21 in the Big Ten.

Former Minnesota Gophers head coach Tim Brewster gets another chance in Charlotte

His time at the helm in Dinkytown is the only head coaching opportunity the chili-eating coach has had. Until now. On Monday, the Charlotte football program fired its head coach, Biff Poggi, and elevated tight ends coach Tim Brewster to interim head coach, for the rest of the 2024 season.

Tim Brewster went 1-11 in his first season (2007) as U of M head coach. His program showed a glimmer of hope in 2008, when the Gophers went 7-6, including a loss in the Insight Bowl. Then in 2009, they took a step back, finishing 6-7, with yet another Insight Bowl loss.

From there, everything unraveled, and midway through the 2010 season, with the Gophers 1-6 and losers of five-straight games, Brewster was fired. That offseason, Jerry Kill was hired. Brewster’s biggest wins while in Dinkytown came vs… Purdue? Indiana?

Related: Where Do Minnesota Gophers Rank in CFB Top 134?

Well, he hung in close vs a couple of ranked teams, during his tenure. Do those moral victories count? Because boy, does his resume need them to count. Sure, Tim may have failed to notch a signature win, while head coach of the Gophers, but he certainly racked up some historic losses.

Tim Brewster : Minnesota Gophers at Wisconsin
Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Some of the most notorious include an 0-2 record vs both Dakota State teams, a loss vs Northern Illinois, Florida Atlantic, Bowling Green and Northwestern, three out of four years. In Tim’s defense, Kill lost to NDSU in 2011, one season after Brewster was fired, and the Gophers have not played North Dakota State since.

The college football history of Brewster

Tim Brewster started his college football career as a tight end at Illinois, from 1981-1983, where he had two impressive seasons, collecting a total of 1178 yards and two touchdowns in 22 total games played. From there, he started his coaching career as a grad assistant at Purdue.

Related: Minnesota Gophers are Music City Bound in New CFB Bowl Projections

He made it all the way to tight ends coach of the Denver Broncos, before being hired as the Minnesota Gophers head coach, prior to the 2007 season. After being fired at the U of M, Tim took a one year break (2011). From there, he’s been all over the place, mostly as a tight ends coach.

  • 2012 – WR Coach – Mississippi State
  • 2013-2017 – TE Coach – Florida State
  • 2018 – TE Coach – Texas A&M
  • 2019 – TE Coach – North Carolina
  • 2020-2021 – Asst HC, TE Coach – Florida
  • 2022 – TE Coach – Jackson State
  • 2023 – TE Coach – Colorado
  • 2024 – Asst HC, TE Coach – Charlotte

As head coach of the Minnesota Gophers, Tim Brewster proved to be all bark and no bite. He recruited some of the highest-rated kids in program history (including his own son), but he had no idea how to run a program properly, and his teams lacked everything, especially discipline, because of it.

Hell, who knows, maybe this is the beginning of a new head coaching era for Tim Brewster, who is now 64 years old… but I doubt it.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: