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UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 17, 2010Joel MaturiJOEL MATURI: Good afternoon. This morning, I met and informed Coach Brewster that the University of Minnesota was terminating his contract as the head football coach, and that we would immediately begin a national search for his replacement. I also told him how much I appreciated his passion, his commitment, and the hard work that he has put in during his three and a half years. There are a lot of good things about our football program because of Coach Brewster. Not the least of which are the improvements academically, the improvements of our student-athletes in the community, the tremendous passion and energy and visibility that I think that he has brought. We're thankful for all of those things. But we're also aware in this business today of big-time college football. It's about wins and losses. I also apologized for the unfortunate leak of this decision. I don't think it was fair to coach, don't think it was fair to his staff, certainly not fair to his athletes, and I sincerely apologize. I've appointed Jeff Horton as the interim head coach, and he has agreed to take on this responsibility. Jeff has been in the chair, he's a great choice, and I know we will work well together during this transition and during the final five weeks of the season. I also met with the coaching staff, informed them of my decision, and I'm convinced that they too are committed to do their very, very best to prepare our kids for the final five games. And they have done nothing but respond in an appropriate, professional manner. You know, Minnesota can and should be competitive in the Big Ten. We have a great facility here at TCF Bank Stadium. We are a world class academic institution. One of America's finest cities. And contrary to published reports, the resources are available. They are in place. There is a commitment to having a winning football program at the University of Minnesota. The fact of the matter is President Bruininks knows, Joel Maturi knows, others know that football is the engine to every athletic program. And our engine is sputtering, and we need to find a way to fix it and we're committed to doing so. We're also at a significant time in the history of the Big Ten Conference. There are many exciting changes taking place, expansion, divisional play, a conference championship football game, and I believe it's critical that the University of Minnesota be in position to take advantage of those opportunities of those changes. I believe that making the decision to go in a different direction now is important for many reasons. Not the least of which is to be out front in our search, so that we can look at candidates on our timetable. Importantly, and I would hope all Gopher fans realize this, I would hope that our students and our fans come out on Saturday, that they're visible, that they're loud, that they're supportive of the kids wearing the maroon and gold. To all, I have already contacted Tony Dungy. Tony Dungy shared with me that he is not interested in getting back into coaching. But the good news is Tony Dungy is willing to do everything that he can to help us find the right leader for this program. I've also spoken to others influential to Gopher athletics and especially to Gopher football, and they, too, have committed their time, their willingness to meet, their willingness to solve the problem that has been here for quite some time. Questions? Q. Did you see this in some way -- when you redid his contract, obviously, there were financial concessions made where you basically reduced what you had to pay him. Did you do it with some sense that there might be an inevitability that he would be fired at some point or you were concerned he would be fired at some point? JOEL MATURI: I think you want to do what's right for the institution, and you want to do what's right for the coach. When we redid the contract last year, I believed it was important to give Coach Brewster more time. I was hoping that that would be the reality. There was also the reality that our program had not made great strides yet, and that if there were to be in the position that we're in today, we would protect the institution. So the increase in the buyout is not significant in terms of the total package, and yet we did not lose a recruiting class. I feel that the decision that was made last year was the appropriate one. Q. Who will make the next decision to be the head coach of the Gophers, and what will that process be? JOEL MATURI: I'm the athletic director at the University of Minnesota, and it will ultimately be my decision. Q. And you've made the decision last time on Brewster, you went out and said your neck would be on the line, I believe was the quote. Do you believe your neck is on the line because Brewster failed? JOEL MATURI: Obviously, I hired a football coach that didn't win enough games, and I'll take responsibility for that. I think that we have some things in place, and we have some commitments in place that hopefully will make this an attractive position for a coach who can come in here and win more football games. Q. You'd mentioned that you were going to start the national search immediately. What can and can't you do in the next five to seven weeks considering that most colleges are still playing their football games for another five to seven weeks? JOEL MATURI: Well, again, I've been in the business a long time, and you continue to learn. I never dreamt as an athletics director that I would ever dismiss coaches during the course of the year. I did make that decision with Dan Munson, and you know what, I think that the conclusion of who we hired came out pretty well. I've asked Tubby Smith if he wanted to coach football, but he's declined, but we're out here to find a Tubby Smith. We're out here to find somebody that people can recognize, people have confidence in, and people are going to bring instant credibility and notoriety to the football program. That is my goal. Whether that is that interest, remains to be seen, but I'm excited about the time line that we have. Q. When did you tell Coach Brewster about your decision, and how did he take it? JOEL MATURI: I met with Coach Brewster at 9:00 o'clock this morning. Like he's done everything else in my presence, he handled it well. I'm especially pleased and thankful for how he handled really this past weekend. Again, I repeat, the leak was unfair to him. He handled it extremely well with the kids, with the coaches, and quite frankly, with you, the media, after the game yesterday when the reports that he was going to get fired if he didn't win the game. I thought he handled it with a lot of class, and he did the same this morning. Q. What, in your mind, was the final straw to make you pull the trigger at this point? JOEL MATURI: Well, you know, there were a couple things, and I hinted to them in my initial remarks. I think to get a head start on this, I think was important. We're coming into two home football games, and I don't think it's fair for the kids to be booed. Quite frankly, it's why I have my plea out to our fans, don't boo our kids. Q. You mentioned Dungy and how he was going to help the program. Was there any sense that maybe you put together a formal search committee of which maybe he would be a part that would recommend the next coach? Would that be part of the process going forward? JOEL MATURI: The reality of it is you will not hire a significant coach doing it that way. Now if we're going to hire a coordinator, and we may, if we're going to hire a mid-level coach, and we may, because that may be the best person that is available to us, that would be a process that might be successful. If you're going to get somebody who, you know, has a little bit more notoriety and attention to it, you can't do it that way. Not in today's world. Q. Upon reflection and evaluation of this in the last four years, where did it go wrong? What strides weren't made to lead to this decision? JOEL MATURI: Well, we didn't win enough. It's that simple. I think an awful lot of things, as I mentioned, are improved, and I'm thankful to Coach Brewster for that. Many people say that he overpromised and underdelivered. The reality, I loved his passion, I loved his optimism, but in reality you have to win football games. We're a 1-6 football team, and quite frankly, nobody expected us to be a 1-6 football team. You know, we've got some tough games ahead of ourselves, and I just felt the decision now was the appropriate thing. Q. You said you're out here to find another Tubby Smith, someone people recognize. Why wasn't that important and paramount when you hired Brewster? JOEL MATURI: Well, it was. I didn't say it wasn't. I'm saying when you make a decision December 31st and you are a little bit more challenged in time lines and what you do. Only I know who was and was not interested in the position at that time. Again, this is not to put disparaging remarks on Coach Brewster. I felt he was the best candidate available and made a decision to hire him. In reality, we hope that this time line, we'll have more very good quality, recognizable, achievable, experienced coaches. Q. How do you sell this opening to other coaches based on the lack of fan support that's been displayed all season? JOEL MATURI: I think you have to sell somebody on the opportunity is what you do. I do think we have as fine a venue as there is in America, as I mentioned. We have a great academic institution, a great community. I think the resources are available, and I think I'll be able to show that to potential candidates. I think we have somebody who hopefully will come in and say I can make a mark for myself. When was the last time we went to the Rose Bowl? When is the last time we won a Big Ten championship? You're not following Vince Lombardi here. This is a situation where, you know what, somebody can come in and win some games and people are going to feel good about him and they win a few more games and they're going to feel really good about him. And if we go to the Rose Bowl, we might even put a statue of them outside of TCF Bank Stadium. Q. How much did this current losing streak remind you of the 2007 season? And how much did that play a role, the 1-11 season play a role in this decision? JOEL MATURI: The 1-11 season was painful because it was a transitional year. The fact of the matter is we endured that and then we went 7-5 in the regular season. I felt we were going in the right direction. Even last year 6-6 seemed to be okay. But the fact of the matter is we've taken a step backwards, and that's not what rebuilding programs do is take steps backwards. We need to take a step forward. Q. There are some very high profile coaching candidates that are sitting out this season. Would Mike Leach, Mike Bellotti be a fit at Minnesota? JOEL MATURI: You know what, that's what we'll all determine. Q. Obviously when you hit the ground running, does that mean once that Iowa game's over you want to name the head coach, and will there be a search firm involved? JOEL MATURI: Again, I'd like to name a head coach as soon as the time is available. If, indeed, it happens to be a candidate who is not coaching as was mentioned, you can probably do it before the end of the season if that person or persons would be interested. If not, it will obviously be after the season. So, again, the timeline is not definitive. I do know that it will be on a much better timeline than last time, so that is the positive thing. And a decision hasn't been finally made as to what the full process will be. Q. What effect will it have on the search? You have a president who is leaving this year, and I think your contract expires in June. Is that going to be a negative? JOEL MATURI: June of next year, meaning June of '12 for me. So don't get me out of here any sooner. Some people would vote with you, but the fact of the matter is my contract is through June of 2012. Q. Will not having a president and you on a one-year contract, basically, will that make it tough? JOEL MATURI: You know what, I don't know the answer to that. I do know that if we pay somebody as much as you pay college football coaches today and give him a five-, six-, seven-year contract, that's not bad security. Q. Can you talk about the South Dakota game in general? After that loss, did you start thinking about and maybe talking to people above you about the possibility of making this move during the season? JOEL MATURI: I didn't talk to anybody, but it did scare the tar out of me. That is an honest answer. Q. The Brewster hire did go bad. Did you give any thought yourself to resigning? JOEL MATURI: I did not. I tell you what, I'm a proud person like anybody else. If you do your homework and look into all the people that I've hired at the schools that I've been at, I'll put that list up against most people. Q. Was this solely your decision or did you get pressure from above to relieve Tim Brewster now? JOEL MATURI: I'm the athletic director, and I'll take responsibility for the decision. Obviously, President Bruininks was involved. He is committed to this place like no president that I've ever known. Yes, his tenure left is short, which is all the more reason he has passion and desire to make it better. Q. Can you clarify if it was your choice to do it now or were you told to do it now? JOEL MATURI: I made the decision to meet with Coach Brewster this morning. Q. Was Coach Brewster given the option of staying and coaching the rest of the year? Will Coach Horton be allowed to be a candidate to replace him? JOEL MATURI: Well, as I was asked when I met the staff this morning, if we win the next five games would Coach Horton be a candidate, and I said, absolutely. So those are realities that it's about winning. Jeff Horton has a good track record. He's a great person. I'm thankful that he's here, and thankful and appreciative of him taking on this opportunity. Coach Brewster and I probably decided it's not in his best interest to continue. Q. You said that the engine is sputtering. Wins and losses aside, how does that sputtering engine financially impact the rest of the school, the student body, the university in general? JOEL MATURI: Significantly. Always, we talk about athletics being a winner to the university, which we are. The big picture window is football. People all over the world know whether you win or lose in football. And those that wear maroon and gold are disappointed, embarrassed, frustrated, angry and hurt by a 1-6 football team and the lack of being really competitive in the Big Ten for a long time. It also has a tremendous financial impact, ticket sales, premium seat sales, merchandise sales, all of these kinds of things which are a reality in big time college football. Q. Are you willing to significantly increase the salary of the next head coach and potentially his assistants as well? Also, if you do that, can this university still support the number of sports that it's supporting right now? JOEL MATURI: That's a good question, and obviously those are the kinds of things that we have to determine. Understand, Coach Brewster is making what he is making because that's the level of coach that we hired from the standpoint being a first time head coach and the experience that he had. We were prepared to pay more for the coach when we made this decision four years ago. So people understand that. Now can I pay the dollars that Urban Meyer are making? No. Nick Saban? No. We cannot go down that path. That's not a path that we can go down. But can we pay more than what we're paying, yes, we can. We can pay competitively, and we can pay our staff competitively. Quite frankly, for the most part, our staff is paid competitively right now. Q. Did the fact that the arch rivals were knocking off Ohio State last night dramatize the situation for you? JOEL MATURI: I think it only emphasized what I think we can do. I'm proud to say I was at the University of Wisconsin when they were in a similar condition to what we are in. Proud to say I was there when they won their first Rose Bowl, so I know it can be done. I think I have a clue as to how it was done and why it was done, and I'm here to do what I can to have it happen at the University of Minnesota. If I may, before you go. Importantly to understand I certainly will listen to our athletic communications folks. But the next time I get in front of you to talk about any particular candidate, will be when we're announcing who the football coach will be. Thank you for understanding. End of FastScripts |
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