Leach, Grant Express Interest In Gophers Coaching Job

Mike Leach, who was run out of Lubbock as Texas Tech’s head football coach, has said that he’s willing to listen to the Gophers about their head coaching position, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Leach, when asked Monday on his Sirius radio show about the Minnesota vacancy, said he “was in a position to listen to anybody” and called the Gophers “a good program” in the Big Ten Conference.

Leach’s attorney, Ted Liggett, said he heard rumors linking his client’s name to Minnesota, but said the Gophers had not contacted him as of Monday afternoon.

“Mike and I haven’t discussed specifically anything about the Minnesota position,” he said. “Other than that, I can unequivocally say that there have been no offers made.”

Eden Prairie High School head coach Mike Grant has also expressed interest in the job, but if the Gophers are looking for a “big name” head coach, as is being rumored, Grant doesn’t exactly fit that bill.

Watch Gophers/Brewster Press Conference Live

If you want to watch Tim Brewster’s final press conference as head coach of the Gophers, the good folks at GopherSports have provided a link right here.

You’ll have to register for the site and all that, but it’s still an opportunity to watch the press conference if you’re interested.

Star-Tribune: Brewster Out As Head Coach Of Gophers

Dennis Brackin of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that the University of Minnesota has officially fired head football coach Tim Brewster, effective immediately.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Horton will assume head coaching duties for the remainder of the 2010 season. The university has scheduled a 1 PM press conference to address the situation.

Rumors of Brewster’s job being in jeopardy pending the outcome of yesterday’s game against the Purdue Boilermakers surfaced on Friday afternoon, and the 28-17 defeat that the Gophers suffered apparently sealed Brewster’s fate.

Again, we’ll have more on this situation as it develops.

Reusse: Brewster Possibly Out Sooner?

Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and ESPN 1500 just put this on his Twitter account:

What happened to that release? Hearing Brew was asked to "resign’’ _ Monson-like _ and he’s going to let ’em know in morning.

That’s a reference to former University of Minnesota men’s basketball coach Dan Monson, who “resigned” seven games into the Gopher Men’s Basketball season in 2006-07.

Could Brewster actually be out as early as tomorrow? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Report: Brewster Informed That He Will Not Be Retained

According to Cory Roufs of 1500 ESPN in Minneapolis, and also being reported by KSTP-TV, Minnesota Golden Gophers' head coach Tim Brewster has been informed that he will not be retained as Gophers' head coach beyond this season.

Yesterday, we mentioned Roufs' report that the Gophers would be getting rid of Brewster if the team lost to Purdue this afternoon, and they did so by a score of 28-17. However, Brewster will be allowed to finish out the season, and will be let go at the end of the year.

In three and a half years with the Gophers, Brewster has amassed a record of 15-30, including an abysmal 6-21 record in Big Ten Conference play. Here is a complete list of Big Ten victories for the Gophers under Tim Brewster:

4 October 2008 vs. Indiana - Gophers 16, Hoosiers 7
11 October 2008 at Illinois - Gophers 27, Illini 20
25 October 2008 at Purdue - Gophers 17, Boilermakers 6
26 September 2009 at Northwestern - Gophers 35, Wildcats 24
10 October 2009 vs Purdue - Gophers 35, Boilermakers 20
31 October 2009 vs Michigan State - Gophers 42, Spartans 34

Brewster's record includes a great big zero in the win column in trophy rivalry games, too. He's has yet to take Paul Bunyan's Axe back from Wisconsin, re-take the Little Brown Jug from Michigan, Iowa still has the Floyd of Rosedale, and the Governor's Victory Bell still rests with Penn State.

Let the speculation about who the Gophers' coach will be in 2011 begin! We'll have more on this story as it develops.