The Coach Needs to Learn a Thing or Two
Last spring I wrote a blog about the hiring of Tim Brewster as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota. My main point was that I thought it was a mistake to hire someone who had absolutely no head coaching experience at any level to run a Division IA football program. I certainly wished the coach and program success, but was extremely skeptical that good things would happen. In addition to a 1-2 record against weak non-conference opponents, I think I was justified in my criticism of this hire , for another completely different reason.
I was in Minneapolis last week conducting a couple of days of training and happened to catch an interview with Coach Brewster on the local radio station that broadcasts the Gopher football games. The interviewer asked the coach about the process of recruiting , supposedly the main reason the University of Minnesota Athletic Director hired this guy , and I was dumbfounded by the answer. First of all, the over-the-top positive thinking platitudes have this guy sounding like a cross between a motivational speaker and a used car salesman. More importantly, he showed how out of touch he is with the current high school generation, when he said “I’m not just asking a kid to make a four year commitment to Minnesota, I’m asking them to make a 40 to 50 year commitment because they will love living here.
A couple of things¦ I lived in the Minneapolis , St. Paul area for more than thirty years, return frequently, and think it is a wonderful place. And some athletes do in fact stay in the Twin Cities after they finish their playing career. However, to ask a member of the youngest generation to make a 40-50 year commitment shows a complete lack of understanding of this group. Young student athletes see choosing a college where they will play football as a four year , or less if they are a blue chip player , commitment period. Once they have lived in Minneapolis for a while, they may see its advantages, but to tell a high school athlete they are making a multi-decade commitment at the tender age of 18 may be a bit scary.
One of things a leader needs to recognize is that everything he/she says is magnified greatly and everyone pays attention , even alumni!
We’ll see what other things the coach has to say.