It’s been 14 years since Tim Brewster served as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota, where he led one of the least successful eras in Gophers history from 2007 to 2010. During his tenure, Brewster recorded a 15-36 overall record, including a disappointing 6-21 in Big Ten play.
Now, Tim Brewster is getting a fresh opportunity in Charlotte. After the Charlotte football program dismissed its head coach, Biff Poggi, on Monday, they promoted tight ends coach Tim Brewster to interim head coach for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Tim Brewster finished his first season as the U of M head coach in 2007 with a record of 1-11. However, there was a glimmer of hope in 2008 when the Gophers improved to 7-6, although they lost in the Insight Bowl. Unfortunately, in 2009, they regressed, ending the season at 6-7 with another defeat in the Insight Bowl.
Things spiraled downhill from there, and by the middle of the 2010 season, with the Gophers sitting at 1-6 and having lost five consecutive games, Brewster was let go. That offseason, Jerry Kill was brought in as his replacement. Brewster’s most notable victories during his time in Dinkytown came against teams like Purdue and Indiana.
Although he managed to keep some games close against ranked opponents, these moral victories may not hold much weight. While Tim Brewster didn’t secure any signature wins as head coach for the Gophers, he certainly amassed a collection of historic losses.
Some of the most notable shortcomings include an 0-2 record against both Dakota State teams, and losses to Northern Illinois, Florida Atlantic, Bowling Green, and Northwestern three out of four years. In Tim’s defense, Kill lost to NDSU in 2011, the year after Brewster was let go, and the Gophers haven’t faced North Dakota State since then.
The College Football Journey of Tim Brewster
Tim Brewster began his college football career as a tight end at Illinois from 1981 to 1983, where he had two standout seasons, accumulating 1,178 yards and two touchdowns over 22 games. He then transitioned to coaching as a graduate assistant at Purdue.
He eventually rose to the position of tight ends coach for the Denver Broncos before being appointed as the head coach of the Minnesota Gophers ahead of the 2007 season. After his firing at Minnesota, Brewster took a one-year hiatus in 2011. Since then, he’s bounced around various programs, primarily coaching tight ends.
- 2012: WR Coach at Mississippi State
- 2013-2017: TE Coach at Florida State
- 2018: TE Coach at Texas A&M
- 2019: TE Coach at North Carolina
- 2020-2021: Assistant HC, TE Coach at Florida
- 2022: TE Coach at Jackson State
- 2023: TE Coach at Colorado
- 2024: Assistant HC, TE Coach at Charlotte
During his time as head coach of the Minnesota Gophers, Tim Brewster was known for his high-profile recruiting, featuring some of the top talents in the program’s history (including his own son), but struggled to effectively lead the team. As a result, his squads often lacked discipline and cohesion.
Who knows, perhaps this marks the start of a new chapter for Tim Brewster, now 64 years old… but I have my doubts.
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