As the rumor mill machine was working overtime late last month in regards to the status of head coach Tim Brewster, reports surfaced that, if Brewster was canned, Minnesota would once again make a run at former Gopher quarterback Tony Dungy.
Dungy subsequently denied any interest in the position, even as the reports stated he was No. 1 on athletic director Joel Maturi‘s to-do list if/when Brewster was canned.
Apparently, those reports were correct. Just as apparent, however, is Dungy’s resolve to stay off the sidelines.
In a press conference to officially put a face on Brewster’s firing, Maturi confirmed that he had already reached out to Dungy to gauge his interest in the vacancy. As was the case three weeks ago, the current NBC NFL analyst politely declined to have his name tossed into the mix.
“To all, I have already contacted TonyDungy,” Maturi said in quotes released by the school. “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.”
With Dungy seemingly out of the picture, where will the school turn to for a replacement? Obviously, Maturi did not divulge the Gophers’ plan of attack, but he did find the time during the presser to kick Brewster square in the now-former coach’s manhood.
“You’re not following Vince Lombardi here,” Maturi said of a coach that exited with a 16-30 mark. “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.”
Maturi was asked specifically about former Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti and former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach replacing Brewster His response?
“You know what, that’s what we’ll all determine,” Maturi said.
While Bellotti might seem like somewhat of a long shot, the initial speculation for a replacement has centered on both Leach and former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino.