Lined up along a wall at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex, they heard their names called out one by one, the new coaches of Minnesota’s football team – the men trying to lead the “Gopher Nation” to a Rose Bowl.
After announcing his new staff, coach Tim Brewster reiterated his plan to take the Gophers to a Rose Bowl.
“A lot of you guys weren’t sure what I was talking about when I said we’re going to win a Big Ten Championship, and we’re going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena,” he said. “With this group of men right here, without question, we’re going to get that done.”
The biggest names of the 12 men hired are offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar and defensive coordinator Everett Withers.
Dunbar spent last season at California and coached at Northwestern from 2001-2005. Withers was the defensive backs coach of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans for the past six seasons, and prior to that, was the defensive backs coach at University of Texas from 1998-2000.
Other new hires include: Daniel Berezowitz, recruiting coordinator; Randy Taylor, director of football operations; John Butler, linebackers and special teams coach; Tim Cross, defensive line coach and Thomas Hammock, running backs coach.
The coaches have wasted little time getting settled since joining the program, and many of them have already started recruiting, something Brewster has been emphasizing since he took over.
“The plan of attack is to recruit and then to recruit,” Taylor said in a phone interview Wednesday.
“The state of Minnesota is the most important to us so we’ve had most of our focus on that. We have gone a little bit out of the state too Ö we also have some coaches that have ties in other areas of the country so we’re making sure we use that opportunity to get outside the state.”
The rest of the staff includes Mark Hill, the strength and conditioning coach; Will Peoples, Hill’s assistant; Derek Lewis, the tight ends coach; Phil Meyer, the offensive line coach and George McDonald, the wide receivers coach.
McDonald said he was hired Tuesday and had just started working Wednesday.
“I’ll be out (recruiting) tonight,” he said in a phone interview. “That’s one of the biggest things Ö the No. 1 thing that we’re going to do here is recruit the state of Minnesota and recruit the country for the best players to help us get to where we want to go.”
Coaches’ compensation
Withers signed the most lucrative deal of the staff, a three-year deal with a base salary of $330,000. Dunbar also signed a three-year contract. His base salary is $265,000.
The rest of the coaching staff signed one-year agreements with salaries ranging from $45,000 to $160,000.
All members of the coaching staff, except Hill and Peoples, belong to the Wheel Club and the University will provide them with the use of an automobile throughout the duration of their contracts.
