JOTTINGS

• It's a well-known fact that Wisconsin football coach Paul Chryst was Joel Maturi's first choice for Gophers coach before the athletic director hired Tim Brewster in 2007, and Maturi interviewed Chryst in Dallas for the job. But because of his personal relationships with the Chryst family, Maturi knew both he and Chryst would be under a lot of scrutiny if he was hired here.

• Vikings coach Mike Zimmer on how the team settled on free-agent offensive linemen Mike Remmers and Riley Reiff: "A lot of it is about mentality, brought in a couple of guys with the mentality that we're looking for. Smart guys. Tough guys."

• The Gophers will enter next season still needing a long-term solution at quarterback, and coach P.J. Fleck said they're working on that. "We are looking at all quarterbacks right now for 2018. I would like to be able to take more than one. … If it is a junior college quarterback, I usually don't like to take guys who only have two years."

• Twins President Dave St. Peter said that manager Paul Molitor is a key decision-maker on their coaching hires. "I think Garvin Alston as a pitching coach, we're hopeful he'll do the same thing on the pitching side that James Rowson has done on the hitting side," said St. Peter, noting how improved the offense was under Rowson.

• Kyle Shurmur, the son of Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, is having a standout junior season for Vanderbilt. He has thrown for 2,823 yards, including 283 in Saturday's 42-24 victory at Tennessee.

• Former Gophers offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, in his first season as UCLA offensive coordinator, served as Bruins interim coach for their 30-27 victory over Cal on Friday following the firing of Jim Mora. Fisch, who was on Brew­ster's staff in 2009, figures to stay in the role for UCLA's bowl game before Chip Kelly takes over. Fisch also promoted former Gophers quarterback Adam Weber to QB coach after serving as an offensive analyst.