Sid Hartman: U made right hire in Brewster

On Jan. 15, 2007, Charlie Strong, an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator to Urban Meyer at Florida, was at the Bierman Building being interviewed for the Gophers football coaching job. Strong had nearly 25 years experience as a college coach, and his Gators were just coming off an upset of Ohio State to win the national championship.

Strong had been at Notre Dame from 1995 to 1998, then at South Carolina from 1999 to 2002 and at Florida since then. He worked under Lou Holtz at both Notre Dame and South Carolina, and in the former Gophers coach's mind, there was no better assistant coach anywhere. I had gotten to know Strong while he was at Notre Dame, and I thought he was the perfect guy for the job.

But by that evening of Jan. 15, surprising reports emerged that the Gophers would hire an NFL tight ends coach named Tim Brewster. Those reports became fact the next day, as athletic director Joel Maturi went with a coach who had been an assistant at North Carolina and Texas and in the pros with the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos; he had never been a coordinator at any of those jobs.

Yes, nobody had ever heard of Brewster, he didn't have the coaching background of other candidates, and when he was selected instead of Strong, I was among the many who were shocked.

How could Maturi select Brewster over Strong?

Well those who believed Maturi made a mistake in the first place were convinced after the Gophers went 1-11 last year. I believe that even Maturi had some doubt at times.

Some prominent alumni and those who contribute to the Gophers athletic department were upset. Many members of the media kept harping as the Gophers lost one game after another last year.

Brewster was hired because he convinced Maturi that he could recruit. He proved that with a strong recruiting class that ranked among the nation's best.

And what has happened is that the newcomers have blended in with good athletes such as Adam Weber, Eric Decker, Jack Simmons and Willie VanDeSteeg, and the result is an impressive 7-1 record and a national ranking.

Well after the Gophers beat Purdue 17-6 on Saturday for their first victory at West Lafayette since 1990, Brewster's tough critics should start to forget about what they said last year.

The Gophers close the season with three of their final four games at the Metrodome, and the only road game at Wisconsin, which began conference play 0-4 before beating Illinois on Saturday.

It's possible they could finish 11-1.

"I think they're some of the same people a year ago that thought we were crazy in hiring the guy, but that's the passion that fans have," Maturi said. "I've received several e-mails after the win against Illinois telling me to do my job and extend his contract and make sure that we keep him here for a long time.

No doubt Strong would have been a good choice too. But you have to give Maturi credit: he picked an unknown, and that unknown has done a fantastic job. Yes, Brewster has silenced the critics.

Sharper optimistic The Vikings are 3-4 and off this weekend. Veteran safety Darren Sharper sees the outlook improving for the team when it returns to play the Houston Texans on Sunday at the Metrodome.

"We have good personnel and we just need to know [that], don't expect teams just to lay down because we have good personnel," Sharper said. "Teams are going to come out and fight us each and every time we play, and we need to answer the bell.

"We have guys in here who have that pride and are fighters, so that's why we're not worried too much. I'm not worried too much about how this team will respond coming back after the bye."

Asked about Zach Parise, the former Shattuck-St. Mary's and North Dakota star now with the Devils, Lamoriello said: "Well it's an understatement no matter what I say. He's just a dynamic player; he's the key to our offense, but the best part about him is he comes to play every night. He gives everything he has and he has talent."

Parise, drafted 17th overall in the 2003 NHL draft, scored a goal in New Jersey's 3-2 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, giving him six goals and five assists in eight games this season and 83 goals and 87 assists in 252 career games.

"I think he was maybe more of a surprise to everyone else but ourselves," Lamoriello said. "We did pick him with the first pick we had that year, and we felt very fortunate that he was available at that time. He's lived up to everything we thought he could do."

Asked to compare Parise to his father, former North Stars player J.P. Parise, Lamoriello said: "They're two different players but they have one thing in common: Their heart is as big as anyone's; their competitiveness is the same, and the way they compete. ... I think that young Zach, and I hope J.P. is not listening, has just a little more talent than J.P. did."

Another key player on the Devils is former Gophers defenseman Paul Martin. "He's the key to our defensive core," Lamoriello said. "He's just a natural athlete and his talent and his success is unlimited with the abilities that he has."

The Twins are not to going to reveal how much they will be paid by Target for the naming rights for the new stadium. Some people who were shopped reported that the Twins were asking $6 million per year.

Behind the scenes, the Vikings have held several meetings and have made many trips to prepare a plan to present the 2009 Legislature for a new stadium.

Could one imagine what a wide receiver combination the Gophers would have had had former Cretin-Derham Hall standout Michael Floyd joined Decker. Decker has 66 receptions for 833 yards and five touchdowns. Floyd is Notre Dame's leading receiver, entering Saturday's game at Washington with 27 receptions for 464 yards and four TDs. He had a 51-yard touchdown catch to start Notre Dame's rout of the Huskies.

One person not surprised by the success of Falcons rookie Matt Ryan is Rick Spielman, the Vikings official who saw Ryan several times and was trying to come up with a way for the Vikings to land the former Boston College quarterback.

Chris Wright of the Timberwolves says the team is 1,500 tickets from selling out Wednesday's season opener.