I caught up with Jim Zebrowski tonight after he was fired as Gophers quarterbacks coach. Like Matt Limegrover, this guy is all class, and has always been an entertaining interview. Here's a condensed version of our conversation:
Q. What was your reaction when you got the news?
A. "I wasn't expecting it because I thought I've given everything I have for five years, and I thought our kids offensively have played better and given us chances. Mitch [Leidner], I thought had a terrific year, and played well, and really kept getting better. So I guess I didn't see it coming. And once I got the news, all I could think about was going home and talking to my wife and kids because we love Minnesota. My two kids love East Ridge. They love Woodbury. My wife and I love living here. If I had the opportunity to coach in Minnesota, I would stay here forever because we love being here."
Q. What's next for Coach Z?
A. "The one thing is I've coached long enough that I have good relationships with people. Obviously in this profession, it's who you know sometimes more than what you know. But levels don't mean anything to me anymore. I want to find a place, where I can be happy and comfortable, where my family can be happy and comfortable. That's why I talked about what was hardest about hearing the news, knowing that we may have to relocate and find something else. Honestly, a coordinator or head coach position would be awesome, at any level."
Q. What kind of offense could work at Minnesota?
A. "What can work is if you can take what we did last year run-game wise, with the health of the O-line. If somebody tries to come in here and run the spread – that would be mind-blowing to me. You have to build an offense that fits the personality of the state you're in. And this state wants hard, tough physical kids. They also want a little fun and a little jet action. ... The combination of the end of last year, and the end of this year [with a better passing attack] -- you combine those two, gosh darn would that be fun to watch."
Q. Last thoughts?
