CHICAGO - When Tim Brewster found out in January that he'd be the new head coach at The University of Minnesota this year, the first phone call he made was to the home of Joe Paterno.
"I wanted to tell Joe Paterno what a tremendous honor it is for me to be a young head football coach in a conference where I feel like we have the greatest head football coach in the history of college football," Brewster said during the Big Ten's preseason media gathering.
Take a look at these two head coaches.
When Brewster spoke, his hands clutched firmly at the sides of the podium. He's heading into his first year as coach of the Golden Gophers, but his bellow was louder and more resolute than the six Big Ten coaches who took the stage before him and the four who would follow him.
Paterno, about a month away from the start of his 42nd season, joked with reporters in a soft and sometimes raspy voice, drawing loud laughter several times.
But one important similarity between the two men is they've both had to spend the spring and summer months answering questions about off-the-field incidents that have made national headlines.
Brewster has tried to put much of the speculation surrounding his team to rest, dismissing the allegedly offending players. For Paterno, however, questions still linger about how he'll discipline the two Nittany Lions still facing charges.
State College Police says several Penn State football players were involved in a fight on April 1 in the Meridian II apartment building, 646 E. College Ave.
Four players were charged and later cleared of wrongdoing, while two were held for court: Junior safety Anthony Scirrotto on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, simple assault, harassment and two counts of criminal solicitation and sophomore defensive tackle Chris Baker on charges of burglary, criminal trespass and simple assault.
In mid-July, Brewster dismissed four players from the Golden Gophers for their alleged involvement in the rape of an 18-year-old woman -- cornerback Dominic Jones, running back E.J. Jones, defensive end Alex Daniels and defensive back Keith Massey.
"They will not be back," Brewster said. "We've moved forward from that situation."
Brewster is trying to help the team and Golden Gophers' supporters to move forward by embarking on a 14-city caravan tour of the state, which includes making appearances at 392 high schools throughout Minnesota.
He said that his 21 years of coaching experience -- including five as an NFL assistant coach and other assistant coaching stints at colleges such as Texas, North Carolina and Purdue -- have helped prepare him to make any decision, even if his new team hasn't yet taken the field.
"Once I had all the information, I think I was very decisive in a direction I wanted to go,"
Brewster said. "We sent a statement to our football team that it's very important to honor the privilege that it is to be a Minnesota Golden Gopher football player."
Paterno was able to send a statement to his team as a whole when he announced in May that they'd clean Beaver Stadium after each home game.
But he's been cautious about publicly saying how he'll deal with Scirrotto and Baker, meaning questions still swirl around the two players.
Both were temporarily expelled from school for the second summer session, but Paterno said yesterday they'd both be practicing with the team when they convene for the first preseason session.
Brewster, on the other hand, was able to speak with finality when he said the four dismissed players wouldn't be back. All he'll have to worry about in preseason practice is football.
"I feel such a tremendous responsibility to the people of the state of Minnesota to put a football team on the field that they're very proud of," Brewster said. "I'm gonna see to it that every young
guy that wears maroon and gold honors maroon and gold."
