So you’re the coach of a Big Ten football team that went from one victory in 2007 to seven in 2008, as big a one-year turnaround as we saw in the FBS last season. You return virtually your entire offense and much of the defense. You have a brand-spanking-new on-campus stadium about to open that promises to be jam-packed from Day 1.

No worries, right? No reason to rock the boat, change directions or meddle with success? Well, not so fast.

As the Gophers opened spring practice in April, so much had changed. There was a new offensive coordinator in Jedd Fisch and a new running game coordinator/line coach in Tim Davis. Oh, and there was a very different-looking offense, too. For those who had watched Mike Dunbar’s multiple-receiver ‘spread coast’ offense for two seasons, it was necessary to become reacquainted with things like fullbacks, H-backs, tight ends and very, very large offensive linemen.

Defense? A new coordinator has arrived in Kevin Cosgrove, the third in three seasons under head coach Tim Brewster.

Listen to Brewster and the fans have reason for optimism — and let’s be honest, it’s really, really hard to avoid given Brewster’s relentless optimism. Key members from the 2008 recruiting class who didn’t play for whatever reason — quarterback MarQueis Gray and linebackers Sam Maresh and Spencer Reeves — are back. There is another quality recruiting class coming in. The Gophers are coming off a bowl game appearance.

And yet, there is so much change.

“Obviously Year 1 was Year 1,” Brewster says of 2007, his first season, which ended with a 1–11 record. “I really felt like we took a large step last year in re-acquainting ourselves with a successful football program, and I am very proud of our accomplishments as a football team last year.

“Now is a hard step — this next step, from where do you go from seven wins and being a bowl team to winning 10 games, or 11 games. I made the statement when I took the job here that our goal is to win a Big Ten championship. I have firm belief that it can and will happen after having been here and going into my third (season at Minnesota).”

Give Brewster credit. He came, he saw, and he adapted.

Two seasons in the Big Ten taught him that a power running game was necessary to win games and keep your quarterback out of the emergency ward. And so he went and hired Davis, an offensive line guru, and started recruiting mountain-sized offensive linemen, several of whom will be seen this fall with their hand in the dirt, ready to dish out punishment rather than absorb it.

Identifying that the Gophers needed offensive balance, Brewster replaced Dunbar with Fisch, who comes from the pro ranks with an impressive résumé but one caveat — he’s never been an offensive coordinator before. Fisch has pledged a pro-style attack that will feature several formations.

Knowing that an improved defense wasn’t ready to start over from scratch after showing significant improvement in 2008, Brewster hired Cosgrove and encouraged him to keep much of the defensive scheme he inherited.

If the offense clicks, the Gophers should be better. But will that translate into more victories? Look at the team’s schedule and you can’t be sure. The Gophers play Syracuse, Air Force and California in the non-conference portion. In the Big Ten slate, Penn State and Michigan State replace Indiana and Michigan. The Gophers could be better and win fewer games.

One thing is clear. Many of the names are the same, but the 2009 Gophers will be different.

THE GO-FOR OFFENSE

It didn’t take long for Brewster to move. The Gophers had finished the regular season with four straight losses — the last, a 55–0 shellacking at home to Iowa that goes down as the Gophers’ worst conference loss ever. Two days later, offensive line coach Phil Meyer resigned and was replaced by Davis, who came with an extensive and impressive résumé.

The Gophers, a spread team for two seasons under Dunbar, were changing. Brewster talked about the offensive linemen going from two- to three-point stances and being more aggressive. He talked about putting the quarterback under center at times rather than exclusively in the shotgun. Quarterback Adam Weber had gotten beaten up.

The Gophers finished last in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 103.8 yards per game and 3.1 yards per rush. They were 10th in the conference in sacks allowed per game. During a four-game losing streak to end the regular season the Gophers ran for only 64.3 yards per game, netting only seven yards against Iowa.

“It is unacceptable that we’re last in the Big Ten in rushing the football,” Brewster said after hiring Davis. “We have to run the football. We have to. And that’s something I’m committed to doing.”

In retrospect, it was a sign that Dunbar’s time was coming to an end. There was no way this spread offense purist was going to abide such a change in philosophy. And so, that was that. Shortly after the Gophers’ loss to Kansas in the Insight Bowl, Dunbar left. Actually, Dunbar and defensive coordinator Ted Roof announced their departures on the same day for different reasons. Dunbar had seen the writing on the wall. Roof, who had done a solid job reviving the moribund Gophers defense, left for more money at Auburn — but more on the defense later.

At 33, Fisch is an up-and-comer who shares Brewster’s enthusiasm and drive. He didn’t play college football, but endeavored to become a coach early on. A New Jersey native, Fisch went to college at Florida specifically because he wanted to get on the field and learn from Steve Spurrier, which wasn’t an easy sell. Once on the field as a low-level assistant, he took notes on how Spurrier worked with quarterbacks, notes he still has today.

Fisch went from Florida to a defensive quality control position with the Houston Texans, where he learned from Dom Capers. From there, to Baltimore, where in four seasons he was tutored by Brian Billick. His last stop before Minnesota was at Denver, where he coached wide receivers.

“This is my first time as coordinator, calling plays,” Fisch says. “I hope I can take everything I’ve learned and make it my own.”

Fisch calls his offense the “Go-for” offense. There will be many formations, some with multiple receivers. But he wants to run the ball and pass off play-fakes. He wants a team capable of taking advantage of what the opponent offers. The athletes are there. Weber is back, as is Gray, his athletically gifted heir apparent. Receiver Eric Decker will return and be joined by touted junior college transfer Hayo Carpenter. The highly recruited class of receivers brought in a year ago adds even more depth. The Gophers have four-star recruits coming in at tight end (Ra’Shede Hageman) and running back (Hasan Lipscomb). On the offensive line, smaller players have given way to bulk, starting with 375-pound tackle Jeff Wills, another junior college transfer.

STAYING DEFENSIVE

Replacing Roof was a little different. He had inherited — and revitalized — a defense that had finished dead last (119th) in the FBS in yards allowed in Brewster’s first season in 2007. With an infusion of junior college talent in 2008, the Gophers became a quarterback-pressuring, ball-hawking defense, especially during their 7–1 start. But, once the offense began struggling, the defense followed. Too many three-and-outs by the Gophers forced their defense to be on the field for long stretches. Still, Roof’s group finished 80th in yards allowed and tied for 16th in turnover margin.

In replacing Roof, Brewster was looking for stability for a program that will have its seventh defensive coordinator in 10 seasons this fall. He also wanted some continuity in scheme. Cosgrove fits the bill. Brewster hopes Cosgrove’s return to the Big Ten will be good for both Cosgrove and the Gophers. Cosgrove was at Wisconsin for 14 years through the 2003 season. During that time the Badgers won three Big Ten titles and three Rose Bowls, the last two with Cosgrove as defensive coordinator. That was followed by a four-year stint at Nebraska under coach Bill Callahan that ended with the firing of the entire staff. How quickly things change; his Huskers defenses were in the top 25 in points allowed in both 2005 and ’06 before falling apart in ’07.

“One of the biggest things is how badly he wanted to be a Gopher,” Brewster says. “He wanted to be part of our program.”

Cosgrove comes with the reputation as a great developer of linebackers and strong recruiter in the Midwest. He also comes with the desire to bounce back from the Nebraska experience. “After sitting out a year? He’s been a coach all his life,” says Barry Alvarez, Cosgrove’s head coach at Wisconsin. “I know he’s been chomping at the bit to get back at it. He has something to prove to show people that (Nebraska) was an aberration and what he did at our place was the real deal.”

COMING HOME

All this, and a new stadium, too. After more than a quarter century, the Gophers will return to campus to play in the new TCF Bank Stadium, a cozy, state-of-the-art facility that has already helped with recruiting. There are huge video screens, an absurdly large and well-appointed locker room, luxury suites, the works. One of the biggest in the country, the locker room features a huge lighted M on the ceiling in the middle. Richly furnished, above each locker will be the names of everybody who wore that particular number through the years. Just about every recruit through has been impressed.

“It’s an outstanding (recruiting) tool for us,” Brewster says. ‘”We love for the kids to be able to see it.”

The recruits like what they see. The current players are thrilled to have their very own stadium. But what will fans see there?

Many of the same names, but a different style, at least on offense. Last season the Gophers ran aground. This year they plan on running upfield.

“We’re creating a whole different dimension, a whole different mind-set,” Davis says. “You have to break old habits and create new ones.”

This feature appears in the Athlon Sports Big Ten Magazine. Click here to purchase your copy.