Mike Dunbar (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator), Everett Withers
(Defensive
Coordinator), Daniel Berezowitz (Recruiting Coordinator), John
Butler
(Linebackers/Special Teams), Tim Cross (Defensive Line), Thomas
Hammock
(Running Backs), Mark Hill (Head Strength and Conditioning), Derek
Lewis (Tight Ends), George McDonald (Wide Receivers), Phil Meyer
(Offensive Line), Will Peoples (Asst. Strength & Conditioning) and
Randy Taylor (Director of Football Operations) have been named to
Brewster’s staff.
“I couldn’t be more excited that we have been able
to put together top
coaches and recruiters throughout the country on this
staff,” said
Brewster. “I say that with confidence because I know these guys
personally and they are proven in their profession. This staff will
work
harder than any in the nation. This a special day for the Gopher
Nation and
all its fans.”
ASSISTANT COACH/STAFF BIOS
Mike Dunbar, Assistant Head
Coach/Offensive Coordinator
Dunbar, a Tacoma, Wash., native, comes to
Minnesota from California,
where he served as the offensive coordinator last
season. Prior to
joining the Cal staff, Dunbar coached at Northwestern from
2001-05, the
last four years serving as offensive coordinator. Dunbar
started his
coaching career as head coach at Central Washington from 1987-91
before
leaving to serve as offensive coordinator at Toledo from 1992-96. He
also took on the additional responsibilities of assistant head coach at
Toledo from 1994-96. After five seasons at Toledo, Dunbar became the
head coach at Northern Iowa, holding that position from 1997-2000.Under
Dunbar’s direction as offensive coordinator, Cal ranked 12th in the
nation in total offense in 2006 and was ranked among the top 35 in the
country in both passing offense (17th) and rushing offense (33rd).
Dunbar’s offense also averaged 32.8 points per game, which was 11th in
the nation for scoring offense. As offensive coordinator at
Northwestern, the Wildcats ranked fourth in the country in total
offense
in 2005, averaging 500.3 yards per game to become just the
second team in
the history of the Big Ten to generate at least 500
yards per game. He
tutored Northwestern quarterback Brett Basanez, who
set 30 Northwestern
offensive records and finished second in Big Ten
history to Drew Brees in
career passing yards (10,580), total offense
(11,576) and completions (913).
In 2005, Basanez set Northwestern
season records for passing yards (3,622),
total offense (4,027),
completions (314) and touchdown passes (21). Dunbar
owns a career
record of 83-24-1 as a collegiate head coach. He was 29-15 at
Northern
Iowa from 1997-2000 and 54-9-1 at Central Washington from 1987-91.
Toledo posted a 36-18-2 record during Dunbar’s five seasons, including
an 11-0-1 mark in 1995 when Toledo won the Mid-American Conference
title
and defeated Nevada in the Las Vegas Bowl. As Toledo’s offensive
coordinator
in 1995, the Rockets set 21 offensive school records,
including most points
and most rushing touchdowns.
Everett Withers, Defensive
Coordinator
Withers has been with the Tennessee Titans from 2001-06 as
defensive
backs coach. He has played a key role in the development of young
cornerbacks Adam “Pacman” Jones and Reynaldo Hill. Prior to working
with
the Titans, Withers was defensive backs coach at Texas from
1998-2000, where
he guided a Longhorns secondary which ranked 75th in
the nation in pass
defense in 1997 (132.7 efficiency rating) to first
in the nation in 2000
(88.02). Withers was also the defensive
coordinator at Louisville from
1995-97. His 1996 defensive unit ranked
fourth nationally in both total
defense (235.8) and rushing defense
(81.1), and led the NCAA in forced
turnovers (41). While at Louisville,
Withers helped current Dolphins All-Pro
cornerback Sam Madison earn
All-America honors for the Cardinals. The
Charlotte, N.C., native’s
first National Football League experience came
with the New Orleans
Saints when he worked as defensive quality control in
1994. Withers was
defensive backs coach at Southern Mississippi for two
seasons (1992-93)
and outside linebackers coach at Tulane in 1991. The first
three years
of Withers’ coaching career came at Austin Peay, where he was
defensive
backs coach (1988), defensive coordinator (1989) and special
teams/wide
receivers coach (1990). Withers was a standout defensive back and
captain at Appalachian State, where he played from 1981-85.
Daniel
Berezowitz, Recruiting Coordinator
Berezowitz joins the Gopher staff after
seven years at Arizona,
including the past four seasons as recruiting
coordinator. The
Woodstock, Ill., native also served as the director of
personnel and
research for the Wildcats last season and played a key role in
a second
consecutive Top 20 recruiting class in February of 2006. Berezowitz
was
director of football operations for John Mackovic from 2001-03. Prior
to joining the UA staff, he worked at Texas, where he held an
operations
director position for Mack Brown’s program from 1998-99.
Berezowitz was a
four-year letterwinner at quarterback for the
University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater from 1988-91. He later coached at
UW-Whitewater as an
assistant from 1992-94. After graduating from
UW-Whitewater with a degree in
athletic administration in 1994,
Berezowitz spent four years at the North
Carolina (1994-97) with duties
as director of video operations and the
school’s football center
director.
John
Butler, Linebackers/Special Teams
Butler will serve as linebackers and
special teams coach for the
Gophers after spending the past four seasons
(2003-06) in the same
capacity at Harvard. Butler’s special teams units
annually ranked among
the best in the Ivy League, including a 2004 season in
which the
Crimson registered four special teams touchdowns. No other Ivy
League
school had as many as one touchdown on special teams in 2004, while
Harvard also added four special teams blocks and saw opponents convert
just six field goals during the season. Working with Harvard’s
linebackers, Butler had four first team All-Ivy League selections.
Before his stint with the Crimson, Butler coached safeties and was the
special teams coordinator at Southwest Texas State in 2001. The
Philadelphia, Pa., native spent the 1999 and 2000 seasons at Midwestern
State University, where he was the defensive coordinator and coached
the
team’s linebackers and safeties. Prior to his work at Midwestern
State,
Butler was a graduate assistant at Texas under both John
Mackovic and Mack
Brown. Butler began his coaching career at his alma
mater, Catholic
University, working as the team’s secondary coach in
1995. He became the
Cardinals’ defensive coordinator in 1996, when the
team finished in the top
25 in Division III in total defense. Butler
was a four-year letterman and
three-year starter at Catholic, where he
was part of the biggest turnaround
in Division III history. The
football team went 1-9 in his junior campaign,
but finished 8-2 when he
was a senior.
Tim Cross, Defensive
Line
Cross becomes the Gophers defensive line coach after serving one season
in that capacity at Syracuse. Cross was an assistant strength coach at
Texas from 2001-05 prior to joining the Orange coaching staff. During
his time at Texas, Cross assisted in the development and implementation
of the strength and speed programs for the Longhorns’ football squad.
He
was responsible for creating training programs for a Doak Walker, a
Butkus
and a Nagurski Trophy winner. Prior to his arrival at Texas,
Cross was the
head football coach at Thomas Jefferson High School in
Denver, Colo., from
1997-2000. He also spent one season as the
defensive coordinator and
linebackers coach at TJHS. As head coach,
Cross led the team to four
consecutive league titles and had a 42-game
conference winning streak. He
mentored 14 high school All-Americans, 20
all-state picks and 31 first team
all-conference players. Cross coached
two future NFL first-round draft picks
in his time at Thomas Jefferson
in Daniel Graham (New England Patriots) and
Andre Woolfolk (Tennessee
Titans). As a player at Northern Colorado, Cross
was a four-year
letterwinner, earning All-North Central Conference honors as
a
linebacker.
Thomas Hammock, Running Backs
Hammock joins the
Gophers after coaching running backs at Northern
Illinois in 2006. Prior to
joining the NIU staff, Hammock spent two
seasons at Wisconsin, working one
year as an administrative assistant
with the football program and one as a
graduate assistant. He initially
worked with the Badger running backs under
offensive coordinator Brian
White in 2003 and then assisted offensive line
coach Jim Hueber in 2004
as the Badgers made Music City (2003) and Outback
(2004) bowl
appearances. Hammock starred as a running back at Northern
Illinois,
ranking eighth on Northern Illinois’ all-time rushing list with
2,432
career yards, along with 12 100-yard rushing performances in 32
varsity
appearances. A two-time Husky captain and first team All-MAC
selection,
Hammock also became NIU’s initial first team College Sports
Information
Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America pick and
first team
Academic All-America repeater.
Mark Hill, Head Strength
and Conditioning
Hill comes to Minnesota from Arizona, where he spent the
past three
seasons (2004-06) as the associate director of performance
enhancement.
The Lanett, Ala., native began his collegiate coaching career
at
Oklahoma in 2000 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach prior
to his job with the Wildcats. As a player, Hill was a three-year
starting wide receiver for Tennessee-Chattanooga. He led the Mocs and
was second in the league in receiving in 1998, earning first team
All-Southern Conference honors. Hill had 53 receptions for 683 yards
and
two scores in 1998 and also returned 12 kickoffs for 279 yards. He
finished
his career with 100 catches for 1,329 yards.
Derek Lewis, Tight
Ends
Lewis arrives at Minnesota from North Texas where he became the Mean
Green’s defensive ends coach following the 2006 season. From 2005-06,
Lewis worked at Texas as a graduate assistant, where he was part of the
staff that captured the 2005 BCS national title. Before joining Mack
Brown’s staff, Lewis spent two seasons as a member of the St. Louis
Rams
(1999-2000) and was part of the Super Bowl XXXIV championship
team. A New
Orleans, La., native, Lewis was also a four-year letterman
at Texas
(1995-98), earning All-Big 12 honors in 1998 and being named
Consistent
Offensive Player and Outstanding Tight End for the Longhorns
that same
season. Lewis hauled in 18 catches for 236 yards and six
touchdowns in a
senior campaign that was highlighted by his 61-yard
reception on fourth and
inches that helped seal the 1996 Big 12
Championship game for
Texas.
George McDonald, Wide Receivers
McDonald joins the Gopher staff
after spending the past two seasons
(2005-06) as the offensive coordinator
at Western Michigan. In 2005,
McDonald tutored Bronco wideout and current
Green Bay Packer Greg
Jennings, who was named the MAC Offensive Player of
the Year, Co-MVP
(Vern Smith Award) of the MAC and a Biletnikoff Award
semifinalist.
Jennings also became the Broncos’ all-time leader in
receptions,
touchdown receptions and all-purpose yards in 2005, and ranked
second
in career receiving yards. Prior to his work at WMU, McDonald
spent
the 2004 season instructing tight ends at Stanford, following a
three-year stint as receivers coach at Northern Illinois (2001-03).
While at Stanford, McDonald developed tight end Alex Smith into a first
team all-conference performer. Smith concluded his career as the
program’s all-time leading receiver at tight end and was drafted in the
third round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McDonald, a native of Buena
Park, Calif., also coached receivers at Bucknell during the spring of
2001 and worked as a graduate assistant at Ball State University in
2000. As a player, McDonald lettered four seasons as a receiver at
Illinois (1995-98), finishing with 59 career receptions and 589 yards.
As a kickoff returner, McDonald produced 1,276 yards on 57 returns in
44
contests. A two-sport athlete, McDonald ran track as a freshman and
senior,
earning All-Big Ten honors his final campaign with a
school-record time of
6.74 in the 60 meters to claim the league title.
Phil Meyer,
Offensive Line
Meyer spent the past seven seasons as the head coach at
Wisconsin-Oshkosh before accepting a position as the offensive line
coach at Minnesota. Meyer helped restore pride in UW-Oshkosh’s NCAA
Division III football program during his tenure as head coach. The
Titans won 17 games over the past three seasons for their third-highest
three-year total in the 112-year history of the program. UW-Oshkosh
registered a non-losing record in each of the past three seasons for a
feat last accomplished at the conclusion of the 1970 campaign. Prior to
becoming head coach at UW-Oshkosh, Meyer was at Iowa State from
1995-99,
where he tutored quarterbacks for two seasons and tight ends
and special
teams for three seasons. In 1998, Meyer coached Todd
Bandhauer, the
first quarterback in Iowa State history to notch a pair
of 2,000-yard
passing seasons. Meyer’s coaching career began in 1980 at
Illinois State as
a graduate assistant. From there he moved on to New
Berlin Eisenhower High
School (Wis.) as an assistant coach in 1981.
Meyer would return to college
coaching, helping coach the offensive
line for Illinois teams that
participated in the Liberty Bowl in 1982
and the Rose Bowl following the
1983 season. Meyer would move on to
Southeast Missouri State from 1984-88,
including three years as the
Indians’ offensive coordinator. Following his
tenure at SMSU, Meyer
served as offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois
from 1989-93 and
at Illinois State in 1994.
Will Peoples, Asst.
Strength & Conditioning
Peoples is making his second stop at a Big Ten
school after working as
an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Iowa
in 2006. Peoples,
a Round Rock, Texas, native, earned his bachelor’s degree
in sociology
from the University of Oklahoma in 2005. Peoples was a wide
receiver at
Oklahoma and a member of three OU teams that claimed Big 12
titles. He
was honorable mention All-Big 12 in 2002 and a member of the 2004
Academic All-Big 12 Team. His receiving yardage total in 2002 ranks
13th-best for a single season at Oklahoma and he also ranks in the
Sooners’ top 20 in career receiving yards. He tied the Big 12
championship game record with eight receptions in the 2003 title game.
Peoples signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills following
his collegiate career.
Randy Taylor, Director of Football
Operations
Taylor joins Brewster’s staff after spending the past five years
(2003-07) working for Taylor Scouting Services and Scout.com as the
Director of NFL Experts as well as the Regional Manager for West Coast
College Recruiting. Prior to his work with TSS, Taylor was the director
of football operations at UCLA from 1996-2003. While at UCLA, Taylor
was
named the Nation’s Top Director of Football Operations for
Recruiting
Success in 2000-01 by ESPN. Before joining the UCLA staff,
Taylor served as
president of Taylor Sports Enterprises from 1989-96. A
three-year letterman
(1976-78) and All-Big Ten selection at center at
Illinois, Taylor’s coaching
career began in 1979 when he joined the
Illinois staff as a graduate
assistant offensive line coach. He then
moved into administration, becoming
the assistant director of
operations at Illinois in 1980 and the assistant
to the head football
coach from 1981-84. Taylor went on to become the
assistant to the head
football coach at UNLV from 1985-87, where his duties
centered on
directing the administration of the football program, including
media
and community relations, fundraising, recruiting, NCAA compliance,
athlete advising and camp production. Following his work at UNLV,
Taylor
joined the San Jose State staff as assistant athletic director
for two
seasons (1988-89).
2007 GOPHER FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF
Head Coach:
Tim Brewster
Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator: Mike
Dunbar
Defensive Coordinator: Everett Withers
Recruiting Coordinator:
Daniel Berezowitz
Linebackers/Special Teams: John Butler
Defensive Line:
Tim Cross
Running Backs: Thomas Hammock
Head Strength & Conditioning:
Mark Hill
Tight Ends: Derek Lewis
Wide Receivers: George
McDonald
Offensive Line: Phil Meyer
Asst. Strength & Conditioning:
Will Peoples
Director of Football Operations: Randy Taylor
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