Minnesota fires football coach

School officials said co-offensive coordinator Jeff Horton will take over as interim head coach.

Minnesota opened the season with a win over Middle Tennessee but lost its next six games, including Big Ten Conference games against Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue. The Gophers play Penn State at home next Saturday.

"While I appreciate the passion and commitment that Coach Brewster has shown, it is clear that a change in the leadership of Gopher football is necessary," Minnesota Athletic Director Joel Maturi said in a statement. "We have high aspirations for our football program and we are not satisfied with its current direction. The results so far this season have been unacceptable and the program has simply not shown enough improvement over the past 3 1/2 years to continue with the status quo."

Minnesota went 15-30 (6-21 in the Big Ten) with Brewster as coach. The Gophers were 1-11 in Brewster's first season but earned Insight Bowl invitations the last two seasons.

Brewster signed a five-year contract to become the Minnesota football coach in January 2007 and was given a two-year extension through the 2013 season in January 2010. Matiru's statement said Brewster would be paid $600,000 in a buyout clause.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).