Gunter Brewer has found a way to stay in a comfort zone.
Whether it has been coaching in his home state of Mississippi, working with familiar peers in the profession or in places he has lived, Brewer has been fortunate not to experience too much radical change in his career.
Given that his comfort zone has remained intact for 32 years in the business, it would have taken quite an opportunity for Brewer to leave it.
The NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles provided Brewer with that chance.
Brewer, a Columbus native, decided earlier this month to make his first jump from the college ranks to the pro game when he opted to leave his position as wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator at North Carolina to become the Eagles’ wide receivers coach.
“It’s the Super Bowl champs at a great organization. You don’t get a chance to coach at the highest level very often, and when you do, you have to make that move,” Brewer said. “(It’s an) opportunity to coach at this level and see what you can learn. You’re never too old to learn and share what you’ve learned. It’s a challenge for me, and at this stage in my career, I felt like I was ready for a challenge. We’re going to find out.”
Brewer spent the past four years as the Tar Heels’ wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator. In all, he worked at North Carolina for 11 seasons in two stints.
Brewer’s path started at Wake Forest, where he played for two years and became a strength and flexibility coach. He moved to Ole Miss, where he worked as a graduate assistant from 1988-1990 and then as associate head coach and passing game coordinator in 2011.
Prior to working in Oxford, Brewer was the head coach and offensive coordinator at Northeast Mississippi Community College in 1995.
The call home always has been strong for Brewer, even when football wasn’t involved. Tommy Howard has been Brewer’s best friend since they were 4 years old.
“Go back to when his father (former Ole Miss coach Bill Brewer) got an assistant position at Southeastern (Louisiana), so they moved to Hammond, Louisiana, and in the summer, Gunter would come back to stay with me and I’d go there to stay with him,” Howard said. “They went on to Louisiana Tech from there, same thing, Gunter would always come back. Mississippi has always been home to him and in his heart.”
Said Gunter Brewer, “It’s hard to describe. Once you connect with the Ole Miss people, you never really leave that place. Those people have been very gracious to myself, my dad, and family. Mississippi in general is the hospitality state.”
Those ties helped Brewer find another home in North Carolina. Carl Torbush — who coached with Billy Brewer at Southeastern Louisiana, Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss — hired Gunter Brewer as his wide receivers coach at North Carolina in 2000.
From there, Gunter Brewer went to Oklahoma State, where his path crossed with Larry Fedora, who is entering his seventh season as North Carolina’s head coach. Fedora hired Brewer in his second season in Chapel Hill.
As Brewer put it, “coaching weaves a unique web,” and that’s stayed true with the Eagles. He said some members of the staff have junior college experience as he does. Howard sees the connections, but he said they aren’t the reason why Brewer has been successful.
“Gunter is one of the finest humans I know,” Howard said. “He’s very selfless. It’s been really neat to watch his journey go from graduating from Lee High School to playing at Wake Forest to going to the college coaching ranks and literally working his way up to the professional ranks. Nothing’s been handed to him on a silver platter. He’s worked his tail off for everything.”
Brewer is doing much of the same now. In the short time he has been in Philadelphia, the Eagles have traded wide receivers Marcus Johnson and Torrey Smith. The moves have forced a man who has coached Biletnikoff Award (college football’s top receiver) finalists Justin Blackmon (2010, 2011 winner), Randy Moss (1997 winner), and Dez Bryant (2008 runner-up) to adjust to his first pro job quickly.
“I wish it was like baseball where this isn’t a cap or isn’t much of a cap,” Brewer said. “I coach the ones they give me and we’ve got a good nucleus coming back.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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