Do Kill's in-game seizures hurt the Gopher program?

[Bob_Loblaw]

Anyone that thinks this doesn't hurt the program, must not think very much of Coach Kill.

If your program is no worse off when your coach isn't at the game and when the coach is missing practice, you need to get a new coach. I can't believe anyone would argue this doesn't have a negative impact on the program.

 

[Gopherprof]

Anyone that thinks this doesn't hurt the program, must not think very much of Coach Kill.

If your program is no worse off when your coach isn't at the game and when the coach is missing practice, you need to get a new coach. I can't believe anyone would argue this doesn't have a negative impact on the program.

Welcome to Gopherhole, where extra practices are manna from heaven, but it's no big deal if the head coach misses an entire half of a game.

 

[howeda7]

On the one hand, this is probably a pointless discussion. Kill has 5 years left on his deal. He won't leave voluntarily, and firing him would be expensive and possibly get us sued.

But at some point it reaches the point of no return. He's now had 4 seizures during/after games in 2 years (that we know about.) At what point does it reach the point where he simply can't continue? 3 games a year? 4? At minimum Teague and Kill have to have that conversation.

 

[Formo]

Oh, look.. More ignorance. Joy.

 

[Buttcheeks McGaffigan]

It's ignorant to ask when the seizures become too much of a burden for the program?

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

It's ignorant to ask when the seizures become too much of a burden for the program?

I am a huge fan of Coach Kill and I don't think we are at that point yet, but it's ignorant to ignore this as a possible issue.

 

[vagopher]

Anyone who says no is being dishonest to us and themselves. Of course it hurts and I don't think he'll be able to continue as our coach long term.

My understanding is that Coach Kill has had a seizure disorder for twenty years or more. It doesn't seem to have affected his performance in the past. While obviously it would be better for all concerned if he didn't have seizures, I don't think his disorder will have a material effect on how successful he will be in rebuilding our football program. Fortunately he has a loyal staff that is familiar with his health problems who have the ability to step in and take over in the limited occasions when he is incapacitated. I think we need to remain focused on on-field performance. If he can continue to improve our performance, he deserves our support. If he can't. we need to find someone who can.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

My understanding is that Coach Kill has had a seizure disorder for twenty years or more. It doesn't seem to have affected his performance in the past. While obviously it would be better for all concerned if he didn't have seizures, I don't think his disorder will have a material effect on how successful he will be in rebuilding our football program. Fortunately he has a loyal staff that is familiar with his health problems who have the ability to step in and take over in the limited occasions when he is incapacitated. I think we need to remain focused on on-field performance. If he can continue to improve our performance, he deserves our support. If he can't. we need to find someone who can.

I don't think this is necessarily true. He has had success in spite of his disorder, but that doesn't in and of itself mean that he wouldn't have had more success without it. Also, things are different at a B1G program under the national spotlight. However, what I think his success does show is that he is unwilling to use the problem as an excuse and has worked his back side off to make do with what he has (contrast with Royce White), which is why I like him so much as a coach and am glad to have him at the helm.

 

[station19]

"Their coach spent last week answering questions about a disgruntled walk-on-turned-walk-off receiver, then made everyone forget them by raising new ones about his health. His boss expressed "100 percent" support for Jerry Kill, but athletic director Norwood Teague also acknowledged that Kill's seizures are creating a perception problem for the program, and probably a recruiting problem, too."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/180783361.html?refer=y

 

[CentralGopher]

I say it does simply because of the general public's response when this happens. To what degree it affects those I don't know. It may be very minimal or it may be a lot. There is no way of knowing how much for sure but you can bet it at least has a small affect.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

I say it does simply because of the general public's response when this happens. To what degree it affects those I don't know. It may be very minimal or it may be a lot. There is no way of knowing how much for sure but you can bet it at least has a small affect.

I think this is the problem. Example - 93X morning show sports talk with Randy Shaver this morning. I've listened every Monday this fall and they RARELY talk about the game (even if the team won). This time, however, they talked about it for 3 whole minutes, almost all of them in agreement that recruits could (and perhaps SHOULD) be wary about joining a program where a head coach has a health issue that could cause him to miss time or games.

Now, they were obviously ill-informed as they didn't know of his history with these seizures; that he's had them for a long time and it hasn't affected his ability to coach and win at both SIU and NIU. They also said that he's had "4-5" of these in the last 2 years and that he missed "parts of a couple of games" this season already due to the seizures. This is the problem. It's not about his ability or desire to continue coaching, the public perception (right or wrong) is not in his or the U's favor. When Dantonio had a HEART ATTACK and missed an entire game, people weren't worried about his ability to recruit or coach moving forward. No one questioned Urban Meyer's ability to handle a grueling 12-13 game season and the pressures associated with being a HC at tOSU after his Florida health "issues." I agree that there's an argument that Kill may have fared BETTER without this disorder and that it could become a concern and the U would be foolish to not have a contingency plan, but one of the huge benefits of Kill & crew is that they've been together SO long that if he misses time the team and coaches are not ill-prepared to step in.

BTW, the 93x crew proved their ignorance (and bias against the UofM) when they belittled the season and the 6 win mark saying that "if OSU and PSU weren't on a bowl ban the Gophers wouldn't be going to a bowl anyway." Ok. False. If OSU was eligible, the BT would have 2 teams in BCS bowls (either the NC game and Rose Bowl or RB and at-large). This would only bump us down one spot as right now the BT will likely only field a single BCS bowl team. There is the Little Caesar's Bowl which will not fill with a BT team right now, so we would likely be safe at the very least. But likely would still be 2 bowl slots removed from not receiving a BT bowl slot. Add in that Purdue has fired Danny Hope and I doubt any bowl would select them over us, then ALSO consider the large number of at-large bowls that would LOVE to take a team like MN with tons of wealthy fans on its first bowl season in 3 years looking to travel somewhere warm. Long story short, it's this type of horrible, constant, negative press that the U gets and people hear and believe that hurts us from having a casual fan join in on the fun.

 

[50PoundHead]

Anyone that thinks this doesn't hurt the program, must not think very much of Coach Kill.

If your program is no worse off when your coach isn't at the game and when the coach is missing practice, you need to get a new coach. I can't believe anyone would argue this doesn't have a negative impact on the program.

This. To add, Teague's comments sort of sum it up most succinctly. This is a concern.

I hesitate to mention Reusse, but I think his point regarding Kill in his Turkey of the Year column is valid. This ain't Carbondale and this ain't DeKalb. This is a major market and things that weren't noticed in those burgs are going to be noticed here. I want to make it clear I support Kill and want him to succeed (and I can't believe that he was this naive when he took the job).

 

[Ole]

I think this is the problem. Example - 93X morning show sports talk with Randy Shaver this morning. I've listened every Monday this fall and they RARELY talk about the game (even if the team won). This time, however, they talked about it for 3 whole minutes, almost all of them in agreement that recruits could (and perhaps SHOULD) be wary about joining a program where a head coach has a health issue that could cause him to miss time or games.

Now, they were obviously ill-informed as they didn't know of his history with these seizures; that he's had them for a long time and it hasn't affected his ability to coach and win at both SIU and NIU. They also said that he's had "4-5" of these in the last 2 years and that he missed "parts of a couple of games" this season already due to the seizures. This is the problem. It's not about his ability or desire to continue coaching, the public perception (right or wrong) is not in his or the U's favor. When Dantonio had a HEART ATTACK and missed an entire game, people weren't worried about his ability to recruit or coach moving forward. No one questioned Urban Meyer's ability to handle a grueling 12-13 game season and the pressures associated with being a HC at tOSU after his Florida health "issues." I agree that there's an argument that Kill may have fared BETTER without this disorder and that it could become a concern and the U would be foolish to not have a contingency plan, but one of the huge benefits of Kill & crew is that they've been together SO long that if he misses time the team and coaches are not ill-prepared to step in.

BTW, the 93x crew proved their ignorance (and bias against the UofM) when they belittled the season and the 6 win mark saying that "if OSU and PSU weren't on a bowl ban the Gophers wouldn't be going to a bowl anyway." Ok. False. If OSU was eligible, the BT would have 2 teams in BCS bowls (either the NC game and Rose Bowl or RB and at-large). This would only bump us down one spot as right now the BT will likely only field a single BCS bowl team. There is the Little Caesar's Bowl which will not fill with a BT team right now, so we would likely be safe at the very least. But likely would still be 2 bowl slots removed from not receiving a BT bowl slot. Add in that Purdue has fired Danny Hope and I doubt any bowl would select them over us, then ALSO consider the large number of at-large bowls that would LOVE to take a team like MN with tons of wealthy fans on its first bowl season in 3 years looking to travel somewhere warm. Long story short, it's this type of horrible, constant, negative press that the U gets and people hear and believe that hurts us from having a casual fan join in on the fun.

You need a new morning show. Those guys are clowns, and honestly horrible people(I've dealt with them at shows)
They'd rip the gophers no matter what if Shaver is involved.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Does a bear poop in the woods?

 

[RailBaronYarr]

You need a new morning show. Those guys are clowns, and honestly horrible people(I've dealt with them at shows)
They'd rip the gophers no matter what if Shaver is involved.

I know they're clowns, but I listened to the KQ Morning Show my whole life and I've grown tired of Tom B's ignorance on many topics, Terri's general stupidity, and Sansevere's horrible sports commentary (much worse than Shaver on the whole regarding sports) - the only person I can really deal with is Brian Zepp and sometimes Philly Dog. KDWB is for idiot kids and girls (though sometimes hearing dudes get busted on WotR is enjoyable). On the whole I enjoy not having to listen to serious news or KFAN radio on the ride in and just have to contain my anger during the sports segment. I also don't doubt they're horrible people... just don;t know what else to listen to.

 

[tato2001]

This. To add, Teague's comments sort of sum it up most succinctly. This is a concern.

When the Athletic Director, who is highly incentivized to say, "We appreciate the concern, but Coach Kill has everything under control, and it's full steam ahead" acknowledges that the perceived health issues are a concern regarding program perception and recruiting, I think it's pretty clear Kill's health is a negative for the program.

 

[BleedGopher]

PiPress chimes in on the topic: Jerry Kill: What they're saying about him

http://www.twincities.com/ci_22067408/gophers-football-what-theyre-saying-about-jerry-kill

Go Gophers!!

 

[Halsey Hall]

Randy (I show every Benilde game highlight I can) Shaver: "Hot highlights, hot highlights!!!!!"
"Oh, look, the receiver is coming right into your living room!!!"
(No he's not, I'm in the den you idiot)

 

[Stan]

Oh, look.. More ignorance. Joy.

Formo, I agree with you for the most part. You are pretty fired up about this and I appreciate that about you. I think we can all agree that his seizures don't stop Kill from his job when he's not having them. I tend to think that Kill provides value for us when he's on the field, so for the Michigan State game, not having him absolutely hurt us. It doesn't matter how prepared the staff is. We are a better staff with Kill there than not. We probably wouldn't have won with him there so it's not a net negative. But the perception goes beyond GopherHole. A lot of people are talking about it and yes, probably making a bigger deal about it than it needs to be, but the very fact that people like Mike & Mike are talking about it on national shows hurts. Also Chip Scoggins knows a lot about college football and he wrote about it in the link on GH [ http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/bo...h-scares-as-U-rebuilds-linger-as-distractions ]

 

[Winnipegopher]

The more I think about this the more I think it is not a big deal. Kill is our coach and will be for the next while. If he starts winning, the epilepsy makes it a great story. Additionally, I do think it will make it harder for him to move on if he is successful. If he doesn't win enough the epilepsy won't keep him in a job.

That said, I do have one suggestion. Hire and utilize an assistant head coach. Bill Miller is Assistant head coach in name. If he has it in him, start making him take on Jerry's role when this happens. Claeys and Limegrover need to be in the press box and game planning during the week. Let the assistant head coach handle the media and the in-game stuff that Jerry does. It wouldn't be that hard to do and it would aid continuity immensely. If Miller is not the guy find someone to do it. You could get a former head coach like Horton who would do it for a coordinator's salary. Another option would be an older coach finishing a career. Key is that he needs to be someone who does not have designs on the job and understands he just steps in when Kill is incapacitated. However, the coordinators also need to understand that Assistant head coach is the head coach when Kill is ill.

 

[Formo]

Formo, I agree with you for the most part. You are pretty fired up about this and I appreciate that about you. I think we can all agree that his seizures don't stop Kill from his job when he's not having them. I tend to think that Kill provides value for us when he's on the field, so for the Michigan State game, not having him absolutely hurt us. It doesn't matter how prepared the staff is. We are a better staff with Kill there than not. We probably wouldn't have won with him there so it's not a net negative. But the perception goes beyond GopherHole. A lot of people are talking about it and yes, probably making a bigger deal about it than it needs to be, but the very fact that people like Mike & Mike are talking about it on national shows hurts. Also Chip Scoggins knows a lot about college football and he wrote about it in the link on GH [ http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/bo...h-scares-as-U-rebuilds-linger-as-distractions ]

Like I said in another thread.. There's no doubt that it effects the program in some way. There's no real way to quantify how much, but it does have an effect, for sure. But the reasoning why it has an effect is due to ignorance. If Kill, his doctors, his employer, and his family all say it's no big deal and there are contingencies set in place in case an episode happens, then it's no big deal.

I am fired up and passionate about this because first off, we are NOT his doctors or his employers. We don't know the behind the scene info and don't have access to his contract/medical records. We are all pontificating on something that we have no knowledge of besides what we either know first hand (like myself) or what we read on the webrnets (wiki, WebMD, media, etc).

Sure, everyone has a right to their opinion, no matter how ignorant it is.. but my goal here is to express the limited knowledge that I do have that it really, truly isn't the serious, big deal EVERYONE seems to be making it. And I'll use my personal story and press releases from the U to help inform.

 

[Sportsfan24]

My understanding is that Coach Kill has had a seizure disorder for twenty years or more. It doesn't seem to have affected his performance in the past. While obviously it would be better for all concerned if he didn't have seizures, I don't think his disorder will have a material effect on how successful he will be in rebuilding our football program. Fortunately he has a loyal staff that is familiar with his health problems who have the ability to step in and take over in the limited occasions when he is incapacitated. I think we need to remain
focused on on-field performance. If he can continue to improve our performance, he deserves our
support. If he can't. we need to find someone who can.

I can't agree with you on this one.

The number one thing a recruit looks at when deciding on a school is will they offer him a scholarship. Recruits that have multiple offers will look at the schemes they will play in. After that it's the success of the team. After that it's the coaching staff. After that it's the location of the school.

The biggest fear a recruit has is coaching turnover. New coach, new schemes and sometimes new players to play in those schemes. Not to mention new coaches who choose their starters based on who will be there in the critical years 3/4 (contract renewal). This is the main reason why coaches favor their recruits opposed to the ones recruited by the previous regime. Another reason is when deciding on playing time between a player he inherited versus one he recruited is that in addition to the younger player being there in those years critical to the coaches tenure, he also as built personal relationship with the player he recruited and their families.

None of these things will matter to a recruit with a offer from one school. Players choosing between multiple schools will consider all of these things and some. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out a coach who routinely misses time on the field may not be long for the job he is in.

Personally I have changed my mind and now I don't believe he will be here after next season; this is why.

The team will be worse next season..much worse. The best players are leaving and aside from Nelson/Vereen I don't see any special players coming back. Regardless of what was said about the players he inherited, they were the key players on this team the last two years. Certainly, players will grow and step up but I don't see enough of them doing so to fill in for the ones graduating AND push the team back to a Bowl level. Will/has he been able to bring in enough talent to continue this upward trend? No doubt he can coach but he needs players.

Recruiting at lower levels is more regional and most recruits don't have multiple offers (5 or more) so their options are less and coaches issues weren't as widely known. At this level, recruits we need in the program will have many more options and coaches health issues are much more widely known. Contrary to what some may think I hope I'm wrong but I don't see how.

 

[Ole]

I can't agree with you on this one.

The number one thing a recruit looks at when deciding on a school is will they offer him a scholarship. Recruits that have multiple offers will look at the schemes they will play in. After that it's the success of the team. After that it's the coaching staff. After that it's the location of the school.

The biggest fear a recruit has is coaching turnover. New coach, new schemes and sometimes new players to play in those schemes. Not to mention new coaches who choose their starters based on who will be there in the critical years 3/4 (contract renewal). This is the main reason why coaches favor their recruits opposed to the ones recruited by the previous regime. Another reason is when deciding on playing time between a player he inherited versus one he recruited is that in addition to the younger player being there in those years critical to the coaches tenure, he also as built personal relationship with the player he recruited and their families.

None of these things will matter to a recruit with a offer from one school. Players choosing between multiple schools will consider all of these things and some. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out a coach who routinely misses time on the field may not be long for the job he is in.

Personally I have changed my mind and now I don't believe he will be here after next season; this is why.

The team will be worse next season..much worse. The best players are leaving and aside from Nelson/Vereen I don't see any special players coming back. Regardless of what was said about the players he inherited, they were the key players on this team the last two years. Certainly, players will grow and step up but I don't see enough of them doing so to fill in for the ones graduating AND push the team back to a Bowl level. Will/has he been able to bring in enough talent to continue this upward trend? No doubt he can coach but he needs players.

Recruiting at lower levels is more regional and most recruits don't have multiple offers (5 or more) so their options are less and coaches issues weren't as widely known. At this level, recruits we need in the program will have many more options and coaches health issues are much more widely known. Contrary to what some may think I hope I'm wrong but I don't see how.

I don't buy that. If he's gone it's on his own terms due to health reasons, but all indications are that he's going to keep on coaching seizures or not.
He's set this program up for a 6 win floor for at least the next 2 years. Now is that good enough? No, but that's the minimum, our NC schedule and depth of young players will be enough to get to a bowl.
Who are they key players? Gray was hurt all year, Stoudemire was hurt all of last year, Carter was MIA, Wilhite didn't impact until this year. Brandon Green mired by injuries.
Rallis/Cooper? Fantastic people and leaders but certainly had flaws on the field.
I see many first and second year players making plays and showing flashes, time and experience will only help them.
Nelson, Williams/Kirkwood, Plsek, Goodger, McDonald, Freucte, all of the OL are back among others. On D, Wells, Thompson, Vereen, and a glut of young DLmen will keep the passing D solid. We need LBers if anything, and I can see Miller finding a few in the JUCO ranks this offseason.
Seizures or no, this program is setting itself up for bowl eligibility under Kill and any impact emergers or recruits will only help up the win totals.

 

[CentralGopher]

I don't buy that. If he's gone it's on his own terms due to health reasons, but all indications are that he's going to keep on coaching seizures or not.
He's set this program up for a 6 win floor for at least the next 2 years. Now is that good enough? No, but that's the minimum, our NC schedule and depth of young players will be enough to get to a bowl.
Who are they key players? Gray was hurt all year, Stoudemire was hurt all of last year, Carter was MIA, Wilhite didn't impact until this year. Brandon Green mired by injuries.
Rallis/Cooper? Fantastic people and leaders but certainly had flaws on the field.
I see many first and second year players making plays and showing flashes, time and experience will only help them.
Nelson, Williams/Kirkwood, Plsek, Goodger, McDonald, Freucte, all of the OL are back among others. On D, Wells, Thompson, Vereen, and a glut of young DLmen will keep the passing D solid. We need LBers if anything, and I can see Miller finding a few in the JUCO ranks this offseason.
Seizures or no, this program is setting itself up for bowl eligibility under Kill and any impact emergers or recruits will only help up the win totals.

Are you sure about that? You better look at the schedule for the next two years. We face a San Jose State team that is currently top 25 in the non-conference the next two years. I don't know much about that team at all but on paper it looks like a very tough win to come by and will likely result in a 3 win non-conference record. When is the last time the Gophers beat a ranked team(they will likely not be ranked that early next year)? 6 wins might be pretty tough to come by.

 

[Sportsfan24]

I don't buy that. If he's gone it's on his own terms due to health reasons, but all indications are that he's going to keep on coaching seizures or not.
He's set this program up for a 6 win floor for at least the next 2 years. Now is that good enough? No, but that's the minimum, our NC schedule and depth of young players will be enough to get to a bowl.
Who are they key players? Gray was hurt all year, Stoudemire was hurt all of last year, Carter was
MIA, Wilhite didn't impact until this year. Brandon Green mired by injuries.

Rallis/Cooper? Fantastic people and leaders but certainly had flaws on the field.
I see many first and second year players making plays and showing flashes, time and experience will only help them.

Nelson, Williams/Kirkwood, Plsek, Goodger, McDonald, Freucte, all of the OL are back among
others. On D, Wells, Thompson, Vereen, and a glut of young DLmen will keep the passing D solid. We need LBers if anything, and I can see Miller finding a few in the JUCO ranks this offseason.
Seizures or no, this program is setting itself up for bowl eligibility under Kill and any impact emergers or recruits will only help up the win totals.

I hope you are correct and I'm wrong but I just don't see it. You have to keep in mind this was a DOWN year in the Big Ten. It will only be tougher. As good a coach as Kill may be he needs players comparable to what his Big Ten peers are getting over all. Those are players with options...I don't see those players coming here and dealing with this. Also, a coach with health issues buts more of a spotlight on the folks who take over when he is incapacitated, the coordinators. Neither of them have the type of personalities that say hay come play for me and more importantly; neither have proven they belong at this level as coaches.

Also don't forget the AD; he didn't hire Kill. He wouldn't have hired Kill. The only reason Kill was hired was because he was the best man who wanted the job with a lame duck AD and President. And...Kills business treatment of players (making tough decisions for the betterment of the program versus what's best for the player) will make it much easier for the AD to sell making a business decision for the program.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Are you sure about that? You better look at the schedule for the next two years. We face a San Jose State team that is currently top 25 in the non-conference the next two years. I don't know much about that team at all but on paper it looks like a very tough win to come by and will likely result in a 3 win non-conference record. When is the last time the Gophers beat a ranked team(they will likely not be ranked that early next year)? 6 wins might be pretty tough to come by.

Crap....is there still time to get out of the San Jose State Series? Sorry couldn't resist. Bottom line though if we are to believe Kill is the guy we need to keep moving forward next year. San Jose State may be a bit tougher but it is at home so we should still expect a repeat of 4-0 Non-Conf. Year 3 under Kill he should be able to put a team out there that can continue to win at least 2 conference games. Any step backwards in win total would be a very bad sign for the future.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I can't agree with you on this one.

The number one thing a recruit looks at when deciding on a school is will they offer him a scholarship. Recruits that have multiple offers will look at the schemes they will play in. After that it's the success of the team. After that it's the coaching staff. After that it's the location of the school.

The biggest fear a recruit has is coaching turnover. New coach, new schemes and sometimes new players to play in those schemes. Not to mention new coaches who choose their starters based on who will be there in the critical years 3/4 (contract renewal). This is the main reason why coaches favor their recruits opposed to the ones recruited by the previous regime. Another reason is when deciding on playing time between a player he inherited versus one he recruited is that in addition to the younger player being there in those years critical to the coaches tenure, he also as built personal relationship with the player he recruited and their families.

You made a lot of assumptions there.

Here's another way to look at this: Does anyone think that his health issues may also bring the team closer together? Your head coach has this disease and goes through these things, yet continues to work his butt off and doesn't use it as an excuse. That certainly would give me an appreciation for what he's doing and increase my respect for him. Talk about a real-life example of fighting through adversity.

Maybe I'm way off base but it is a thought.

 

[Ole]

Are you sure about that? You better look at the schedule for the next two years. We face a San Jose State team that is currently top 25 in the non-conference the next two years. I don't know much about that team at all but on paper it looks like a very tough win to come by and will likely result in a 3 win non-conference record. When is the last time the Gophers beat a ranked team(they will likely not be ranked that early next year)? 6 wins might be pretty tough to come by.

Good for them, hadn't seen that.
However they're a WAC program, we'll match up well with them up front and they'll be losing their leading rusher, a certain Deleon Eskridge.
For all the uproar over the North Carolina deal, it likely puts Kill at 6 wins the next 2 years, which gives him some room to stack redshirts and keep the team relatively healthy going into the conference.
Anyone think that maybe as the program gets going a bit, the stress level will drop a bit and Kill can get into some more manageable routines? Especially when the systems and structure of the program become second nature to the majority of the team?
IMO the thing that has set this off is stress and the grind, both will get better in the coming years

 

[MNVCGUY]

Good for them, hadn't seen that.
However they're a WAC program, we'll match up well with them up front and they'll be losing their leading rusher, a certain Deleon Eskridge.
For all the uproar over the North Carolina deal, it likely puts Kill at 6 wins the next 2 years, which gives him some room to stack redshirts and keep the team relatively healthy going into the conference.
Anyone think that maybe as the program gets going a bit, the stress level will drop a bit and Kill can get into some more manageable routines? Especially when the systems and structure of the program become second nature to the majority of the team?
IMO the thing that has set this off is stress and the grind, both will get better in the coming years

Overall expectations and stress on him right now are at their lowest they are going to be becasue the people in charge understand he is only in year 2 so they are not going to can him for the team struggles on the field. The pressure to preform will only go up each and every year as the expectations from the top will continue to go up each year. This is BCS level D1 football, the grind will always be there because that is just the nature of things, these coaches work themselves to death because they are terrified of being outworked by another coach.

 

[Ole]

Overall expectations and stress on him right now are at their lowest they are going to be becasue the people in charge understand he is only in year 2 so they are not going to can him for the team struggles on the field. The pressure to preform will only go up each and every year as the expectations from the top will continue to go up each year. This is BCS level D1 football, the grind will always be there because that is just the nature of things, these coaches work themselves to death because they are terrified of being outworked by another coach.

Internally though, day to day operations of the program should become easier allowing the staff and Kill to work less on reigning in and teaching expectations to the players and more on X's, O's, and prepping for the opponents. You assume Kill gives a fart about what people think about him or the program. Expectations should be the same every year regardless, win the conference. Go to a bowl. Keep academics strong, etc.