Help me understand why Kill would be a bad hire

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The only negative I can think of is health concerns. This is a legit concern. I will admit, 2 weeks ago I knew nothing about him. I have always thought of Northern Illinois as a pretty decent little MAC school who always seemed to recruit a Minnesota kid every year.

I have been reading up on him. All the guy does is win. In 25 years as a coach (not all as HC) he has a career record of 190-81-1. In his 16 years of a HC he is 117-70.

His worst seasons ever were in 2001 and 2002 (his 2 first seasons at Southern Illinois), he went 1-10, 4-8, then he went 10-2, 10-2.
He started at Northern Illinois going 6-7, 7-6, 10-3
He has turned programs around.

The thing I like most about him is his coaching staff is loyal to him. I looked on the NIU website, and the majority of his coaches have been following him for years. I think that is a tremendous sign. I have lost count how many OCs and DCs we have had in the last 10 years. Those days maybe behind us. How much better would Weber have been if we had the same OC for the past 5 years??

I understand this is not a sexy hire and wouldn't get people excited. Who cares. Those same fans will be back in a year or two when we are winning games. Talk about boring, some people are suggesting the Navy coach. It would painful every Saturday sitting and watching the triple option, but I would still attend every home game.

Is Kill the answer? I have no idea. The more I read about him, the more I wouldn't mind the hire. I would rather have Petersen, Mullen, Harbough, Mulzahn, Leah, Fulmer, Belotti, etc. I like Kill more than Edsall and Chryst.
 

MNfootballfan said:
The only negative I can think of is health concerns. This is a legit concern. I will admit, 2 weeks ago I knew nothing about him. I have always thought of Northern Illinois as a pretty decent little MAC school who always seemed to recruit a Minnesota kid every year.

I have been reading up on him. All the guy does is win. In 25 years as a coach (not all as HC) he has a career record of 190-81-1. In his 16 years of a HC he is 117-70.

His worst seasons ever were in 2001 and 2002 (his 2 first seasons at Southern Illinois), he went 1-10, 4-8, then he went 10-2, 10-2.
He started at Northern Illinois going 6-7, 7-6, 10-3
He has turned programs around.

The thing I like most about him is his coaching staff is loyal to him. I looked on the NIU website, and the majority of his coaches have been following him for years. I think that is a tremendous sign. I have lost count how many OCs and DCs we have had in the last 10 years. Those days maybe behind us. How much better would Weber have been if we had the same OC for the past 5 years??

I understand this is not a sexy hire and wouldn't get people excited. Who cares. Those same fans will be back in a year or two when we are winning games. Talk about boring, some people are suggesting the Navy coach. It would painful every Saturday sitting and watching the triple option, but I would still attend every home game.

Is Kill the answer? I have no idea. The more I read about him, the more I wouldn't mind the hire. I would rather have Petersen, Mullen, Harbough, Mulzahn, Leah, Fulmer, Belotti, etc. I like Kill more than Edsall and Chryst.
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+1 to everything.
 

Because he isn't much of an improvement on the last guy. All the talk about hiring a coach who can elevate the program was just that.
 

I think you answered your own question with this statement: "The more I read about him, the more I wouldn't mind the hire." I think most fans look at this as a huge opportunity to redefine the program and make a national statement. "Not minding a hire" for a guy who is a die hard fan (500+ posts on GH, took time to research Kill, etc.) is a lot more analysis than the average MN sports fan will do. This is our opportunity to make the average fan say "wow" and not the time to make the die hard fan say "I didn't mind that hire."

That being said, I think Mona is playing us all and is leaking this to make a splash announcement shortly.

Go Gophers!!
 

It goes directly to what Reusse wrote today. Even if the team is 7-5 next year, the stadium will be a ghost town. Nobody is going to hop in line for season tickets because Kill is the head coach.
 


In the end, it has nothing to do with Kill. It has everything to do with Maturi failing to bring in that ace that the program needs.

i would rank your last three: 1. Edsall 2. Kill 3. Chryst

And if Leach is honest about loving the potential opportunity to coach here, it only compounds Maturi's failure.
 

You have written a thoughtful, rational, positive post - which means no one will read it. It's more fun to rant and hate. However, if you're going to argue for Kill, you can't say Edsall would be bad. Many experts in the profession think he is a great coach.
 

We have waited two months and hire kill-it would be most worst nightmare. KEEP HORTON BEFORE YOU HIRE THIS GUY!!!!!!!!!!
 

Outside of opinions no one really knows. We'll probably never know who was contacted and who wasn't. Oh well, I guess we'll just have support the new coach until he fails or retires. :)
 




I don't know that he will be a bad hire. In fact I don't think he'll be 'bad' as in as bad as Brew. But I think the ceiling on him is very low. Does he strike you as a guy who's going to be hauling in great recruiting classes and leading us to Rose Bowls? He doesn't for me.

Kill is not at the bottom of my list, but he's in the bottom group. At worst, I'd rather have had Fulmer or Shannon both of whom likely would have taken the job.

We're at a critical juncture in Gopher Football history. We needed Joel to hit a HR or at least a triple. Kill is a solid single. Not good enough under the circumstances.
 

MNfootballfan said:
I have been reading up on him. All the guy does is win. In 25 years as a coach (not all as HC) he has a career record of 190-81-1. In his 16 years of a HC he is 117-70.
....
Is Kill the answer? I have no idea. The more I read about him, the more I wouldn't mind the hire. I would rather have Petersen, Mullen, Harbough, Mulzahn, Leah, Fulmer, Belotti, etc. I like Kill more than Edsall and Chryst.
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The #1 thing that I dislike about Kill is that in 16 years as a winning head coach, the best job he could get is Northern Illinois. I generally trust the collective wisdom of the rest of the major-conference ADs more than I do the decision-making ability of Joel Maturi, so I assume until proven otherwise that Kill is where he is because no one thinks he would win at a higher level.

If we hire Kill over someone like Malzahn (potential home-run) or Leach (regardless of baggage, a proven winner on the highest levels) because of BS like needing someone with head coach experience (even if it is in a situation that's little to nothing like coaching in the Big 10), or someone who will be palletable to the media, I'm going to throw up.
 

How can anyone compare Kill to Brewster. Again look at his record.

I like Horton but compare is record with Kill's
 




Ski U Master...no one really answered your question because they couldn't answer it logically.

I've heard "because he can't elevate the program", even though he has elevated every single program he has coached at.

I then heard "because if we are 7-5, TCF will be a ghost town". Well, I mean, that might be, but I would hope that selling tickets next season isn't the criteria for hiring a coach. We need to hire a coach who can build us into a good football team, year in and year out. That is the way to keep selling tickets (for a long period of time).
 

RedPoo said:
The #1 thing that I dislike about Kill is that in 16 years as a winning head coach, the best job he could get is Northern Illinois.
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I don't think that's fair. Kill never had an "in" at a major program to start there as an assistant. He had to work his way up from the bottom and that takes time.
 

The #1 thing that I dislike about Kill is that in 16 years as a winning head coach, the best job he could get is Northern Illinois.
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To be fair he's been moving up the ranks during those 16 years. It's not like Edsall who's sat at one place for over a decade. THAT'S a case where I wonder why he hasn't moved on before this.
 

I don't think Edsall can take us to a Rose bowl. His recruiting scores come in close to Kill's but he has a BCS Program.
 

MNfootballfan, great post. There are just a lot of morons on here, that's all. Kill is a great coach, EXTREMELY well-respected by many of the same coaches some of the posters on this board wanted hired and are ready to hang Maturi (and/or themselves) for not hiring.

I'd be happy with a number of different guys, including Kill. Again, until I hear the words out of Maturi's mouth, I'm not believing anything.
 

tap said:
KEEP HORTON BEFORE YOU HIRE THIS GUY!!!!!!!!!!
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That is an emotional overreaction. Remember that Horton loses everywhere he is, and Kill is quite the opposite.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Ski U Master...no one really answered your question because they couldn't answer it logically.

I've heard "because he can't elevate the program", even though he has elevated every single program he has coached at.

I then heard "because if we are 7-5, TCF will be a ghost town". Well, I mean, that might be, but I would hope that selling tickets next season isn't the criteria for hiring a coach. We need to hire a coach who can build us into a good football team, year in and year out. That is the way to keep selling tickets (for a long period of time).
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This is a flawed argument that only considers a single side. If we have no home field advantage (due to 'ghost town' attendance) we won't win enough games to sell tickets. Fan excitement is a big part of a winning program and shouldn't be underestimated. We need a name not only for the fans, but also for recruits. You think Kill is going to excite anyone?
 

Like or not, winning will have to bring the fans back. Except for leach, no big hire wants to come here.
 

gophmeister said:
Because he isn't much of an improvement on the last guy. All the talk about hiring a coach who can elevate the program was just that.
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Do your homework.

All Jerry Kill has done is elevate three straight programs. Who else has done that?

Save your time.

No one.
 

Johnny Olson said:
I don't think Edsall can take us to a Rose bowl. His recruiting scores come in close to Kill's but he is a BCS PROGRAM.
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There is not a place that is more difficult to recruit to at the BCS level than UCONN and it's really not that close. Furthermore, his classes finished behind West Virginia's and Pitts on a consistant basis and he has won that conference 2 of the last 4 seasons. Just imagine if he came to MN and his recruiting rankings improved a bit (on campus stadium, more local talent, etc.).
 

Johnny Olson said:
Like or not, winning will have to bring the fans back. Except for leach, no big hire wants to come here.
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Okay. How do you win in a BCS conference without high quality recruits? This guy has never recruited for a BCS school before.
 

People are ticked off because they think Leach was a legitimate option, because they have delusions of grandeur about the sort of coach that would actually desire to come here, and because they have delusions about the kind of money available to hire such a coach. My guess is that a big reason we've been turned down is because of the kind of money it would take to attract a top-flight coach to this program. Money that is simply not available, if you keep track of the financial status of the U right now you'll notice that they are cutting and consolidating programs left and right.

I think Kill would be a good hire. As far as this myth about getting a coach that will "fill the seats" or whatever. You know what fills the seats? Winning. Not a coach. They could hire Mike Leach and if Mike leach went 1-3 in non-conference you can bet that he wouldn't be packing TCF.

If Kill comes here, and goes 3-1 in nonconference... or better yet, beats USC, people will come. Minnesotans love a winner, and will not tolerate a loser, no matter what his name is.

I like the hire, and like it the more and more "realistic" I get about the kind of coach we can land here at Minnesota. It's not about embracing mediocrity, it's about addressing certain realities.

The guy has turned around a program at I-AA, has turned around a mid-major, and the next progression for him is to come and turn around a major. That's the best kind of guy we can get.
 

a solid football coach

Jerry Kill is just that. His team are well prepared, play hard and as has been pointed out a loyal staff. Yes the program could use that right now.

not a jump up and down type of hire nor a hire that will excite the masses but a program that would have a soild foundation from the coaching side to build on if in fact he is the hire.
 

johnnybb said:
People are ticked off because they think Leach was a legitimate option, because they have delusions of grandeur about the sort of coach that would actually desire to come here, and because they have delusions about the kind of money available to hire such a coach.

I think Kill would be a good hire. As far as this myth about getting a coach that will "fill the seats" or whatever. You know what fills the seats? Winning. Not a coach. They could hire Mike Leach and if Mike leach went 1-3 in non-conference you can bet that he wouldn't be packing TCF.

If Kill comes here, and goes 3-1 in nonconference... or better yet, beats USC, people will come. Minnesotans love a winner, and will not tolerate a loser, no matter what his name is.
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Right, because everyone knows you can win games in an empty stadium without BCS caliber recruits. :rolleyes:
 


Jeshurun said:
Okay. How do you win in a BCS conference without high quality recruits? This guy has never recruited for a BCS school before.
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Even without the opportunity to recruit to a BCS school he always wins and even beats Big Ten teams consistently and other BCS schools. If you read up about the guy and look at his record he and his staff know how to win.
 

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