Is Kill the right man for the job?

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Getting the Gophers into the top tier of the BIG is a huge and nearly impossible task. Other than Donatanio at MSU and Alvarez at Wisky, who has done it in the past 25 years??? Getting there is one thing but staying up there is very, very difficult. Ask Iowa, Michigan and PSU fans. Nebraska has learned very quickly how difficult it is to compete at a top level in the BIG.

Alvarez went 4-5-2 after winning a Rose Bowl in 1993. Plus he went 20-19 between 2001 and 2003. Ferentz has been up and down like a yo-yo. Paterno had losing seasons at PSU. Teams like Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois along with the Gophers have failed and Maryland and Rutgers will likely do the same.

Firing coaches is not the easy answer. Wisky and MSU struggled for many years until they finally made the right hires. But it has not worked at Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, etc

Coach Kill has stated that it will take at least seven years to get the program where he would like it to be. President Kaler has bought into that. Coach Kill has made much needed improvements in the program and there will be more coming with the new digs. But that will not guarantee success. Getting TCF Stadium and football back on campus was not the answer. Getting top rated recruits to Minnesota is a huge challenge.

I believe that Minnesota will never be a football powerhouse like it was but I feel that they can be a competitive program and make a run for a BIG title in a season when things go right. One does learn a lot after being a Gopher fan for sixty years.

The fan base and the media need to study the recent history of the BIG to understand the situation that the Gophers are in.
 

Gopher2017 said:
Twice we had 1 yard to go when we were in Nebraska territory and instead of going for it we punted. That may not seem like a big deal at first thought but it really is.
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I like Kill, I think he is the right man for the job and can do great things here. This part really stood out to me. As a Charger fan, people have been calling out McCoy for being overly conservative. Yesterday against the Packers they went for it on 4th down and were more aggressive and gave the Packers a run for their money in Lambeau. I know there is a difference between pros and college and we have a lot of injuries, but what about 2013 when we went for it on 4th and long and scored a touchdown against Nebraska, which was a huge play that helped us win the game. Have to be more aggressive on these calls.
 

GopherJack said:
Totally agree with cut the "Jerrysota" crap. It's dangerous to idolize a person before they are dead and gone (and all closets have been cleaned of skeletons - think JoePa).
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so true...and every trip to Madison we see the 2 bronze statues - and those things have been there for 10 yrs.
 

Go4fan4ever said:
I like Kill, I think he is the right man for the job and can do great things here. This part really stood out to me. As a Charger fan, people have been calling out McCoy for being overly conservative. Yesterday against the Packers they went for it on 4th down and were more aggressive and gave the Packers a run for their money in Lambeau. I know there is a difference between pros and college and we have a lot of injuries, but what about 2013 when we went for it on 4th and long and scored a touchdown against Nebraska, which was a huge play that helped us win the game. Have to be more aggressive on these calls.
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This program will go as far as it's offensive line allows it. Kill has shown he can be aggressive when he trusts the O-line to pick up first downs in short yardage situations, and when the D can hold a lead. Neither of those things were happening yesterday.
Mortell had a hell of a game and I think Jerry was playing for time alot yesterday hoping the D could figure out how to give the ball back to the offense and keep the game close.
If you roll the dice and fail the game gets away from you fast. It's not always the best play to go for it and risk the game with time left. Jerry's been very aggressive in the past, and been mind numbingly conservative, but there's usually a reason behind it.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Getting the Gophers into the top tier of the BIG is a huge and nearly impossible task. Other than Donatanio at MSU and Alvarez at Wisky, who has done it in the past 25 years??? Getting there is one thing but staying up there is very, very difficult. Ask Iowa, Michigan and PSU fans. Nebraska has learned very quickly how difficult it is to compete at a top level in the BIG.

Alvarez went 4-5-2 after winning a Rose Bowl in 1993. Plus he went 20-19 between 2001 and 2003. Ferentz has been up and down like a yo-yo. Paterno had losing seasons at PSU. Teams like Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois along with the Gophers have failed and Maryland and Rutgers will likely do the same.

Firing coaches is not the easy answer. Wisky and MSU struggled for many years until they finally made the right hires. But it has not worked at Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, etc

Coach Kill has stated that it will take at least seven years to get the program where he would like it to be. President Kaler has bought into that. Coach Kill has made much needed improvements in the program and there will be more coming with the new digs. But that will not guarantee success. Getting TCF Stadium and football back on campus was not the answer. Getting top rated recruits to Minnesota is a huge challenge.

I believe that Minnesota will never be a football powerhouse like it was but I feel that they can be a competitive program and make a run for a BIG title in a season when things go right. One does learn a lot after being a Gopher fan for sixty years.

The fan base and the media need to study the recent history of the BIG to understand the situation that the Gophers are in.
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A lot of what you say is true. But it negates the fact that every other long term BIG team other than Indiana has found a way to have special years. Since 1995 (the last 20 years) the following teams have won BIG titles: Northwestern, tOSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Penn State and Michigan State. Purdue has a second place finish as does Nebraska, There is more diversity than one would expect. Gophers best finish in the same time frame would be last year's "4th" place.
 


Go4fan4ever said:
I like Kill, I think he is the right man for the job and can do great things here. This part really stood out to me. As a Charger fan, people have been calling out McCoy for being overly conservative. Yesterday against the Packers they went for it on 4th down and were more aggressive and gave the Packers a run for their money in Lambeau. I know there is a difference between pros and college and we have a lot of injuries, but what about 2013 when we went for it on 4th and long and scored a touchdown against Nebraska, which was a huge play that helped us win the game. Have to be more aggressive on these calls.
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Tubby was great at calling time outs when we were making the crucial shot only to kill the moment and then miss the crucial shot. We had no momentum outside of the first drive. In defense of a coach, just as many people hail that successful "go for it" as do the "why did we do that". It was apparent our D was having a bad day so going for it might have been a better option. Easy to say on Monday. Kill said from the start it would be up to six years to get things right. Our last two seasons were better than expected so this year was going to be the turn around. This season if far from over and could still be a success. Kill is the man for the job.
 

wait!what? said:
so true...and every trip to Madison we see the 2 bronze statues - and those things have been there for 10 yrs.
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Goldy better not ever slip up or have skeletons in his closet, or his statue is Outta Here!
 

Gopher2017 said:
Don't bash me here as I'm simply throwing it out to see what people think. With the "Jerrysota" flags, "Jerry! Jerry!" chants, and the other 'Jerry' love, I know it will be hard to look at things objectively.

Kill has certainly risen our stock by leaps and bounds but has he taken us as far as he can? There were several questionable play calls against Nebraska and I'm not even talking about the field goal late in the game. Twice we had 1 yard to go when we were in Nebraska territory and instead of going for it we punted. That may not seem like a big deal at first thought but it really is. All that does is pump us Nebraska because you're telling them the coaching staff doesn't have the faith in our offense. I agree with punting 98% of the time but these were two times I completely disagreed with the coaching staff.

Some coaches use universities as a stepping stone; could a school use a coach as a stepping stone? Kill has risen our stock so is it possible he's risen it enough to entice a 'better' coach to come in and lead the team?

I want to state there isn't a right or wrong answer here and I'm a big fan of Kill so I'm throwing this out there just to see what people think about Kill. Is he our man for the long term?
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The Jerrysota stuff gets overdone. As for whether or not Kill is the right guy longterm, too soon to tell for sure. If this year is just a bump in the road and things seem to get back on track next year then he should be fine. If next year is a struggle as well with the easier schedule it may be time to consider making a change, but at the earliest that would come after the 2016 season regardless of what happens over the remainder of this season.
 

There are definite frustrations with the game planing and in-game coaching but Kill has earned 7 years at this point. The recruiting remains solid so I see no harm in giving him at 2 more years at minimum. I'm looking forward to more focus from the program and a commitment to offense and defense equally.

I also agree that the "Jerrysota" campaign is one of the most preposterous in Minnesota history, it's uncomfortable and unnecessary. Please put the flag and the campaign in the dumpster.
 



Do you really think Jerry would get fired before the U opened up his new Athlete's Village?
 

I think the bigger question, and more interesting one is: After continued progres, then a rough patch, how does Jerry and Co handle things.

Next year should be a good "get healthy" type year. That will be far more telling than just the existence of a rough year.
 

I did not read one post in this thread, because this thread by title alone is a joke. The answer is YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 





Maybe it is sitting through the Epic Implosion of this program when it moved to the Dome, but I am writing off this season. Kill needs to prove that he is a better recruiter than has been seen this season. The bitter taste of the eighties is coming back and I'm getting to old for this taste.
 



Winnipegopher said:
the following teams have won BIG titles: Northwestern, tOSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Penn State and Michigan State. Purdue has a second place finish as does Nebraska
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Purdue in fact tied for the BT title in 2000 and went to the rose bowl.
Nebraska has played in the BT championship game
Maryland won the ACC and went to a BCS bowl in 2001

You could say the only BIG teams in the last 20 years without "magical seasons" are Minnesota, Rutgers, and Indiana.

That doesn't even include Rutgers' 11-win season in 2006 - including a top 6 ranking at one point, which I'd put as more of a success than our season last year or the 2003 season.

Definitely give Jerry more time - but there's no reason he/anyone can't get at least a BIG west division title done here.
 

I will answer a question with a question: What do you mean by "the right man for the program?"

If, by "the right man," you mean winning B1G titles or landing big-time 5-star recruits, then, as of right now, I would have to say no, I don't see Kill taking the Gopher program to that level.

If, "the right man" means winning 7 or 8 games a year, with the occasional 9-win year and the occasional upper-tier bowl game, then I would be more likely to say yes.

Why do I say this: you win with talent. the consistently good teams have recruiting classes that are consistently better than the recruiting classes at MN. In order for Kill to take the "next step," he is going to have to find a way to bring in better talent. The approach of getting 2-star & 3-star kids and "coaching them up" will only take the program so far. To win a Conference title with 3-star players, you have to get lucky, because you're playing against teams that are bringing in 4-star and the occasional 5-star players. To beat a team with better talent, you have to out-coach them and get all (or most of) the breaks. Given a choice, I would rather be the team with more talent.

This is nothing personal against Kill. I just see him (and his other coaches and their system) as having a ceiling that doesn't quite reach the levels that some fans are hoping for.
 

I always believed in giving a new coach five years - and now they are firing them in year two. But this is the fifth year, as with Wacker, Salem. Kill is way ahead of them, but hasn't had a team as good as Mason's '99 team (third year), which went 8-3 before its bowl game and just missed a B10 championship tie. Offense has been a problem all five years, along with QB. Also, by this time recruiting should have provided more depth in the o-line, at QB, DE, etc. Lots of teams (FL, BYU, e.g.) have had to go with very good second string QBs because of injuries to starters, but for us it would be a disaster. The Gophers have been able to run in only one half of one game this year - the working parts are not there. Recruiting is a worry, as is offensive imagination, coaching, play-calling - though Mitch and receivers did a great job Saturday.
 

Winnipegopher said:
A lot of what you say is true. But it negates the fact that every other long term BIG team other than Indiana has found a way to have special years. Since 1995 (the last 20 years) the following teams have won BIG titles: Northwestern, tOSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Penn State and Michigan State. Purdue has a second place finish as does Nebraska, There is more diversity than one would expect. Gophers best finish in the same time frame would be last year's "4th" place.
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Purdue was co champs in 2000
 

Absolutely he is the right man for the job. The fact that so many Hawkeye, Badger, and media members want him out and pretend to be Gopher fans say's a lot. Those guy's want the Gophers football team stuck in mediocrity and want him gone before he can finish the job because they want us to slip back in to irrelevance, losing every game and be an after thought for fans and an easy out and W on the schedule for their teams.
This is the best class of student athletes in 2016 state wise in Minnesota and talent wise for the whole group that the Gophers have recruited in a long time for football. Despite the struggles of this year,(we continue to recruit better players in my opinion) and parts of the team have played well and excelled at times and this season can still be a success even with the tough schedule.

Without question I still believe in coach Kill, he may be a hard man to understand at times but he has a method to his madness and he is working his plan, and his staff seems unwavering in their commitment to make the team and program better. This team still competes hard and does not give up even when they are down and still has the spirit to win more Big 10 games.

I don't see the team "quitting" in games and that is due to coaching and the belief they have created that they can win as a group.
Changing horses in the middle of the stream for the umpteenth time is not the answer. We do that and we will be in "Brewsterville" with another car salesman all over again.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
Absolutely he is the right man for the job. The fact that so many Hawkeye, Badger, and media members want him out and pretend to be Gopher fans say's a lot. Those guy's want the Gophers football team stuck in mediocrity and want him gone before he can finish the job because they want us to slip back in to irrelevance, losing every game and be an after thought for fans and an easy out and W on the schedule for their teams.
This is the best class of student athletes in 2016 state wise in Minnesota and talent wise for the whole group that the Gophers have recruited in a long time. Despite the struggles of this year, parts of the team have played well and excelled at times and this season can still be a success even with the tough schedule. Without question I still believe in coach Kill, he may be a hard man to understand but he has a method to his madness and he is working his plan. This team still competes hard and does not give up even when they are down and still has the spirit to win more Big 10. I don't see the team quitting in games and that is due to coaching and the belief they have created that they can win.
Changing horses in the middle of the stream for the umpteenth time is not the answer.
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Hear!! Hear!!!
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
I always believed in giving a new coach five years - and now they are firing them in year two. But this is the fifth year, as with Wacker, Salem. Kill is way ahead of them, but hasn't had a team as good as Mason's '99 team (third year), which went 8-3 before its bowl game and just missed a B10 championship tie. Offense has been a problem all five years, along with QB. Also, by this time recruiting should have provided more depth in the o-line, at QB, DE, etc. Lots of teams (FL, BYU, e.g.) have had to go with very good second string QBs because of injuries to starters, but for us it would be a disaster. The Gophers have been able to run in only one half of one game this year - the working parts are not there. Recruiting is a worry, as is offensive imagination, coaching, play-calling - though Mitch and receivers did a great job Saturday.
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Disagree, for one 99 isn't Mason's best team, 03 was and second, the 99 team and 03 team didn't have the same schedule last years team had. The team last year went to better bowl game than the Sun Bowl. Take TCU out and replace them with Louisiana Monroe and last year's team would look better, probably end the year with a ranking.
 

Go4fan4ever said:
I like Kill, I think he is the right man for the job and can do great things here. This part really stood out to me. As a Charger fan, people have been calling out McCoy for being overly conservative. Yesterday against the Packers they went for it on 4th down and were more aggressive and gave the Packers a run for their money in Lambeau. I know there is a difference between pros and college and we have a lot of injuries, but what about 2013 when we went for it on 4th and long and scored a touchdown against Nebraska, which was a huge play that helped us win the game. Have to be more aggressive on these calls.
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The problem is his is statement was false. We never had a 4th and 1 situation in Nebraska territory. We punted once in their territory on 4th and 10 from their 47 and went for it on a 4th and 3 at their 48 (converted).

At times he has been aggressive. Against NW we went for it on 4th and 7 at the NW 31 on the second drive of the game (failed) and also went for it on 4th and 2 and the NW 31 on the first drive of the second half (failed also). Overall Kill is pretty conservative, but its not like he never goes for it or takes a chance. I think we sometimes only remember what we want to remember.

As for if Kill is the right man for the job, I'm still optimistic he is but it is still too early to tell. We'll know more over the next few years.
 

Actually, happy to see this thread. Feels good to read it after all the negativity that we've seen. Shows me that there are plenty of fans on here that feel the same way I do. We need to stand behind this guy (Kill) and stand up for him. He's done a hell, hell of a lot for this program. Support and defend the guy, it's our program and he's our guy. He's definitely supported our program and stood up for it. Negativity at this point ain't gonna help a damn thing. I don't recall Mason or anyone else opening up with a TCU caliber team ever. 9-3 last year with the typical cupcake and 5-2 this year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I support Kill.

Having said that, consider that after four years, he had a 13-19 conference record.

That got him a big raise.

Danny Hope had the same exact record (including wins over OSU and Michigan in the same year).

That got him canned.
 

Studwell55 said:
I support Kill.

Having said that, consider that after four years, he had a 13-19 conference record.

That got him a big raise.

Danny Hope had the same exact record (including wins over OSU and Michigan in the same year).

That got him canned.
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We don't even have a permanent athletics director right now after the Mega Tongue scandal. Gophers have treated a lot of coaches like toilet paper over the years(lack of resources and staff salaries) , may not be the case with coach Kill or the current staff, but it has been with past staffs to some extent and changing coaches a lot over the years.
Look at where Purdue is now after they canned Danny Hope, they have not recovered recruiting wise and are bottom feeders in the conference with what looks like another coaching change on the horizon.

This somewhat happened after they canned Mason so late, caused chaos in the recruiting class with the coaching change season and bowl games ended, really messed up recruiting and chance to attract a better or more experienced coach. (should have happened after he interviewed for Ohio State Job and tried to shaft us in my opinion if you were going to let him go)

We don't even have a permanent athletic director right now so this discussion is really kind of pointless.

Nobody want's mediocrity and a conference record of 13-19 is not great(I don't think the staff is happy with that) but when you consider from the point where we started from Brewster dumpster fire, two plus years of lost recruiting classes lost, the wrecking of any new stadium good will, and a lack of a plan by the last Athletic director and you have to have some perspective like others have said that Minnesota is still building and recovering from the self imposed mess of 2006(waiting until after the bowl game and Christmas to do what AD Maturi did). I didn't say I disagree with the decision, but AD Maturi made a bad call at an inopportune time, had no plan for a replacement and made that decision out of emotion and being upset about some things including the previous contract extension negotiations. Then you go 1-9 and have it get out to the media that your coach is being fired before a game that Friday against Purdue, on twitter, before the game was played and creating chaos, you can see we have been in a really tough spot program wise for more than five years in to the current coaches tenure to recover from quickly.

During the last coaching search we had about 4 other people tell us no before they the two search guys even met coach Kill. To me we got lucky that some of the people that said no did, because those guy's created much worse situations in the jobs they eventually ended up with instead of messing up our situation. Coach Kill and players have wins over Michigan and Iowa a couple times, and we have beaten Nebraska twice and Penn State so it's not like were beating nothing but conference patsy's. There have been some stinkers too like NDSU and New Mexico State, but you get the point, we don't just roll over for anyone and get waxed on a weekly basis.

This year has had some bumps and may continue to, that said, I believe the program is still on the right path to that "wanted success" level we all would like to see. The path to success is still out there for the Gophers if we see this thing through. It is cliche, but like the saying goes "Brick by Brick" the foundation is being layed for the long term, not to continue endlessly changing coaches.
 

Studwell55 said:
I support Kill.

Having said that, consider that after four years, he had a 13-19 conference record.

That got him a big raise.

Danny Hope had the same exact record (including wins over OSU and Michigan in the same year).

That got him canned.
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It was a secret playoff between Hope and Kill.... Kill won.
 

Some Day...Is Coming! said:
Actually, happy to see this thread. Feels good to read it after all the negativity that we've seen. Shows me that there are plenty of fans on here that feel the same way I do. We need to stand behind this guy (Kill) and stand up for him. He's done a hell, hell of a lot for this program. Support and defend the guy, it's our program and he's our guy. He's definitely supported our program and stood up for it. Negativity at this point ain't gonna help a damn thing. I don't recall Mason or anyone else opening up with a TCU caliber team ever. 9-3 last year with the typical cupcake and 5-2 this year.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Always love this one. Adding mythical wins to the record to make things look better. Funny stuff.
 

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