Is Kill the right man for the job?

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EG#9 said:
The Gophers were 6th in the Conference in rushing offense last year (13th in passing), so you would be wrong.
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Last year was a historically great year for RBs in the Big Ten (Gordon, Abdullah, Coleman, etc). Just because other teams had really good rushing attacks does nothing to diminish the fact that we had the greatest single season rusher in our 100+ year history. So anyone should be able to factually state we were "really good" at running the football last year.
 

John Galt said:
the fact that we had the greatest single season rusher in our 100+ year history.
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Was a great year, but I don't think Cobb had the best season ever as a Gopher RB. Sure he has the most total rushing yards, but was able to do it in 13 games. Maroney in 2005 and Darkins in 1994 had better YPG averages (133 and 131 respectively to Cobb's 125). It's no surprise that since moving to a 12 game schedule (plus bowl) lots of career and season yardage records have been set since the players are getting more games to accumulate stats.
 

John Galt said:
Last year was a historically great year for RBs in the Big Ten (Gordon, Abdullah, Coleman, etc). Just because other teams had really good rushing attacks does nothing to diminish the fact that we had the greatest single season rusher in our 100+ year history. So anyone should be able to factually state we were "really good" at running the football last year.
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Plus we were 28th in the country in rushing yards per game. That's pretty good.
 

Ski U Master said:
Was a great year, but I don't think Cobb had the best season ever as a Gopher RB. Sure he has the most total rushing yards, but was able to do it in 13 games. Maroney in 2005 and Darkins in 1994 had better YPG averages (133 and 131 respectively to Cobb's 125). It's no surprise that since moving to a 12 game schedule (plus bowl) lots of career and season yardage records have been set since the players are getting more games to accumulate stats.
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Agree with all of this. I'm addressing the poster who said we've never had a season under Kill where we've been really good at any area on offense.
 

GopherHomer said:
Now, if we have another disappointing year in 2016 I think it is fair to START questioning Kill.
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It's "fair" to "question" a coach anytime. I haven't seen a president in my lifetime who wasn't questioned before he assumed the office. Why should a football coach get a complete pass from criticism or doubt in his fifth year when a president can't get that in his first year?

Now, if people were talking about starting a campaign to get Kill fired at the end of this year, then I would agree that sort of behavior was premature and probably unfair.
 


cjbfbp said:
It's "fair" to "question" a coach anytime. I haven't seen a president in my lifetime who wasn't questioned before he assumed the office. Why should a football coach get a complete pass from criticism or doubt in his fifth year when a president can't get that in his first year?

Now, if people were talking about starting a campaign to get Kill fired at the end of this year, then I would agree that sort of behavior was premature and probably unfair.
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Coaches are not immune from criticism or doubt. They are public employees (at least the ones employed at state colleges and universities), and they are high profile ones at that, so that type of thing comes with the territory, and every coach has had to face it at one time or another. It's fair to wonder about why we have been so unable to develop and/or keep quarterbacks during Kill's tenure, for example.

I would however amend the 'probably' in your last sentence to 'certainly', because I believe any call to fire Kill at the season (no matter what happens the rest of the way) would be not only completely unfair but would border on outright lunacy. I mean really, talk about just a completely knee-jerk and over the top reaction to what has been a crummy and disappointing season to this point.

As far as Kill being the right man for the job, I like what I've seen so far. He's a good coach who runs a clean program, and I continue to believe our future looks bright. I'm still fully onboard the Kill train, while recognizing that he has flaws just like anybody else. I might not always agree with him, but I know he is absolutely a quality football coach.
 

Nobody wants Kill fired.

Sensible people want Limegover let go after the season.

We've seen enough.
 


Seany said:
I would however amend the 'probably' in your last sentence to 'certainly', because I believe any call to fire Kill at the season (no matter what happens the rest of the way) would be not only completely unfair but would border on outright lunacy. I mean really, talk about just a completely knee-jerk and over the top reaction to what has been a crummy and disappointing season to this point.
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I use the word "probably" because I don't claim to be able to predict the future. Using words like "certainly" to predict the future is the real lunancy. If Kill's team has another disappointing season next year and he is fired after that, then those events will ratify the views of the current pessimists. I don't expect those events to happen but I could be wrong. After all, my expectations about this season were wrong.
 




The people on this board that talk out of both sides of their mouths must be managers.
 

Gopher_Nutz said:
The people on this board that talk out of both sides of their mouths must be managers.
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or they are persons with higher levels of academic and professional training than the typical oafs who post on message boards.
 

cjbfbp said:
or they are persons with higher levels of academic and professional training than the typical oafs who post on message boards.
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Troll much. Must be busy in academia responding within 22 minutes. Keep protecting both sides and don't take a stance, must be nice in the middle.
 



And, thus with an invective slur, the board said goodbye to this thread.
 

To preface, I don't want Kill fired. I think they have overachieved the last several years on the back of a tough defense and good special teams, and turnovers. It would be foolish to change course at this time.

However, it's easy to say we don't want him fired this year or next. That is because hope springs eternal in most diehard fans. However, the optimism has been dripping away game by game this season. Some of us saw the canary in the coal mine drop dead at Colorado State, because CSU was clearly not a good team. But the optimism persisted. Then Kent State happened. They weren't opening up the play book, playing it safe, some said. A few more hopped off the train. Ohio victory margin was 3 pts; all is well, we're saving it for the Big Ten season. Northwestern happened and most realized Houston, the cryo tank exploded, we might have a problem here. Still have some in the denial phase. Purdue, all is well again, we can run. Nebraska. The defense snoozes through the game, Mitch plays his heart out and throws for over 300 yards. Red is blue, up is down, mass hysteria.

It's safe to say that rationalizations and denial are still in effect for the diehards, while others recognize the real schematic and coaching deficiencies, compounded by injuries and a lack of developed depth at several positions.

IF the team loses in blowout fashion the rest of the season, psychology will indeed change leading into next season. Not for Killme, but for people unrelated to the coaches. If the team continues more of the same, in addition to the season ticket debacle, (excepting Supadupafly) it is not out of the realm of possiblity the fanbase will quit on this staff next season. Depending on the carnage it is possible he could be fired at the end of next season.

That is worst case scenario stuff, and I am optimistic about the young guys on defense and offense. If the coaches can develop the players, which we haven't seen enough of on the offensive side of the ball, they will have job security for a long, long time. If they can't, I don't see them lasting.
 


I don't know much, but I know this much.

If you concede that the core of your team is/should be SR's, JR's, preferably RSSR's and RSJR's, you need to realize that THIS YEAR's team was largely recruited while riding the overwhelming momentum of back-to-back 3-9 seasons, and a complete coaching staff overhaul right in the middle there. You are expecting elite level talent to be plucked from the recruiting hotbeds around the country while touting consecutive 3-9 campaigns?? Seriously?

Pretty much everyone knew this wasn't going to be a quick fix. The success of last year and the year before it was largely overachieving and some smoke and mirrors by the coaching staff. The recruiting, based on successive decent seasons the last 2-3 years, appears to be improving, incrementally, as you would expect from a program that hasn't historically been strong for a while.

This team has major, major limitations at the most critical position on the field; QB. If I were Limegrover, I would be applying for hazard pay for having to call a game with my main guy being Mitchy.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
To preface, I don't want Kill fired. I think they have overachieved the last several years on the back of a tough defense and good special teams, and turnovers. It would be foolish to change course at this time.

However, it's easy to say we don't want him fired this year or next. That is because hope springs eternal in most diehard fans. However, the optimism has been dripping away game by game this season. Some of us saw the canary in the coal mine drop dead at Colorado State, because CSU was clearly not a good team. But the optimism persisted. Then Kent State happened. They weren't opening up the play book, playing it safe, some said. A few more hopped off the train. Ohio victory margin was 3 pts; all is well, we're saving it for the Big Ten season. Northwestern happened and most realized Houston, the cryo tank exploded, we might have a problem here. Still have some in the denial phase. Purdue, all is well again, we can run. Nebraska. The defense snoozes through the game, Mitch plays his heart out and throws for over 300 yards. Red is blue, up is down, mass hysteria.

It's safe to say that rationalizations and denial are still in effect for the diehards, while others recognize the real schematic and coaching deficiencies, compounded by injuries and a lack of developed depth at several positions.

IF the team loses in blowout fashion the rest of the season, psychology will indeed change leading into next season. Not for Killme, but for people unrelated to the coaches. If the team continues more of the same, in addition to the season ticket debacle, (excepting Supadupafly) it is not out of the realm of possiblity the fanbase will quit on this staff next season. Depending on the carnage it is possible he could be fired at the end of next season.

That is worst case scenario stuff, and I am optimistic about the young guys on defense and offense. If the coaches can develop the players, which we haven't seen enough of on the offensive side of the ball, they will have job security for a long, long time. If they can't, I don't see them lasting.
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Why even play the games?
 


Pompous Elitist said:
Come again?
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The cliff notes of your post are.....

I saw we were bad early on. The rubes couldn't see it. I could. I'm not surprised we struggled against jNW. Others were. I knew beating Purdue meant nothing. Others didn't. I saw Nebby dominating us a mile away. You dummies didn't. I love myself. I knew this season was a goner when we struggled against CSU. But you all couldn't.

So, if we know teams can't change quickly, why play the games. The Gophers must have zero chance in those upcoming games. I mean, they haven't played well to this point and you know it. You knew tOSU would struggle all of last year when a bad VT team beat them. No one else did.
 

I agree with the first part of your post. You are the last person that should be commenting on someone's acumen in this area.

I completely disagree with your second paragraph. I don't understand how you distilled that. I've been on record numerous times that we can be competitive in every game, including next week and OSU.

My post was prompted by speculation in this thread about how and why Kill would be fired. I was giving a worst case scenario. Nothing more. It isn't what I "think" will happen. I'm not happy with the offensive side of the ball, one would have to be nuts to be so. If that places me out the superhomer club then so be it. I care about the the team, and the players, not the coaches or their coaching streak. We can agree to disagree on this.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I agree with the first part of your post. You are the last person that should be commenting on someone's acumen in this area.

I completely disagree with your second paragraph. I don't understand how you distilled that. I've been on record numerous times that we can be competitive in every game, including next week and OSU.

My post was prompted by speculation in this thread about how and why Kill would be fired. I was giving a worst case scenario. Nothing more. It isn't what I "think" will happen. I'm not happy with the offensive side of the ball, one would have to be nuts to be so. If that places me out the superhomer club then so be it. I care about the the team, and the players, not the coaches or their coaching streak. We can agree to disagree on this.
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Fair enough. I know your a fan. Self appreciation threads always rub me the wrong way.
 

I didn't mean it to be, although I understand it looked like that, and I'm not shy about my opinion if asked. Most of us think we're right, i don't think thats a rare trait around here. if that makes me a pompous ass, well....

Just stating how more and more fans are becoming discouraged each week. I'm not happy about it. The team is stuck in a rut, perhaps self-imposed.
 

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