Jerry Kill: "This year should be the best that Minnesota has had."

Donate To GopherHole

Would take Kill back in a second if he was healthy enough to be a head coach, but he's not and I doubt he will be a head coach at D1 level ever again. The people insinuating that he somehow quit on us because he is back coaching are just plain idiots. The pressure and time demands on a head coach compared to coordinators isn't close.
Coyle threw the 'culture' under the bus in order to justify firing a 9-4 first year coach because he wasn't sparkly enough for him and he wanted his own guy. Don't blame Kill at all for bristling at that.
Oh and the boycott, totally justified...and in the long run will be successful. It will take time for a lot of the idiots on here to see that.
 

People on here don't buy Kill's "Aw Shucks" persona but they buy in to Flecks goofy personality? Okay, got it!
 

I think Kill should be quiet about our program, since he's now coaching another team (within the same conference). I also think he feels under appreciated here, and is a little scared that Fleck will take this program to bigger heights than he did because he's a better in-game coach.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
If by "gold mine" he means a depleted offensive and defensive line, then yes.
Click to expand...

Well, he was talking about this year and we have plenty of DL for '17. We will also have 15 OL in camp come August.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


smidteye said:
I think Kill should be quiet about our program, since he's now coaching another team (within the same conference). I also think he feels under appreciated here, and is a little scared that Fleck will take this program to bigger heights than he did because he's a better in-game coach.
Click to expand...

Not sure I agree with the last sentence, but fully agree with the first.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I hope Kill is right. Any perceived political angle on this topic is the fault of Coyle and his bungling of the communication surrounding the hiring of PJF. Who I strongly hope is the best coach we've ever had for the program.
 

Johnnyboy18 said:
Apparently Fleck talked smack about Kill and said his culture sucked. Can anyone provide me some quotes I must of missed them the last few months.
Click to expand...

When people say the culture "needs" to change, they don't usually mean it's currently a positive culture. That said, I do think Fleck simply means he's building the culture he wants, but his whole way of communication is unique, some like it and some don't.

I believe where most take issue with the culture change references comes more from how Coyle spoke at the press conference than what Fleck has said since. That's been my issue, how Coyle spoke so negatively about the past staff when he announced Claeys was leaving, and again when Fleck was hired. He didn't need to do that - he could have simply said he felt a change was in the best interest of the program, that there are a lot of positives in place, and excited about the new coach.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

FredCoxRocks said:
If by "gold mine" he means a depleted offensive and defensive line, then yes.
Click to expand...

For the upcoming year, the defensive line is in pretty good shape, and the previous staff left Elmore who has since left. The offensive line isn't that bad - there are just injuries this spring. There will be depth come fall.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



MennoSota said:
Coyle shouldn't have dragged Kill into the issue by saying there was a bad culture here at MN before Fleck came. Blame Coyle for Kills response.
Click to expand...

Agreed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



HoustonTXGopher said:
People on here don't buy Kill's "Aw Shucks" persona but they buy in to Flecks goofy personality? Okay, got it!
Click to expand...

What someone thinks about Jerry Kill has absolutely nothing to do whether or not they have bought into Fleck.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



I think I've figured out why Kill is mad. Fleck who was a coach under him got his old gig after he quit/retired. Fleck who is almost half Kill's age and pretty much took his tenure here was rewarded with a 3.5 million dollar salary while Kill only got 1.2 million his first year. This is probably seen as betrayal in his eyes. This has probably enraged Kill more than anything that Coyle or Kaler "did".
 


Q: What did you think when Chris Ash called to solicit your interest in being offensive coordinator at Rutgers? A: (UConn A.D. and ex-Minnesota staffer) David Benedict and (former Minnesota interim A.D. and current UConn staffer) Beth Goetz are great people who took care of me when I was at Minnesota. When they got the jobs at UConn, they were the first people to contact me about coming there and being an assistant (to then-coach Bob Diaco). I visited there, flew back to Kansas State and got a call from Coach Ash not too much longer. He flew down to see me and talk. He said he needed my help in a lot of different areas. We were getting ready for a bowl so I needed to stay, but I sent my wife to Rutgers and she is the one who made the decision...

Q: Do you think you’ll be a head coach again? A: I don’t think so. I will be 56 years old. I enjoy what I do. This is what I need to be doing at this point. I have proven to myself that I was a good head coach for 24 years counting high school. I helped a lot of kids and won a lot of games. We turned around every program we took on, including Minnesota regardless of what they say. That thing was a mess and we built it up. Coach (Tracy) Claeys went 9-4 and got fired over a situation that in my opinion shouldn’t have happened and I have been public about that with the new A.D. ..

Q: Do you have any thoughts on Minnesota? A: People were saying they have to rebuild Minnesota. Shoot. That thing is built and ready to go. This year should be the best that Minnesota has had. I support (P.J.) Fleck on what he is doing. You have to do what you have to do. It is his program now. But I am not crazy about him saying they have to rebuild the program. We went in there and said a lot of the same things when I took over, but that’s not the case now. That new A.D. (Mark Coyle) has no idea what we inherited. (Former A.D.) Joel Maturi does. Call him. We inherited a mess. (Fleck) has walked into a gold mine.

Q: Are you bitter about how it all ended at Minnesota? A: Not at all. I am proud of the opportunity Minnesota gave me. I loved it there. A great place to live, great players to coach, great staff to work with. Got a lot of stuff done. Got that building started. I am good at getting buildings started. I have no regrets. I had to battle three different A.D.s and different administrations, that was a battle. But I have been doing that my whole life. I did whatever I did to myself. The people treat me tremendously to this day.

Q: Do you still talk to Claeys? A: I was at spring break with him. He has come to talk to our defense. He has been to TCU, at Southern Illinois. I think he’ll sit out and get back in. He has some people who have talked to him. Sitting out helped me and gave me a different view. I went to Michigan during the season and spoke to the team. Went to Notre Dame. It was good and bad when I stepped away. But I have no gumption to be a head coach again. This is where I want to be. - See more at: http://btn.com/2017/03/31/big-ten-q...tor-jerry-kill/#sthash.euqVOpK3.XSLfE2oK.dpuf
 

Egomaniac making things up someone never said. Sad!
 

Johnnyboy18 said:
I think I've figured out why Kill is mad. Fleck who was a coach under him got his old gig after he quit/retired. Fleck who is almost half Kill's age and pretty much took his tenure here was rewarded with a 3.5 million dollar salary while Kill only got 1.2 million his first year. This is probably seen as betrayal in his eyes. This has probably enraged Kill more than anything that Coyle or Kaler "did".
Click to expand...

Then you don't understand human beings.

Kill is annoyed with Fleck because he is going around talking about changing the culture. It's really not that complicated. Fleck was sort of forced to play this card because Coyle, but it is what it is.

I know you're unable to read nuance, but when someone is going around saying that they need to change culture, it implies the previous culture wasn't good. That's a direct insult to Kill.

If you don't see that, which I wouldn't be surprised if you don't, I don't know what to tell you.

It's funny to see comments like this from Kill have you in a frenzy though, I know. . . it came off negative about your #1 crush. It'll be ok. This is how little girls react to when someone rips on their favorite boy band member.
 

Johnnyboy18 said:
He sounds like a bitter ex-girlfriend. He left the program on his own he wasn't fired. Constantly talking about Fleck and Minnesota even going as far as to confront Fleck at Hopkins HS. Grow up
Click to expand...

I've been crucified on here a few times for suggesting that the lovable, 'Good 'ol Jer' we saw in front of the cameras, was not the same Jerry Kill everyone else saw behind the scenes. Zach Johnson, owner of Gopher, Scout.com site, who owned GopherIllustrated for many years posted this today on this topic:

"None of Kill's comments surprise me. I knew the real Jerry Kill and what he was like when the camera was off. He is far from the cuddly old ball coach and person many thought of him to be.

Guy was as cut throat as they come and when you couldn't do what he asked, or he didn't get his way...well let's just say I have raised two kids who acted better as toddlers when they didn't get what they wanted.

Supremely hypocritical as well. I know he worded it different in the Q and A RB pasted but previously he has said it is bad form for a coach to be critical of the staff they are replacing, when Kill ripped Brew for years and continues to rip Brew to make his accomplishments appear miraculous.

Kill wasn't the first coach to win at Minnesota. Glen Mason inherited a **** show and he won at Minnesota even more so than Kill. Mason had better seasons and better/higher profile individual wins...at Penn State (ranked No. 2) and at Ohio State (ranked No. 5).

I think I pointed out earlier last year that when you actually look at Jerry Kill's Big Ten record and the wins he accumulated is not all that impressive. He loved slapping himself on the back for beating the basement teams in the Big Ten."
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Then you don't understand human beings.

Kill is annoyed with Fleck because he is going around talking about changing the culture. It's really not that complicated. Fleck was sort of forced to play this card because Coyle, but it is what it is.

I know you're unable to read nuance, but when someone is going around saying that they need to change culture, it implies the previous culture wasn't good. That's a direct insult to Kill.

If you don't see that, which I wouldn't be surprised if you don't, I don't know what to tell you.

It's funny to see comments like this from Kill have you in a frenzy though, I know. . . it came off negative about your #1 crush. It'll be ok. This is how little girls react to when someone rips on their favorite boy band member.
Click to expand...

+1 LOL Good response.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Then you don't understand human beings.

Kill is annoyed with Fleck because he is going around talking about changing the culture. It's really not that complicated. Fleck was sort of forced to play this card because Coyle, but it is what it is.

I know you're unable to read nuance, but when someone is going around saying that they need to change culture, it implies the previous culture wasn't good. That's a direct insult to Kill.

If you don't see that, which I wouldn't be surprised if you don't, I don't know what to tell you.

It's funny to see comments like this from Kill have you in a frenzy though, I know. . . it came off negative about your #1 crush. It'll be ok. This is how little girls react to when someone rips on their favorite boy band member.
Click to expand...

No, I know an egomaniac when I see one. I'm sure Fleck doesn't mean change the culture when he talks about row the boat because that's definitely not culture. No way has he mentioned how unique his culture is and some won't buy in. It must mean that the previous culture sucked and he's definitely not talking about all the acronyms you hate. It's funny to see comments like this from you though because your #1 crush was fired.
 

I have met Jerry Kill once. It was just before what ended up being his last game as HC of Gophers. Great coach and an even better man. Nothing that he has said since has changed that for me.

Most of the former coaching staff were also on Kills staff and were his friends. They won nine games and were fired. Regardless of the circumstances it is understandable that his feelings were hurt.
 

I can see why Kill doesn't like Fleck saying he wants to change the culture & why he takes that personally. I can also see why Fleck is saying he's going to change the culture. The only story here is people getting to see Jerry Kill's other side.
 


Costa Rican Gopher said:
I've been crucified on here a few times for suggesting that the lovable, 'Good 'ol Jer' we saw in front of the cameras, was not the same Jerry Kill everyone else saw behind the scenes. Zach Johnson, owner of Gopher, Scout.com site, who owned GopherIllustrated for many years posted this today on this topic:

"None of Kill's comments surprise me. I knew the real Jerry Kill and what he was like when the camera was off. He is far from the cuddly old ball coach and person many thought of him to be.

Guy was as cut throat as they come and when you couldn't do what he asked, or he didn't get his way...well let's just say I have raised two kids who acted better as toddlers when they didn't get what they wanted.

Supremely hypocritical as well. I know he worded it different in the Q and A RB pasted but previously he has said it is bad form for a coach to be critical of the staff they are replacing, when Kill ripped Brew for years and continues to rip Brew to make his accomplishments appear miraculous.

Kill wasn't the first coach to win at Minnesota. Glen Mason inherited a **** show and he won at Minnesota even more so than Kill. Mason had better seasons and better/higher profile individual wins...at Penn State (ranked No. 2) and at Ohio State (ranked No. 5).

I think I pointed out earlier last year that when you actually look at Jerry Kill's Big Ten record and the wins he accumulated is not all that impressive. He loved slapping himself on the back for beating the basement teams in the Big Ten."
Click to expand...

Zach? Taking a shot at a guy after he left? Stunning. ;)

"Supremely hypocritical"? Yep, probably a "pot and kettle" kind thing going on here.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
I can see why Kill doesn't like Fleck saying he wants to change the culture & why he takes that personally. I can also see why Fleck is saying he's going to change the culture. The only story here is people getting to see Jerry Kill's other side.
Click to expand...

Jerry Kill has been showing his other side ever since Kaler didn't give him a job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Johnnyboy18 said:
No, I actually don't. Coyle never mentioned Kill because he quit/retired before he got hired.
Click to expand...

Yes, you do. You're not stupid. Coyle did paint the program as needing a dramatic overhaul, a year removed from his leadership.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
I can see why Kill doesn't like Fleck saying he wants to change the culture & why he takes that personally. I can also see why Fleck is saying he's going to change the culture. The only story here is people getting to see Jerry Kill's other side.
Click to expand...

True and nope. The story here are people getting supremely upset if anybody suggests that Fleck has a chance to win more than 6 games. Maybe even 5.

He's a good coach and he doesn't have to start over with the little amount of talent that Wacker, Brewster and Kill did. Mason started out with some talent but threw the first year away by changing the Offense. He admitted it many times through the years. Same way he said the 2008 was gonna be a big "rebuilding" year. He took a lot of heat for saying that.

Oddly now, there are a lot of people demanding that Fleck say the same thing. Far too many people think that Fleck is a Coach who can only work with kids that he recruited.

Can't see where that's coming from or why he's being slandered for it.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
Kill is absolutely correct in saying that Fleck walked in to a gold mine, and Fleck knows it. Yes, there is always room to improve most any situation but Kill and Claeys took this program from a laughing stock to respect and always completive on the field. In golf terms, Minnesota was a 30 handicap and Kill/Claeys got the Gophers down to a respectable 9 handicap in six years. Now it is up to Fleck to get the Gophers down to a low single digit player, that on any given day can look like one of the best teams in the country.
Click to expand...

Depends on your definition of a goldmine I guess. Hard to see a team with no clear starting QB on the roster and some other depth holes as a goldmine. Fleck certainly inherited a program that is in good shape with a solid foundation but Kill is basically setting him up to fail by calling it a goldmine and implying that great things should happen right away under Fleck.

A small step back this year would not be out of the realm of possibility. Not a 1-11 or anything like that but I could see the team finishing in that 6-8 win range in year one.
 

The battles Kill had to do with the administration at the U to try and get the school to fund a big time football program are vastly underrated. I'm sure Mason would back him up on that. Of course he wasn't a teddy bear behind the scenes, guy had to fight for everything over there. He exhausted all avenues to get that done, including enlisting Gerry Dinardo to constantly speak about the Gophers terrible facilities. ...and it worked. So it doesn't bother me that he had to sometimes throw a tantrum to get it done. Great man, great coach. Thanks Coach Kill.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom