Jerry Kill

[MNVCGUY]

He is under no obligation, but it would be silly to not give any credit to the guy who recruited a large number of your key performers. I am not saying that this team's success is anyone but Fleck's, it isn't. But that Empire Class is special, and that class was brought in by Jerry Kill.

Wasn't that class technically brought in by Claeys?

We will never really know how much credit Fleck would have given to Kill for this season because Kill chose to take the low road and take personal shots at Fleck and bad mouth the U of M. So at this point that bridge has been burned and if I was in Fleck's shoes I would not go out of my way to mention the old staff.

He praises those players a lot for the way they have bought into the system and become leaders. And yes, that has turned out to be a really special group and a big part of the defense which has been playing really well since the Purdue game last year.

 

[beavergopher]

I agree with the OP. With so many of Kill's recruits contributing it would have been a great scene to have Kill be on the sideline at one of the games, wave to the crowd and get his standing O. But unfortunately that will never happen. Jerry burned a lot of bridges here.

He burned more bridges than General Sherman and showed his true colors.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

I’m glad nobody is embittered except Kill...

His faux pas on the radio was bad, but I’d guess everyone here has gone off script a time or two in their lives. He’s probably a little tired, a little cranky. He’s not well. Kill doesn’t like PJF. So what? Some of you simply can’t accept that someone may not like PJF, or someone pointing out he didn’t/doesn’t communicate his ideas on culture change well at times, or that Kill knows him a lot better than any of us. Coyle’s bungled press conference was comparable in tone deafness to the Kill radio remarks and probably set the prior staff off and PJF blazing in talking about culture was throwing gas on the fire. Going further back the school’s crusade vs the accused players was much, much worse.

I don’t agree with what Kill said, he shouldn’t have said it, and to my knowledge still hasn’t apologized but it seems like a rather insignificant tempest in a teapot. I thought we were supposed to avoid being passive aggressive Minnesotans and get our REAL feelings out there!...Some of you just don’t like him. Fair enough.

 

[Flash30]

I’d bet good money on it that we wouldn’t be 8-0 with Kill as coach. Why do we keep talking about him? He’s not here.

 

[highwayman]

There is a percent of blame all around. Jerry Kill gets 80% of the blame for deciding to go the bitter route after his departure. He could be a favorite son around here and have a lifetime of standing ovations and cheers at Gopher football games that he shows up for. He already seemed petty when he said he would never step foot on the U campus again, and took it to a whole new level with that awful interview cutting Fleck and dredging up his personal life. Meanwhile, I do throw 20% shade at Fleck for usually avoiding mention/acknowledgement of the good job Kill did prior to Fleck's arrival.

I was a relentless Kill supporter from day one. One think that was fun at first was his relentless drive and self-deprecating sense of humor. Then JK ruined it for himself, and the fans. Jerry became who he really is, self-centered and massively egotistic. Sorry, but a guy like Jer has to be the center of attention, all day, every day.

That wears thin far more than the PJ schtick.

Thank you Jerry, for turning a short corner for Minnesota. PJ Fleck has 180'd it. Fleck can afford to be magnanimous if he wants but it isn't necessary. At this point JK would be required to be so. Kill is about 95% at fault.

 

[Ope3]

And to Fleck's credit, he did not respond publicly. We don't know, he may have responded in private, but at least he kept it professional in the public domain...

I give Fleck tons of respect for taking the high road with regards to Kill. Also most importantly (for results on the field) he has embraced and utilized the previous regime(s) recruits to maximum effectiveness.

Those current seniors and a few juniors didn't choose Fleck either but have bought in. Remarkable when those players originally signed for a completely different leadership style.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

I’d bet good money on it that we wouldn’t be 8-0 with Kill as coach. Why do we keep talking about him? He’s not here.

Yeah with all respect to Jerry.

I feel like we maybe saw the platu with him in 2014.

Still a great accomplishment as a coach ... but dude was not going to change offensive coordinators / that offense ...

 

[IrishGoph55]

WHat did Kill say about Fleck's wife/ marriage?

 

[Word]

ol' jer is a ball coach. it's who he is, it's in his blood. he helps turn boys into men and football is his vehicle. while i don't agree with everything he's done, and i cringe at the interview where he attacked pj and brought up the wife, but jer is likely looking on fondly as the empire class he helped recruit is impacting so many lives and winning so many games.

21 minutes to paste! Is that a new record?

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[edma0012]

I was against the Kill hire from day one- I thought he was unproven and unqualified for a B1G level job (It is not Kill's fault he was hired, that was Maturi)

I've never understood how so many fans missed the faux "aw shucks I'm just a ball coach" bit was done to hide his massive ego and "all about me-ism".

Nobody should be shocked he left town on a sour note and then doubled down on the sour grapes- then hopped around from job to job. Remember how one of his strengths was the continuity in his coaching staff? Now the guy has been what, 5 places in 4 years? That bit was all a fraud too, he desired only coaches unambitious enough to want to move up the coaching ranks. Didn't want to be over shadowed.

Kill aspired to be 8-5 most years- .500 in B1G was a goal- make a mid-level bowl game, and maybe once catch lighting and exceed expectations. That was his ceiling. He couldn't recruit the quarterback position at all- his highest-ranked recruit was a local gang member who never made it. Sure he played a part in the facility investments, he was good at selling himself and he gets some notation that he was around when it happened, but like with Mason and the on-campus stadium, the coach who actually wins with the new facilities will be remembered, and honestly, it isn't like Kill was the one trying to convince us our facilities sucked- we all could easily see that.

I could go on and on about how big a fraud that guy was- we are soooooo! much better off as a program since he left-the upgrades from the Kill/Claeys era to Fleck is even greater than what Kill was to Brewster- the evidence is all over the field, the classroom and the community.

Good riddance-

Ski U Mah- RTB- Go Gophers!

 

[Pompous Elitist]

We better hope PJF wins out after some of these posts.

 

[harley_gopher]

Jerry Kill = Grumpy bitter old man

Well... he really proved himself when he got on public radio and actually started crying with tears about why he couldn't coach anymore. It truly was sad...THEN one year later he is back in it. Really?
No 'F's' given for him.

Jerry Kill = Grumpy bitter old man

 

[GoodasGold]

you serious bro? no one on this board pays respect to him like i do. Gerald R. Kill (his real name if you are going to be "that guy") referred to himself as "ol jer" quite often in his press conferences.

Actually it is Gerald Radclyffe Killington III, whose family was out Newport Rhode Island. The aw’ shucks drawl was simply a gimmick to get into the arena of MAC coaching.

 

[Johnny Olson]

One thing to think about Boys and Girls.

Without Kill we would probably not have Fleck.

Its as simple as that.

 

[Pete smith]

I’d bet good money on it that we wouldn’t be 8-0 with Kill as coach. Why do we keep talking about him? He’s not here.

Amen! Do you Killites really think that “empirical “ class would have developed, like they are today, under Kill, Claeys, and Kline? I don’t.

 

[#2Gopher]

I hope Kill doesn't have too much anger tucked away in his soul. It will bring him down eventually like it brings everyone down when you are carrying anger. Kill was clearly a good guy who got caught off guard when things didn't go his way. Sounds like he always had things laid out for him until he decided to step down.

Fleck has done well in my opinion about this who fiasco. Not his job to keep bringing up the past regime. Furthermore I agree we would not be 8-0 at this point with good recruits coming in again next year and beyond. Time to move on.

 

[60's Guy]

Amen! Do you Killites really think that “empirical “ class would have developed, like they are today, under Kill, Claeys, and Kline? I don’t.

Okay, please explain “would have developed”. Smith and Brooks were arguably better and healthier.
Most all the rest were contributing at somewhere near the same level they are now. They were already significant contributors. TJ didn’t drop as many passes as a freshman. Coughlin always was a team guy, arguably more of a leader as a freshman. Devers exploded onto the scene as a freshman. Etc
Regarding you quoting Jerry would not be 8 and O? Why is that? The schedule has been very cooperative. I think momentum will certainly help. PJ does not.

PJ can coach...so could Kill and Claeys.

 

[60's Guy]

I hope Kill doesn't have too much anger tucked away in his soul. It will bring him down eventually like it brings everyone down when you are carrying anger. Kill was clearly a good guy who got caught off guard when things didn't go his way. Sounds like he always had things laid out for him until he decided to step down.

Fleck has done well in my opinion about this who fiasco. Not his job to keep bringing up the past regime. Furthermore I agree we would not be 8-0 at this point with good recruits coming in again next year and beyond. Time to move on.

So, PJ has 3 recruiting classes. Yet, The Empire class is overwhelmingly the best group. I’ll spot you Bateman and Mo...who are all these gems you refer to? PJ told us it was Spann Ford...and?
I don’t see the evidence you refer to on the field as better recruiting than we had. Are we judging by the claimed top 25 rankings or recruits on the field in the lineup?

 

[4four4]

I was against the Kill hire from day one- I thought he was unproven and unqualified for a B1G level job (It is not Kill's fault he was hired, that was Maturi)

Michigan fans complained about hiring Head Coach Bo Schembechler who was 40-17-3 at Miami Ohio. Boy they were furious with this MAC hire.

 

[GoForGold]

A Penn State forum has some discussion on this. Mixed opinions on both coaches and rumors about Fleck snubbing Kill. I guess there could be more the story than has been reported in the media.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Amen! Do you Killites really think that “empirical “ class would have developed, like they are today, under Kill, Claeys, and Kline? I don’t.

I'm not sure about all of them, but Barber, Martin, Coughlin, Winfield, Smith, and Brooks all were pretty darn good before Fleck came to be.

I don't know why you need to take the notion that is a special class that happened to be a Kill/Claeys class. That isn't taking anything away from PJ. Pretty much everyone in this entire thread has said the same thing, Kill burned bridges, etc., etc. There is pretty much no one on here defending him, yet you feel the need to create an argument where it doesn't exist.

Yes, I will give Kill credit for that class. He recruited them. No, I don't give him the credit for all of their development, but those kids were pretty special prior to Fleck arriving. That isn't a slight to Fleck or a defense of Kill. I also agree with you that we would definitely not be 8-0 with Kill or Claeys. I am extremely happy that Fleck is our coach but that doesn't force me to squint to deflect praise from other places.

Pssst. . . I also defended Brewster in this thread. So maybe I'm a Brewite.

 

[#2Gopher]

So, PJ has 3 recruiting classes. Yet, The Empire class is overwhelmingly the best group. I’ll spot you Bateman and Mo...who are all these gems you refer to? PJ told us it was Spann Ford...and?
I don’t see the evidence you refer to on the field as better recruiting than we had. Are we judging by the claimed top 25 rankings or recruits on the field in the lineup?

I'm not in to rankings. I'm in to player development and results.

 

[Spoofin]

I’d bet good money on it that we wouldn’t be 8-0 with Kill as coach.

Link?


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[Spoofin]

I've never understood how so many fans missed the faux "aw shucks I'm just a ball coach" bit was done to hide his massive ego and "all about me-ism".

You would be surprised how easily some coaches can fool fans about that.


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[Spoofin]

Amen! Do you Killites really think that “empirical “ class would have developed, like they are today, under Kill, Claeys, and Kline? I don’t.

A number of those players are on defense. I think there is some evidence to suggest you are wrong.


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[Panthadad2]

So, PJ has 3 recruiting classes. Yet, The Empire class is overwhelmingly the best group. I’ll spot you Bateman and Mo...who are all these gems you refer to? PJ told us it was Spann Ford...and?
I don’t see the evidence you refer to on the field as better recruiting than we had. Are we judging by the claimed top 25 rankings or recruits on the field in the lineup?

I'm curious, who is the "we" in your comment?

Fleck's recruiting results won't really be known until this year's freshman and sophmores are seniors and a few more years until we see how many players are in the NFL. That bar is pretty low right now.

 

[GFBfan]

I’d bet good money on it that we wouldn’t be 8-0 with Kill as coach. Why do we keep talking about him? He’s not here.

Agreed, but we might be 8*-0 with Kill or Claeys.

 

[PoockItInfor6]

I liked Kill, but you all forget how maddening RUTM offense was. And Empire is a great class, but each since have been at least as good!

 

[goldengophers]

I liked Kill, but you all forget how maddening RUTM offense was. And Empire is a great class, but each since have been at least as good!

The offensive game plans were extremely conservative and mediocre. As a program Gopher football is in a much better place today.

 

[tjgopher]

Most all the rest were contributing at somewhere near the same level they are now. They were already significant contributors. TJ didn’t drop as many passes as a freshman. Coughlin always was a team guy, arguably more of a leader as a freshman. Devers exploded onto the scene as a freshman.

Depends on your definition of significant contributors as freshmen. None of the the three you mentioned were contributing as freshmen at anywhere near the level they are now. None.

TJ had 14 catches for 141 yards his entire freshman year. He has had roughly that in single games multiple times last year and this year.
Coughlin started one game as a freshman and had two sacks for the year. More of leader then? C'mon now.
Devers had five tackles as a freshman for the entire season.

I don’t see the evidence you refer to on the field as better recruiting than we had.

I'd say Bateman, Autman-Bell, Mo, Morgan, Andries, Faalele, Dunlap are all worth mentioning. Currently a ton of FR and SO who have not seen the field on an every down basis who are going to be REALLY good (including Spann-Ford).