Kill a very sound, no-nonsense hire

[metrolax]

Jerry Kill has been at or near the top of my list from the beginning. My only reservation
was his health.

Assuming he'll be okay (and let's pray that he will), he represents a very sound hire.
The U has begun to demonstrate that they will fully support winning football, so they
didn't need to hire anyone sexy or glitzy. All they needed to do was hire a sound,
no-nonsense football coach that emphasizes fundamentals, hard work, and has a track
record of success. They did that 100% with Kill.

What you will see with Jerry Kill is a team that will be well-coached, well-lead, and will
be fundamentally sound in blocking and tackling. His teams are known for working
extremely hard, and they'll be bringing their lunch pails to work with them, for sure.

You're not gonna see a radical change in offensive schemes. The Iowa game demonstrated
that even when its not raining or snowing, footing can be delicate on that surface in cold
weather. Finesse offense is at a disadvantage there. Kill represents an all-weather approach to
football.

It will be a very low-profile regime, but one focused on strictly getting results. I believe
he knows that he has something already in place to build on, and will not go into
2011 needing to scratch everything that was working late in the season. Gray should
like running this offense and the running backs should be pleased as well. With almost
everyone back, this could be a situation where he takes the Gophers quietly to
the postseason in his first year.

People are reacting to Kill's hire the way they first reacted to Warmath's, but just like
then they are missing the boat here. Kill is going to have far more administrative support
than Warmath ever did.

The combination of Kill's sound football approach and the support from the U that football
is starting to get will yield results. I'm not gonna predict Rose Bowls and all that stuff, and neither
will he. What he will promise is that his teams will not be outworked, nor will his coaches.
He will be in charge, and there will be no questioning that. Each and every team on the
Gophers' schedule had better realize that they better show up to play.

Its not gonna take very long for this decent, sound, successful football coach to show
tangible results.

 

[skoalvikings]

Great post. I agree--this is the kind of coach I've wanted for a while now. Won't it be nice to be sitting in TCF in a couple of years watching a solid team that knows how to tackle, knows how to get a play in on time, knows how to kick the ball in-bounds, doesn't get sucked in on every fake, etc. etc. etc. The majority reaction on Gopherhole is absurd and nuts.

 

[FrothyGopher]

Good post. Someone on Buckyville compared this hire to when Bucky hired Bo Ryan for bball. Everyone there wanted a big, sexy hire and instead got a solid, fundamentally sound coach from the mid-majors. If we can expect the same results from Kill as Wisky got from Ryan, I'd be thrilled.

 

[BarnBurner]

Sound reasoning metro

Jerry Kill has been at or near the top of my list from the beginning. My only reservation
was his health.

Assuming he'll be okay (and let's pray that he will), he represents a very sound hire.
The U has begun to demonstrate that they will fully support winning football, so they
didn't need to hire anyone sexy or glitzy. All they needed to do was hire a sound,
no-nonsense football coach that emphasizes fundamentals, hard work, and has a track
record of success. They did that 100% with Kill.

What you will see with Jerry Kill is a team that will be well-coached, well-lead, and will
be fundamentally sound in blocking and tackling. His teams are known for working
extremely hard, and they'll be bringing their lunch pails to work with them, for sure.

You're not gonna see a radical change in offensive schemes. The Iowa game demonstrated
that even when its not raining or snowing, footing can be delicate on that surface in cold
weather. Finesse offense is at a disadvantage there. Kill represents an all-weather approach to
football.

It will be a very low-profile regime, but one focused on strictly getting results. I believe
he knows that he has something already in place to build on, and will not go into
2011 needing to scratch everything that was working late in the season. Gray should
like running this offense and the running backs should be pleased as well. With almost
everyone back, this could be a situation where he takes the Gophers quietly to
the postseason in his first year.

People are reacting to Kill's hire the way they first reacted to Warmath's, but just like
then they are missing the boat here. Kill is going to have far more administrative support
than Warmath ever did.

The combination of Kill's sound football approach and the support from the U that football
is starting to get will yield results. I'm not gonna predict Rose Bowls and all that stuff, and neither
will he. What he will promise is that his teams will not be outworked, nor will his coaches.
He will be in charge, and there will be no questioning that. Each and every team on the
Gophers' schedule had better realize that they better show up to play.

Its not gonna take very long for this decent, sound, successful football coach to show
tangible results.

I am hoping for solid results.

 

[Gopher_Nutz]

Great post. I agree--this is the kind of coach I've wanted for a while now. Won't it be nice to be sitting in TCF in a couple of years watching a solid team that knows how to tackle, knows how to get a play in on time, knows how to kick the ball in-bounds, doesn't get sucked in on every fake, etc. etc. etc. The majority reaction on Gopherhole is absurd and nuts.

+99

 

[highwayman]

To the team from Coach Kill:

"Any time there is transition, there is concern about position, concern about where I stand, what I do, all those kinds of things," Kill said as he addressed the team. "I call it Land of Opportunity when you come in. Everybody gets a chance. The only way I can evaluate you is to be around you, get to know you, watch you practice, see you how you handle yourself on and off the field."

"I do not treat everybody the same. I will tell you that now. I do not," Kill said. "We all come from different places. That's the great thing about the game of football. We all have to come together and become one. I'll treat you fairly and I'll be a little firm sometimes and I'll be demanding. My job is not to be your best friend. My job is to be your parent. I'm going to push you. I'm going to push you farther than you've ever been pushed in your life. My job is to take you to the next level. As a person, as a person going to school, getting your college degree and whatever dream you have. My job is to help you. If I don't, I shouldn't be here. I have to get the best out of you on the playing field, off the field and in the classroom."

Statistically, his offense was 21st in yardage (446 ypg, 7th in rushing 265 ypg); 13th in points (38 ppg) in NCAA.

Defense was 26th in yardage allowed (332 ypg – balanced rushing 27th and passing 24th); 16th in points (19 ppg) in NCAA.

I like that he believes in running the ball, and I think in that manner he can make MarQueis a superstar at QB. Also, the fact that his defense is balanced is a good sign.

Personality, not Brewster, not Mason. Seems pretty even-keeled. He believes in tough teams that work hard, and has one of the top graduation rates in the country. Time will tell. I hope he can recruit, too.

Took three miserable teams and turned them into winners and kept them there. He just wins…

 

[Gopherlovin]

Completely agree

After sleeping off immediate dissapointment, I have turned and think that Kill is a good coach for the situation we have.

I found this video and was impressed with his openness & accountability. He seems like a great guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGinYUtzg3E&feature=related

It's a long video, so I apologize, but if you skip to the 55 second mark, he discusses having open practices for all the media. He also seems to have a very healthy relationship with the local media. I think it would be a HUGE move for him to continue having practices open, but I'm not sure if there are any rules around it, since I know Brewster only had practice open for the first 30 minutes.

Opening it up for the entire time would allow the media to identify what he is all about. Hopefully this, and his apparent positive outlook on the media, would lead to additional coverage and insight into the program that would help outsiders (aka, us) get a better feel for what this team is going to be under him.

With all of the public outcry that is going on right now, we could use as much positive insight as possible, so people know how things are progressing. If nothing else, it would be a very positive change getting others' point of view instead of the coach stating how amazing everything is going in practice, and showing up on Saturday and watching a completely different picture on the field.

Here's to hoping that Coach Kill has tremendous success for the foreseeable future.

 

[nsmike]

I really like Coach Kill, Phil Miller on his blog, linked into a profile of him written by a Wisconsin beat writer, when asked why he left SIU after building it to a top 1AA team "because I'm a competitive sucker". He's a good coach out to prove he can succeed a the highest level just what we need.

 

[gophmeister]

I really like Coach Kill, Phil Miller on his blog, linked into a profile of him written by a Wisconsin beat writer, when asked why he left SIU after building it to a top 1AA team "because I'm a competitive sucker". He's a good coach out to prove he can succeed a the highest level just what we need.

I think a fair comparison to the Kill hiring is when Purdue hired Joe Tiller. Another candidate for the Purdue job that year was the rakish Glen Mason who brought his award-winning smile to Minneapolis, because we were willing to pay him the most. Purdue settled on Tiller.

 

[50PoundHead]

Good post. Someone on Buckyville compared this hire to when Bucky hired Bo Ryan for bball. Everyone there wanted a big, sexy hire and instead got a solid, fundamentally sound coach from the mid-majors. If we can expect the same results from Kill as Wisky got from Ryan, I'd be thrilled.

I was actually thinking about when the Badgers hired Dick Bennett, but Ryan works as well.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

To the team from Coach Kill:

"Any time there is transition, there is concern about position, concern about where I stand, what I do, all those kinds of things," Kill said as he addressed the team. "I call it Land of Opportunity when you come in. Everybody gets a chance. The only way I can evaluate you is to be around you, get to know you, watch you practice, see you how you handle yourself on and off the field."

"I do not treat everybody the same. I will tell you that now. I do not," Kill said. "We all come from different places. That's the great thing about the game of football. We all have to come together and become one. I'll treat you fairly and I'll be a little firm sometimes and I'll be demanding. My job is not to be your best friend. My job is to be your parent. I'm going to push you. I'm going to push you farther than you've ever been pushed in your life. My job is to take you to the next level. As a person, as a person going to school, getting your college degree and whatever dream you have. My job is to help you. If I don't, I shouldn't be here. I have to get the best out of you on the playing field, off the field and in the classroom."

Statistically, his offense was 21st in yardage (446 ypg, 7th in rushing 265 ypg); 13th in points (38 ppg) in NCAA.

Defense was 26th in yardage allowed (332 ypg – balanced rushing 27th and passing 24th); 16th in points (19 ppg) in NCAA.

I like that he believes in running the ball, and I think in that manner he can make MarQueis a superstar at QB. Also, the fact that his defense is balanced is a good sign.

Personality, not Brewster, not Mason. Seems pretty even-keeled. He believes in tough teams that work hard, and has one of the top graduation rates in the country. Time will tell. I hope he can recruit, too.

Took three miserable teams and turned them into winners and kept them there. He just wins…

Boy. I really, really like what he has to say. Of course, I liked a lot of what Brewster said too. If this guy backs it up, we'll be very lucky to have him leading this program.