My thoughts on Kill

[grunkiejr]

I get that some of you had high expectations for a huge name to take this job. I get that some of you are angry and feel misled by Joel Maturi's comments of looking for a Tubby Smitho-type hire. However, I think most of you are acting like a bunch of drama queens.

Let me just say that Jerry Kill is a good football coach. He has won HS State Championships, he won at D2, he won 3 Conference Championships at DI-AA (Southern Illinois) and he has won in a non-AQ DI conference. His name is not on the hot list of coaches because he took the road less traveled by moving up from class to class by winning. Most "hot coaches" get their name out there by moving up the DI position coaching ranks to coordinator to non-AQ coach to BCS level head coach. Al Golden is a popular name that took the more conventional route and is due for his BCS chance and all Jerry Kill and his team did this year is beat Golden's Temple team by 14 points. College coaches know and respect Jerry Kill and in time our fans will learn to do the same.

I think the stat I read was that he has had 15 1000 yard rushers in 13 seasons. His offense will run the football effectively, they will use multiple formations (pro-set, shotgun/spread, and pistol) and they will attack defenses with play-action and bootlegs when teams overcommit to stopping the run. His offensive system is a tailor made for a player like MarQueis Gray. Running backs like Brandon Jacobs have been successful in his system and smaller guys like Chad Spann (very similar to Duane Bennett) have been successful in his system. We haven't had a 1000 yard rusher since 2006 but I'd be willing to bet he gets us back there within the next two years.

Jerry Kill isn't flashy, he isn't charismatic, and quite frankly he isn't a handsome man. However, his teams will be prepared, fundamentally sound, and they will play hard. A "Tubby Smith-like hire" he is not but he is a good football coach that just wins football games.

 

[gophmeister]

+1

 

[The 12th Man]

Dude is ugly as sin but he can coach the hell out of a football team. I can't wait for next season to see what he can do.

 

[WriterGoph]

I totally agree with everything you said. The worst thing that happened during this whole process were the Petersen rumors - it inflated everyone's expectations. It's too bad Maturi said some of the stuff he said, but I can't wait to see spring practice start and to see what Kill can do with our returning O and Marqueis.

 

[Nashvlgopher]

Nice post.

 

[Go4]

grunkjer, stop making things up. kill never won a national title at siu. he got to the semis once but mostly got knocked out of the first round. did you expect us not to look that up and just take your word for granted?

that being said, let's give him a chance.

 

[grunkiejr]

grunkjer, stop making things up. kill never won a national title at siu. he got to the semis once but mostly got knocked out of the first round. did you expect us not to look that up and just take your word for granted?

that being said, let's give him a chance.

You are correct. My bad. I thought I had read that he won 2 NC's there. I guess I should have verified that. I'll edit.

 

[stevedave23]

I don't doubt Kill can "coach 'em up" but how is he going to recruit the talent necessary to beat Nebraska and Michigan?

If we're going to be balanced and realistic about his successes let's do the same with his weaknesses.

 

[GoAUpher]

grunkjer, stop making things up. kill never won a national title at siu. he got to the semis once but mostly got knocked out of the first round. did you expect us not to look that up and just take your word for granted?

that being said, let's give him a chance.

I think he meant conference championships. Kill won 2 of those while at SIU.

 

[grunkiejr]

I don't doubt Kill can "coach 'em up" but how is he going to recruit the talent necessary to beat Nebraska and Michigan?

If we're going to be balanced and realistic about his successes let's do the same with his weaknesses.

That remains to be seen and that is true of virtually any coach that is moving from a non-AQ to a BCS level school. I'm hopeful that at a minimum we keep Thomas Hammock on staff. He was Brewster's best recruiter and he happens to have ties to NIU as a player and coach.

 

[gophmeister]

I don't doubt Kill can "coach 'em up" but how is he going to recruit the talent necessary to beat Nebraska and Michigan?

If we're going to be balanced and realistic about his successes let's do the same with his weaknesses.

No clue. We'll have to wait and see. My sincere hope is he can make something out of the guys Brew left behind and then sell that success to potential recruits down the road.

 

[Hates Monikers]

"I think most of you are acting like a bunch of drama queens."

Some are. But I think that's an overstatement and unfair for most people. I'm okay with Kill. I don't see how anybody can say that he's any worse than Hoke, Sumlin and the other B-listers. I really like that he's done all his work in the Midwest, and Frank Mangino had some recent success in the Midwest without looking like Brad Pitt. I'm cautiously optimistic.

But you can't definitively say that he's any better than those guys, either. Some of us were hoping for more. We were unable to get them -- fine. That's where the program is at right now, and Kill was the best we could do, for better or worse. Hopefully, for the better. But if you don't understand why people might be underwhelmed, even if you don't agree with it, you are really looking at this through maroon-colored glasses.

 

[grunkiejr]

But if you don't understand why people might be underwhelmed, even if you don't agree with it, you are really looking at this through maroon-colored glasses.

I understand completely why most people might be underwhelmed. I think I covered that by saying a Tubby Smith-like hire he is not.

FWIW I've got a friend that has coached against Kill while Kill was at NIU. He is very high on Kill and his staff and said that he thinks it is "a solid hire for Minnesota." Between the comments from my friend and what I saw with my own two eyes twice against the Gophers and also in games against Purdue and Wisconsin I like what Kill brings to the table. I fancy myself as fairly knowledgeable on college football and I always considered Kill a good back up plan if we couldn't land a coach like Dan Mullen, Mike Stoops, etc so I'm probably a little less underwhelmed than the average GH poster.