STrib: Jerry Kill is an early front runner for Star Tribune Sportsperson of the Year

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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"Jerry Kill: The state of Minnesota might not have a full-fledged love affair going with the new Gophers head coach just yet, but we're willing to declare this at least a crush. He's winning points with honesty and straight-forward talk. He's nabbing prime in-state recruits. And most importantly, he's managing expectations to the point that a seven-win season could make him look like Bear Bryant."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/126738583.html

Go Gophers!!
 

It is fun to daydream and think what this town will do if he can surpass expectations this year. He has a chance. Expectations are LOW. If he can steal a couple big, unexpected wins (especially at home) and/or ambush USC on the road (very big "ifs"), the results coupled with all the good will that has been built up since he was hired will conspire to light a fire with the VERY LARGE herd of Minnesota bandwagon fans that drift among the pro sports and gophers, depending on who is producing. The difference is, with the new stadium and improving atmosphere surrounding Gopher Football, that migration might even lead to some long term hard core fans. It isn't going to take tens of thousands to make TCF a packed, fun environment on a long term basis.
 

BleedGopher said:
The state of Minnesota might not have a full-fledged love affair going with the new Gophers head coach just yet, but we're willing to declare this at least a crush.
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Hey - Rand stole my line from the other day!
 

It is a huge daydream. If he beats NDSU, New Mexico State, and Miami/Ohio it will be a light at the end of the tunnel for the ardent Gopher fans. For the skeptics it won't be. Even if we were to pull the unthinkable upset and beat USC you would open some eyes, but you would also have the naysayers stating: "Well, they got lucky" Folks, that is the state of Gopher football as much as I hate to say it. The Gophers need to pull off a 8-10 win season to really turn some heads and get fans on the bandwagon. A win against Iowa, Wisconsin, or even USC is not going to capture a new fan base. I honestly think we will need back to back BCS bowl stints to turn the corner and establish a new era of Gopher football.
 



The primary reason Gopher fans love Jerry Kill is that he isn't Tim Brewster. That attitude has been prevalent in the large majority of threads in GopherHole since Kill was hired, and it is one of the reasons he is the frontrunner for the Strib's Sportsman of the Year.

Jerry Kill not being Tim Brewster isn't going to get us any Big 10 victories this year, and it is light years away from establishing the Gophers as a winning Big 10 program year in and year out.
 

That's part of it, but not the primary reason. People warmed up to him once they took a look at this resume. People saw that he knew how to win and knew how to turn losing programs into winning programs.
 

this town has came close a few times in the last 10 years to embracing the program. unfortunately it just wasn't finished (the Michigan game). maybe in a few seasons Kill can get the program in that same situation and finish it out.
 

Expectations

I'm sure Kill is honest and he has demonstrated success as a HC. However, I think a lot of what he says is savvy and quite calculated and not as "aw-shucks" as it usually comes across (although this plays very well with the Minnesota crowd). Basically, the way he Eeyore-d himself into the office saying "gee, there is NO talent and conditioning on this team" will make it seem like a 4 win season is a major coaching accomplishment.

That being said, this is probably the best year to come in as a coach. If he DOESN'T win 4 games it should be a huge disappointment. USC is not a cupcake, but they are way down, losing scholarships and have no bowl to play for. It is probably the easiest time in years to beat USC and even if he loses by < 10 points it will be hailed as a success.

Follow that with 3 home OOC lightweights, then away at Purdue and Michigan who are both way down, and all the tough games (Neb, Wiscy, Iowa) are at home. I seriously doubt that there isn't enough talent on the team to at least play .500 football with this favorable schedule.
 



Go4Broke said:
Jerry Kill not being Tim Brewster isn't going to get us any Big 10 victories this year, and it is light years away from establishing the Gophers as a winning Big 10 program year in and year out.
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You do realize the a light year is a measure of distance and not time, right?
 

Go4Broke said:
Jerry Kill not being Tim Brewster isn't going to get us any Big 10 victories this year, and it is light years away from establishing the Gophers as a winning Big 10 program year in and year out.
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I'm pretty sure that not being Tim Brewster will probably get us several victories this year.
 

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