University of Minnesota Restructures Head Football Coach Jerry Kill’s Contract

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BleedGopher said:
St. Cloud Times: DeLand column: Kill's deal shows the system is broken

But this was the second raise and extension in three years for a coach who has lost two-thirds of his conference games, and 100 percent of his bowl games. In that regard, Kill’s contract seems like an exercise in excess.

Kill went from being the lowest-paid head coach in the Big Ten to the middle of the pack (No. 6).

Is it then reasonable to expect that the Gophers themselves will consistently be in the middle of the pack? They were last season (4-4 Big Ten, tied for sixth overall), but generally haven’t been for more than four decades.

http://www.sctimes.com/article/2014...ill-s-deal-shows-system-broken?nclick_check=1

Go Gophers!!
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Think the pretty obvious answer to that question is YES. Any coach in the 4th year at a school is going to be expected to start finishing consistently in the middle portion of the conference. Those that fail to get to that threshold tend to find themselves looking for a new job. Mason had the program firmly in the middle of the pack so their 4 decade comment is off base as well.
 

BleedGopher said:
St. Cloud Times: DeLand column: Kill's deal shows the system is broken

But this was the second raise and extension in three years for a coach who has lost two-thirds of his conference games, and 100 percent of his bowl games. In that regard, Kill’s contract seems like an exercise in excess.

Kill went from being the lowest-paid head coach in the Big Ten to the middle of the pack (No. 6).

Is it then reasonable to expect that the Gophers themselves will consistently be in the middle of the pack? They were last season (4-4 Big Ten, tied for sixth overall), but generally haven’t been for more than four decades.

http://www.sctimes.com/article/2014...ill-s-deal-shows-system-broken?nclick_check=1

Go Gophers!!
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This is just such a goofy take. They point out that in recent decades we've been towards the bottom of the conference (fair). And this past year Kill raised us to the middle. But then because his compensation was raised accordingly (from bottom to middle) the system is broken? Just strange, strange logic
 


Kaler chimes in, per the Daily:

What was the reasoning behind the University’s decision to extend coach Jerry Kill’s contract and increase his pay?

I think Jerry Kill’s a very good coach. I think he’s moved our program forward pretty dramatically, both on and off the field. Our win-loss record speaks for itself, but we have 35 Gopher football athletes who are Big Ten academic students. That’s a large number. I think it’s the largest of any public university in the Big Ten. I’m very proud of that. So when you look at a coach and his group of assistant coaches who’ve moved our program forward and then you look at that coach who is the lowest paid in the Big Ten, it seems to me that we need to make a statement about how much we value what he does and how he does it.

So we’ve moved him up to the midrange in the Big Ten. $2.1 million next year will still be below average in the Big Ten, but I think it sends an important message to our fans that we’re committed to Jerry Kill for the long-term.

How long have you been considering the contract and increase in pay?

We probably started noodling about this towards the end of last season.

Why were clauses in the contract added to allow an automatic termination and a potential post-coaching employment option?

I think both of those recognize that Jerry has some special conditions around his health, that we wanted to be able to be responsible — on the part of both the University and Jerry — in a situation that he’s unable to coach. Obviously, we’re not planning for that to happen.

http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2014/03/02/kaler-preps-capitol-vikings

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Kaler chimes in, per the Daily:

What was the reasoning behind the University’s decision to extend coach Jerry Kill’s contract and increase his pay?

I think Jerry Kill’s a very good coach. I think he’s moved our program forward pretty dramatically, both on and off the field. Our win-loss record speaks for itself, but we have 35 Gopher football athletes who are Big Ten academic students. That’s a large number. I think it’s the largest of any public university in the Big Ten. I’m very proud of that. So when you look at a coach and his group of assistant coaches who’ve moved our program forward and then you look at that coach who is the lowest paid in the Big Ten, it seems to me that we need to make a statement about how much we value what he does and how he does it.

So we’ve moved him up to the midrange in the Big Ten. $2.1 million next year will still be below average in the Big Ten, but I think it sends an important message to our fans that we’re committed to Jerry Kill for the long-term.

How long have you been considering the contract and increase in pay?

We probably started noodling about this towards the end of last season.

Why were clauses in the contract added to allow an automatic termination and a potential post-coaching employment option?

I think both of those recognize that Jerry has some special conditions around his health, that we wanted to be able to be responsible — on the part of both the University and Jerry — in a situation that he’s unable to coach. Obviously, we’re not planning for that to happen.

http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2014/03/02/kaler-preps-capitol-vikings

Go Gophers!!
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The health clause is an interesting wrinkle with this contract extension, but it seems very fair to both sides to have it in there given Kill's medical history. Makes it a lot easier to justify paying the higher salary when you have an out should things suddenly take a turn for the worse in terms of Kill's health.
 


MNVCGUY said:
The health clause is an interesting wrinkle with this contract extension, but it seems very fair to both sides to have it in there given Kill's medical history. Makes it a lot easier to justify paying the higher salary when you have an out should things suddenly take a turn for the worse in terms of Kill's health.
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Agreed. The health clause may very well be the major component of this restructuring....at least a very big part of it. The U and Kill were both in a precarious position with regards to the 'what ifs' surrounding his health and how it would affect the program.
 

station19 said:
Agreed. The health clause may very well be the major component of this restructuring....at least a very big part of it. The U and Kill were both in a precarious position with regards to the 'what ifs' surrounding his health and how it would affect the program.
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It is always best to cover these contingencies upfront in the contract before anything happens. I find it comforting to know that both sides understood this and addressed it in the contract. Can you imagine what the discussions would be like here on the GopherHole if something did happen and there was no agreement?
 

Killjoy said:
It is always best to cover these contingencies upfront in the contract before anything happens. I find it comforting to know that both sides understood this and addressed it in the contract. Can you imagine what the discussions would be like here on the GopherHole if something did happen and there was no agreement?
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Yeah, Souhan would go crazy and claim the U was doing nothing and showing no concern.................oh wait, he already did.
 




Adam Rittenberg chimes in:

Jesse from Minneapolis writes: With many football coaches receiving raises this offseason, I have to wonder: will this dilute the value and emphasis that AD Teague is trying to place on trying to build a stronger, better program here at Minnesota? I'd like to think that with Coach Kill's revised contract and raise, he's at least making close to the average market rate for a FBS coach, if not better or at it. But with MSU raising its profile through a nice raise for Coach Dantonio and even Bo Pelini raking in an extra dime, I fear this potentially sets the Gophers up as still trying to catch up to other higher-quality programs, especially since we're trying to improve our athletics facilities. Thoughts?

Adam Rittenberg: The facilities component is critical, Jesse, and Minnesota recognizes the need to upgrade its Sunday-Friday facilities after already improving its stadium. Kill understands that and seems to have bought into the long-term vision for Minnesota. Will Minnesota always be playing catch-up to a degree with coach salaries? Probably. But it's about having the right guy and the right vision. If Kill leads Minnesota to a Rose Bowl like Dantonio did at MSU, another raise will be in order. But the program also will be in a different position from a revenue/donations standpoint. Minnesota did what it had to do. Now the focus should be on facilities.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/96776/big-ten-tuesday-mailblog-11

Go Gophers!!
 

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