What's your bottom line?

So if he misses half of the games, does he keep his job?

I don't think that pretty much anything to do with his health could cause him to lose his job before the end of next year. If his health continues as is through next year and the Gophs go .500 in B1G play in '14 or thereabouts then he keeps his job and we'll continue this weird existence that we currently have where sometimes we have our coach on game day and sometimes we don't. For health reasons the only way he goes anytime soon is if he decides to go and since the odds of any of his staff getting the head job here at next to nothing, he's likely not going to go quietly into the night; although none of us really know he and his family's mindset about the thing. What is said publically and what is discussed behind closed doors is very likely quite different. Or, maybe over the next six months he gets the much talked about medications worked out and this goes away. Either way, we have a season to play out and I'm sure we're all pulling for the team to get right so that a better product is put on the field from here on out.
 

Nothing should matter except Wins & Losses... we'll see where we are in Year 5...

While Wins & Losses is clearly the most important thing, saying nothing should matter beyond that is not only extreme but wrong. I don't believe he's going to be fired before completing year 5. And honestly don't want him to. And while my patience has been stretched farther than I ever thought possible, I still believe they are improving as a whole each year under Kill.
 

This is a silly converstation.

His health might dictate an almost immediate departure.

Assuming his seizures become much more manageable (a big assumption) he will get 5 years.
 

I too have been a huge Kill supporter, I've met the man and was an even bigger fan after I had the chance to meet him. However, for the first time I am having my doubts, as much as it pains me to say. For me I think he gets a pass until next year, but if we go into the recruiting cycle and do not keep those that have verballed or if we don't improve by consensus the players that we get and then have another losing B10 schedule I'll have seen enough.

I've seen some concerning things. They preach that the coaching staff is trained to carry on in his absence but we are 1-3 in games in which Coach Kill has missed game time due to seizures. We've heard how great the strength coach is but we do not compete physically against B10 teams, we have not developed much of our own talent with the exception of Maxx Williams, where has Harbison been, is KJ Maye any good...what player that we have been told is a game changer has actually been proven to be a game changer? And the one we do have in Maxx William's they use him as a fullback in one game and then even though he is having a great game against Michigan and Michigan's TE is tearing it up we don't keep throwing him the ball? These things are concerning to me, so unless they make measured progress through next year I think the time has come to move on. I'd expect 2 B10 wins this year and be close to .500 next year in the Big, if not it's time to try, try, again.
 

While Wins & Losses is clearly the most important thing, saying nothing should matter beyond that is not only extreme but wrong.

How so? The only reason his health is even an issue is because we've lost the last 2 games. If the Gophers were 6-0 right now do u really think anyone would question whether his health affects his job? Seriously?

The problem is the product on the field has been sh*t these last 2 weeks & Kill has had a seizure so now you have a scapegoat...
 



How so? The only reason his health is even an issue is because we've lost the last 2 games. If the Gophers were 6-0 right now do u really think anyone would question whether his health affects his job? Seriously?

The problem is the product on the field has been sh*t these last 2 weeks & Kill has had a seizure so now you have a scapegoat...

Wait a second...didn't you see the "momentous" progress we made from the Iowa game to the Michigan game? What? You didn't? Me either.
 

0-8 this year and 2-6 next year and he is gone.
1-7 this year and 2-6 next year and maaaaaaybe he gets 2015.

Ya gotta win sometime.
 

So...we are happy if a coach wins with the previous regimes recruits and then loses the first year the team is entirely his (yr5), BUT when a coach struggles with the previous regimes recruits and his own inexperienced recruits he should be canned?

He needs to lose terribly with his own guys for a couple of years or take gigantic steps backwards before any coach gets canned.

WI was bad too, 3-5 (5-7 overall) including a 31 point loss to Indiana.

Nah, more like you made a horrible analogy, it happens, and should either delete it or move on.
 



It's fair to point out that if we won the Iowa game and Michigan game, nobody would be calling for a health related resignation. But that's only because WE"D HAVE WON SOME B1G GAMES! That's what this is about. How you go about getting to competitiveness is certainly important, but in the end its the conference record that measures success of a B1G coach.

Brewster had more B1G success then Kill. It's a fact. anyone that thinks we're sneaking away 3 conference wins this year is delusional (and if we did, it would make the Iowa loss even more egregious). Brewster had no idea how to sustain that level of competitiveness, he had no idea how to manage a B1G level program (having never done it before, this was no surprise to anyone)

Kill is much better at the admin side stuff of a fb program, since he's been in charge of programs for many years. What he has no experience in is running programs at this level. Hell, he's never even been an assistant at this level. So while he knows the plucky fundamentals all schools need (all schools at all levels) he clearly doesn't know how the be successful at this level.

You don't typically get 4 years+ to be competitive. If we go 0-8 this year, what about what Kill has shown us to date suggests he deserves another year? We gave Brewster another year and it was a disaster. What if the same happens to Kill? Are we sitting here in the exact same spot?

We can't predict the future. The evidence pointing to an improved B1G record next year is the same as that suggesting status quo. This should have been our year to win a few games and show some life. Subjectively, it feels like we are 2 years away still from where we should expect to be.

Objectively, I don't know if we will ever get there.

Why does Kill deserve 5 years? Because we signed him to a 7 yr contract? Because we feel bad for his physical ills? Because he tries hard and keeps all of his assistants every year? Because he is nice to the MN high school coaches? Because he talks and sounds like how we think a coach should talk and sound like?

He can't win big games. Its a fact. Time to find somebody to get in here that can. If Brewster can win 3 conference games, why can't Kill win at least that many?
 

How so? The only reason his health is even an issue is because we've lost the last 2 games. If the Gophers were 6-0 right now do u really think anyone would question whether his health affects his job? Seriously?

The problem is the product on the field has been sh*t these last 2 weeks & Kill has had a seizure so now you have a scapegoat...

Most fans wouldn't question, that's true. Souhan types would still. But I have to measure all things Kill does, not just wins and losses at this point. I don't want cheating, bad characters, bad graduation rates, bad relationships with instate coaches and probably more I am not thinking about at this moment. At some point wins and losses will be all I can use to determine whether he should continue. As he has improved all areas I mentioned above minus the wins I am still saying there is improvement to be measured and counted at this point in his tenure.
 

Okay, maybe " really bad" isn't the right term.

During the past 44 years we have only had 1 6-conference-win team (1973). We had 5-conference-win teams in 1986 (the same year Oklahoma beat us 63-0 and we lost to Pacific (huh?) - so I don't know if I'd count that as a great season), 1990, 1999 and 2003.

I would challenge you to find any other major conference team with as few good season as we've had. The only ones I can find are Duke, Iowa State and Indiana.

Me neither, that why I said "They were good for 6 of those years. Average for 11 and mediocre to "really bad" for 28." You think that "great" and "good" mean the same thing or are you just dead set on claiming that they've never had a "good" season?

As for looking for other teams that have been as bad why? Is there anybody out there who thinks they've been good for all those years?
 

Wait a second...didn't you see the "momentous" progress we made from the Iowa game to the Michigan game? What? You didn't? Me either.

Don't quote me on that, as I didn't say it. But if you can't see any type of progress for the football team under Kill's tenure then I don't think your being objective.
 



It's
Kill is much better at the admin side stuff of a fb program, since he's been in charge of programs for many years. What he has no experience in is running programs at this level. Hell, he's never even been an assistant at this level. So while he knows the plucky fundamentals all schools need (all schools at all levels) he clearly doesn't know how the be successful at this level.

Why does Kill deserve 5 years? Because we signed him to a 7 yr contract? Because we feel bad for his physical ills? Because he tries hard and keeps all of his assistants every year? Because he is nice to the MN high school coaches? Because he talks and sounds like how we think a coach should talk and sound like?

He can't win big games. Its a fact. Time to find somebody to get in here that can. If Brewster can win 3 conference games, why can't Kill win at least that many?

Wow. You're off to one heckuva start here in only 23 posts. Keep it coming!! You're on a roll!!
 

I understand your visceral emotional reaction and faith but in practical terms we have to beat WI, IA, and NE at their own game and no amount of positive feelings is going to make that a practical reality.

Does this mean you advocate or are willing to accept ncaa violations or the gutting of some university athletics to allow more money for football? Because that is what we are up against. This so-called fan base continues to demand conference relevance while simultaneously insisting on a squeaky clean program. Realists surely must see that is somewhere between rare and impossible. Even programs willing to pull some fast ones have difficulty staying on top. How do you wins-losses bottom liners expect any staff to accomplish that here without a few well-timed violations? Perhaps it's not so much realism as tantrum.
 

Most fans wouldn't question, that's true. Souhan types would still. But I have to measure all things Kill does, not just wins and losses at this point. I don't want cheating, bad characters, bad graduation rates, bad relationships with instate coaches and probably more I am not thinking about at this moment. At some point wins and losses will be all I can use to determine whether he should continue. As he has improved all areas I mentioned above minus the wins I am still saying there is improvement to be measured and counted at this point in his tenure.

Fair enough & I agree. I believe something a lot of people seem to forget is that Kill is also trying to fix a culture here which is more then the x's & o's & you can definitely see the improvement there...
 

I think all coaches should have five years - even Wacker had five years. But if Kill wins zero to two conference games this year and next, the knives may be out and the pressure on Teague too much. If that happens, I hope the AD has a candidate with more than one year's experience!
 

Fair enough & I agree. I believe something a lot of people seem to forget is that Kill is also trying to fix a culture here which is more then the x's & o's & you can definitely see the improvement there...

Good work, thailleagle. Kill has said everywhere he's been that it's all connected. When he says fan support helps, it's not just something that sounds good. He really believes everybody from the administration down to the water boy are part of this and he's so charismatic it really does happen. People buy in. Looks to me like the players are busting their tails. Some of those bounces will start to go our way. Some of those big plays will connect and turn the games around. If this season finishes in disaster, it will be a shame, but winning games is just around the corner and it will be a fun ride.
 

Good work, thailleagle. Kill has said everywhere he's been that it's all connected. When he says fan support helps, it's not just something that sounds good. He really believes everybody from the administration down to the water boy are part of this and he's so charismatic it really does happen. People buy in. Looks to me like the players are busting their tails. Some of those bounces will start to go our way. Some of those big plays will connect and turn the games around. If this season finishes in disaster, it will be a shame, but winning games is just around the corner and it will be a fun ride.

This is why I say he needs 5 years MINIMUM... & also why I believe they already gave him his extension... he's done more then the eye can see & that's something they want to invest in...
 


Kill is making progress and get's next year, and deserves it, unless the health thing get's worse. The long term thing that concerns me is his ability to win big games, to be able to out coach others at a high level. I would like to know what others think regarding the success or lack of success he had in the playoffs while at Southern Illinois. Was it due to the program or due to getting out coached? It makes me wonder if guys like Craig Bohl or Bob Nielsen are better coaches because they've been able to beat everyone at their level. Look at Brian Kelly and the success he had at Grand Valley State. I think Kill is outstanding at building a program and I'm a big fan, but I wonder if he and his staff will be able to gameplan to beat the upper echelon teams in the Big Ten and in college football as a whole. I definitely think he deserves through next year but if he doesn't win 3 or 4 Big Ten games next year while being very competitive in most all Big Ten games then I think it would be time to get somebody who could take the program to the next level, and I have good confidence that with Kaler and Teague we would get that next level. If that happened, I would still love coach Kill and be extremely grateful for the yeoman's work he had done to rebuild this program from the ashes and doing it the right way. Here's hoping for much improvement and success over the next year and a half. Go Gophers!!!
 

Just a little bit of honesty and openness would be nice. Have yet to get that from the folks currently in power.

Nonetheless, even if there had been some real talk from the U, the end result is inevitable.
 

Just a little bit of honesty and openness would be nice. Have yet to get that from the folks currently in power.

Nonetheless, even if there had been some real talk from the U, the end result is inevitable.

What kind of things would you like them to say?

The whole problem with the media going off after Kill's first seizure this year was they kept saying Teague really messed up, yet never actually said what they really wanted to hear from him.
 

What kind of things would you like them to say?

The whole problem with the media going off after Kill's first seizure this year was they kept saying Teague really messed up, yet never actually said what they really wanted to hear from him.

Like I said, just a little bit of honesty and openness. Especially when Kill gets credit from so many for being "open" when he's absolutely not. The guy wouldn't even say the word "epilepsy" and would call having a seizure, having "a situation".

He's been on TV recently talking about his seizures going back 8 years. Reality says 20+ years.

I'd like him to say nothing or tell the truth.

When Claeys this weekend says, "I can count on one hand the number of practices Coach Kill has missed", I wish he would tell the truth. That's complete nonsense.

Blaming seizures on heat or an adjustment to meds - could those be contributing factors? Perhaps. Let's be open and honest though - stress is likely a huge factor/trigger in the frequency of his seizures. Any suggestion of stress being a factor is quickly dismissed by Kill and the U. Ridiculous.

When Maturi said Kill checked himself into Mayo, Kill later said that's not true.

Teague says "it's really not a big deal" when talking about Kill's "situations" , but then Kill can't make the Senior Banquet... can't come to practice.. is hospitalized for days... that's not helpful. It is a big deal. Stop the B.S. It's serious. Seizures beget seizures.

Many people seem to think "supporting Jerry Kill" means he should be praised a head coach and his health shouldn't matter one bit.

But... some might say supporting Jerry Kill means removing him from the head coach position. Some might say keeping Kill on as head coach is being complicit in adversely affecting his health.

Let's put the man before the program. He may be literally erasing time off his life by working at the U. Sure, that's his choice.. but some would argue that truly supporting him is helping him exit as gracefully as possible so that he can concentrate on his health and just living life.

If you believe stress doesn't factor into his health issues at all, then we simply disagree.. I do think it's likely a big factor.
 

Like I said, just a little bit of honesty and openness. Especially when Kill gets credit from so many for being "open" when he's absolutely not. The guy wouldn't even say the word "epilepsy" and would call having a seizure, having "a situation".

He's been on TV recently talking about his seizures going back 8 years. Reality says 20+ years.

I'd like him to say nothing or tell the truth.

When Claeys this weekend says, "I can count on one hand the number of practices Coach Kill has missed", I wish he would tell the truth. That's complete nonsense.

Blaming seizures on heat or an adjustment to meds - could those be contributing factors? Perhaps. Let's be open and honest though - stress is likely a huge factor/trigger in the frequency of his seizures. Any suggestion of stress being a factor is quickly dismissed by Kill and the U. Ridiculous.

When Maturi said Kill checked himself into Mayo, Kill later said that's not true.

Teague says "it's really not a big deal" when talking about Kill's "situations" , but then Kill can't make the Senior Banquet... can't come to practice.. is hospitalized for days... that's not helpful. It is a big deal. Stop the B.S. It's serious. Seizures beget seizures.

Many people seem to think "supporting Jerry Kill" means he should be praised a head coach and his health shouldn't matter one bit.

But... some might say supporting Jerry Kill means removing him from the head coach position. Some might say keeping Kill on as head coach is being complicit in adversely affecting his health.

Let's put the man before the program. He may be literally erasing time off his life by working at the U. Sure, that's his choice.. but some would argue that truly supporting him is helping him exit as gracefully as possible so that he can concentrate on his health and just living life.

If you believe stress doesn't factor into his health issues at all, then we simply disagree.. I do think it's likely a big factor.

You might be right on the 20+ years, I think they've mentioned the seizures the same time he was diagnosed with cancer. If it is truly the case that he has only been having them for eight years, it might be somewhat early in treatment period. Full disclosure I'm not a doctor or an epileptic.
 

Like I said, just a little bit of honesty and openness. Especially when Kill gets credit from so many for being "open" when he's absolutely not. The guy wouldn't even say the word "epilepsy" and would call having a seizure, having "a situation".

He's been on TV recently talking about his seizures going back 8 years. Reality says 20+ years.

I'd like him to say nothing or tell the truth.

You want the truth? You can't handle the truth! Just kidding. I think we're getting open and honest, but I also believe many P.R. factors weigh on how it is disseminated in a complicated situation, including a person's right to a certain amount of privacy and concern over media's mishandling of the truth. Yep. Believe it or not, the media can actually take things out of context (do you know who Jim Souhan is?). Once something is printed incorrectly on Page 1, a newspaper's tiny Page 4 retraction/correction doesn't fix the damage done. Did you notice in Jerry's first press conference after this season's first seizure that when pressed to elaborate on the health issue, he told the reporter he would be happy to talk to them one-on-one after?

When Claeys this weekend says, "I can count on one hand the number of practices Coach Kill has missed", I wish he would tell the truth. That's complete nonsense.

Do you know something? A different number?

Blaming seizures on heat or an adjustment to meds - could those be contributing factors? Perhaps. Let's be open and honest though - stress is likely a huge factor/trigger in the frequency of his seizures. Any suggestion of stress being a factor is quickly dismissed by Kill and the U. Ridiculous.

I believe no one knows for sure what the triggers are. If you know, please share so we can fix this.

When Maturi said Kill checked himself into Mayo, Kill later said that's not true.

I can't seem to find the contradiction.

Teague says "it's really not a big deal" when talking about Kill's "situations" , but then Kill can't make the Senior Banquet... can't come to practice.. is hospitalized for days... that's not helpful. It is a big deal. Stop the B.S. It's serious. Seizures beget seizures.

Your definition of "big" and mine might differ. I have a really big fish. It's 6 inches long. In my 12 inch fish bowl, it's huge, but compared to your 15-foot shark it's not.

Yes, Kill's condition is BIG. It's driving everyone crazy and many of us wish/hope they can get it controlled. But, until they do, Jerry and his staff are getting this thing built...the right way. And, I believe the players when they say it's not a big deal.

Many people seem to think "supporting Jerry Kill" means he should be praised a head coach and his health shouldn't matter one bit.

But... some might say supporting Jerry Kill means removing him from the head coach position. Some might say keeping Kill on as head coach is being complicit in adversely affecting his health.

Let's put the man before the program. He may be literally erasing time off his life by working at the U. Sure, that's his choice.. but some would argue that truly supporting him is helping him exit as gracefully as possible so that he can concentrate on his health and just living life.

If you really want to "put the man before the program" then get behind him, beside him, and get to work. Do your job. Do your part. Help us move forward. Help us change the culture. Be positive. Be determined. Set a goal and strive every waking moment towards it.

But, don't try to do somebody else's job...like decide what's best for Jerry personally. He's a football coach, and a darn good one. If you take that away - "remove him for his own good" ... so he can "live life" - you'll actually be killing him. Let's not do that. Please?

If he can't get it done here and fails, by all means, go ahead and remove him. We all want a program we can be proud of and that ultimately means winning.

If you believe stress doesn't factor into his health issues at all, then we simply disagree.. I do think it's likely a big factor.

Stress isn't good for anyone. And lots of us have some in our lives. It's how we deal with it that matters, and I believe part of the Kill package is remaining calm in stressful situations and filtering it down through his staff to the players so they can perform in crunch time.

Is stress a contributing factor to his seizures? I'm not sure. You "think" it is, but I'm guessing you don't have any data, just a hunch. Maybe you have an extensive medical background in dealing with epilepsy and, if so, then call his doctor and pitch in on solving this.
 

Kill is making progress and get's next year, and deserves it, unless the health thing get's worse. The long term thing that concerns me is his ability to win big games, to be able to out coach others at a high level. I would like to know what others think regarding the success or lack of success he had in the playoffs while at Southern Illinois. Was it due to the program or due to getting out coached? It makes me wonder if guys like Craig Bohl or Bob Nielsen are better coaches because they've been able to beat everyone at their level. Look at Brian Kelly and the success he had at Grand Valley State. I think Kill is outstanding at building a program and I'm a big fan, but I wonder if he and his staff will be able to gameplan to beat the upper echelon teams in the Big Ten and in college football as a whole. I definitely think he deserves through next year but if he doesn't win 3 or 4 Big Ten games next year while being very competitive in most all Big Ten games then I think it would be time to get somebody who could take the program to the next level, and I have good confidence that with Kaler and Teague we would get that next level. If that happened, I would still love coach Kill and be extremely grateful for the yeoman's work he had done to rebuild this program from the ashes and doing it the right way. Here's hoping for much improvement and success over the next year and a half. Go Gophers!!!

Sometimes in sports players make plays and sometimes the other guy makes plays. Who wins often comes down to a bounce. Sometimes a coach calls a play he wishes he had back. I think Jerry and his staff put players in the position to make plays and win, and have them prepared. I've read so much complaining about play-calling and it's laughable. I've seen many plays this year, especially the last two weeks, that could have changed momentum, that just weren't executed properly. But, they're getting there. This thing is a lot closer to turning the corner than people realize.
 

I just wish those who want to discuss causes and symptoms of epilepsy would also provide us with their bona fides, if any. Technically speaking, I am epileptic, though luckily the condition is well controlled with medication and it has been 20 years since the last seizure. One thing I know. There is no blueprint for this disease or its control. Some of us are very stable with meds. Some experience periodic instability and have to start all over again trying to find a formula that works. Some never find complete control.

Many of you have mentioned stress and I believe that in general it is an important factor. But so can simply changing one's routine. For some people light patterns seem to pull the trigger. The problem is, most of us, at least to my knowledge, never know as a certainty what will trigger a seizure. So the focus tends to be more on control than on finding definitive causes. Very frustrating.

Regarding Kill, he has the best medical attention available. Every statement I have seen or heard issued by the University regarding his treatment and prognosis has seemed reasonable to me. Having said that, I believe it's likely that every recurrence brings our coach a step closer to leaving his profession, at least as he now defines it. The only people here who have enough information to make such a decision are Kill, his doctors and as the situation affects their institution, the university administration.

Sorry, I feel wordy tonight and have taken the long way around the warming house to say it seems wise to not opine in an authoritative way about a complex medical condition unless there is reason to believe you know of what you speak.
 

I doubt very much if Kaler and NT are thinking about making a change at this time, assuming Kill's health doesn't becomes a problem that can't be managed. If they fire coach Kill at this time, after all he has done to change things at Minnesota, I doubt that any coaches would view Minnesota in a very favorably light. There is a reason that Kaler extended coach Kill's contract to seven years. He realized that this was going to require patience.

His health on game days is a problem. We have no obligation to accommodate his illness so many times during game days. There is a reasonable view that a one time work stoppage could be tolerated but, not when he is needed to manage important games. His disease management might be more suitable for a school where there is not such a large revenue stream in play. Here, we could easily see attendance drop with fewer victories with the coach sidelined. I was going to take my family to a game, and then the unthinkable happened -- I thought it was a high pressure game and the coach might not be able to coach the game, so we didn't go. Well, it turned out my hunch was correct. This must play out in more than my case.

My question from three years ago is haunting. Can the coach manage the disease well and not have it affect the team and school? I got crucified for asking it three years ago, please don't make this about me, like back then.
 

It seems like there are a few key questions that everyone needs to answer in regards to Kill.

1)Does the improvement in NC games from year 1-3 count?
I say yes, it was not a tough schedule and we won going away in all 4 games. This is something that haunted the previous regime, and needs to become a given if the program is ever going to make a bigger time bowl game.

2)Does Kill's track record in lower divisions and FBS count?
I say yes, everywhere he went he was able to eventually win, with equal talent to whatever levels he was competing in, or he was able to accumulate better talent through whatever mean necessary to give himself a team that can win.
I think this one is taking longer at the B1G level than we'd like, but it's hard to say there's not more talent or the players this year aren't better coached than in 2010 when Kill got here(penalties, special teams, tackling, off field issues, academics, etc)

3)Has Kill proven himself a good recruiter here?
I say yes, I'm dumbfounded by people who just look at rankings and stars for their opinion on this.
There are plenty of guys playing really well that Kill and his staff found that were blatantly overlooked or unranked. The rankings don't matter if the talent never develops.

4)Does Kill's epilepsy matter if he wins?
No, and it might even help honestly if you have a winning coach with an inspirational story. The rub of course, with all this is he has to win first.

Bottom line from the OP:
Kill has to win, like any coach does to keep his job.

He still should have time to do it his way, and to get his recruits integrated into his program.

He got an extension right off the top, because he convinced Kaler he'd need another year for this(5 instead of 4, you need to extend him with 2 years left, so 7 total)

His seizures are another obstacle that he and his staff need to overcome, or in essence gameplan for. But that's on him and his staff, again it comes down to wins and losses like any football coach.

You need to look big picture on this stuff and be patient. Today nobody wants to wait, nobody wants to think outside of their worldview.

Kill gets 5 years to get the program to a winning record that impresses.
He gets it unless he decides to walk away.
If he walks away, he does it on his terms not the fans' or media's.
We should all be praying he stays, builds, and wins.
More turnover and turmoil in this program isn't good for anything and would be much more damaging IMO than Kill fighting through his seizures and staying.
 




Top Bottom