Minnesota gives Kill contract extension, raise

[MSOrange]

I agree again that the University should never have fired Glen Mason. That was a huge mistake in my opinion.

But that really has nothing to do with Kill.

And, frankly all this "woulda, shoulda" stuff is simply the difference between winning and losing at the college and professional levels.

The teams that execute generally win and the ones that don't generally lose. Complaining about what we should have done against Minny or Pitt or PSU is really beside the point. We didn't and we lost.

The fact is that Kill's team played well this year - they beat good programs.

And using your analysis, his team has every right to proclaim that the Gophers "should have" beaten SU in the Texas Bowl - if they had just covered the punt and had just covered the QB draw they would have won the game.

Kill is very highly regarded - he and his staff have turned around multiple programs.

He deserves the extension,

I agree with this. I think he's a really good coach. Took Southern Illinois from 1-10 in 2001 to 12-2 in 2007 and Northern Illinois from 6-7 to 10-3 in 3 years. Tim Brewster kind of left that program in a mess. I think there is a ceiling to how well you can do in Minnesota but think it would be a big mistake to get rid of Jerry Kill. I doubt they would get anyone much better than him, but I could be wrong.

 

[RF2044]

I agree with this. I think he's a really good coach. Took Southern Illinois from 1-10 in 2001 to 12-2 in 2007 and Northern Illinois from 6-7 to 10-3 in 3 years. Tim Brewster kind of left that program in a mess. I think there is a ceiling to how well you can do in Minnesota but think it would be a big mistake to get rid of Jerry Kill. I doubt they would get anyone much better than him, but I could be wrong.

Living in Minneapolis, I can't stand the Gophers or their fans. But I agree 100% with the above post. Minnesota is always going to be disadvantaged on the recruiting trail trying--they can't go head-to-head with elites very often, nor are people knocking down doors to play in such a cold weather climate [sound familiar?]. So their best bet to be competitive is to get a coach / staff who are strong in terms of developing talent and coaching it up, who have a track record of success. That's what Kill excels at--landing undervalued talent and coaching it up.

I'm not suggesting that the guy is Knute Rockne, but he's a solid coach for a team like the gophers, who's best bet is to build a consistent winner, get to bowls every year to help with selling the program on the recruiting trail, and every once in awhile have the personnel to put together a special season.

Even as I type the above, I'm aware of the similarities between their situation and ours.

 

[Chip]

Living in Minneapolis, I can't stand the Gophers or their fans. But I agree 100% with the above post. Minnesota is always going to be disadvantaged on the recruiting trail trying--they can't go head-to-head with elites very often, nor are people knocking down doors to play in such a cold weather climate [sound familiar?]. So their best bet to be competitive is to get a coach / staff who are strong in terms of developing talent and coaching it up, who have a track record of success. That's what Kill excels at--landing undervalued talent and coaching it up.

I'm not suggesting that the guy is Knute Rockne, but he's a solid coach for a team like the gophers, who's best bet is to build a consistent winner, get to bowls every year to help with selling the program on the recruiting trail, and every once in awhile have the personnel to put together a special season.

Even as I type the above, I'm aware of the similarities between their situation and ours.

Biggest difference is their decision to play home games outdoors. Forces their offense to lean toward run first, grind it out. That nearly killed them (pun intended) in the bowl game.

SU just doesn't need the roof to get fans to come during the October/November games, it needs it to get skill players to come as well.

 

[RF2044]

Biggest difference is their decision to play home games outdoors. Forces their offense to lean toward run first, grind it out. That nearly killed them (pun intended) in the bowl game.

SU just doesn't need the roof to get fans to come during the October/November games, it needs it to get skill players to come as well.

No argument there, with either point.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I don't understand why he continues to coach with his health issues, and why the university would still want him to coach.

This is what I find odd.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Living in Minneapolis, I can't stand the Gophers or their fans. But I agree 100% with the above post. Minnesota is always going to be disadvantaged on the recruiting trail trying--they can't go head-to-head with elites very often, nor are people knocking down doors to play in such a cold weather climate [sound familiar?]. So their best bet to be competitive is to get a coach / staff who are strong in terms of developing talent and coaching it up, who have a track record of success. That's what Kill excels at--landing undervalued talent and coaching it up.

I'm not suggesting that the guy is Knute Rockne, but he's a solid coach for a team like the gophers, who's best bet is to build a consistent winner, get to bowls every year to help with selling the program on the recruiting trail, and every once in awhile have the personnel to put together a special season.

Even as I type the above, I'm aware of the similarities between their situation and ours.

Good post, agree 100%.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

This is what I find odd.

I agree. Seems crazy.

 

[wfschrec]

I agree with this. I think he's a really good coach. Took Southern Illinois from 1-10 in 2001 to 12-2 in 2007 and Northern Illinois from 6-7 to 10-3 in 3 years. Tim Brewster kind of left that program in a mess. I think there is a ceiling to how well you can do in Minnesota but think it would be a big mistake to get rid of Jerry Kill. I doubt they would get anyone much better than him, but I could be wrong.

And did you see what Northern Illinois did under Novak? He had one bad season and retired ... prior to that the previous 7 seasons were comparable to or better than Kill ... lets not make it out to sound like he built that program ... hell Novak went 10-2 in 2003 and since Kill left look what they've done ... they've gotten better! I am not saying he is a horrible coach but you can't tell me that what he has done has warranted an extension or a raise thus far based on what is on the field ... especially with his health issues.

 

[wfschrec]

Living in Minneapolis, I can't stand the Gophers or their fans. But I agree 100% with the above post. Minnesota is always going to be disadvantaged on the recruiting trail trying--they can't go head-to-head with elites very often, nor are people knocking down doors to play in such a cold weather climate [sound familiar?]. So their best bet to be competitive is to get a coach / staff who are strong in terms of developing talent and coaching it up, who have a track record of success. That's what Kill excels at--landing undervalued talent and coaching it up.

I'm not suggesting that the guy is Knute Rockne, but he's a solid coach for a team like the gophers, who's best bet is to build a consistent winner, get to bowls every year to help with selling the program on the recruiting trail, and every once in awhile have the personnel to put together a special season.

Even as I type the above, I'm aware of the similarities between their situation and ours.

The difference is we are smart enough to play indoors and have a hell of a bball team to watch in the offseason.