Minnesota head football coach Jerry Kill announced his immediate retirement Wednesday morning, as the Golden Gophers coach has been battling with epilepsy since 2005.
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“I got a chance to know (Kill) a little bit at the Big Ten meetings”, Flood said.
Claeys said he wants the job on a permanent basis, and he’ll run the team with that mindset the rest of the season, giving Kill a few space rather than consulting him for advice. I want to coach the way I coached my whole life. Even without coach Kill, they’re still a great group, and coach Claeys will be a great leader. But the emotion a devastated Kill showed on Wednesday won’t soon be forgotten. He gave details about just how much he had ignored his doctors at times, said the seizures have returned, and gave us a glimpse into the fact that, even if he had been completely healthy, he wasn’t leading a healthy life. I will tell you that they are the finest coaches in the country.
Kill retires with a 29-29 record in five seasons at Minnesota and a 156-102 career record, including stints at Northern Illinois and FCS Southern Illinois.
Kill made that 32-year climb, and his toughness could never be questioned. Kill was plagued by health problems including problems with seizures due to epilepsy.
“I was shocked, really”, Michigan defensive backs coach Greg Jackson said Wednesday. But I want to listen this time. “Again, just a class act in every way”.
“From what I saw at practice, I thought it was the right thing to do at the right time for our season”.
Rutgers has not faced Minnesota since joining the Big Ten a year ago. He used words such as “physical” and “toughness”. The emergence of players like David Cobb and Mitch Leidner on offense led to Minnesota winning 4 games in conference and receiving their first ranking in the AP poll since 2003.
“This ain’t no way to live”, said Kill, via ESPN. It can’t reel in the kind of blue chip talent that Ohio State and Michigan bring in each season.
Minnesota didn’t always win. He has endeared himself to the students at the University of Minnesota and high school coaches across the state, building genuine relationships that have paid dividends on Saturdays at TCF Bank Stadium and on the recruiting trail.
You have an idea, then, what coaching meant to Kill.
But that’s secondary with Kill’s departure. I remember coming home after the two-day event and replaying all the interviews in my head.
Yes, Brewster was gone three weeks after the loss to NIU, and Maturi started preliminary work on his second search for a new football coach. It wasn’t laced with cynicism or skepticism. In 2014, the Owls, under Rhule’s leadership, went 6-6 (A four win increase in one year is very outstanding). Matter-of-fact. Tough and physical.
“If it’s a close game you have to step up and make something happen”, Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi said. You saw that while his hands shook and tears welled up while he struggled to say goodbye. “And he’s just not somebody that can let it go”. When Big Ten teams came to Minny, they knew they weren’t playing a hockey school.
While Claeys said there is no doubt they’ll miss Kill, the interim head coach left no doubt about what he wants.
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“This is not the way I wanted to go out”, Kill said. Claeys-coached players who were selected in the National Football League draft or signed as free agents include Wilson, Hageman, Vereen, Cedric Thompson, Cameron Botticelli and Derrick Wells.
