The University of Minnesota announced Wednesday morning that head football coach Jerry Kill is retiring because of health reasons. “Jerry Kill’s such a battler, the things he’s gone through and overcome to do what he loves and to be able to do what he loves… there’s nobody that gets as much enjoyment out of doing what they do than Jerry Kill”.
Advertisement
Jerry Kill’s announcement of his retirement on Wednesday has impacted more than just his fellow coaching staff and players.
Sambursky says Kill also showed how selfless he is by making this heartbreaking decision.
Despite the fact that the team couldn’t reach the Big Ten title game in his tenure, Kill certainly left an impact on the program and the players that have come through.
Rutgers has not faced Minnesota since joining the Big Ten past year. If you watched the press conference, he was tearing up the whole time. “I don’t want somebody to have to worry if I am going to drop on the field”.
“Coach Claeys is probably one of the smartest guys I’ve met, especially when it comes to football”, Martin said.
“Let me start by sending my prayers and wishes to Coach Kill”, Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said after his team’s practice on Wednesday morning.
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that prior to yesterday, Kill said he hadn’t had a seizure in more than a year. On October 5, another seizure kept him from traveling to Michigan, and he took a short leave for treatment.
Kill, 54, had a career record of 156-102 and was 29-29 in four-plus seasons at Minnesota. “I’ve never done anything else; that’s the scary part”.
‘I stood by him through his episode two years ago and through a few pretty harsh criticism and I thought it was the right thing to do then and it’s the right thing to support him now, ‘ Kaler said. The man loved being a football coach to his core. In 2005, he was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 44 after suffering a second seizure while on the sidelines at Southern Illinois. It will be good for the conference if coach Claeys can keep the Gophers on the same path coach Kill set them on. Claeys filled in for Kill in 2013, leading the Gophers to a 4-3 record with victories over Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State and Indiana.
In a news conference, he told reporters he did so at the advice of doctors. Kill has several other longtime assistants, including offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover, who’ve been with him through stops at FCS Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, and Minnesota.
I profiled Kill a year ago for CNN.com in a piece called “Grit Beyond the Game”.
Louisville graduate transfer Trey Lewis said athletic director Tom Jurich has assured players that Hall of Famer Rick Pitino will remain the Cardinals coach amid escort allegations. But with 21 years coaching under Kill, Claeys is about as close as one can get to being just like his former boss. “I was told I had cancer [in 2005], but I think this was one worse”.
“I just sent him my regards and all that, thanked him for helping turn the program around and everything he’s done for me and my teammates”, he said.
The Cheney, Kansas native was hired by the University of Minnesota in 2011.
So bring on the maize and blue on Halloween night and try to win a football game, and continue the healing process.
Kill signed a contract extension in August that raised his annual salary to $2.5 million.
Advertisement
Kill worked his way up the many rungs of the coaching ladder with a track record of a program-builder.
