Minnesota to “Kill” With Speed
The Minnesota Golden Gophers suffered a miserable 3-9 record that resulted in Head Coach Tim Brewster stepping down during the middle of their season. At the end of the turbulent run, Minnesota opened a coaching search. The search party ended in Northern Illinois where they found Jerry Kill. The new coach brings a new philosophy and there will certainly be changes in Minnesota’s plans. Coach Kill has proven that he knows how to win while at Northern Illinois. While there he boasted an impressive 23-16 record, which included an outstanding 10-3 record in 2010. Coach Jerry Kill turned around a program that was 2-10 the year before he took over. He was lured away from Northern Illinois by the prestige of the Big Ten Conference. Now that he is in a power conference, he fully expects to land better recruits and have even greater success.
Coach Kill says that this Minnesota team is the most talented team he has ever coached. Of course he is facing a much more daunting schedule in the Big Ten so success will not be easy nor come quickly. Changes are coming to Minnesota quickly however. The first thing that Coach Kill imposes on his team is that it is not his team, but our team. This statement encompasses the fans, players, and other members on the coaching staff. He wants them to realize they are all one team, one unit, and their success is all interdependent on one another. Another key issue that is stressed by Coach Kill is that there are no shortcuts for success. He is old fashion in his style and will simply outwork everyone.
On the football field Minnesota will have a different look. Coach Kill seems enamored by TCU and wants to build a team like theirs. He wants Minnesota to be fast and athletic team. He will win games with team speed. Some people may think that this style will not work in the Big Ten, which is known for being a bruising physical conference. Minnesota may get some lumps and bumps in their inaugural season under Coach Kill as they try to play a fast athletic style without the prototypes that Coach Kill would like. That being said, do not expect a quick one year turnaround for Minnesota, but fully expect Minnesota to improve year in and year out. TCU proved that small fast teams can play and beat the big strong physical teams that the Big Ten is accustomed to when they beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl just a year ago. Minnesota is hoping to have the same type of success. Coach Kill may be manning a program that may be in disarray, but expect him to quickly right the ship and get them heading in the right direction. Coach Kill is a proven winner and a perfect fit for Minnesota. Keep an eye on Coach Kill as he has been moving north ever since he started coaching. He started in the Division Two ranks, and then moved to Southern Illinois. After that he moved to Northern Illinois before ultimately taking the Minnesota job. Now that Kill has established that he likes to head north, both geographically and in job stature, don’t be too surprised if Minnesota is just a platform job for him. His next stop? Well the way the NFL is going with their lockout the next job with more stature is also geographically north of Minnesota. Watch out CFL.
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