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Jerry Kill expected to become offensive coordinator at Rutgers

By Brad Berreman

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 3: Head coach Jerry Kill of the Minnesota Golden Gophers looks on before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs on September 3, 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 3: Head coach Jerry Kill of the Minnesota Golden Gophers looks on before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs on September 3, 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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After health issues forced him to resign as head coach at Minnesota, another Big Ten school is in line to hire Jerry Kill.

Jerry Kill worked his way up through the coaching ranks, and he had a 29-29 record over four-plus seasons as head coach at Minnesota before ongoing issues related to his epilepsy forced him to resign in October of 2015. Kill has since stepped into a role as an associate athletics director at Kansas State, but a return to coaching looks to be coming.

According to Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com, Kill is expected to be hired as the new offensive coordinator at Rutgers. He will replace Drew Mehringer, who left to become co-offensive coordinator at Texas despite leading a unit that finished last in the FBS in total offense (283 yards per game) and second to last in scoring offense (15.7 points per game).

Kill, 55, was last an offensive coordinator at Pittsburg State from 1991-1993, but he did influence successful spread-based run offenses as head coach at Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois. As the eighth offensive coordinator at Rutgers in as many years, Kill will be tasked with reviving a Scarlet Knights’ rushing offense that was 102nd in the country this year (144.9 yards per game) and even worse in yards per carry (3.6; 111th in the country).

Last month, Kill told the Wichita Eagle about his improved health, including having lost 25 pounds.

"“I would say I feel about 90-percent better than I did a year ago,” Kill said. “I would probably still be coaching had I felt this good then. But I have changed a lot. I went from 2 1/2 hours of sleep for 12 years to six hours of sleep now. That is a huge deal.“I have changed my life, and K-State has allowed me to change my life. I am more relaxed and I have been able to take time to take care of myself.”"

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Kill is the only known candidate to have spoken with Rutgers head coach Chris Ash about the open offensive coordinator position, in a search that only took eight days. That doesn’t mean Kill won’t be a good hire, but his past health issues have to be a concern even if he’s theoretically taking a lower-stress coaching job.

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