MINNEAPOLIS -- Jerry Kill's fourth season as the head coach at Minnesota has been his best yet, and he's being rewarded for it.
Kill was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year on Tuesday, as voted on by both the media and coaches. Though many thought Ohio State's Urban Meyer might take home the award, Kill was unanimously named the conference's top coach. Kill becomes the first Gophers coach to win the award since Glen Mason in 1999.
"I think it is definitely a team award from our players and certainly our coaching staff," Kill said on Big Ten Network shortly after the award was announced. "It's a lot more than one guy."
Kill took over at Minnesota in December 2010. In his first season, the Gophers finished with just three wins, in 2011. But as he did at previous stops such as Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois, Kill turned around a struggling program. Minnesota won six games in 2012 and won eight games last year.
Once again in 2014, Kill led the Gophers to an eight-win regular season. He'll have a chance to become a nine-game winner if Minnesota is victorious in its bowl game in either late December or early January.
Under Kill, the Gophers beat rivals Michigan and Iowa in the same season for the first time since 1967. Minnesota was also in position to advance to the Big Ten championship game before losing to Wisconsin this past Saturday. Kill's team this season included five players who earned All-Big Ten First Team honors.
"We've always talked about it brick by brick. We have to continue to get great players," Kill said. "The best way to do that (is) improve our day to day operations and facilities."
Because of the success Kill has had at Minnesota, his name has been floated about in various rumors regarding head coaching vacancies. One of the most notable is Nebraska, where Bo Pelini was just ousted as the head coach on Sunday.
Kill insists he's not paying any attention to those rumors as his stock continues to rise.
"The big thing is we've worked very, very hard at the University of Minnesota and I've always stayed focused on what I can control," Kill said. "You always hear stuff in recruiting, social media . . . No one has called me. So I'll stay focused in what I'm doing."
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