This is the 11th in a series of 11 previews leading up to the University of Minnesota football team's start of practice.
July 22: Quarterbacks
July 23: Running backs
July 24: Wide receivers
July 25: Tight ends
July 26: Offensive linemen
July 27: Defensive linemen
July 28: Linebackers
July 29: Cornerbacks
July 30: Safeties
July 31: Specialists
Aug. 1: Coaches
TODAY'S POSITION: COACHES
Rating (1-to-10 scale): 5.5
Head coach: Jerry Kill (second season), 3-9
Coordinators: Tracy Claeys, defense (second season in position with Gophers, 18th in college football), Matt Limegrover, offense (second season in position with Gophers, 13th in college football)
Position coaches: Bill Miller, linebackers; Brian Anderson, running backs; Jeff Phelps, defensive line; Pat Poore, wide receivers; Rob Reeves, H-Backs/tight ends; Jay Sawvel, defensive backs/special teams; Jim Zebrowski, quarterbacks
From the top down: Kill was named Minnesota's head coach prior to the 2011 season, replacing Tim Brewster. Kill came to the Gophers via Northern Illinois, where he was the head coach for three seasons and led the Huskies to three bowl appearances. Prior to that, Kill was the head coach at Southern Illinois, where he went 1-10 in his first season in 2001 and put together a 12-2 record in his final year with the Salukis in 2007.
When Minnesota replaced Brewster, Kill may not have been the high-profile name that Gophers fans were looking for. And while he finished just 3-9 in his first season — the same record Minnesota finished with in Brewster's final season — Kill seems to have the right mindset for turning a struggling program around. From Day 1, he's preached patience (the opposite of Brewster, who promised Rose Bowls). Kill's mantra during his first season was that the Gophers have to rebuild their program on concrete, not sand. It might be a slow process, but Kill has a long-term plan.
In just Kill's second game as Minnesota's head coach, he suffered a seizure on the sidelines of his team's 28-21 loss to New Mexico State. It was certainly a scary moment as Kill, a cancer survivor, had to be attended to on the sideline. But he returned to the sidelines the following week. His health will certainly be something to watch again in 2012, although Kill insists he has his seizure condition under control.
When Kill came to Minnesota, he brought many of his coaches with him. Claeys and Limegrover have both been with Kill for years. Kill and Claeys have coached together back to their days at Saginaw Valley State in 1995, then Emporia State followed by Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois. Limegrover first served as Kill's assistant in 1999, when he was the offensive line coach at Emporia State.
Both coordinators are tasked with continuing to turn around units that ranked toward the bottom of all Big Ten teams. Limegrover's offense ranked dead last in total offense with 310.3 yards per game; the passing offense was 11th out of 12, while the running offense was 10th. Can he and Zebrowski get the most out of senior quarterback MarQueis Gray during his senior season?
Claeys' defense was 10th in total defense, giving up 403.1 yards per game. Minnesota did a better job of stopping the pass than the run, ranking ninth in pass defense with 216.7 yards allowed per game. Against the run, though, the Gophers gave up 186.4 yards per game. Phelps must get the defensive line to be more active and physical than they were last season to help out both the passing and rushing defense.
The biggest thing for the Gophers coaches is that the players now have a full year of experience under the same coaching staff after experiencing turmoil and turnover over the years. Kill is hoping that consistency will translate into on-field results.
"They are focusing on what we are doing and trusting the coaches, and us trusting them. I think that's where you are at," Kill said this spring. "When you are at this time of changing a program around, that's exactly where you are at. Again, we are still working with the majority of the same group of kids we have had. We lost a few. That's going to happen. You are going to have natural attrition of football in college. So have these guys bought in; if you look at the off season there is much more buy in right now than there was, and I think there is trust starting to happen."
Best of the Big Ten: 1. Ohio State 2. Wisconsin. 3. Michigan State. The Big Ten welcomes new Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, who spent six years at the University of Florida. While there, Meyer led the Gators to national championships in 2006 and 2008 and finished with a 65-15 record in six years at Florida. Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema has led the Badgers to back-to-back Big Ten titles and Rose Bowl appearances. Meanwhile, Michigan State's Mark Dantonio took the Spartans to the inaugural Big Ten championship game last season before falling to Bielema and Wisconsin.
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