The Gophers football team has a bye this weekend, but that doesn't mean a week off for the mailbag. Minnesota lost to Michigan last Saturday to drop to 0-2 in Big Ten play and 4-2 overall this year. Perhaps more notably was that head coach Jerry Kill was absent from the game. Kill suffered another seizure and remained in Minneapolis. Not surprisingly, several of the questions I received this week pertained to Kill and his health. Thanks to all of those who submitted questions for this week's mailbag.
Q: If you were the AD, would you let Jerry Kill decide when he wanted to return to the sidelines or would you force him to take a few weeks off for his health?--Will, Greendale
A: I would. I wrote quite a bit about this back in mid-September when Kill suffered a seizure on the sideline during Minnesota's game against Western Illinois. There were some who, at that point, were calling for Kill to resign, arguing that his seizures were preventing him from doing his job. I disagreed.
While his latest seizure this past Saturday is troubling -- it's the first time he's missed an entire game as a result of one -- I believe it's just another hurdle that Kill most overcome as he continues to deal with his epilepsy. But as he's shown in the past, he's quick to bounce back after a seizure. He's normally back in the office a day or two after the seizures occur. That wasn't the case this time, but only because Minnesota has a bye week and the coaching staff felt there was no point in rushing Kill back; instead, he continued to stay at home and rest.
Everything seems to run smoothly when Kill is not at work or on the sideline. That's a byproduct of a staff that has been together for years -- decades, in the cases of some assistants -- and knows exactly what to do when Kill suffers a seizure. They all know their roles in his absence and the game goes on. With that said, I believe it should be up to Kill as to when he returns to the sideline. The only person who truly knows how Jerry Kill feels is Jerry Kill. Who are we to say -- as media, fans, athletic directors -- when Kill should or shouldn't return to work? Kill should be the one to make that call.
Q: Forget his seizures, is Jerry Kill gone if Minnesota doesn't make a bowl game? I mean, c'mon, back to back seasons going 4-0 with disappointing finishes.--Doug E., Minneapolis
A: I'd be very surprised if the university fired Kill if the Gophers fail to make a bowl game this season. While that would certainly be a disappointment after, as you mentioned, Minnesota started the year 4-0, it's hardly a fireable offense for a coach in his third season of a rebuilding project. Keep in mind, Kill inherited a program at its lowest point in decades. Any type of turnaround is going to take time, and three years is not enough time to full judge whether or not a coach has done that. With that said, it's still possible that Minnesota can make a bowl game this year -- although the schedule is a bit daunting from here on out.
When Kill took over as the Gophers' coach prior to the 2011 season, he was given a seven-year contract, a sign that the university wanted to give him a chance to instill his system, bring in several years of his own recruiting classes and really leave his fingerprints on the program. I'm not saying that Kill will necessarily finish out all seven years of his contract; as we see far too often in college football, coaches come and go at will. But I do think Kill will get at least a few more years to continue to move the Gophers in the right direction. Missing out on a bowl game in his third season doesn't warrant a firing, in my book.
Q: A non Jerry Kill illness question for you. When I look and compare the Gophers to other Division 1 schools, the offense just isn't very good. They have gotten by versus nonconference opponents, but against Big Ten competition, they just aren't good enough. Is it possible that Coach Kill's offensive system, while fine at conferences like the MAC, isn't strong enough versus defenses like Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin?--Jim, Shorewood, Ill.
A: To be honest, I have been surprised by the disparity between the Gophers and their first two Big Ten opponents this season. Like many others, I thought this year's 4-0 start was much different than last year's, when Minnesota had to sneak by a few nonconference foes. Outside of league play this year, the Gophers had no problems against the likes of UNLV, New Mexico State, Western Illinois and San Jose State.
Given how they played in those four games, I thought the Gophers would be much more competitive against Iowa. Instead, Minnesota laid an egg in that game and was outplayed in seemingly every facet of the game. One week later, the Gophers hung with Michigan for a half but couldn't keep up after halftime. We'll have to wait another week to see how -- or if -- Minnesota rebounds against Northwestern next Saturday.
As for Kill's zone-read offense, I think it can work in the Big Ten. We're already seeing it utilized more in the NFL with teams like the San Francisco 49ers employing it through quarterback Colin Kaepernick running a similar zone-read. Minnesota was able to move the ball successfully at times against Michigan, especially in the first half. It helps when the quarterback can make some throws when he needs to, as Mitch Leidner did on the Gophers' scoring drive. And of course, having a quarterback that can run -- which both Leidner and Philip Nelson can -- is key.
The Big Ten is typically seen as a run-first style of play. Minnesota's running game was good in the four nonconference games, but we saw that it needs to get better to be successful in the Big Ten. That's not so much a product of Kill's offensive system as it is the Gophers needing to get bigger and stronger up front.
Q: It seems like the one difference in the running game between when Mason was running the team to now with Kill is that Mason used a fullback player as a leading/extra blocker. I know that football as a game has started to stray away from a full back. What are the chances we see the Gophers going back to that type of running? Could we move Kirkwood to that type of position?--Adam, Bloomington, Minn.
A: While the Gophers certainly run some plays with a two-back set -- a fullback and a tailback -- I don't see Minnesota reverted to that type of offense any time soon. As I mentioned in the last question, the Gophers typically run a zone-read offense, which allows the quarterback to either hand off to his tailback or keep the ball for himself and take off running. In that situation, it's much harder to run that type of offense with a fullback in the backfield. In short-yardage situations, however, Minnesota often will use a fullback to help block.
When fullback Mike Henry was out for the Iowa game, Minnesota's rushing attack suffered. The Gophers gained just 30 yards on the ground in that game. While not all of it had to do with Henry's absence, he has shown that he can be an important part of the running game.
And I don't see running back Donnell Kirkwood switching to fullback. While Kirkwood is stocky for a running back (5-foot-10, 223 pounds), he is more valuable to the Gophers as a runner than a blocker.
Q: Biggest issue for Minny - offense? defense? coaching?????--Erik, St. Cloud, Minn.
A: As of right now, the biggest issue in my eyes is the offense -- particularly, consistency at two key positions. Minnesota has juggled quarterbacks, switching from Philip Nelson to Mitch Leidner to Nelson again and back to Leidner. For an offense to thrive, it's essential to have stability at arguably the most important position on the field. The same goes for running back, too. The Gophers established a successful running attack in nonconference play, but Minnesota's trio of running backs -- Donnell Kirkwood, David Cobb and Rodrick Williams Jr. -- has not found the same success in Big Ten play.
For the most part, Minnesota's defense has held its own through six games, with the exception of the 42 points it allowed against Michigan last weekend. But Minnesota has failed to get any sort of passing game going, even in the four nonconference games. To win in the Big Ten, the passing offense will have to get going. To me, that's the biggest issue facing the Gophers heading into next weekend's game against Northwestern.
Q: The Wisconsin Badgers lost 27 games in the three years prior to the arrival of Barry Alvarez in 1990. Alvarez then went on to go 1-10 (winless in the Big Ten), 5-6 (2-6), and 5-6 (3-5) his first three years. The next season, the Badgers won the 1993 Rose Bowl. As impatient Gopher fans start to beat the drum for changes in Dinkytown, what would you cite as the main reason for optimism that Minnesota can experience a similar turnaround to that of our neighbors to the east?--Todd, St. Louis Park, Minn.
A: The transition from cellar dweller to Big Ten contender that Wisconsin made in the 1990s is certainly one example that Gophers fans can look to in order to realize that, yes, a turnaround can happen in just a few years. In fact, Kill has a history of doing just that at his previous stops. When he took over at Southern Illinois, Kill guided the Salukis from 1-10 in his first year to 10-2 by his third season at the helm. A similar -- albeit less drastic -- change took place at Northern Illinois as Kill went from 6-7 to 10-3 over a three-year span.
While I'm not saying that Kill will lead the Gophers to a Rose Bowl in his fourth season like Alvarez did with the Badgers, I am saying give Kill a chance and be patient. Of course, college football -- or sports in general, for that matter -- can be a "what have you done for me lately" environment, and fans have already grown impatient with Minnesota's struggles in the Big Ten. But Kill has handled rebuilding projects before and turned losers into winners. By next year, the upperclassmen on Kill's roster will be players that he recruited for his system, not players from the previous regime. We've seen signs that the program is headed in the right direction, although there is certainly still plenty of work to be done. With that said, fans can remain optimistic by looking at Kill's track record of turning programs around. If we're having this same discussion next season, however, then there may be a problem.
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