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MINNEAPOLIS -- As the head football coach, all personnel decisions are ultimately Jerry Kill's to make. Still, that doesn't mean he doesn't run those ideas by others on his staff.
When deciding to hire former Gophers quarterback Adam Weber to his staff, though, Kill acted alone.
"They're all my call eventually," Kill said. "This one I didn't check with anybody. Maybe one person."
Weber, the University of Minnesota's all-time leading passer, joined Kill's staff earlier this year as an offensive graduate assistant. He was traveling abroad and came back home to Minnesota to work out at the Gophers' facility. That's where he ran into former teammate and current U of M linebackers coach Mike Sherels.
Sherels floated the idea of a possible graduate assistant job opening up and gauged Weber's interest. Though Weber had spent time in the NFL as a backup with the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he knew his playing days were likely over. Trying to figure out his next career move, Weber was intrigued by the prospect of staying around a football field.
Once Kill extended the offer to join the coaching staff, Weber didn't hesitate.
"I was like, 'Heck yeah. Let's get this thing going,'" Weber said after the Gophers' practice Tuesday. "It just makes sense. It does. To be back here, to be back home, to be at this school, it's great. It's a lot of fun."
Weber's name is all over the Gophers' record books. He holds the school record for many quarterback categories: passing yards in a season (2,895), career passing yards (10,917), career touchdown passes (72), most touchdown passes in a season (24), and most consecutive passes (14). That last record, though, now comes with an asterisk after current Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner matched that mark with 14 straight completions in the Citrus Bowl against Missouri on Jan. 1.
Leidner is now working closely with Weber during spring ball, but he hasn't yet brought up the fact that he tied Weber's record a few months back.
"I might have to mention that to him," Leidner said. "It's the only one I'm close to him on."
As a GA, Weber assists quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski as well as Kill and offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover. He's not so much a coach as he is another set of ears and eyes patrolling the practice field -- and he's also someone who has been in these quarterbacks' shoes not that long ago.
Weber's final season with the Gophers was in 2010, and his brief NFL tenure came to an end a few years later with zero pass attempts in the NFL. At just 27 years old, Weber is young enough for Leidner to have been in the stands as he watched Weber cement his name in the Gophers' record books.
"He was a stud," Leidner said of Weber. "We've still got film up in the room up there that we still watch of him, too, sometimes. It's fun. Coming to games in high school and being able to watch, and now being able to work with him now is awesome."
Weber's tenure at Minnesota was a bumpy one, not because of his individual efforts but because of the tumultuous nature of the coaching staff he played for under head coach Tim Brewster. He had four different offensive coordinators during his college days, which he says was a challenge as he had to learn a new system each year.
With that experience under his belt, as well as learning two NFL teams' schemes -- and backing up future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning -- Weber has plenty of insight he can add as he helps the Gophers' coaching staff.
"He was a great player here. He went through four offensive coordinators. He's been in the NFL with two or three different teams, so he's got a great knowledge," Kill said. "It just brings another person to the table that's played that game, and he's from Minnesota. Mitch has continued to improve. I think with him and Jimmy working with him, I think that's a good deal."
The hire appears mutually beneficial for Weber and the Gophers. After playing football since he was in second grade, Weber wanted to stay around the game. What better way than to do so at his alma mater, where he set the standard in many ways for future Gophers quarterbacks.
For Leidner, having another voice to give advice and another set of ears to talk to should help him continue to take strides as Minnesota's quarterback in 2015.
"You can see with Mitch, the leadership he's got, guys look at him. He's the vocal guy out there," Weber said. "I'm seeing him improve, which is awesome. All these guys, it's taking one little small baby step. It's not going to be built up in a day. It's a slow process building that base and going from there. He's making strides, which is great."
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