The news that former football coach Barry Alvarez had handpicked Bret Bielema to be his successor at the University of Wisconsin in 2005 created great angst among the Badger faithful.

The critics focused on Bielema's youth -- he was 36 at the time -- and lack of head coaching experience. Some speculated that the little-known assistant would be nothing more than a puppet for Alvarez, who was moving down the hall to the athletic director's office. The oddest criticism involved Bielema's tattoo -- the former University of Iowa defensive lineman has a Tiger Hawk on his calf. Alvarez simply asked for patience. "Let him coach," he said in 2005. "Let's not start judging somebody too soon."

Tune into the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2011. Bielema and his Hawk tattoo will be coaching in Pasadena. His record at Wisconsin: 49-15.

Much like Alvarez, then-Iowa Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby felt the wrath of Hawkeye fans when he hired Kirk Ferentz to take over for Hayden Fry in 1999. The popular choice was Bob Stoops, a former Iowa star who was named head coach at Oklahoma University on the day the seemingly slow-moving Iowa search committee was scheduled to interview him. Ferentz built a Big Ten power, and within a few years received a rich contract extension to keep him from jumping to the NFL. His record at Iowa: 88-57.

Early Sunday night the Star Tribune reported on its website that Jerry Kill would be named head football coach at the University of Minnesota on Monday. Within an hour, there were more than 300 online comments attached to the story, most of them highly critical of the hire. What a shock: A self-selected gang of anonymous Internet typists had concluded before even listening to Kill's first news conference that he could not possibly be a savior for what former coach/salesman Tim Brewster called "Gopher Nation."

This isn't the sports section, and we haven't studied the film of Kill's Northern Illinois University Huskies. But the self-deprecating Coach Kill made a strong first impression on Monday, and we share his hope that the disrespected football program can be rejuvenated to a level more befitting a great university in one of the most attractive metro areas in the country.

Star Tribune, Star Tribune

Kill didn't mention Gopher Nation or promise a quick trip to the Rose Bowl. The cancer survivor who has never had a losing record simply pledged to work hard and ask the same of his staff and players. "There's no quick fix; that's not what I'm here for," he admitted. It was a refreshingly honest summary of the situation and a very different message from the empty guarantees Brewster delivered at his slick debut here in 2007.

If Kill succeeds, it will be despite PR fumbling by Minnesota Athletic Director Joel Maturi, who began the search process with an ill-advised comment that he wanted to make another Tubby Smith hire, fueling unrealistic expectations that Bear Bryant would rise from the dead and end up with a whistle in Dinkytown.

Kill may not be the solution at the U. He may not enjoy the success of Bielema or Ferentz, or it may take him longer. But like those two coaches, Kill has a reputation as a committed teacher whose players actually improve on the field and in the classroom during their college careers -- key building blocks in any good football program that have been missing at the U.

Wisconsin will have at least four Minnesotans starting or playing key roles at the Rose Bowl. Other Minnesotans will play in bowl games for Iowa, Notre Dame University and the University of Miami. There are talented student-athletes playing high school football here and in bordering states who might react very positively to a self-described roll-up-your-sleeves coach from the Midwest.

Name recognition is great, but winning on and off the field will sell more tickets in the long run.