Bruininks says Gophers have found the right coach

While new University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler didn't meet face to face with Jerry Kill, outgoing President Robert Bruininks said he kept his successor up to date on how the Gophers football coaching search was going, including the decision to make the hire.

Bruininks said Kaler was briefed by the Parker Executive Search firm along the way and that Kill and Kaler talked on the phone.

"I made sure that happened," Bruininks said. "I made sure he had the information on Coach Kill.

"We had a meeting on Saturday and [Kaler] had a chance to talk with coach Kill and his wife, Rebecca. He felt this was my decision to make along with the athletic director [Joel Maturi]. It was the university's decision. [Kaler] doesn't start until July 1, but I think he's comfortable with this decision and strongly supports it."

So the decision to hire Kill wasn't made until Saturday.

Bruininks has been president while two coaches, Glen Mason and Tim Brewster, were fired in the past four years. Bruininks is sold on Kill.

"The best predictor of how you're going to do in the future is how well you've done in the past," Bruininks said. "... If you look at Jerry Kill's record very carefully, you'll find that he has won at every level and he has won by turning around, in many cases, failing programs. At Southern Illinois, they were about to drop football, they hadn't won in 18 years and they moved from not winning in 18 years to being a real power in their particular division.

Asked why he thinks Brewster didn't succeed, Bruininks said: "I know we had optimistic comments [in 2007], I believe our people really tried to do a good job, it didn't turn out. But I'm really optimistic we've got the right person who knows what to do, is bringing in a experienced staff and has a clear-eyed idea about how to get it done.

"... I think there are a lot of reasons [why Brewster failed]. I don't think there is any one in particular, and I'm not sure I'm the best person to diagnose it. But I think the fact that we had such a tremendous turnover in the coaching staff really hurt the continuity of our program, and it's very difficult when you're changing schemes and changing philosophy each and every year. ... Organizations that have a high degree of turnover are typically not very successful. That was, I think, a big part of our problem."

Gophers can winYes, the Gophers haven't won a Big Ten title since 1967, and Bruininks admits there are no assurances in life except the opportunity to work hard and give it your very best.

"I think we are in a enviable position. We have, I think, the best stadium in the United States today," Bruininks said. "We have a pretty healthy budget. It's in the middle of the Big Ten, and I think we have opportunities to increase our resources and revenues in the foreseeable future. So we have all the ingredients to succeed. We have a great university, so students that come here can get an unbelievable education and very, very strong academic support. I think we've hired the right coach, and he'll bring a dedicated staff that has been together a long time and has a habit of working together, and I think we will get the fans to really support Gopher football.

"The reason people are disappointed today is because we opened this grand stadium and we didn't produce, and we didn't give them the results they have a right to expect. But I don't think there is any reason why we can't win in Minnesota. We can win just as easily here as you can win in Lincoln, Neb., or Ames, Iowa, or Iowa City, or in Madison, Wis., so I'm very optimistic about the future of Gopher football. It takes leadership."

JottingsLooking back to Northern Illinois' 34-23 victory over the Gophers on Sept. 25, Kill said that victory might have been a kind of turning point for the Huskies, who are 10-3. Kill had to be impressed with MarQueis Gray that night, as Gray caught eight passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. However, at Monday's news conference, Gray made it clear he will tell Kill he wants to be a quarterback only. Gray, among other Gophers players, said Kill really did a good job of selling himself at his Monday morning meeting with the squad.

Northern Illinois has a top-10 profile in the Academic Progress Rate, the tool the NCAA uses to judge academic progress. Every Huskies team has surpassed the NCAA's standards for the past five years. I'm sure a big reason for that is the presence of Francine St. Clair, who was Gophers director of academic counseling before being discharged here and has served in academic support at NIU ever since. ... Trevor Olson, the son of Richfield athletic director Todd Olson and a starting offensive lineman for Northern Illinois, said: "People are very blue here [at NIU] today. ... The Minnesota players will love him." Said Todd Olson, "Kill reminds me of how Lou Holtz coached when he was at Minnesota. Holtz was a great teacher and so is Kill."

It's a good bet Gophers running backs coach Thomas Hammock, who was a big star at Northern Illinois as a player before Kill got there, will have a solid chance to keep a spot on the new coach's staff. Hammock ran for 2,432 yards in 32 games with the Huskies. He is rated as one of the best recruiters in the Big Ten and did a great job as offensive coordinator when Jeff Horton took over as interim coach. ... Apparently Northern Illinois will not name a member of the staff as its new coach. The school announced it will begin a national search for a coach using the same Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search firm that Minnesota used.

Gary Patterson, the coach that has led Texas Christian to back-to-back BCS berths and was a candidate for the Gophers job before Brewster was hired, is very close friends with Kill, who was best man at Patterson's wedding. ... I never realized how much Minnesota people hate Wisconsin. At least the word is that Maturi got a mess of e-mails telling him not to hire Badgers offensive coordinator Paul Chryst after he interviewed for the job. "I would have got killed had I hired Chryst," said Maturi, whose family is very close to Chryst's.

There's nothing to the rumor that Connecticut coach Randy Edsall would have been the Gophers coach rather than Kill had UConn lost to South Florida on Saturday and not qualified for a BCS game.