{"id":19331,"date":"2015-10-29T16:26:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T21:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=19331"},"modified":"2015-10-29T16:38:37","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T21:38:37","slug":"retiring-football-coach-jerry-kill-remembered-as-one-of-the-good-guys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/retiring-football-coach-jerry-kill-remembered-as-one-of-the-good-guys\/","title":{"rendered":"Retiring football coach Jerry Kill remembered as one of the ‘good guys’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jordan Ray<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several years ago, a young college quarterback was walking through the football facility at Northern Illinois University, when his head coach stopped him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat have you done today to get better?\u201d the coach asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh\u2026uh\u2026you know, I\u2019m not really sure, Coach. I lifted?\u201d the quarterback responded, caught off guard and a little in awe of his coach\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re either getting better,\u201d the coach said, \u201cor you\u2019re getting worse. Every single day. You\u2019re never staying the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the moment former Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish<\/a>\u00a0said he’ll never forget when he thinks back on his time with recently retired coach\u00a0Jerry Kill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kill, 54, revived the football programs at Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois before he took over as head coach at the University of Minnesota, where he ended his career Wednesday due to health concerns.<\/p>\n

But Kill leaves behind a legacy that includes three conference titles at SIU and a division championship at NIU.<\/p>\n

\"Jerry<\/a>
Former Minnesota coach Jerry Kill is pictured. (Big Ten)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt Coach Kill helped set the stage for where we are as a program right now,\u201d NIU coach Rod Carey<\/a> said in a statement. \u201cPersonally, he was always willing to help and spend time with me, talk with me as I started out as a head coach.\u00a0 He is just a genuine, genuine person who is stepping aside for all the right reasons.\u00a0 It\u2019s so hard, because we\u2019re going to miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before arriving at the DeKalb campus, Kill turned an SIU program that had gone 14-30 in its previous four seasons into a winner. His 55-32 record with the Salukis still ranks as the second-highest winning percentage in program history.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Kill has had an impact on every campus he has coached, high school or college,\u201d SIU athletic director Tommy Bell<\/a> said in a statement. \u201cHe has mentored many young men and women as players, coaches and staff with leadership, character and passion that are life altering to the recipients. That leadership style is what makes him a legendary figure to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

At NIU, Kill led the Huskies to bowl appearances in each of his three seasons. The athletic director who hired him, Jim Phillips, now has the same position at Northwestern.<\/p>\n

Phillips was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but previously described Kill as \u201ca guy you\u2019d turn your son over to\u201d in a 2012 Chicago Tribune story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Harnish, who eventually went on to play football professionally for the Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals, started 31 games for Kill at NIU, racking up more than 7,000 yards of offense during that stretch.<\/p>\n

\"Chandler<\/a>
Former NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish is pictured. (Big Ten)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen you look back, you just realize how much he did for you,\u201d Harnish said. \u201cMan, you\u2019re just so thankful that he entered your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2010, Kill left NIU for Minnesota, where he would go on to lead the Gophers to consecutive 8-5 seasons in 2013 and 2014 and earn Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is what college football is all about,\u201d Big Ten analyst and former Nebraska wide receiver Matt Davison<\/a>\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

Northwestern played Minnesota every season during Kill’s tenure there, and Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald had nothing but praise for his former rival Thursday.<\/p>\n

“Unbelievable man,” Fitzgerald said of Kill, “great coach, great person. I think an inspiration to us all with his toughness and his perseverance.”<\/p>\n

Kill regularly suffered from epileptic seizures throughout his career. In July, he announced that he had been seizure-free for 18 months, but the seizures eventually returned, cutting his career short.<\/p>\n

Kill announced his retirement in an emotional press conference Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n