Best of Minnesota Sports 2014: Best Coach Winner
Nov 29, 2014; Madison, WI, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Jerry Kill during the second quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Our readers have spoken, and have named Jerry Kill Best Coach of 2014.
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Really, this should come as no surprise. The Gophers played a late November game that had more important meaning than trying to become bowl eligible. That has not happened in decades. They will also start 2015 on the first day of the year, battling Mizzou in the Citrus Bowl. The Gopher program has not earned a New Year’s Day bowl game since 1962. For perspective, when the Gophers played in that Rose Bowl, John F. Kennedy was the President of the United States, the first manned moon landing was still seven years away, and Ronald Reagan was still an actor. So, yes, the Gophers making the Citrus Bowl is a big deal.
The other plus for Kill is that Minnesota is a great school, but is not the most fertile grounds for recruiting, making his job even tougher. For one, Minnesota is the best state in the nation for hockey recruits, but the football pool is very shallow compared to states in the South, or even other parts of the Midwest. Another issue is the well-documented and previously mentioned lack of success historically. Many big name recruits want to join an already successful program as opposed to help forging a new one. The final reason is the inadequate practice facilities, which Nick previously touched on.
Due to the recruiting issues, it is absolutely imperative to get the most out of the guys you are able to get on campus, which is Kill’s calling card. The team has steadily improved every year he has been at the helm, and his challenge now is to continue to build “Brick-by-Brick” to even greater heights. Given his track record and the current state of the program, I fully expect him to do just that, although it will be the steepest challenge of his career. The lynch pin to realizing that success will be developing a high-end quarterback. Mitch Leidner has had some very good moments, but lacks the consistency necessary to allow the Gophers to win division and Big Ten Championships, at least to this point.
Mike Zimmer finished second in the voting, which seems about right. He has dealt with a ton of adversity in his first season, between losing the services of Adrian Peterson to trying to build a new identity for the team. He’s done very well, but it is difficult to make a case for a coach with a losing record, even if it is his first year.
Honestly, I was probably remiss in not including Cheryl Reeve on this list, but I really can’t count myself as a Lynx fan, nor do I know enough about the state of women’s professional basketball to gauge how well she has truly done.
So, what do you think? Was Jerry Kill the best coach in the state in 2014?