Rutgers OC and former Minnesota coach Jerry Kill retires
Jerry Kill is leaving his post at Rutgers after just one season.
The school said Tuesday that Kill was retiring because of health reasons. The longtime college football coach has battled epilepsy and said in his statement that he “ran out of juice.” Kill was hospitalized in September after suffering what the school said was a minor seizure.
“I want to thank [coach] Chris Ash and [athletic director] Pat Hobbs for giving me the opportunity to coach at Rutgers,” Kill said in a statement. “I would also like to thank the players, the Rutgers family, fans and media for everything they have done for Rebecca and I. This program is definitely headed in the right direction with coach Ash and I know that firsthand. I enjoyed the year being an assistant coach and had a ton of fun with the players and coaches.”
“I hope that through my 34 years of coaching that I was able to be a positive influence on young people because that is truly why I coach. I want to thank all the players for what they have done for me. I appreciate and love all of the people that are part of my family. I don’t have any regrets and I’ve had a blessed career. I love this game and all the coaches that I’ve worked with. They have all made Jerry Kill a better man. I know that I did it the right way and I did it my way. I gave everything I had to the game, I just ran out of juice.”
Kill retired from his job at Minnesota during the 2015 season because he said his seizures had returned. He missed seven games in 2013 after suffering a seizure on the field. Before he coached at Minnesota, Kill was the head coach at Northern Illinois.
When he announced his retirement from Minnesota, Kill said he was unsure what he was going to do with his life without coaching. The Kansas native took a job in the athletic department at Kansas State in 2016 before he returned to coaching as Rutgers’ offensive coordinator.
His departure means Rutgers is looking for a ninth offensive coordinator in nine seasons. Yes, you read that correctly. When he was hired at Rutgers he became the highest-paid assistant coach in the school’s history.
The @RFootball program will be on its 9th OC in 9 years. The roll call of the last 8: Jerry Kill; Drew Mehringer; Ben McDaniels; Ralph Friedgen; Ron Prince; Dave Brock; Frank Cignetti; Kirk Ciarrocca.
— Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) December 19, 2017
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
