As his former program emerges from turmoil, former Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill is working his way back into college football.
According to a report from NJ.com, Rutgers is set to hire Kill to serve as Chris Ash‘s offensive coordinator. Kill, 55, earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 2014 before emotionally walking away from the game during the middle of the ’15 season due to his ongoing bout with epilepsy. He spent the 2016 season as an associate athletics director at Kansas State, working with the Wildcats’ football program.
“Kill’s hire is considered imminent but pending the finalization of details,” the site writes.
Kill’s hiring would represent a stark departure from who the Scarlet Knights as an offensive coordinator last season. Drew Mehringer, half of Kill’s age at just 28, was a disciple of the Urban Meyer/Tom Herman system.
Kill, owner of a 152-99 record as a head coach, has not served as an offensive coordinator since doing it at Division II Pittsburg State (Kan.) in 1993, but implemented ground-based systems at Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois and Minnesota.
Rutgers ranked 102nd nationally in rushing and 112th in yards per carry this fall.
“I would say I feel about 90-percent better than I did a year ago,” Kill told the Wichita Eagle last week, noting he’s lost 25 pounds and is now working only 80 hours per week. “I would probably still be coaching had I felt this good then. But I have changed a lot. I went from 2 1/2 hours of sleep for 12 years to six hours of sleep now. That is a huge deal.”