New Golden Gopher grid coach is NIU's Kill

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MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota has hired Northern Illinois' Jerry Kill as its new head football coach. Kill signed a five-year contract and will be introduced at a press conference on Monday afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium.

As head coach, Kill led Northern Illinois to a 23-16 record and three consecutive bowl appearances -- a first in the program's history as an FBS team. News of his hiring broke on the same day the Huskies (10-3) accepted an invitation to play Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl. Kill will take over for interim coach Jeff Horton, who earlier this season replaced Tim Brewster, who was fired in October after a 1-6 start to the season.

Northern Illinois beat the Golden Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium 34-23 in September. He took over a Husky program three years ago that was coming off a 2-10 season and this past season he had a 10-2 regular season and won the Mid-American Conference West Division title. His three-year record at NIU was 23-and-16. Prior to his time at Northern Illinois, Kill coached at Southern Illinois, where he led the Salukis to five consecutive NCAA playoff appearances, going 50-14 his final five seasons. He also has head coaching experience at Emporia State and Saginaw Valley State. He won a Missouri High School football state championship as a head coach at Webb City in 1989. He was also the offensive coordinator for a Pittsburgh State team that won the 1991 NCAA Division II national title.

He signed a five-year deal with Minnesota and will be introduced at a news conference at TCF Bank Stadium this afternoon.

Tags: minnesota sports, proam, football, gophers