B1G 2011 // Minnesota Football: Point/Counterpoint

Last year's bottom dwellers in the B1G have more than just 2010 futility in common... they both brought in new coaches for 2011. In last week's Point/Counterpoint, Ricardo Efendi took a look at new Indiana head man Kevin Wilson, exploring whether or not Wilson and his staff have the goods to bring success to Indiana, or if Indiana being Indiana will prove to be too much for Wilson to overcome.

That piece created a lot of reaction, so I see no reason not to repeat that question and ask the same about Minnesota. The only difference is we'll flip the script and discuss potential failure before potential success.

Point: Minnesota has been Minnesota for too long. Underachieving and mediocre. Jerry Kill and his staff have proven they know how to win... but they've never had a challenge like Minnesota.

This isn't about Jerry Kill, it's about Minnesota, and a lot of people think that Minnesota just isn't a place where you can win in football anymore. It's not Kill's fault he'll fail.

The administration at Minnesota doesn't get it. The programs that pay the bills aren't there just to support the programs that feed from the teat of football. Joel Maturi is more interested in winning Director's Cups than he is in winning Rose Bowls.

Sure Minnesota dumped the Hump Dump and built a beautiful new stadium and sure they just ditched stuffy WCCO for their radio rights in favor of the more progressive KFAN, but it's too little too late. Minnesota  just can't catch up, they're too far behind.

The best Jerry Kill can hope for is to get to the level that Glen Mason "achieved": beating four cupcakes in the non-conference, squeaking out two wins in the Big Ten, and heading to a low-to-mid-tier bowl game.

Counterpoint: Jerry Kill is the first real football coach Minnesota has seen since Lou Holtz. He isn't a blow-hard, he isn't here as a stepping stone, he's just here to coach and win. He will bring success back to Minnesota... but it might take a couple of years.

Tim Brewster's biggest contribution to Minnesota football was recruiting. In his first full year of recruiting, Brewster brought in more talent than Minnesota had seen in years. The problem is that he didn't have a hot clue what to do with it because he had never been a head football coach before.

Jerry Kill is just about the anti-Tim Brewster. He's pessimistic, honest, fiery and from a football standpoint he knows exactly what he's trying to accomplish. He doesn't walk around the practice field with his arms crossed, observing the team and lending encouragement where needed. He gets after it. He's in the middle of the play, in the middle of the huddle, he's running downfield to yell or offer praise and he's got his hand on the pulse of everything that is going on with his football team.

Jerry Kill knows what he wants to accomplish and he knows exactly how he's going to accomplish it. And perhaps most important of all, he's done it before. Jerry Kill would be coaching exactly the same way that he's been doing it his entire career whether he was at Minneapolis Southwest High School, Northern Illinois, or Alabama.

Jerry Kill's formula for success will bring Minnesota back to relevance in the B1G within 3 years.