Was Kill's depature a blessing in disguise?
by BigDHuskie on Dec 19, 2010 7:26 PM CST
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PrintDid anyone notice the difference in this Huskie team as they dominated the Bulldogs? A little change from the players that showed up in Detroit on Dec. 3rd? I saw a Huskie team that was pumped, excited and ready to have some FUN! Coach Tuke set the tone for this game and these players. I believe this team's performance was the best of the year....a close second might be the win over W. Michigan.
Heading into next year we have some talented young players to blend in with experienced guys. I see a bright future for this program, and definitely not a "one and done" .
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Didn't like Kill from the first game against Minnesota three years ago.
So I considered it a blessing the moment I heard he was gone. The team looked great, with Coach Tuke sticking around, I think it shows Doeren knows coaching talent when he sees it. Should be a great year next year.
by Grinder in Training on Dec 20, 2010 10:42 AM CST reply actions
I think you might be right.
And, I’m getting over that fear of being a stepping stone. As long as they leave us in a better position than when they got here, who cares? And, Kill did that. And, he did leave the team in pretty good shape for next year. That first year with Kill was agony. RB by committee. Justin Anderson was one of the (if not THE) leading rusher in the country and he sat on the bench while Harnish dove into the line of scrimmage play after play. Then in year 2 Anderson saves the game at Purdue and then we never see him again. The constant running of the qb takes out his knee and then we loose because of it. Don’t like the way he thinks at all. He had awesome players who believed in him and they won in spite of his bad judgment. Tuke did a great job, but he should have played Lynch in the 4th to give him experience in a bowl. Kill would have done that. I agree with leaving Spann in perhaps since he was a senior. But, hey, it was Tukes 1st HC gig.. I think we can cut him some slack. Specially since he has SUCH a great attitude toward the game and players… I think he could get me to run on the field and tackle somebody.
niu_huskie_fan
I agree with you 100%, Coach Tuke and Coach Z should have known to get Lynch some action he was big part of the offense all year and then not given him time in the Bowl game was not a good move on the Coaching staff’s part i’m sure Lynch is disappointed.
Hypocrisy!
You guys never want to admit it, but this program was down when Kill took over. The team finished 2 & 10 and included and future 1st Round NFL pick in Larry English. Having him in the MAC should have won more than two games. The best players of this senior class weren’t even recruited to play here in Chad Spann & Jake Kaufman. Alex Kube had his position changed by Kill and his staff. No coach is ever going to be perfect. Did he roll too long with Me’co Brown, absolutely! But Kill was the right guy.
Your comment about running the QB too much and “taking out his knee” Harnish ran more this year than he ever has. Did he run too much this year? This offense is designed around having a dual threat QB. That’s just the way it is and injuries are just a part of the game. Shame on Novak for having Grady on scholarship because the kid just isn’t a Div 1 QB.
Coach Novak did a good job buiding this program and developing a really nice RB tradition. Let’s not forget though his recored at NIU is 13 games under .500 & he went to 2 bowl games in 12 years. He had a great 3 year run, but Kill has taken this program to another level in 3 years! An undefeated MAC regular season, 3 consecutive bowl games. While I might be in the minority I would have liked to see where we would have been had this staff stayed intact another 2 years.
by BobbyBoucher9 on Dec 24, 2010 12:40 PM CST up reply actions
I think
you misunderstood me. Or, I mislead you. I really wasn’t too excited about Kill his 1st year. Didn’t know about this blog back then or I’d have complained on this blog back then. But, slowly the offense opened up. Oh my God did it open up. But, most of the receivers were already there. Sorry, I really don’t know what I think of Kill. I just started REALLY believing in him this year and then he left. Hey, I’m no expert on football… just a fan. Ask Mike, friggan, or TackleBox what they thought of Kill in his 1st year.
As a fan I was bored and frustrated. It seemed like we had GREAT running backs and a decent OL and just about every other play was a QB run. (but they didn’t go anywhere because we weren’t calling the other plays or couldn’t execute them) I don’t have the numbers. I know that in yards the QB running was outta this world this year. Hell, Lynch got 150 yards on 2 successive plays… with success like that I wouldn’t have complained in the 1st year. But, Spann, Daniels were decoys this year (not to mention deep threats from Moore and Palmer). No, the defense and everyone in the stadium knew in that 1st year that if they had just tried one of the 3 running backs (RB by committee, remember) that the next play was a QB draw for 2-3 or maybe 5 yards. It sorta worked and they were winning more than with Novak so it made it hard to argue too much. Hey, if you didn’t have the NCAA leading rusher ON THE BENCH (Justin Anderson) not to mention Spann and Crider, it would have made sense. And, there is no questioning the fact that all the running took out Harnish’s knee. And, why did they keep trying Grady as starting QB? All the fans knew that he might have had the numbers in practice but the team just didn’t move the ball under Grady. When they moved to Harnish full-time and Spann full time things jelled. And, I remember Palmer having a great 1st game vs Minn…. so where did that passing attack go? There weren’t really any attempts. So, was this blog asking these questions back then, I dunno.
So, I’m gonna watch Minn football. I’m wondering if we saw all that Kill has. Maybe he left because he knew he had peaked here and wanted to cash in while his stock was still rising and before it all came apart. Oh, and that 1st bowl was a gift. A gift that NIU had to pay for if I remember right. Which makes me agree with the original post on this thread… maybe Kill leaving was a blessing in disguise. Because he left Doeren a better team than we had under Novak (is that what you wanted to hear?) and he got out after he had gotten as far with NIU as he thought he could get. And, he got out before boredom/malaise/complacency settled in and ruined what he had already built.
by niu_huskie_fan on Dec 24, 2010 8:02 PM CST up reply actions
and another thing...
So, why did we loose the MACC? Was it:
1) the team wasn’t as good as everyone thought or had run out of gas? We were heavily favored, right?
2) the team was outcoached.
3) Kill had already quit.
The bowl win kinda argues against #1. The only explanations that you are left with are that it was Kill’s fault. The bowl win was a blowout against a team that had just beat a much improved Illinois team …and we had a 1st time HC. I bet that same team would have won the MACC if they had been prepared and coached by Tuke. Why didn’t he just leave earlier.
IF Miami of Ohio gets beaten by Middle Tenn (whoever they are) in the Go Daddy Bowl then you have even more evidence of Kill’s incompetence.
by niu_huskie_fan on Dec 24, 2010 8:45 PM CST up reply actions
If you think the program was down when kill took over
You are simply uneducated when it comes to niu football.
by Grinder in Training on Dec 25, 2010 7:33 PM CST up reply actions
oh by the way
First off, I will stack my knowledge of this game against anyone on this site. With respect to the MACC go back and look at the stats. The game was played pretty even. The difference was they were able to hold Spann in check the entire game. Call it coaching or whatever, but let’s remember Miami came into that game smoking hot as well. Having won 4 straight, 3 of which where nationally televised.
I am on the record saying I think Tuke is a great coach and should have been hired after Kill’s departure, but did he get outcoached in the MACC? We gave up 7.7 ypc to Hightower in the game. That bubble screen they ran all night couldn’t be stopped. Both are the primary responsibity of the LB’s. How about we just got out executed. 4th and 17 just shouldn’t be given up no matter what! As far as their performance in the bowl game, time will tell. They have also now lost their coach.
Your lack of understanding of who MTSU is also highlights your lack of understanding of Div 1 football, specifically Mid-Majors. They won 10 games last year and had a chunk of players returning, but lost their QB to start the year because of a NCAA suspension.
As far as the bowl win; it was a nice win, but I love how you use Fresno to illustrate your point with respect to Illinois without pointing out they are winless against Non-BCS schools in bowl games in their history and undefeated against BCS schools.
As far GIT, slice it up how you like. 2 & 10 is down no matter what program. I know Novak is the holy grail around here, but the numbers just don’t add up. His career record is 13 games under .500, two bowl games in 12 years and 1 MACC championship game appearance. All of this with two of the best running backs this conference has ever seen.
Oh by the way niu fan. Justin Anderson never led the country in rushing. He wasn’t even 1st team All-MAC. Maybe you are thinking of Leshon Johnson, but hey… I am uneducated when it comes to NIU football.
by BobbyBoucher9 on Dec 27, 2010 2:26 PM CST up reply actions
ok, nice points
I don’t know about you, but I am already missing Huskie football. Really, looking forward to see this how the team does under this new coach.
Back, to the thread… I wonder if Kill’s loyalty to his assistants will haunt him at Minn. He may only be able to go as far as his Assistant coaches can take him. I kinda like it that we have a new HC that is not betroathed to his assistant coaches.
by niu_huskie_fan on Dec 28, 2010 6:12 PM CST up reply actions
Agree 100%
I am already jonesing like you wouldn’t believe! Especially since I thought next year was the year we would win the MAC. With the coaching change we will see how it plays out. I think the offense has a chance to be scary good. Harnish should be all world in this conference next year. Lynch will be our version of Tim Tebow his freshman year @ Florida. I am already counting the days to spring ball.
As far as Kill goes, that is always the case. Head coach will only be as good as those he surrounds himself with. What amazes me is the lack of desire in Claeys and Limegrover to be head coaches. They both just tucked their playbooks between their legs and followed Jerry to Minn. Makes you really question??
by BobbyBoucher9 on Dec 29, 2010 4:44 PM CST up reply actions
Recruiting
I’m not as worried about the new coaching staff motivating the players, but will they have enough time to recruit? Kill has already taken 2 of NIU’s 5 commits with him and another has opened his recruiting back up.
Here's the Bottom Line
we’re going to lose some players going into next yr, whether they follow Kill or someone else…….some guys will want to play on a bigger stage
I’m hoping we don’t lose Martel Moore, that guy has great leaping ability and a knack for going to the ball, but having said that, we’ve got N Palmer and W. Clark and P Ashford.
Actually I’m more worried about the defensive side of the ball……we’re losing several guys there. And we have to address the KICKING game
Transferring vs. a recruit leaving.
It’s one thing for recruits to leave, but for a kid to transfer takes a lot more trouble. He’ll have to sit out a year, I just don’t think a kid like Martel Moore benefits from that, and surely not to go to Minnesota of all places. I guess if he has a chance to go to Auburn or Oregon, maybe he accepts losing a year sitting out. You don’t sit out a year to go to Minnesota if you’re already becoming a star here, it’s not a big enough difference.
by Grinder in Training on Dec 21, 2010 8:52 AM CST up reply actions
I like where we are going
Over the past what 15 years, NIU football has shown something. that you can win here. you can recruit good players locally even with Illinois and Northwestern in the state. Also, We own the Minnesota and Wisconsin recruiting as being the closest DI/FBS school in the area.
This will help us fill any coaching position left vacant for a coach who goes to a bigger program. I wouldn’t call Minnesota a bigger program. they play about 5 or 6 more big ten games than NIU does and haven’t been to a bowl game in awhile along with the most important thing, they’ll never win in the Big 10 while NIU will continue competing for the MAC West title, and the MAC championship along with putting guys in the NFL. Why wouldn’t you want to coach and play for the Huskies?
by Huskie94GrantSouth on Dec 28, 2010 11:56 PM CST reply actions
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