Column: Aaron Worm, Behind the Mic

When the Gophers announced they were naming Jerry Kill as their new head football coach, I think you could hear “Who?” echo around the state of 10,000 lakes.

Since the hiring we have learned more and more about the new head guy for the Gophers.

He is 50 years old and from Cheney, Kan. His first coaching job was as defensive coordinator for the Gorillas of Pittsburgh State in Kansas. He held that position for a couple years from 1985 to ’87, and left to coach a high school team for a couple years before returning to Pittsburgh State as the offensive coordinator in 1991. Kill became the head guy at Saginaw Valley State in 1994 and continued on to be the head coach at Emporia State, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois and now with the Gophers. Coach Kill’s overall coaching record is his career is 127 wins and 75 losses. That’s the football information we know about Coach Kill. I think we all learned on Saturday more about coach Kill, the person.

The Gophers football team was trying to avoid an upset in their home opener against New Mexico State on Saturday. The Gophers were down by seven and had to convert on fourth down in Aggies’ territory in the final moments. But that’s when the game became irrelevant.

Attention turned to the sidelines where coach Kill laid. Now when it comes to Coach Kill’s health history, I was oblivious to what he has gone through until later that afternoon. The Big Ten Network showed a shot of Kill laying there with his coaches around him. I, like many other Gophers fans, was very concerned. Then Kill convulsed violently and the network quickly went to a different camera and never returned to show another close up (which was the right thing to do by the BTN).

It wasn’t the first time that Kill had suffered a seizure on the sidelines. It happened back in 2005 when he was at Southern Illinois, too. Kill is also a cancer surviver, being diagnosed with kidney cancer around the time of that previous sideline seizure. On Saturday, after Kill was carted off the field, there was still the game to finish. It would have been a wonderful storybook ending after what had just happened but quarterback Marquis Gray got pressured and his pass landed incomplete to end the game.

When it comes to W’s this weekend, the Gophers and Vikings were not able to get it done, but for me, this weekend put sports in a whole new perspective. On Sunday, all the NFL games started with players, coaches and others holding giant American flags that covered the entire fields. It was a day to honor and remember those who lost their lives 10 years ago. Football was extremely secondary to all the ceremonies and events that were held. I like when my teams win like everyone else but it’s just a game. And in case we forgot, the weekend reminded us that there are so many things in life that are more important.

KATE Radio Sports Director Aaron Worm’s column usually appears each Monday in the Tribune. He can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekdays on The Breeze.