I was reading up on this Tracy Claeys stuff and found this article, people think the world of kill I guess, enough to fire your coach.
Report: UConn's Bob Diaco fired after not showing interest in Rutgers OC Jerry Kill
Chris Ash quickly zeroed in on Jerry Kill and offered him a record salary for the job of Rutgers offensive coordinator.
On the other hand, Bob Diaco reportedly showed no interest in having Kill as offensive coordinator -- and it might be one of the factors that cost the UConn coach his job when he was fired Monday, a month after the season ended.
The Hartford Courant reported Tuesday that:
A source -- not (athletics director David) Benedict -- said that former Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill was on campus a few weeks back, that Kill wanted the job and Diaco wasn't interested in Kill. Benedict would not comment on this.
Benedict was the deputy athletics director at Minnesota from 2012-14, when Kill was the Golden Gophers football coach. He was named 2014 Big Ten Coach of the Year and could be a home run hire if he remains healthy.
Kill, who is finishing up his term as associate athletics director in charge of football at Kansas State this week, is Rutgers' eighth offensive coordinator in eight seasons.
Diaco went through three offensive coordinators in three seasons at UConn and was in the market for a fourth when the offseason started. There was media speculation as to whether Diaco's ego not would allow him to hire a big name from outside of his inner circle.
"I had a couple other opportunities," Kill said when he was introduced by Rutgers, "but I took the job with Chris because I think we are very similar in coaching styles, personalities, same philosophy."
Where Diaco reportedly showed no interest in Kill, Ash flew out to Manhattan, Kan. for a meeting within two days of the position opening.
Kill's hire also represents a smart break from Ash's first-year philosophy, when he filled out the coaching staff with mostly former colleagues and trusted friends of friends within the business. Kill offers a sounding board for a second-year head coach.
Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer was a 28-year-old first-time FBS-level play-caller. He left to be a co-coordinator at Texas.
Rutgers ranked last in the nation in total offensive yards, while UConn ranked last in scoring offense.
"I talked to several individuals at a lot of different places, different backgrounds, guys that I knew, guys that were connected to people that I trust and have worked with before, guys that were older, guys that were younger," Ash said.
"I didn't have a priority of a 1-through-10 or anything like that. Just took good notes on the people that I talked to and the information I was getting back through my background checks as I called around.
"As I talked about the profile I had laid out and I kept trying to check mark the boxes, everything kept coming back to Coach Kill being the guy who checked the most boxes and made the most sense and was the best fit."
