By Fred Mitchell Northern Illinois suffered a stunning loss to Miami of Ohio in Friday night's Mid-American Conference championship game, snapping the Huskies' nine-game winning streak and dropping them from the Top 25 national ranking they briefly enjoyed.
Then on Sunday, shortly after learning they would play in the Humanitarian Bowl on Dec. 18 against Fresno State, the Huskies were stunned again. This time it was the news that coach Jerry Kill has accepted the head-coaching position at Minnesota.
Kill, and perhaps some members of his NIU staff, will not be coaching the Huskies in the bowl game.
"At this point we are trying to determine which of the staff will remain and be here throughout our practice regimen for the game," NIU director of athletics Jeff Compher said during a conference call Sunday night. "Coach Kill will meet with the press in Minneapolis (Monday). Once he does that, he can get his feet on the ground there. We can then look at what our situation is here."
Photo: NIU coach Jerry Kill led the Huskies to a 10-3 record and the Humanitarian Bowl in 2010. (US Presswire)Kill was not made available on the conference call.
NIU players have final exams this week, so they won't be practicing anyway. But Compher would like to get the temporary coaching situation sorted out as quickly as possible.
"This is the game the players wanted to go to, so they are excited about that," said Compher, who added that Kill's decision was made during a 24-hour period over the weekend.
Kill informed his NIU players of his decision following the team's banquet Sunday in DeKalb.
"It's still a feeling that I really can't comprehend," junior quarterback Chandler Harnish said. "Disappointment ... I'm shocked. But we're moving on and we still have a bowl game to focus on and that's what we're thinking about.
"There's definitely a lot of mixed emotions on the team -- disappointment and shock."
Compher said he has some candidates in mind for the coaching vacancy.
"This is a transition where we are handing over, what I think, is maybe one of the best teams in the country to the next coaching staff," he said. "I want to make sure that we get the right coaching staff in here that can continue the level of success and the level of play that we have enjoyed over the last few years under Coach Kill's guidance. He's done a great job in that regard."
Kill originally signed a five-year contract at NIU in 2007 that paid him $300,000 annually, and he received a raise to roughly $381,000 15 months ago, when he signed an extension that lasts through 2015. Contract details at Minnesota are not known, but Brewster earned roughly $1 million annually, and is still owed $600,000 to buy out the final three seasons of his contract.
Source: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/12/reports-kill-leaving-niu-to-accept-minnesota-job.html
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