Kill you righteous indignation

I feel bad for Jerry Kill, the new coach for the Gophers. First there is the unfortunate nature of his last name. It's a verb! Many puns can be made! Unlike many of the punmakers across the Twin Cities though, I do respect him. That's the other reason I feel bad for Kill. As soon as he was hired, the move was assailed by the local media and many alums.
The problem, as the locals saw it, was that Northern Illinois, Kill's former employer, was a small time program, and they wanted a bigger name coach. They pointed to the fact that he lost in his game against Miami (Ohio) in his final game with the Huskies. The only thing is, this WAS the best the Gophers could do, and that isn't Joel Maturi's fault, entirely.
Minnesota is an unappealing job. This is a fact. The Gophers are in a top conference, televised nationally every year, and are thoroughly, soundly defeated. The Gophers haven't had a good fan base since the 60s, in large part to their being forgotten in the face of professional sports, they were away from campus for 20 years. Meanwhile, big time programs like Michigan and Ohio State get hundreds of thousands of fans at the game, and incredible support. The Gophers losing every year and being a small fish in a big pond (both in the Big Ten and in Minneapolis) likely turned desired coaches like Mike Leach, Randy Edsall, Kevin Sumlin, Brady Stoke, Chris Peterson and Randy Shannon off to Minnesota. Why would they want to come here, when there will almost certainly be more desirable jobs opening up this winter?
As for the whole issue of Northern Illinois losing to Miami issue... that was the conference championship game. The entire critique is going to be based on one game? One very close game? Some went so far as to say they should hire Miami's coach, but Northern Illinois ended the season with more wins than Miami. Also, NORTHERN ILLINOIS BEAT MINNESOTA! I mean, doesn't that constitute an upgrade for the Gophers? Just because he wasn't the big name Gophers fans were hoping for doesn't mean he isn't a better coach. There was also speculation that the Gophers were talking to Paul Chryst from Wisconsin as a prospective candidate, which many local sportswriters are . I don't know that they are exactly the same, but Chryst turned down Purdue two years ago, and frankly, Purdue was a much better situation than Minnesota is now.
And I don't mean the previous two paragraphs to deride Coach Kill. Sure, he wasn't a big name, an up and comer, but that doesn't mean he isn't a good coach. In fact, he may be what the Gophers need. He is humble and self effacing, which means he is not likely to be out worked, and is going to be loyal to the program, believing it is bigger than he is. He sort of looks like Joe Tiller. Most importantly, he did what he did at Northern Illinois working with the same talent pool as the rest of the Big Ten, So good luck, Coach Kill, I hope you do a fantastic job,