Jerry Kill expected to leave Kansas State, become offensive coordinator at Rutgers

Jerry Kill is expected to return to the world of college football coaching as offensive coordinator at Rutgers, according to a source.

The source confirmed reports from Sports Illustrated and NJ.com that Kill will leave his current job as Kansas State’s associate athletic director and take control of Rutgers’ offense.

Kill came to K-State seven months ago after a long, 32-year career in coaching that began at the high school level and appeared to end at Minnesota. He won 156 games and three national coaching awards. Last season, Kill abruptly left his position as head coach at Minnesota for health reasons related to epilepsy.

At the time, he said his coaching career was likely over.

But he has had a change of heart after some time away. His current low-stress responsibilities, which include attending football practices and advising K-State coach Bill Snyder on future opponents as well as helping athletic director John Currie, helped re-energize him.

Last month, he told the Eagle he was in terrific health. A low-carb diet, prescribed by his epilepsy doctor, helped him lose 25 pounds. He sleeps more and exercises daily. His energy went way up.

“I would say I feel about 90-percent better than I did a year ago,” Kill said last month. “I would probably still be coaching had I felt this good then. But I have changed a lot. I went from 2 1/2 hours of sleep for 12 years to six hours of sleep now. That is a huge deal.

“I have changed my life, and K-State has allowed me to change my life. I am more relaxed and I have been able to take time to take care of myself.”

Had he felt so good at Minnesota, he added, he would not have stepped down as head coach.

Currie hired Kill to a one-year contract worth $150,000.

Kill said he liked his job at K-State, and, by all accounts, Snyder and Currie thought he was doing a good job. But Kill missed coaching. Last month, he told the Eagle he might explore coaching opportunities as an assistant if the right opportunity came up at the end of the 2016 season.

Rutgers offered him that opportunity over the weekend. He couldn’t pass it up.

This story was originally published December 18, 2016 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Jerry Kill expected to leave Kansas State, become offensive coordinator at Rutgers."