Kill takes next step by getting NIU post
DEKALB -- As part of its staggeringly comprehensive search for Joe Novak's successor, Northern Illinois powered through enough copier paper to kill a small forest.
But in the end, the Huskies' brain trust settled on the coach who essentially printed his resume on the 100-yard stretch of FieldTurf known as Huskie Stadium.
Three months after leading Division I-AA Southern Illinois to a 34-31 victory at Northern Illinois, Jerry Kill was introduced Thursday as the Huskies' 20th head coach.
"I'm very, very, very thankful for the opportunity," Kill said. "I chased a dream -- and the dream came true today."
Kill, who turned a destitute program at Southern Illinois into a national championship contender, agreed to a five-year contract with multiple incentive clauses.
That lengthy list includes rewards for strong academic showings, high graduation rates, Mid-American Conference titles and Bowl Championship Series appearances.
Don't shake your head at any of those. Kill certainly doesn't.
"I think the sky's unlimited," he said. "I don't think you limit yourself. I remember everybody laughed at me at Southern Illinois when I told them, 'I really think someday we can compete for a national championship.' "
Kill took over a program in 2001 that hadn't enjoyed a winning season since 1991 and hadn't appeared in the playoffs since 1983.
The Salukis won three consecutive Gateway Conference titles and made five consecutive I-AA playoff appearances, including this year's run to the semifinals.
"We were dead in the water," said Colorado State athletic director Paul Kowalczyk, who hired Kill at SIU and worked with him for five years. "We had nothing to recruit to.
"It took us three years out of dust to create a program. He's got a great head start at NIU. I really think this guy is amazing. He's fully capable of being successful at all levels."
Kill emerged the winner of a search process that might have set a record for thoroughness.
Hours after Novak announced his retirement on Nov. 26, Huskies athletic director Jim Phillips and his staff photocopied the biographies for 1,261 coaches.
Every Division I-A and I-AA head and assistant coach. Every NFL head and assistant coach. The top 20 coaches at the Division II and III levels.
Then Phillips, Novak and the staff vetted every bio and worked with Parker Executive Search until they reached a workable list of 12-15 candidates.
Phillips and Novak waited until Sunday morning, hours after SIU's semifinal loss to Delaware, to head down to Carbondale and interview Kill.
"He blew us both away," Phillips said. "It just seemed like a perfect fit."
Kill and Novak's friendship, which began when Kill called for advice after posting a 1-10 record in 2001, didn't hurt the process.
"He asked me, 'We had a lousy year. How did you deal with it?' " Novak said. "He had been a head coach and been successful at Emporia State and Saginaw (Valley). I said, 'You know what you're doing. Just keep doing what you believe in.'
"Their staff came up and visited ours a couple of times and I got to know him well. And everybody I knew just thought the world of him and he's been so successful.'
"You spend time with him and he's just a (heck of a) guy. He's down to earth. He cares. Some of the things I'd like to hope we stood for. He's a good coach but a better person. He truly is."