Coaching rumors: Here's how they start (Jerry Kill edition)

So the Gophers are 6-1 and probably the hottest team in college football that hasn't cracked the Associated Press Top 25.

And Michigan is struggling enough that coach Brady Hoke is seen to be in trouble.

Enter the speculators.

On the Sports Illustrated web site this morning, it was noted that "speculation season" in college football is beginning -- and that it includes the head coaching jobs at Florida and Michigan.

And, about Michigan, writers Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans include this:

"Jerry Kill would be a wonderful fit in Ann Arbor, as all he's done is win at Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois and now Minnesota. Kill's epilepsy, which caused him to miss a handful of weeks during the 2013 season, could hurt his candidacy. After that, there are not a lot of obvious names. One wildcard scenario is that Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long takes the AD job if it opens and brings Bret Bielema with him. Other AD candidates could include UConn's Warde Manuel and Boston College's Brad Bates."

That's four coaching names -- and an athletic director overhaul -- in 80 words. So there's your context.

Not long after that, the Kill situation became a headline on The Daily Gophers blog that began: "Jerry Kill To Michigan Head Coach Possibility Raised..."

If you read the entire piece, you'll see it concludes: "Kill isn't a serious candidate for the Michigan job no matter what the media says in the coming weeks."

It's still enough to fan the flames for people looking to create something without much context (which isn't at all the fault of the blogger in this case). Just get ready to hear more and more of the same, especially if the season continues to go as well as Gophers fans are hoping it will.

Then, of course, if there's men's basketball success, we can hear the same things about Richard Pitino, right?