The last you might have seen ex-Minnesota football coach Jerry Kill or thought about his New Mexico State football team, they were getting drubbed 38-0 by the Gophers on Sept. 1 as part of an 0-4 start that also included a 66-7 loss to Wisconsin.
Ex-Gophers coach Jerry Kill pays off bowl game promise with massive New Mexico State tattoo
Kill motivated his underdog team by telling them he would get a tattoo if they won their bowl game. They did, and on Sunday he followed through with his end of the deal.
February 20, 2023 at 7:31PM
From there, though, Kill's team staged a stunning turnaround. The Aggies won six of their final eight regular-season games and were invited to the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.
Sensing his team needed some additional encouragement once it had its season extended by a month, Kill made them a deal: Win this bowl game — something Kill had never accomplished in five previous tries with the Gophers (3) and Northern Illinois (2) — and he would get his first tattoo.
Well, New Mexico State beat Bowling Green 24-19 in the bowl game. And about two months later, on Sunday, Kill went through with his end of the bargain — getting a massive tattoo on his right arm featuring "NMSU," "Bowl Champs" and two pistols.
"It's honoring a group of young men that did some things that probably nobody, including their head coach, didn't know if they could do it," Kill said, per KTSM in El Paso. "It is a good way to honor them and a good way to remember them. Believe me, I would not have made the bet if I didn't think it was special."
Kill resigned from the Gophers job during the 2015 season because of health concerns, but he has since worked at four different schools. New Mexico State had just one winning season since 2002 before he arrived prior to the 2022 season.
If this ends up being the job Kill eventually rides into the sunset, it could make for quite a story. And either way: He'll never forget New Mexico State thanks to his permanent reminder.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
