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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Staff Loyalty Spans 141 Years
8/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
There is loyalty and then there is loyalty to Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill.
The Gopher coaching staff is the most tenured in the nation. The group of Kill's nine assistants and strength and conditioning coach has served under him for a combined 141 years (counting the upcoming 2015 season), which is by far the most in the nation.
Apple Valley, Minn., native Eric Klein is now in his 22nd year with Coach Kill and is followed by associate head coach Tracy Claeys, who is in his 21 year with Kill. Rob Reeves, who coaches the h-backs/tight ends, has now been a member of Kill's staff for 20 years. Reeves played quarterback for Kill at Saginaw Valley State.
Assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Limegrover has been with Kill for 17 years. A trio of coaches - Brian Anderson (receivers), Pat Poore (running backs) and Jay Sawvel (defensive backs / special teams) - has worked with Kill for 15 years.
Jeff Phelps, who leads the defensive line, is in his eighth-year as a member of Kill's staff, while quarterback coach Jim Zebrowski is now in his sixth year.
Kill doesn't have to hire new coaches often, but in March 2014 he needed to hire a new linebacker coach after Bill Miller left Minnesota for Florida State. Kill didn't have to look far, as he promoted Mike Sherels to lead the linebackers. Sherels worked with the linebackers as a defensive graduate assistant in 2013 and most recently was an assistant coordinator of recruiting operations with the Gophers after joining the staff in 2011 as a special assistant to the head coach.
Kill also has two additional former Gophers on his staff in Dom Barber and Adam Weber. Barber works in recruiting, while Weber is an offensive graduate assistant who works with the quarterbacks.
Kill also has five former players of staff in Reeves, Trevor Olson, Jeff Jones, Corey Hanson and Mike McElroy.
Olson, who is from Richfield, Minn., started an NCAA-record 54 straight games at Northern Illinois and was on the team that beat Minnesota 34-23 in 2010. Olson is an offensive graduate assistant for the Gophers.
Jones, who is the director of player personnel, played for Kill at Southern Illinois. He ended his career as a three-time captain and led the Salukis to records of 10-2, 10-2 and 9-4 after the team went a combined 5-18 in his redshirt year and freshman year.
Hanson, who is from Minneapolis and attended DeLaSalle High School, was a member of Kill's leadership council at NIU where he played linebacker. Hanson is a defensive graduate assistant at Minnesota.
McElroy played for Kill as a freshman at SIU in 2007 and is now a defensive graduate assistant for the Gophers.
KILLER LOYALTY
Coach, Title, Years with Kill
Eric Klein, strength coach, 22
Tracy Claeys, associate head coach / defensive coordinator, 21
Rob Reeves, h-backs/tight ends, 20
Matt Limegrover, assistant head coach / offensive coordinator / offensive line, 17
Brian Anderson, running backs, 15
Pat Poore, wide receivers, 15
Jay Sawvel, defensive backs/special teams, 15
Jeff Phelps, defensive line, 8
Jim Zebrowski, quarterbacks, 6
Mike Sherels, linebackers, 2
