Today Turner Gill was named Mid-American Conference coach of the year. It is well deserved for Gil, who turned around a program that could not win more then 3 games to a 5 win team. Granted only at UB can you win 5 games and be named coach of the year. Now all the rumors have him leaving UB and taking the job at Nebraska. First off, if the job is offered to him, he would be nuts not to take it. But I still have my doubts that Nebraska will offer the job to Gil. Yeah he got UB one win away from a bowl game, and had them in a tie for first place in the MAC East, but he still had a losing record. They still lost to Syracuse, which they really had no business doing. They could not get the big win over Bowling Green, which would have given them a shot at the International Bowl. They still could not beat Miami of Ohio which would have given them a shot the MAC championship and a berth in the Motor City Bowl. Second it was only one season. Does Nebraska really want a coach who won five games once? Gil does have connections, both playing and then coaching at Nebraska. But don't the school want someone who has proven them self? I would worry that he got lucky once. If he can win next year, and take the next step, a bowl game and a MAC division championship, then he should get a head coaching job at a bigger school. I realize that UB is not the end all job of coach, actually it is one of the worst jobs in the country, but I want a guy who has proven themselves if I were Nebraska. But Turner deserves the coach of the year in the MAC, he has done something nobody else could do, that is have the football program pointed in the right direction, with hope for next season.
