Second, OSU's record this year is in every sense superior to Minnesota's. OSU won their head to head clash in Minneapolis. OSU has defeated several highly considered opponents including Michigan State. The Buckeyes regularly recruit at a higher level than Minnesota. Meyer has had to contend with a number of serious problems including losing one of the best quarterbacks in the country for the season. (It turned out that the replacement QB is arguably even better). In every regard, these arguments are compelling.
Yet, there is a compelling argument for Kill as well. Looking at the Gopher's record over the twenty years tells the story: one ten win season, few winning seasons—in short a marked lack of success and prominence most of the time esp. when compared to Ohio State. That is, Urban Meyer's unarguable success continues the long-standing success of OSU football. Kill's putting together back-to-back eight win seasons in Minnesota, on the other hand, stands in marked contrast to the team's past when that has happened only once. Indeed, going back to 1960, Minnesota has had eight-win seasons only seven times including the two under Coach Kill. Going back just to 1994, OSU has had 17 eight-win seasons or better.
Meyer's accomplishments represent an admirable continuation of the OSU winning tradition built on a superior football culture. Not every coach can come into a winning situation and keep it going. Kill's seemingly more modest accomplishments in Minnesota, on the other hand, stand in marked contrast to what has gone before. He inherited a mess, and he has thus far turned things around in a remarkable fashion.
The question is, in sum, what is the measure of coaching success that would lead to being named coach of the year in the Big Ten? Is it superior success continuing a tradition of superior success? Is it measurably improved success turning around a tradition of mediocrity? Honestly, a case could be made in either direction, but making that choice requires deciding on the measure of coaching success. The judges this year chose the return of Minnesota to relevance in the Big Ten after two generations largely of irrelevance their standard for 2014. Gopher fans are glad they did. We're still not used to winning things like this.
