Former players reflect on Gill
JayhawkSlant.com's Bryan Cisler spoke with former UB players Chris Callahan and Ray Norell to get their opinion on UB coach Turner Gill, who is being considered for the Kansas coaching vacancy. Callahan and Norell had some interesting things to say about the differences between Gill and former UB coach Jim Hofher. Here is what they told Cisler:
Gill's coaching style
"I had played for the previous coach for two years and I was a (Jim) Hofher recruit, so when coach Gill came in, we were pretty accustomed to losing. Right from the beginning, he told us that we would be champions if we did what he told us. He got everyone to believe in his philosophy. Everybody really bought into that which brought out more effort and more of the team rallying around each other. When he first came in, it wasn't even his recruits, it was just him putting us in a position to win." - Callahan
"Coach Gill is very inspirational. If you ever needed to talk with him, he would always be there for you. He would call you out, not in a bad way but in a good way. Like he would say, 'All right Ray, I am watching you this play, what are you going to do for me.' He always had positive things to say and we always got better. He never lost his temper and never went crazy and a lot of guys like that because a lot of players get down when coaches get in your face." - Norell
Differences between the Hofher and Gill
"Coach Hofher was very laid-back, and he thought our system could win us games. He was a real X's and O's coach. That was the difference. Everyone was discouraged, and people were getting accustomed to losing and he never really did anything about it. He always told us, 'If you do this and this right, you will win,' but coach Gill really got us to believe in ourselves and taught us how to win." - Callahan
"When I got there as a freshman under Jim Hofher, everybody wasn't like a family. You had one group here or another group there, not everybody got along with each other, and not everybody talked with each other. With coach Gill, he made it a family. Everybody on the team was together and we all went through things together and we were all friends with each other. He was big on being a family and making us believe that if we wanted to win, we could win. That it doesn't matter what anybody else says or does. He came up with a whole new offensive scheme and new defense. It was a lot easier to run, and once you run the plays a lot more, we got better at them. " - Norell
Discipline under Gill
"That was the biggest change. When you have a losing program, you have a lot of discipline issues. Guys didn't really understand what it was like to be on a well-regimented team and coach Gill came in and playing under coach Osborne, he really brought in those values and the importance of school and education. He told us that we shouldn't be used by the program, and we should get our degree. He made us focus on the big picture and not just football which was nice because then we didn't have any problems with eligibility and stuff like that." - Callahan
"We had 5 a.m. runs. If you didn't pass team policy or broke a rule, you had to be there. At 5 o'clock in the morning, you don't want to be running stairs, but sometimes you had to. And it wouldn't just be you, he would punish your entire position group so everybody takes it among themselves so guys will stop screwing up." - Norell
Does Gill have what it takes to succeed at Kansas?
"I think so. I have been kind of following it a little bit with the Kansas thing. In terms of him turning around the program, he has the ability to turn things around and get people's spirit in the right direction - I mean if he can do it at Buffalo - we were the real doorstep of the NCAA, it was real impressive with what he did for us. I really think if he had the recruiting tools of a big school and able to draw in bigger recruits. He could do really well for himself. Buffalo is too small of a school for him. I wish him the best wherever he goes. " - Callahan
"I think so. He did what he needed to do in Buffalo. He got us a title and he put our program on top for a year. If he wants to go on to bigger and different things, I think he would be able to adapt anywhere. Whether it be Kansas, Nebraska, or wherever." - Norell
---Rodney McKissic
