Vanderbilt Football Offensive Assistant “Might” Retire

Senior offensive advisor Jerry Kill could retire at the end of the season.

Vanderbilt Senior Offensive Advisor Jerry Kill watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against Kentucky at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Vanderbilt football’s coaching staff could take a hit this offseason. Vanderbilt football senior offensive advisor Jerry Kill has been speculated to possibly retire at the end of the season, according to Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

At Saturday afternoon’s Heisman Trophy media availability, Pavia talked about Kill’s chances of retiring after Vanderbilt concludes its 2025 season in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Part of Kill’s possible retirement is due to health reasons as Kill has dealt with cancer multiple times in the past.

“I just think he might retire soon,” Pavia said. “You never know, you know? I know he was dealing with a lot during the season, and he’s battling through it every single day. He’s someone who’s beat Stage 4 cancer twice. Had cancer again during the season, fighting an infection. He’s just a soldier, you know? I pray for him every single day.”

Kill has had a long career of coaching. He was a defensive and offensive coordinator at Pittsburg State to start his career before eventually becoming the head football coach at the University of Minnesota from 2011-2015. Kill has also been an offensive coordinator and an assistant coach at Rutgers, Virginia Tech and TCU.

In the 2022-2023 season, Kill discovered Pavia while being the head coach at New Mexico State. Kill had a major role in the development and skillset of Pavia, which is likely something Kill will always be able to count as one of his biggest accomplishments over the course of his career whenever it is all said and done.

After the 2023 season, Kill left New Mexico State to join Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea and his coaching staff as a senior offensive advisor and chief consultant to the head coach. Little did Vanderbilt fans know it at the time, but the move was a catalyst for one of the greatest turnarounds for a college football program in recent memory.

Before Pavia committed to transferring to Vanderbilt, he was originally planning on transferring to Nevada for the 2024 season. But when Kill called Pavia to tell him that he was going to Nashville, Pavia dropped everything and flipped his transfer commitment to Vanderbilt .

“Long story short, Kill called me and he said, ‘Hey I’m in Mexico, I’m done drinking margaritas. I’m headed to Nashville and you’re coming with me,’” Pavia said in an appearance on ESPN’s “College Football Live” in 2024 following Vanderbilt’s win over a No. 1 ranked Alabama team. “I’m like, ‘It’s a done deal, I’ll see you in Nashville.’”

What was to come was two more years of a Kill-coached Pavia that will go down in Vanderbilt athletics history as the most memorable two seasons ever.

Kill and Lea helped coach Pavia to a 7-6 record in 2024 with a victory in the Birmingham Bowl over Georgia Tech. In 2025, the turnaround of Vanderbilt’s football program only got better as the Commodores went 10-2, the first time the program has ever reached 10 wins in a season.

Pavia and Kill share a special story of a coach taking a risk on a player that was hungry to prove himself. A player like Pavia that has always had an underdog mentality followed the one guy who ever took a chance on him after Pavia finished playing JUCO football. In many ways, Vanderbilt’s turnaround and Pavia’s success do not happen without Kill, who could close up his career on a high note if he were to retire.

“He’s the best,” Pavia said at the Heisman Trophy media availability. “We had a great time last night. I owe him a lot. I’m forever in debt to him. He gave me a chance to come here and be on this stage. If it wasn’t for him, none of this would happen.”