Emotional Jerry Kill: Being forced to leave Gophers 'destroyed us'

The former Gophers coach was emotional reflecting on his return to Minnesota.

Thursday night's season opener was uneventful for the Minnesota Gophers on the field, but off of it, former Gophers head coach Jerry Kill got emotional after his New Mexico State Aggies suffered a 38-0 loss.

Kill spent five seasons at Minnesota but had to step down in 2015 due to issues related to epilepsy. Kill has made several stops since then including becoming an interim head coach at TCU after Gary Patterson's dismissal last season, but he surprised many when he took the head coaching job with the Aggies last fall.

"It destroyed us," Kill said of his departure in 2015. "I didn’t want to leave the way I went out. That's why I’m coaching now. I want to go out the way I want to, not something taken away from me. People can judge me, I know what I stand for.”

Kill's return to Minnesota dominated the headlines coming into the game as he previously stated he would never set foot in what is now known as Huntington Bank Stadium. Kill threw more gas on the fire when he said he wasn't sure if he'd shake current head coach P.J. Fleck's hand.

Fleck did his best to extinguish the beef by confronting Kill for a handshake before and after the game. He also spoke kindly of Kill, who he served under as a wide receivers coach at Northern Illinois in 2008.

"I respect Jerry Kill wholeheartedly," Fleck said. "I’ve never said one thing, ever, negative about Jerry Kill. What I told him at the beginning was thank you for all that you’ve done for my career. Always had the utmost respect for him."

Kill was also asked what he said to Fleck during the handshake to which he said, "It was just business."

With the Aggies out of the way, the Gophers will continue their season next week against Illinois State.