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Kill, who has spent the past seven seasons at Southern Illinois, which plays in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS - formerly 1AA) and has compiled a 104-57 career record in fourteen seasons as a collegiate football head coach, led the Salukis to the FCS semifinals the past two seasons. The Salukis compiled a 12-2 record this past season and among their wins was a 34-31 upset over Northern Illinois early in the 2007 campaign. Under Kill, Southern Illinois also defeated Indiana in 2006 and have been ranked in the FCS Top 20 for 64 straight weeks.

"The great thing is that I get a chance to be a part of the tradition that Coach Novak has built here at NIU," said Kill at the press conference announcing his hiring today. "He's (Novak) done all the hard work of building this program and he's passing the torch on to me to carry it on."

Novak was enthusiastic about Kill's hiring. "I am very excited about Jerry Kill coming to Northern Illinois," stated Novak. "He is a great coach and his record shows that. He is also a great person and will be able to follow through with our players both athletically and academically. I couldn't be happier with the hire."

Jim Phillips, Northern Illinois' Director of Athletics, stated that the hiring of Kill came after "an exhaustive search." "It became very clear that Jerry Kill is a perfect fit for Northern Illinois," said Phillips at today's press conference. "He is familiar with our program and with recruiting in the state of Illinois."

Prior to this year, Kill's most successful season at Southern Illinois was in 2004 when the Salukis posted a 10-2 record and were ranked number one in the nation for ten consecutive weeks. Following the 2004 campaign Kill was named the winner of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award which is presented by the Football Writers Association of America. During his seven years at SIU, Kill was 55-32 (.632).

While at the helm of the SIU football program, Kill coached five first-team All-Americans and four Walter Payton Award finalists. Four of Kill's former players currently occupy NFL roster spots including Baltimore Ravens linebacker Bart Scott who played for Kill from 1998-2001.

"In a short period of time, he's turned a program around that was down since 1985. He has restored the pride and the faith of wearing that (SIU) decal, said Scott. "The student-athletes at Northern Illinois are really getting a treat, a guy who is going to come in and give them an identity, mental toughness and teaches dedication and perseverance."

Financial terms and the length of Kill's contract were not disclosed but independent sources report that the 46-year-old Kill signed a five-year deal with a base salary of $350,000 per year.

Jerry Kill's Head Coaching Record: