Former Minnesota Gophers football coach Jerry Kill recently overcame a bout with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The 58-year-old who is now a special assistant at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, and he apparently contracted the virus while he was out for dinner, according to a report for CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd.
“He went out to dinner,” TCU head coach Gary Patterson told Dodd. “Everybody thinks it’s about the kids coming back. It’s about how you live your life doing everything else.”
Details about the severity of Kill’s COVID-19 experience haven’t been released. While the majority of patients who are infected with the virus experience mild symptoms, some patients can experience severe for life-threatening symptoms, with people over the age of 60 with underlying health conditions considered the most vulnerable.
Kill, who defeated kidney cancer, left the University of Minnesota in October 2015 to focus on his health following numerous gameday seizures related to his epilepsy. He has since worked at Kansas State, Rutgers, Southern Illinois, Virginia Tech and TCU.
Last year, Kill said he still roots for the Gophers, though his relationship with current Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck was strained.
“Do I still root for the Gophers? I do,” said Kill. “Do I enjoy him [Fleck] running up and down the sideline? No. Do I think that he’s about the players? No. He’s about himself. You can’t tell me. You’ve watched him. You listen to his interview, you think he thinks about the players?”
