Former Minnesota football coach Jerry Kill said Wednesday he turned down an opportunity to remain with the university, instead wanting to focus on working in athletics.
In an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Kill said he was asked by school president Eric Kaler to serve in a speaking, teaching and fund-raising role.
"I want to be involved with athletics," Kill, 54, told the newspaper. "I've been involved with athletics my whole life, and I want to be around the kids more than anything."
Kill said he was not offered a position in athletics.
"I understand that," he told the Star Tribune, "but that was the deal-breaker for me.