Former NMSU coach Jerry Kill taking off-field role at Vanderbilt
Jan. 11—Jerry Kill didn't wait long to get back in the game.
Initially reported by 24/7 Sports' Matt Zenitz in December and ESPN's Pete Thamel on Wednesday, New Mexico State's former head coach is taking an off-field role as the chief consultant to the head coach at Vanderbilt. Sam Guzman of KTSM-Channel 9 (El Paso) confirmed the news via an interview with Kill on Thursday.
"You always look for the right fit, and this is down in my wheelhouse, what I do," he told Guzman on Thursday. "I think what I've done for a long, long time fits how I can help Vanderbilt (and) help try to move the program forward ... (it's) sorta just like being a head coach, so to speak."
Kill, 62, abruptly resigned as NMSU's head coach on Dec. 23, citing mental and physical burnout after leading the Aggies to a historic 10-5 season in 2023. He turned down an offer for a guaranteed $1.1 million salary — what would've been the largest athletics contract in the history of the school.
Kill previously held similar off-field roles at Virginia Tech (2019) and TCU (2020-21). He has not worked with Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea in the past but is set to reunite with his former offensive coordinator, Tim Beck, and safeties coach, Melvin Rice, who left NMSU for Vanderbilt after the season.
DEFENSIVE DEPARTURE: Utah State is hiring NMSU defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling in the same capacity, according to a report Thamel released on Wednesday night. Dreiling, 33, would replace Joe Cauthen, who just completed his first season leading USU's defense.
Head coach Tony Sanchez announced last week that Dreiling had been named associate head coach in addition to his duties as defensive coordinator. Originally hired on Dec. 2, 2021, he made $195,000 in his second season with the Aggies.
Neither NMSU nor USU have confirmed Dreiling's potential hire.
In 2023, Dreiling oversaw an NMSU defense that allowed 392.4 yards and 22.8 points per game — the second-best mark in Conference USA, trailing only Jacksonville State (21.2). The Aggies (10-5) closed the season on a nine-game win streak behind several sterling defensive performances, notably holding Auburn to just 65 rushing yards in a 31-10 win on Nov. 18.
In his first season with NMSU, Dreiling coordinated the most improved defense in the country as the Aggies jumped from 127th to 29th in total defense.
He previously served as the defensive coordinator at Pittsburg State (2018-19) in addition to stints as a defensive analyst at Oregon (2020) and the defensive run game coordinator/inside linebackers coach at Southeast Missouri State (2021).
COACHING HIRE: Even with Dreiling's rumored departure, the Aggies moved one step closer to completing Sanchez's inaugural staff. Per a school release, NMSU is hiring Henry Fernandez as safeties coach to join cornerbacks coach Jalen Ortiz in leading the secondary.
Fernandez spent the last three seasons as a senior defensive analyst at Texas, notably contributing to a 2023 Longhorns defense that held opponents to 18.9 points per game en route to a College Football Playoff appearance. He has previously served as a graduate assistant at Washington (2019-20) and a defensive assistant at Sacramento State (2015-18).
An Oxnard, Calif. native, Fernandez played four seasons as a linebacker with Sacramento State and was named a co-captain his senior year.
