ANN ARBOR — Three days before a Big Ten Conference game against Michigan, an emotional Jerry Kill announced his resignation as the Minnesota football coach.

Kill said Wednesday in Minneapolis that concerns for his health spurred his retirement, which is effective immediately.

He has epilepsy, a neurological condition in which a person is prone to having seizures. But unlike seizures caused by head trauma, tumors, or diseases such as meningitis, there is no root or underlying cause of a seizure for an epileptic.

“This is not the way I want to go out,” Kill said. “You know about the struggles. I did my best to change, but some of those struggles returned, and I don’t want to cheat the game.

“I ain’t going to change. I did everything I could. I listened to my doctor 2½ years ago. Somewhat. But I did what it took.”

The Golden Gophers (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten) will be without their head coach for the first time in more than two years when they host the No. 15 Wolverines (5-2, 2-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. 

Members of Michigan’s coaching staff who spoke to the media on Wednesday expressed shock at Kill’s sudden resignation.

“Sad,” said Jay Harbaugh, UM’s tight ends and assistant special teams coach. “I figured it had to be something pretty serious, and you never want to hear anything like that, especially with a background of certain health issues.

“So you hope and pray he gets healthy and deals with everything all right. But it’s a serious thing.”

Tracy Claeys, Minnesota’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator, will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. On the weekly Big Ten teleconference, Claeys said Kill and his wife, Rebecca, had commitments Tuesday morning.

Claeys said he found out Tuesday night of Kill’s decision to retire. 

“It was like a kick in the gut,” Claeys said Wednesday.

Kill said he was at practice Tuesday in Minneapolis after suffering two seizures that morning. When he left, he came to a stark realization.

“I probably wasn’t supposed to be there,” Kill said.

Kill also had kidney cancer in 2005 and did not coach in Minnesota’s 2013 game at Michigan after having a seizure. He missed four games in his five seasons at Minnesota because of health reasons.

“I want to be myself,” said Kill, who has a career record of 156-102 and was 29-29 at Minnesota. “I want to be Jerry Kill. I want to coach the way I want to coach. … I don’t want to be a liability. I don’t want somebody to have to worry if I’m going to drop on the field.”

Jay Harbaugh’s father, Jim, coaches the Wolverines, and his uncle, John, coaches the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. The younger Harbaugh has watched how the longtime college and professional coaches have handled the stresses of coaching with their health.

“They both find ways and time to spend with their family and exercise, and they have fun doing what they’re doing,” Jay Harbaugh said. “But that’s a good question. It’s certainly something to be aware of.”

Michigan secondary coach Greg Jackson also expressed shock at Kill’s resignation but focused on UM’s task at hand.

“I feel sorry for Minnesota,” Jackson said. “But we will play Saturday. One thing we’re focused on is winning a football game and playing great defense. We’re trying to get back to the way we’re playing.”

Jackson said he offers players advice on handling the rigors of playing and coaching.

“It’s a stressful situation, but like I always tell my players, you can kill stress if you’re prepared or if you’re players are prepared,” Jackson said.

Jackson, however, said he hasn’t directly worked with a coach or an assistant who has had to manage an illness or a medical condition such as epilepsy.

Former players at Minnesota flooded social media with testimonials to Kill, and several Big Ten coaches spoke to Kill’s legacy.

“I had the opportunity in 2003 to coach against a Jerry Kill football team, and there’s no question that the football world is going to miss him on the sidelines,” Rutgers coach Kyle Flood told reporters in Piscataway, N.J. “He’s a class act to the greatest degree.”

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told the Chicago Tribune, “It’s sad. He’s such a great guy. ... Not a P.T. Barnum-type guy who is concerned about branding.”

Minnesota governor Mark Dayton and members of Minnesota’s athletic staff all sent statements of support for Kill, as did the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.

“The Foundation is proud of Coach Kill and stands with him in his quest to rise above seizures,” the organization said in a statement released Wednesday. “His strength and courage will guide him in his next great venture.”

But, likely, for the first time, many saw the vulnerability of a coach who had to step away for his own reasons, but not necessarily on his own terms.

“Somebody’s going to ask, ‘Coach, what are you going to do?’ ” Kill said. “I don’t know. I’ve never done anything else. That’s the scary part.

“[Tuesday] night, when I walked off the practice field, I felt like a part of me died.”

Contact Rachel Lenzi at: rlenzi@theblade.com, 419-724-6510, or on Twitter @RLenziBlade.

First Published October 29, 2015, 4:17 a.m.