Ex-Illinois coach Ron Zook says program was headed in right direction

[Dan]

The last time Ron Zook wasn't lacing up shoulder pads or drawing up plays this time of the year, Lyndon Johnson was in the White House and color TV was sweeping the nation.

"I don't even remember. It must have been junior high," Zook, 58, told the Sun-Times.

Yet there he was, hauling a new boat to his Florida lake house while Illinois, the team he coached the last seven years, was set to start training camp Monday.

Herb Gould

[AHSIllini32]

I think Zook was candid, truthful and honest in that article.

But why did the Sun-Times even feel the need to write this article?

[mattcoldagelli]

He's more right than wrong there, especially about our historical lack of consistency.

If, in say...2009, I had made you choose between Zook and Weber as to who would have a more graceful exit, how many of you would have picked Zook?

[Groundhogday]

“Regardless of what people think, we were making progress,’’ Zook said.

Fan support and recruiting never recovered from the 2009 debacle. Zook definitely left behind some talent, but we were becoming woefully thin at a number of positions because they couldn't recruit enough quality players. Attendance was plummeting. Letting Zook go was an easy decision.

Zook had a chance to erase the memory of 2009 and renew fan/recruiting momentum with an exciting 2011 season, but they self destructed down the stretch.

[GilThorpe]

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

Fan support and recruiting never recovered from the 2009 debacle. Zook definitely left behind some talent, but we were becoming woefully thin at a number of positions because they couldn't recruit enough quality players. Attendance was plummeting. Letting Zook go was an easy decision.

Zook had a chance to erase the memory of 2009 and renew fan/recruiting momentum with an exciting 2011 season, but they self destructed down the stretch.

by the Minnesota game, it didint matter, but all he had to do was beat Purdue OR PSU, and I dont think MT would have been able to fire him if he wanted. Zook made it easy for MT going 0-6 , I really wonder what would have happened had we got a few breaks and beat Wiscy. I think RZ would still be coach .

It was so very obvious to many of us what needed to occur, but the 6-0 start almost made it impossible to happen.

[TooHot4Tots]

Zoom blew several opportunities. Just not a good coach. But a good recruiter!

[256ILLINI]

"In 2009, when Illinois was coming off a 3-9 mess, its second consecutive losing season, it would have been understandable if he had been let go. Last fall, when !Illinois was headed to back-to-back bowls for the first time in 19 years, it would have been understandable if Zook believed he got a raw deal."

This line bugs me, because it plays down the significance of how Zook finished the year. Nobody in the history of college football ever started 6-0 and finished 0-6. Not a single coach.

[illinicb]

Originally Posted by 256ILLINI

"In 2009, when Illinois was coming off a 3-9 mess, its second consecutive losing season, it would have been understandable if he had been let go. Last fall, when !Illinois was headed to back-to-back bowls for the first time in 19 years, it would have been understandable if Zook believed he got a raw deal."

This line bugs me, because it plays down the significance of how Zook finished the year. Nobody in the history of college football ever started 6-0 and finished 0-6. Not a single coach.

First of all, teams only began playing twelve games relatively recently, so there can't be a lot of coaches that could have.

The reality is that making a bowl game these days is a fairly low hurdle (not so much in Illinois football history) so doing it two years in a row isn't like doing it twenty years ago. Zook could have made it a tough decision (or non decision) for MT, but he didn't.

[256ILLINI]

Originally Posted by illinicb

First of all, teams only began playing twelve games relatively recently, so there can't be a lot of coaches that could have.

The reality is that making a bowl game these days is a fairly low hurdle (not so much in Illinois football history) so doing it two years in a row isn't like doing it twenty years ago. Zook could have made it a tough decision (or non decision) for MT, but he didn't.

Probably more than you think, i'd say there have been somewhere between 250-300 coaches since schools started playing 12 games in 2003.

[Hoppy2105]

I'm glad Zook was fired. Not because I think he is a bad guy, but because he served his time here and did the program a service. As you build up you have to go through a few coaches. Zook was our "6-6/consistent low tier bowl" coach.

Beckman, hopefully, will be our 8-4, 9-3, 10-2 coach. If TB leaves after sustained success here, we will simply step up to the next great coach with a better product to sell.

Sometimes a school hits a home run and get's an awesome coach right off the bat. And other times it has to build it's product into something desirable. We are the second school building up. Zook was good but stagnating, hopefully TB will be great, then hopefully the next coach will win us a NC.

[STLINI]

Zook definately left the program in better shape than when he started. He obviously had his liabilities, and it was time for him to go, but I like the Zooker and the passion he had for the Illini. Best of luck to him.

[BexleyIllini]

While I think Zook was a good guy, it is highly doubtful that he could have kept recruiting on par with the 2007 to 2009 classes. This coupled with his obvious coaching limitations would have sent the program into decline. Overall he did help the program and I wish him the best of luck. I don't feel the same way about Bruce Weber.

[IlliniRunIn07]

That, of course, will be on the watch of new coach Tim Beckman, who regularly compliments Zook for leaving the program in good shape. Beckman also regularly stresses Illinois’ need to improve its fundamentals, especially on its dismal special teams, which isn’t so flattering to his predecessor.

Is this a knock on Beckman that he addresses the team's issues? Zook didn't get fired because we were winning too much. He did a lot of good for the program, but there were some serious glaring issues. I hated this whole article. It's rare that a coach on the way out and the new coach handle a delicate situation with such class. Usually at least one of them will act like a clown. IMO Gould portrays himself as a clown by writing a pointless aritlce that is essentially a subtle dig at Illinois.

[Calvin]

Originally Posted by STLINI

Zook definately left the program in better shape than when he started. He obviously had his liabilities, and it was time for him to go, but I like the Zooker and the passion he had for the Illini. Best of luck to him.

+1

No complaints about what he accomplished --none. I really like that he was consistently getting pro talent on the roster. It's a pretty good list of first rounders in his tenure, and I think he had an eye for bringing in high ceiling guys more so than other coaches.

Given our stadium, fan base, facilities, etc. relative to other programs, I think he did a pretty good job. I think we can go a little higher, but I worry that we will be a stepping stone program when/if we land a great coach.