10/21 News & Notes

[GoIlliniGo]

Article from the Tribune. Interesting read and I don't know what to think.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,4085055.story

[Dan]

Eleven Adjustments #4: Downfield Blocking - http://tinyurl.com/9oes96r - #Illini #FB

Eleven Adjustments #5: Maybe... Care? - http://tinyurl.com/9rldjsx - #Illini #FB

http://twitter.com/ALionEye

Paint ball with the squad! #family #picstitch http://instagr.am/p/RB7U7wlNgb/

http://twitter.com/ReillyOT4

[KJKobs]

Heat's already on Beckman
Patience wearing thin for those seeking to oust 1st-year Illini coach, and send AD packing as well

Pages of message board threads are dedicated to the debate about whether Beckman and second-year athletic director Mike Thomas should be pushed out of Champaign. One source close to the program called the Beckman hire "an absolute disaster," and another said he was "in way over his head." A Champaign newspaper reporter made his own "disaster" designation on a radio show.

Some words of advice for those quick-trigger observers: Don't get your hopes up.

Colleen Kane

[I Hate Lemonier]

Originally Posted by GoIlliniGo

Article from the Tribune. Interesting read and I don't know what to think.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,4085055.story

It illustrates to me what a difficult position Mike Thomas is in. He had to make a move on Zook. Recruiting was going South and he completely lost whatever ability he had to motivate the team. Ok Zook fired now on to a replacement.

Big buyouts are standard for any coach worth his weight. Probably No way Thomas is going to lure someone in on the cheap and have it turn out well. You do your research, interview your candidates and then make a commitment to the one you feel most strongly about. You pay them exceedingly well and then turn them loose.

Then they had better be the right choice. You have just thrown a ton of other peoples money at someone who has to produce. Patience is a tough thing to come by when you are asking people to continue to spend their hard earned money. You cant miss on your picks or you will be the one on the hot seat.

Bottom line is Beckman has 5 more games this year to start showing why he was the right choice. He had better get busy doing that next week or his boss will have to answer some very difficult questions

[OlivetNaz]

Originally Posted by I Hate Lemonier

It illustrates to me what a difficult position Mike Thomas is in. He had to make a move on Zook. Recruiting was going South and he completely lost whatever ability he had to motivate the team. Ok Zook fired now on to a replacement.

Big buyouts are standard for any coach worth his weight. Probably No way Thomas is going to lure someone in on the cheap and have it turn out well. You do your research, interview your candidates and then make a commitment to the one you feel most strongly about. You pay them exceedingly well and then turn them loose.

Then they had better be the right choice. You have just thrown a ton of other peoples money at someone who has to produce. Patience is a tough thing to come by when you are asking people to continue to spend their hard earned money. You cant miss on your picks or you will be the one on the hot seat.

Bottom line is Beckman has 5 more games this year to start showing why he was the right choice. He had better get busy doing that next week or his boss will have to answer some very difficult questions

Given the difficulties inherent to Illinois for winning football, Thomas will not get judged solely on how Beckman does. If Groce and Bollant pan out, then he'll be forgiven Beckman if Beckman crashes and burns.

Either way, it's too soon to tell. Beckman is the shortest contract at 5 years, but inherited little to work with in terms of players - especially at the freshman/sophomore levels. I'm guessing he'll get 4 years of that contract to prove he can do the job. By then, we'll know if Groce and Bollant worked out (initial signs for those two: pointing up).

Of course, if Guenther had done his job correctly two and three years ago, Thomas wouldn't have HAD to fire three coaches in his first year. All three of them should have been gone under Guenther's watch - and yet he did nothing.

[GilThorpe]

found ourself in 2009 in the worst of possible situations from an athletics standpoint

our University admin was in the midst of a scandal and we needed a new Pres & Chancellor
there was no way that many of us wanted RG making yet another coaching hire in either football, mens bball or womens bball, so had he fired someone, then what?

had RG fallen on his sword and admitted failure, who would have run the dept and there was no way a new AD was getting hired before the Pres or Chancellor.

we were screwed. many of us recognized it, and knew there was no easy solution. We are now paying the price. It could easily be another 3 years before we are really good in football.

[I Hate Lemonier]

Originally Posted by OlivetNaz

Given the difficulties inherent to Illinois for winning football, Thomas will not get judged solely on how Beckman does. If Groce and Bollant pan out, then he'll be forgiven Beckman if Beckman crashes and burns.

Either way, it's too soon to tell. Beckman is the shortest contract at 5 years, but inherited little to work with in terms of players - especially at the freshman/sophomore levels. I'm guessing he'll get 4 years of that contract to prove he can do the job. By then, we'll know if Groce and Bollant worked out (initial signs for those two: pointing up).

Of course, if Guenther had done his job correctly two and three years ago, Thomas wouldn't have HAD to fire three coaches in his first year. All three of them should have been gone under Guenther's watch - and yet he did nothing.

Bollant is completely irrelevant in the big picture. Beckman and Groce will dictate Thomas's future. I think Beckman will have 3 years to prove himself. At that point Thomas will need to extend him for recruiting continuity or cut bait if it hasnt worked.

Complicating Thomas's job are the dwindling attendance and luxury box leases that will need to be sold. Groce can certainly help if he turn basketball around quickly but i think Beckman needs to show something against the remaining schedule who outside of OSU we have as much or more talent than

[OlivetNaz]

Originally Posted by I Hate Lemonier

Bollant is completely irrelevant in the big picture. Beckman and Groce will dictate Thomas's future. I think Beckman will have 3 years to prove himself. At that point Thomas will need to extend him for recruiting continuity or cut bait if it hasnt worked.

Complicating Thomas's job are the dwindling attendance and luxury box leases that will need to be sold. Groce can certainly help if he turn basketball around quickly but i think Beckman needs to show something against the remaining schedule who outside of OSU we have as much or more talent than

I would argue that Northwestern and Ohio State both have more talent than we do (or maybe Northwestern just has better coaches than we do). I do think it would significantly lessen the heat on Beckman if he figured out ways to beat Indiana and Minnesota.

[GilThorpe]

agreed, TB will show alot to many people if he can figure a way to win just 2 of the remaing 5 games

[I Hate Lemonier]

Originally Posted by OlivetNaz

I would argue that Northwestern and Ohio State both have more talent than we do (or maybe Northwestern just has better coaches than we do). I do think it would significantly lessen the heat on Beckman if he figured out ways to beat Indiana and Minnesota.

According to Rivals over the last 4 years here are the class rankings:

Northwestern-2012(60) 2011(87) 2010(77) 2009(59) Avg. 70.75

Illinois- 2012(64) 2011(42) 2010(70) 2009(35) Avg. 52.75


I hate to admit it but Fitzgerald has done a good job coaching the talent he has.

[FeelYourPaign]

Originally Posted by I Hate Lemonier

I hate to admit it but Fitzgerald has done a good job coaching the talent he has.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I don't get the hate for Fitz. In fact, I wish we had a Fitz of our own. He went there, played there, and wants to be there. He isn't likely to move on and he is moving them slowly, steadily forward. That is about the only profile of a coach that I can imagine digging us out of the giant hole that we are in.

What's wrong with a loyal, enthusiastic successful coach?
And why can't we have one, too?

[ncoillini]

Originally Posted by FeelYourPaign

Maybe I'm the only one, but I don't get the hate for Fitz. In fact, I wish we had a Fitz of our own. He went there, played there, and wants to be there. He isn't likely to move on and he is moving them slowly, steadily forward. That is about the only profile of a coach that I can imagine digging us out of the giant hole that we are in.

What's wrong with a loyal, enthusiastic successful coach?
And why can't we have one, too?

I do not like Fitz but, everything else you said is correct. We need a loyal, enthusiastic successful coach. I would like to move faster though.

[GilThorpe]

Originally Posted by I Hate Lemonier

According to Rivals over the last 4 years here are the class rankings:

Northwestern-2012(60) 2011(87) 2010(77) 2009(59) Avg. 70.75

Illinois- 2012(64) 2011(42) 2010(70) 2009(35) Avg. 52.75


I hate to admit it but Fitzgerald has done a good job coaching the talent he has.

i doubt they have the recruiting "losses " that we have had. if you toss out the guys who never made it to campus or are gone already, I wonder if there is much difference.

regardless, no question Fitz coaches his boys up.

And yes, I wish we had our own home grown version of Fitz that understood what our deal is. And yes, I would hope for a couple less games 38-36 against us, and a few more in conference 28-10 in our favor. Defense in the B10 is what tends to be your best friend over the long run.

[IlliniJim20]

Originally Posted by FeelYourPaign

Maybe I'm the only one, but I don't get the hate for Fitz. In fact, I wish we had a Fitz of our own. He went there, played there, and wants to be there. He isn't likely to move on and he is moving them slowly, steadily forward. That is about the only profile of a coach that I can imagine digging us out of the giant hole that we are in.

What's wrong with a loyal, enthusiastic successful coach?
And why can't we have one, too?

For me, it is not so much a hatred of Fitzgerald as it is the love fest from Chicago media. They keep trying to force NU down the throats of people in the Chicago area, when most really do not care. Case in point, look at today's Tribune front page of sports. Headline is " Seeing Red," or something similar, trying to play off the term for anger. Not sure if they the Trib caught the irony, but the picture makes it look like a Nebraska home game based on the sea of red in the stands. Point being, Chicago does not really care about NU, they rarely sell,out, yet they are treated in the media like kings, just a notch below ND IMO.

Yes, I know the real reason is the plethora of NU grads in the media, but it still ticks me off.

I get that the "Chicago's Big Ten team" is NU's marketing slogan. Good for them. They paid the bucks to get that out there, but some in the media, IMO are buying into it and trying to make it their job to market NU.

Fitzgerald has done well with above average talent. However, he is around a .500 coach and is treated like a god in the media. They usually have a cupcake schedule and then fail in the big ten season. Completely average. I am not 100% 'sure on this, but didn't Zook have a similar record? Too lazy to look it up.

Fitz has also been pretty arrogant wrt to Illinois. Played up the supposed " snub" of not being recruited by the Illini when I seem to recall ND was always his first choice. Of course that doesn't get reported. He also had the comment, again wrt to Illinois, that NU recruits a " different" kind of player. Rubbed many the wrong way.

However, the point is valid, I wish we had a loyal, dedicated alum to lead this program.

[hermie1985]

So I hear two things alot. 1. Beckman has lost the team. 2. Beckman is in over his head. #1 can be fixed in time with his own guys. #2 is a much bigger problem.

I was just wondering if most of you believe it is more of one or the other.

[brosox]

I am not sure that we need a dedicated alum to lead our program. However, we do need an innovative coach who can take the talent we have and make them at least be exciting and interesting. NU's offensive lineman are usually smaller and no faster than ours. Same with their skill guys. But, over at least the last five years NU has been able to create an offensive system that keeps them in most games. When you have a dying fan base like ours, I believe that the only way to get it back is to score points. I don't think we necessarily have to win, but if we are scoring lots of points and losing 49-42 type games, I do think people will come out to watch. We are not only bad right now, but we are incredibly boring. If we score 17 points in any meaningful game, that is a lot, which is a recipe for disaster. Why can NU use its players to score points, and we cannot? Are their coaches that much smarter than ours? Are our coaches too tied down to trying to play smash mouth traditional football to realize that a bad team like ours needs gimmicks to score? I never thought I would say why can't we be like Northwestern. While they are not that great, they consistently win 6 to 8 games and play an exciting brand of football. I think most of us would kill to play good teams like Nebraska and Penn State and play competitive games to the last minute.

[AngryOrange]

Originally Posted by brosox

I never thought I would say why can't we be like Northwestern. While they are not that great, they consistently win 6 to 8 games and play an exciting brand of football. I think most of us would kill to play good teams like Nebraska and Penn State and play competitive games to the last minute.

Northwestern hired Randy Walker in 1999. Walker was up and down for his first few years, I believe tying for a Big Ten conference title in his 2nd or 3rd year, and losing seasons the other 3. Starting in about 2004 Northwestern has hit this plateau they have been on since then. Winning 6-7 games a year, recruiting to a system, and playing competitively against the Nebraska/Penn St. faction. I don't know if Beckman is the answer, but you have to give him more than a partial season to know the answer.

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by KJKobs

Heat's already on Beckman
Patience wearing thin for those seeking to oust 1st-year Illini coach, and send AD packing as well

One source close to the program called the Beckman hire "an absolute disaster," and another said he was "in way over his head."

I wonder why anyone close to the program would say things like this to a reporter. Did they opposed the Beckman hire from the beginning? Were the loyal to Zook? What did Kane mean by "close to the program" anyhow? Someone who observes practice? Someone who is in the locker room? A prominent booster?

[TruTexan]

Zook lost the team last year. TB is still trying to put the pieces back together.

[ButkusDaBear]

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

I wonder why anyone close to the program would say things like this to a reporter. Did they opposed the Beckman hire from the beginning? Were the loyal to Zook? What did Kane mean by "close to the program" anyhow? Someone who observes practice? Someone who is in the locker room? A prominent booster?

GHD,

The one "source" close to the program is someone inside the DIA. The "Another" who said 'in way over his head' is a player. Paul Klee Saturday morning (1400 WDWS) said that two players told him, they had not bought into the Beckman system. Those are players telling reporters that. Not good.

I have a couple of people who would be considered "insiders" in the program and they tell me, things are not good between players and some of the coaching staff.

[GilThorpe]

if this is accurate, ButkusDaBear, and I have no reason to think its not, then we should expect a few players to be leaving and/or transferring out of the program this winter.

People say Beckman has lost the team. There are clearly some guys he never had. We do know that last regular season ended terribly. I suspect some of these disgruntled players have not been living up to expectations for 12 months or more now.

We know Beckman can recruit, and we know he led the turn around at Toledo. It was a remarkable job done over 3 years and they are still reaping the benefits of the right players in the right system. Whether TB can do it at UI remains to be seen, but there is nothing to indicate he cant, and the B1G , as a whole, is down and will continue to be down. It is not that herculean of a task to think TB can get us to 5-3 in the league in 3 years. Its not easy, but its not like we are in the SEC.

[quhawks12]

We will know a lot more this week guys. If you notice a veteran guy not getting as many snaps as he used to he could be one of the guys "not buying in". This does not worry me at all. If it is players going to the media and saying this...my questions would be, "how the hell do you know he's in over his head?" My guess is the guys saying this are either upset about tick OR seniors who don't like having a guy like Zook to be their buddy.

ButkusDaBear...thanks for the info. Players talking like that don't concern me as I said above. The source in the DIA does, however.

This week will be very telling. Bye weeks are huge for new staffs. It's a second time off to get back to fundamentals and adjust and reinforce the new systems and schemes. I'm telling you guys...watch for upper classmen who are not injured that may not being playing as much as they were before. They are your guys not buying in as the staff just had 2 weeks to prepare there backups even more.