The Illinois Coaching Staff Thread

#1      

illinidarrin

from parts unknown
Gill Byrd to be new cornerbacks coach
Austin Clark to be new DL coach
Rod Smith named OC/QB coach
Cory Patterson named TE coach

[youtube]3FkolmnFVl0[/youtube]


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It's officially done now with Smith.

Illinois head football coach Lovie Smith named Rod Smith as the new Fighting Illini offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Smith comes to Champaign-Urbana after six seasons as co-offensive coordinator with the Arizona Wildcats.

"Rod Smith brings terrific and exciting offensive experience to our staff at Illinois," Lovie Smith said. "His background and development of dual-threat quarterbacks and multiple-threat offenses is the direction we are going here. Rod has developed explosive quarterback play and offensive performance at each of his coaching stops."

http://fightingillini.com/news/2018/1/19/football-rod-smith-named-illini-offensive-coordinator.aspx
 
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#2      

illinipioneer

Richmond, VA
Like the hire, not a huge splash but hopefully his connections to a possible grad transfer and his supposed "QB whisperer" status helps turn the offense around.
 
#5      
Cory Patterson named Illinois TE coach

Also...

https://twitter.com/IlliniFootball/status/954439971137564672

Illinois head football coach Lovie Smith named Cory Patterson to the Fighting Illini staff as assistant coach for tight ends. Patterson joins the Illini after three seasons as the highly successful head coach at Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis.

"Cory Patterson is an up-and-coming star in the coaching world," Lovie Smith said. "I got to know him while he was doing an outstanding job at Trinity Catholic, and saw the coaching and leadership skills that will be a tremendous fit at the University of Illinois. He is a high-energy, highly motivated young coach."

http://fightingillini.com/news/2018...i-football-assistant-coach.aspx?path=football
 
#6      

Trakis

Chicago, IL
The Corey Patterson hire is HUGE. Just huge.

Holy crap I'm happy.
 
#8      

EJ33

San Francisco
The Corey Patterson hire is HUGE. Just huge.

Holy crap I'm happy.

Yep, top 3 players in the state of Missouri are at Trinity.

And Smith would appear to be at or near the ceiling of what we could expect for an OC hire.
 
#10      

Deleted member 654622

D
Guest
Man if Corey can get Williams to come to ILL, I bet they would pull 4 more of those kids off that team. They are loaded!
 
#14      
2 for 2 so far on really good to great hires. The program is really trending up. Illinois controlled the narrative and the national guys are all saying it's a great hire for Rod Smith. Patterson is an obvious great choice. Let's hope they both pay off with big dividends.

Going with the bold prediction that we end up with one of the top 20 QBs in the nation in this next recruiting cycle. Grant Tisdale and David Baldwin are names to keep an eye on. Terrance Gipson is another.

It would be nice to see Williams, Washington, Cooper and Henry from Trinity too.

I'm excited! :illinois::chief::illinois:
 
#17      

Ubermensch

BOOM! Feed my ego.
Anyone checked on Narrative lately? How's he doing? Keep us informed.
 
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#20      

ivwilsoniv

Aurora, IL
*crickets* :)

And these hires certainly make all the hand-wringing during the hiring process look silly...

Lovie Smith just had to wait for the news of Rich Rod's infidelity to drop, obviously. Then everything fell right into place. Should've seen it all along.
 
#22      

Dren1

Glenview, IL
Lovie Smith just had to wait for the news of Rich Rod's infidelity to drop, obviously. Then everything fell right into place. Should've seen it all along.
I am of the opinion that if Rod Smith were not made available, Lovie would have found someone else who was approximately as competent. Like I said, just my opinion. Was I becoming a bit impatient? Sure, but I still didn't see any point in running around claiming that the sky was falling.
 
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#23      

CAIllini

West Coast
So they have one more coach to hire, is that right? What level would they be? Has the Moorehead ship sailed?
 
#24      

Deleted member 654622

D
Guest
My main concern with the Trinity kids is they are loaded this year and primed to compete at a very high level. Do they hold it against CP for leaving in their senior season or happy for him for the big promotion? I hope they are mature enough to be very happy for him...but we are talking about high school dudes
 
#25      
My main concern with the Trinity kids is they are loaded this year and primed to compete at a very high level. Do they hold it against CP for leaving in their senior season or happy for him for the big promotion? I hope they are mature enough to be very happy for him...but we are talking about high school dudes

They can declare for IL and help reduce any potential concern/s. ;)