I don't agree. While the Illinois job isn't as attractive as many P5 jobs, $4-5M a year is a pretty big carrot. To use Jeff Monken as an example, Illinois could quadruple his present salary. That would be a pretty nice raise. I think the key is going to be finding a candidate that we want, but someone who isn't the hottest name on the coaching list (Chip Long, for example).
So I'm not worried about finding someone to take the job. And I think Whitman will make a decent choice, just as he did with Lovie. I liked the Lovie hire, but was concerned whether he'd be able to have success in the college game. I think this season is going to provide ample evidence that he's not the right choice for us moving forward. But I don't look at his hiring as a terrible blunder, like the Beckman hire was. Lovie is a respectable, decent guy who represents the university well. He's going to leave the program in a better state than it was when he arrived. I'll always appreciate everything he's done for this program. It's been really nice to have a non-clownish, thoughtful guy in the job. Now let's go take the next step, and find someone that can take us up another notch.