We need better position coaches and a DC who's recently experienced in designing successful P5 defenses. DL coach Clark has promise, but he should have gone through the minors before going P5. He needs to have experience with a wide variety of player skills and personalities so that he knows how best to teach and motivate his players, and develop recruiting networks in talent rich areas. Now he's trying to coach 'em up by "trial and error" and it ain't working so well. If former Dl coach Mike Phair had this group, I think it would be dominating now.
Coach McClain just isn't a P5 quality OL coach. I think Peter Principle would put him in D1A or lower. We could have hired a former Illini OL coach Harry Hiestand quality coach, and if we had, I think we'd be getting at least half the top recruits in Illinois and play would be much more disciplined and better. Recruits see Coach McClain then see OL coaches from Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Michigan, NW, MSU and Missou, and it's no contest. We need someone there who has at least 10 years of successful P5 OL coaching experience, and well developed OL recruiting networks. We had the money to hire someone like that, but Rod and Lovie set the bar low for some reason.
LB? the biggest problems our LBs have is missed assignments, angle and basic technique. They also are pretty horrible in their pass drops. Get a LB coach with 10 years top 25 coaching experience and it could have made a huge difference. Lovie just punted for nepotism and hired his unqualified son showing Lovie cares less about the team and fans than lining his families' pockets. The fans are paying the prices for that, not him.
Byrd and Keynodo Hudson have been disasters in recruiting and player development. Missed assignments and poor coverage and tackling by the secondary have been horrendous this year. He couldn't hold on to top players he already had on campus. Ron Hardge III was better than some that have dropped deep on the depth chart. Bennett Williams wasn't good enough for them, but apparently Oregon thought his transgressions weren't irredeemable as did Lovie. It was Byrd's job last year to birddog him to get back in the fold. If he needed to have him "escorted" to class or have a shadow to keep him out of trouble, he should've done it. Cameron Watkins would've helped, but they let him slip away to Memphis. They NEEDED top transfers this year in the backfield, but they got shut out. Recruit Thomson from Phillips had so many injury problems that he was a high risk, low payoff recruit. Beason was brought in bas an "athlete" by Hayes-stoker. Witherspoon was a lucky last minute catch, but we shouldn't have to rely on a 160# true freshman to start. What does the fact that he's starting say about the coaching of the rest of the unit? He had hardly any of their coaching and is doing better than many who did.
I really wish I knew why Lovie is doing what he's doing with staffing. If any reasonable person were in his shoes, they'd hire the best available to make the program successful. he's just hiring a bunch of unqualified cronies and longshots.
I really don't get him....