Is it really that attractive though? Just means they're coming into an unstable situation. (Which they'd already know, but having to fire and hire a coach isn't the greatest of tasks). Plus, like with MT, when you have to hire for a crappy job, the fanbase turns on you early because you hired a bad candidate because only bad candidates want bad jobs, and then you're behind the 8-ball talking to donors and other groups from the start. Again, exactly what MT experienced.
Bill Cubit gets 2-year deal as Illinois Head Football Coach
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Is it really that attractive though? Just means they're coming into an unstable situation. (Which they'd already know, but having to fire and hire a coach isn't the greatest of tasks). Plus, like with MT, when you have to hire for a crappy job, the fanbase turns on you early because you hired a bad candidate because only bad candidates want bad jobs, and then you're behind the 8-ball talking to donors and other groups from the start. Again, exactly what MT experienced.
peace davids
- Colorado
You are probably right. The thought behind my original post was more along the lines the Cubit was in Tomas' back pocket as an option. Perhaps he was waiting to see who was available, but MT should have had a short list and started making inroads with potential candidates. Maybe he got bad feedback from his top candidates. Maybe PK just didn't follow up with those leads and felt the Cubit option was the best available to him? Maybe MT shut the doors that he had started opening?
I agree that MT should and probably would have done a better job this time around, but because of the perception of Illinois right now, we could have ended up with Cubit anyway.
Sure, but at least we would've tried to openly vet candidates. That's the part that really irks me. We didn't even wait for the NW game, didn't see if candidates would try (the list of good candidates is pretty objectively good and defined, just a matter of interest IMO) and that's the most sad part to me. A new AD will have a worse time doing the hiring in a year than they would've this year. (or even last year, for that matter)
I tend to think this way as well. I think the "AD's guy" line of thinking isn't so much that he wants his own guy in there, but he has more of a willingness to pull the plug on somebody he didn't personally hire. It's easy to cut losses or admit failure when it's not your own fault.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
Keep in mind this is really a 1 year deal. I would have done what tOSU did with Fickel and kept it interim. Very honest and upfront with everyone. You could have given him a four year deal to look good for recruits but then you're further tying the hands of your new AD and it would have led to more uproar (Cubit for 4 more years!!!).
I get that the AD wants a HC that they like. I'm just saying, walking into this dumpster fire of a situation can potentially put you behind the 8 ball immediately. You're first job is to fire a coach of a terrible team and hire a coach that can turn around a program with no quality recruits. That's a tall task for the coach AND the AD. Not exactly a dream scenario.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
Let me also give a non-Rick George example of what could happen. Let's say we hire the NIU AD. Strong ties to Wisky. Now you would have Alvarez trying to support us by encouraging coaches to come here. This is an example of what the right AD hire can do for us. Connections. Respect etc.
dsboyce
- Golden, IL
This is in danger of being buried in the thread. I have believed all along that we had to clean out the entire coaching staff. There is no way that the other coaches were unaware of what Beckman was doing. The bolded statement is very troubling. With everything that has come to light, what possible excuse could there be for something like this?
One of the assumptions underlying this decision seems to be that we'd definitely be worse off as a program if we made a bad hire now and got ourselves locked in for four years and be looking at paying a much more significant buy out in 2017 or 2018. But is that really valid? To me, even if we hire a coach now who turns out to be a complete failure, that only puts us in roughly the same position that any program would be in towards the tail end of a failed coaching regime. What's so terrifying about that? And the upside of taking a flyer on a Dino Babers type coach is pretty obvious. From a risk-reward perspective, that seems like the logical move.
Meanwhile, the risk of retaining a "permanent" interim head coach on a joke of a contract, defying all conventional wisdom that such a move can have disastrous consequences for recruiting and stigmatize the university as an administrative train wreck from top to bottom for years to come, is actually way more risky. Specifically, a string of 1-11 or 2-10 seasons to close out this decade if recruiting falls off the map no matter who we bring in after the new AD is hired in 2016. And where's the upside exactly? That it makes it easier for us to hire an AD this spring? When did it become impossible to make a decent AD hire without dangling the freedom to hand pick a new head football coach right out of the box? Do we believe that nobody worth his salt would touch this program with a ten foot pole if they were forced to have to work with PJ Fleck for three years?
The more time I spend thinking about this, the less sense at all makes. And it didn't make all that much sense to me to begin with.
Meanwhile, the risk of retaining a "permanent" interim head coach on a joke of a contract, defying all conventional wisdom that such a move can have disastrous consequences for recruiting and stigmatize the university as an administrative train wreck from top to bottom for years to come, is actually way more risky. Specifically, a string of 1-11 or 2-10 seasons to close out this decade if recruiting falls off the map no matter who we bring in after the new AD is hired in 2016. And where's the upside exactly? That it makes it easier for us to hire an AD this spring? When did it become impossible to make a decent AD hire without dangling the freedom to hand pick a new head football coach right out of the box? Do we believe that nobody worth his salt would touch this program with a ten foot pole if they were forced to have to work with PJ Fleck for three years?
The more time I spend thinking about this, the less sense at all makes. And it didn't make all that much sense to me to begin with.
Yeah, I saw that and couldn't find what thread it was in and I bounced around. That's completely unacceptable, if it's true. Jeez.
+1. Nothing about it makes sense, there are so many coaches that have quality resumes available this year, and from all strokes! SEC retread (Richt), MAC newcomer or other G5 (Babers, Fleck, Campbell, Rhule, etc), coordinator (Foster, Durkin) that the fact that we didn't even try is mind boggling. What AD would be mad about any of those candidates besides maybe Fleck?
Just found this .gif on reddit, but I believe it summarizes my feelings as an illini fan these days.
Yeah, I saw that and couldn't find what thread it was in and I bounced around. That's completely unacceptable, if it's true. Jeez.
+1. Nothing about it makes sense, there are so many coaches that have quality resumes available this year, and from all strokes! SEC retread (Richt), MAC newcomer or other G5 (Babers, Fleck, Campbell, Rhule, etc), coordinator (Foster, Durkin) that the fact that we didn't even try is mind boggling. What AD would be mad about any of those candidates besides maybe Fleck?
Just found this .gif on reddit, but I believe it summarizes my feelings as an illini fan these days.
Couldn't agree more. Given the timing that the University administration put themselves in by waiting until November to fire MT, our best option was to let Kowalczyk announce he was conducting an open coaching search that includes Cubit. I'm way more confident in Kowalczyk making a choice among the guys you listed than this 2-year interim nonsense. Pretty sure Kowalczyk wanted this plan as well - at least that's my impression given his comments. But he was given his marching orders from folks who clearly don't understand football or athletics in general.
Plus the whole idea of "you can't hire a coach without a permanent AD" is nonsense. Pittsburgh did it. Michigan did it. An AD is often hired when there's already a football coach in place. A new AD is only "saddled" with a coach if the coach doesn't win. No AD would complain about a winning coach just because he didn't hire him.
Not to mention the fact that our track record of "permanent" ADs making football hires isn't exactly stellar to begin with. Why are we so confident this time will be any different?
The more I think about this the less sense it makes - and it was a head scratcher from the time it was leaked on Wednesday night. There's no way this makes us better in the short term or the long term.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Yep. It's absolutely asinine. People parroting it are just taking the University's lame excuse for being lazy, disorganized, and incompetent and letting them get away with it.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
Yeah, I saw that and couldn't find what thread it was in and I bounced around. That's completely unacceptable, if it's true. Jeez.
+1. Nothing about it makes sense, there are so many coaches that have quality resumes available this year, and from all strokes! SEC retread (Richt), MAC newcomer or other G5 (Babers, Fleck, Campbell, Rhule, etc), coordinator (Foster, Durkin) that the fact that we didn't even try is mind boggling. What AD would be mad about any of those candidates besides maybe Fleck?
Just found this .gif on reddit, but I believe it summarizes my feelings as an illini fan these days.
OK, that is funny....
northofgreen
N
Guest
in times like these I turn to Louis C.K.
"I guess all the dumb decisions you made today have made this a good one"
- Louis C.K.
"I guess all the dumb decisions you made today have made this a good one"
- Louis C.K.
The thing that really mystifies me is the timing of the Thomas firing. It virtually guaranteed another year of Cubit (or someone) as interim coach, de facto if not de jure.
Of course, as everyone has noted this simply shows the vacuum in leadership at the University at the highest levels. And it's not like it's a new problem. The same issue is why Guenther (and Zook) stayed on at least two years too long as AD (and HC) previously.
Makes you wonder how they get anything done at all there. What kind of screw ups are going on in some of the less visible departments? There really isn't any reason to think the DIA mess and the Kilgore and Salaita messes are the exceptions rather than just the tip of iceberg.
Of course, as everyone has noted this simply shows the vacuum in leadership at the University at the highest levels. And it's not like it's a new problem. The same issue is why Guenther (and Zook) stayed on at least two years too long as AD (and HC) previously.
Makes you wonder how they get anything done at all there. What kind of screw ups are going on in some of the less visible departments? There really isn't any reason to think the DIA mess and the Kilgore and Salaita messes are the exceptions rather than just the tip of iceberg.
No, not if we were competent and had a candidate lined up prior to making that decision like we should've. One mistake in a string of many.
I was really was in shock after what she had said, it's a complete mess right now. If you want to value team then you eat, win and lose all as a team.
I mean, how do we even respond to something ONE person MAY HAVE SAID AT A TAILGATE. Like, i'm all for grabbing up our torch and pitchforks, but c'mon now.
You are correct. That is why we are the masters of interim.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
Why not take a chance on Babers, Richt, et al. Granted it's rolling the dice. BUT....what do we have now? A guarantee of a losing season in 2016, no recruits in 2016, attendance even lower than 2015 in 2016. IMHO, I would much rather take a chance on a new start in 2016 rather than burn possibly 2 more years. And no AD in place ?....as mentioned other schools have done this. Do you really think a coach at the MAC level or a fired Big Conference school is going to say....OH, I can't take 2+ million from Illinois, I don't know the AD?
It was a parent of a player, not random drunk people throwing bags around. She was pretty frustrated with the whole thing I will tell you that.
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