Out. Looks like McGee was the choice.
Illinois Football Staff Thread
Out. Looks like McGee was the choice.
That's not true. My boss, who is a Michigan alum, is excited for Illinois. He says a good Illinois is good for the conference.
There are definitely some unrealistic expectations going on, but I think the bigger factor is that the people here are the people that really cared about the program pre-Whitman and pre-Lovie. I think a lot of people just tuned out over the last couple of years so it was easy to ignore, but the bleakness got to truly historic levels there for awhile.
I don't feel like I'm flying from 0 to 100. It's more that I'm flying from -80 to 20.
Agreed. We also better understand the importance of a good staff because we follow sports more closely.
They have taken notice
There was a 500+ response thread on the Lovie hire on reddit. I was pleasantly surprised at all the excitement from Michigan, Mich St, tOSU, etc fans.... looking forward to playing a competitive Illinois team.
work with some iowa allums. they try not to show it, but they are afraid.
illiniobserver22
- Chicago
If this is true it would be an amazing hire. Would clean up in the suburbs, and he's a great football coach. I bet he could get a nice paycheck here with what's left in our budget. Not holding my breath, he seems happy at Loyola, but fingers are definitely crossed.
Agreed a fantastic coach, and one who I think could succeed at college level as well. If he ever wanted to be a head coach in college this would be a great initial step.
OSU and UM both have more desirable coaches. Iowa should be a bit more concerned as Lovie is probably on the level of KF.
They know we can show some glimpses of success, but it hasn't been sustainable in the past. Now that we are spending what it takes, they can see Illinois being competitive and winning the West in the next 3-4 years.
He may be happy, but he could be happier coaching under Lovie while making 200-250K.
FWIW, he was offered to coach LB's under Cubit and he declined.
I thought I read in the past he's been concerned with the stability of the coaching staff at Illinois. 6 years of Lovie plus a great support staff should at least get him to think about it.
brokensaphire
- Arizona
Value added hire
Let us say a kid wants to go pro because he believes he can earn a living playing the sport. He is likely going to pick a school with a history of sending kids to the next level and/or coaches that have NFL experience. NFL worthy Lovie hiring coaches with NFL ties screams "we can help you get to the next level". At the very least it can be a tiebreaker for some recruits. BTW, I dig the Nickerson hire. One of my fav linebackers to watch play back in the day.
LOVIE my Illini
This is a good time to be an Illini Football fan!:thumb:
Let us say a kid wants to go pro because he believes he can earn a living playing the sport. He is likely going to pick a school with a history of sending kids to the next level and/or coaches that have NFL experience. NFL worthy Lovie hiring coaches with NFL ties screams "we can help you get to the next level". At the very least it can be a tiebreaker for some recruits. BTW, I dig the Nickerson hire. One of my fav linebackers to watch play back in the day.
LOVIE my Illini
This is a good time to be an Illini Football fan!:thumb:
The problem the West has, looks like this:
Christ
Ferentz
Riley
Claeys
Harrell
Fitzgerald
versus Lovie
He is easily the biggest and most recognizable amongst the group. Lovie has instant credibility with parents and recruits. He walks in and he is the star, not the other way around. If Lovie is just an above average coach here we will dominate the West. Some of the above are great coaches but none exactly blow you away as recruiters.
Recruiting pitch is simple, come to Illinois, play for Lovie and meet Michigan or OSU every year for Big 10 Title
That is why he declined. He knew the staff wasn't going to around for another year or two.
illiniobserver22
- Chicago
Heck I think he could get 300-400K.
Ferentz is a good coach, but he is Tom Crean like; Iowa fans always want him gone, buyout too large, but then has a big year. Knowing he had a good year last year, he'll have a mediocre year this year.
Riley almost got fired last year, but I can see Nebbie getting better next year. They started to show improvement at end of the season. Won last 3 of 4. Think they trend up this year.
Chryst is a Barry disciple, but not as good as coach. Oh yeah, they lost the best DC in the biz to LSU. I can see them struggling this year.
We'll see about that. That's a bit of a stretch. The only thing we can be sure of is we're lucky we are not in the Big Ten East.
He probably could, but he is in coaching HS football right now. To get your feet wet at the college game is totally different. Let him earn his money and go up from there. We can always give raises as the years go by.
I'm not so sure the comparison to Harbaugh and Meyer is as absolute as you make it sound. They both are at more storied programs which clearly gives them a head start. I expect Lovie to land some studs and compete 3 or 4 years from now. Maybe sooner.
I wouldn't want to coach against that first guy though
Seriously though, I agree overall, good points. I think Chryst is solid and Wisconsin, until proven otherwise, will still be in contention every year.
Iowa, as a poster said, is up and down. Never seem to have stellar recruiting classes, but ferenz and staff usually coach 'em up.
Illinois definitely has he name recognition. Let's hope the coaching and recruiting match up. :thumb:
Let's be real, Harbaugh has more college recruiting experience and the same resume as Lovie a la Super Bowls. And Urban Meyer is Urban Meyer. He's the best in college football not named Saban.
Lovie is a great coach, but there is so much more to prove before he can be compared to what is happening at Michigan and Ohio State.