The Illinois Football Coaching Search

[Deleted member 747671]

This is a serious question: why is there so much hate for Bielema here? Is it because he is, ultimately, an Iowa product? His mediocre (though good by our current standards) results at Arkansas? Is there something about his personality or coaching practices that I am not aware of (I know the guy is really intense, but so are a lot of coaches)?

I am just curious, because when I look at him as a possibility, the worst reaction I have is basically "*shrug* worth a shot."

I'm with you and asked the same question a few pages back. One response mentioned a lawsuit type of thing with Arkansas, but the rest just seem to be about him being a perceived jerk. I also posted a comment about him and Butch Jones as being somewhat overlooked in my opinion as both are midwest guys who had great success at midwest schools, with years of HC experience, but then decided to go SEC, had rough first years, 3 decent years, then a final "collapse" year with 4 wins and were fired. There's a lot more on those resumes than just the couple bad SEC years. Beilema was great at Wisconsin for 7 years and even in Arkansas had winning seasons in 3 of his 5 years. Since Arkansas, he hitched on with Belichick for 2 years and he's still only 50 years old. That resume is great for a school like Illinois.

 

[Oldskoolkoach]

Have we all forgot or now no longer care about Sean Lewis? Guy is super young, runs an exciting offense, is from Chicago, played at Wisc, and has strong ties to Midwest recruiting and turned around a program that is the Illinois equivalent of the MAC. If he can whip the ball around in Northern Ohio he sure as hell can do it here and guys seems like a rising star that is decently connected. Alvarez even had good things to say about him. I know he lost to Liepold this year but he beat them last year. Seems to be an okay recruiter and can get kids to go to what is viewed as a bad place to go. Seems custom made for Illinois and where we are at now. Plus he and JW wot make a sexy HC, AD combo with that former B1G TE look.

Not sure, but his stats are less than desirable.

In 2 years at Wisconsin he averaged 1.0 yards as a kick returner and only caught 1 pass for 7 yards.
Could he not even make the cut all 4 years at Wisconsin?

 

[mhuml32]

I see some of the people mentioning Fickell are being creative and saying "you gotta at least call him" so, sure, give him a call. But he's not coming here. He turned down MSU last year. He is being paid handsomely and has incredible job security. His teams down at UC have been excellent and his recruiting continues to improve. It's going to take a really good job to pry him from UC.

If you want someone associated with this program, Freeman is the (possibly) attainable name. He's a great, young defensive coach and probably would immediately breathe some fire into the program's recruiting.

 

[CurbeloYourEnthusiasm]

I have no idea while he left but it ranks as one of the dumber college decisions ever.

He was upset with the Wisconsin admissions dept. Plus, I think he wanted to see if he could compete in the best football conference because there was nothing else he could really accomplish at WI.

 

[Ander1345]

Have we all forgot or now no longer care about Sean Lewis? Guy is super young, runs an exciting offense, is from Chicago, played at Wisc, and has strong ties to Midwest recruiting and turned around a program that is the Illinois equivalent of the MAC. If he can whip the ball around in Northern Ohio he sure as hell can do it here and guys seems like a rising star that is decently connected. Alvarez even had good things to say about him. I know he lost to Liepold this year but he beat them last year. Seems to be an okay recruiter and can get kids to go to what is viewed as a bad place to go. Seems custom made for Illinois and where we are at now. Plus he and JW wot make a sexy HC, AD combo with that former B1G TE look.

We have not yet tried hiring based on sex appeal. What do we have to lose???

 

[Ander1345]

His entire family is still a big part of HS football in northern Illinois. His brother Cory coached Morrison for 11 years with 2 state titles. Then resigned a couple years ago to become principle. He's as much of an instate Illinois guy as anyone being discussed other than the Monkens

Assuming(maybe just fact) that Fickell is a no, it's gotta be Liepold, Bielema, or a Monken.

I don't know of a lot of state ties that are as appealing and the outsiders would have ti have a stellar resume.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

He was upset with the Wisconsin admissions dept. Plus, I think he wanted to see if he could compete in the best football conference because there was nothing else he could really accomplish at WI.

Wasn’t part of it also that he felt Barry was too hands on with program and he felt he wasn’t getting the credit he deserved?

 

[KrushCow31]

Who? There's no coach out there with the resume that Bielema has. 3 Rose Bowls in the conference you want him to coach in. I feel like some of you people just don't want to hire a Rival coach for personal tastes. I don't care about any of that. I want to win. Would you take Fitzee? i would. Fleck? You bet. Would you say no to those coaches too?

True. There's no coach out there with Bielema's resume. I just think that's because anyone with 3 Rose Bowls who programs think is a good coach would be hired and successful right now. If he's such a hot commodity, why is he sitting in the NFL as a positional coach for the last 3 years for two different teams? Yes. 8 years ago he went to the Rose Bowl and lost 3 years in a row, but he did make it. 12 years ago he was B1G Coach of the Year. So then why for the last 3 years has no team hired him? He isn't some hidden gem. Everyone is aware of him.

 

[altenberger22]

We all have such differing opinions. It's great reading, though.

The good news in this story = Whitman gets to make the call, and then tell us how he came to his decision. (Glad it's not me!)

 

[CurbeloYourEnthusiasm]

I guess my question would be what about his resume makes you think he would be more successful than Lovie?

Is this a serious question? I mean, you could start with the fact Bret Bielema has 12 years as a college football head coach under his belt (in the top 2 conferences in the nation (Big 10 and SEC),, and Lovie Smith had 0 years as a college head coach when he was hired. Experience would suggest Bielema knows how to run and build a college football program.

Then if you just want to get into records. Bielema went to 3 Rose Bowls. He recruited all the players on those teams. He coached them all. He hired the coordinators for those teams. So what else are you looking for?

 

[sacraig]

True. There's no coach out there with Bielema's resume. I just think that's because anyone with 3 Rose Bowls who programs think is a good coach would be hired and successful right now. If he's such a hot commodity, why is he sitting in the NFL as a positional coach for the last 3 years for two different teams? Yes. 8 years ago he went to the Rose Bowl and lost 3 years in a row, but he did make it. 12 years ago he was B1G Coach of the Year. So then why for the last 3 years has no team hired him? He isn't some hidden gem. Everyone is aware of him.

I get what you are saying, but also keep in mind that Illinois Football is not a very attractive job. It seems like what we can successfully hire are up-and-comers looking to take that next step, established coaches with some baggage, or some truly outside-the-box candidate (e.g. Lovie). I have no idea what will work here, but to date none of those three approaches has produced sustainable success, so I don't really have a preference, I suppose.

 

[DeeAndDWill]

Nothing but a thought here.

Sarkisian would be a monster hire as out of nowhere as Lovie Smith was. Offensive guru, head coaching experience, immediate experience with the best coach in the history of the sport, has redeemed himself from his personal issues, and would be an absolute killer of a recruiter.

Not in any way saying it's even in play, but would be better than any name I've seen mentioned (no matter how silly of a mention) outside of Urban Meyer in my opinion.

 

[KrushCow31]

Is this a serious question? I mean, you could start with the fact Bret Bielema has 12 years as a college football head coach under his belt (in the top 2 conferences in the nation (Big 10 and SEC),, and Lovie Smith had 0 years as a college head coach when he was hired. Experience would suggest Bielema knows how to run and build a college football program.

Then if you just want to get into records. Bielema went to 3 Rose Bowls. He recruited all the players on those teams. He coached them all. He hired the coordinators for those teams. So what else are you looking for?

Did he also recruit all the coordinators and players for his Arkansas team you aren't mentioning? You can't just mention Wisconsin and ignore the most recent team he coached for 5 years.

 

[illinihawk16]

Nothing but a thought here.

Sarkisian would be a monster hire as out of nowhere as Lovie Smith was. Offensive guru, head coaching experience, immediate experience with the best coach in the history of the sport, has redeemed himself from his personal issues, and would be an absolute killer of a recruiter.

Not in any way saying it's even in play, but would IMO better than any name I've seen mentioned outside of Urban Meyer in my opinion.

Robert mentioned Sark when talking to WCIA. Intriguing, but I don't think he would give us much of a thought.

 

[bdutts]

You are right about London's location. But, that drive has never taken more than 3 1/2 hours from one to the other, while not going more than 5mph over the speed limit. Actually have driven through there about 100 times.

Yeah, I didn't know so when you mentioned it, I looked it up. I believe you in your travels.

 

[sacraig]

Nothing but a thought here.

Sarkisian would be a monster hire as out of nowhere as Lovie Smith was. Offensive guru, head coaching experience, immediate experience with the best coach in the history of the sport, has redeemed himself from his personal issues, and would be an absolute killer of a recruiter.

Not in any way saying it's even in play, but would IMO better than any name I've seen mentioned outside of Urban Meyer in my opinion.

I brought that up with my dad and brother shortly after Lovie was fired. I have absolutely no faith he would have interest in coming here, as I suspect he could get better offers. But, he does qualify as an "established coach with baggage" per my previous post. So... maybe? Ha

 

[Deleted member 747671]

Nothing but a thought here.

Sarkisian would be a monster hire as out of nowhere as Lovie Smith was. Offensive guru, head coaching experience, immediate experience with the best coach in the history of the sport, has redeemed himself from his personal issues, and would be an absolute killer of a recruiter.

Not in any way saying it's even in play, but would be better than any name I've seen mentioned (no matter how silly of a mention) outside of Urban Meyer in my opinion.

Been my #1. Guessing he'd be more interested in a western school, maybe Arizona? He's a west coast guy. But he has HC experience, was a great recruiter, good offensive gameplanner. He'd check every box except the region of the country that he prefers.

 

[DeeAndDWill]

Robert mentioned Sark when talking to WCIA. Intriguing, but I don't think he would give us much of a thought.

Dunno! But, I'll say a week before Lovie was announced I think most people would have fell over laughing at the thought of a well respected (at the time) ex NFL head coach that had taken a team to the Super Bowl giving Illinois a second thought either.

(I still think it's gonna be Leipold)

 

[mhuml32]

This is a serious question: why is there so much hate for Bielema here? Is it because he is, ultimately, an Iowa product? His mediocre (though good by our current standards) results at Arkansas? Is there something about his personality or coaching practices that I am not aware of (I know the guy is really intense, but so are a lot of coaches)?

I am just curious, because when I look at him as a possibility, the worst reaction I have is basically "*shrug* worth a shot."

Let's ignore the off-the-field stuff and looking at his team's success.

(1) He takes over for a really good Wisconsin program from Barry and he pretty much maintains the program's success. He has some good years (2010) and some below average years (2008 + 2012). The question I have is what did we learn about this that shows he can be successful at Illinois? Illinois isn't a strong program where maintaining the status quo is still successful. Gary Anderson followed Bielema and is considered a major failure as a coach by Wisconsin fans, yet he has a better career winning percentage at UW than Bielema.

(2) He leaves for the Arkansas job which is coming off of a wild ride of Petrino putting up two seasons where they finished the year in the top-12 for the AP poll, but then he crashes his motorcycle and leads to John L. Smith taking over for one year. We kinda laugh at Arkansas' lack-of-success now but besides the John L season, Arkansas had only three losing seasons since 1998 (15 seasons) before Beilema took over with five top-8 bowl appearances (Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Citrus Bowl). Bielema takes over and has two losing seasons in his five years. He never finishes the season ranked.


The only positive I can see is that Bielema won at Wisconsin, but so has every coach that's been there since their program turned the corner in '93. Personally, I'm not interested in hiring a coach that has had success at a program that was already successful, because that is not the objective at Illinois. I want a coach that has shown the ability to win at a program that was struggling when the coach was hired. Lovie, Beckman, Zook, Turner, Tepper, Mackovic, and Moeller either came from the NFL or won at a program that was already elite compared to their peers. Hiring Bielema would further continue that trend of hiring an NFL guy or someone who was successful at a more prestigious program and was fired for not maintaining that success.

 

[RedRocksIllini]

His entire family is still a big part of HS football in northern Illinois. His brother Cory coached Morrison for 11 years with 2 state titles. Then resigned a couple years ago to become principle. He's as much of an instate Illinois guy as anyone being discussed other than the Monkens

He has a lot of family in that part of Illinois. I went to school with several of them. He was from P-town, if I remember correctly. No disrespect to Bielema but not surprised we didn't offer him a scholly. Very few D1 scholarships handed out to folks from that part of the world. Bertrand is one of the few I can remember and he was from the big city (Sterling).

 

[IlliniCaboose]

Is this a serious question? I mean, you could start with the fact Bret Bielema has 12 years as a college football head coach under his belt (in the top 2 conferences in the nation (Big 10 and SEC),, and Lovie Smith had 0 years as a college head coach when he was hired. Experience would suggest Bielema knows how to run and build a college football program.

Then if you just want to get into records. Bielema went to 3 Rose Bowls. He recruited all the players on those teams. He coached them all. He hired the coordinators for those teams. So what else are you looking for?

Excuse me? Yeah I forgot that Wisconsin was dumpster fire before he took over. Oh wait, no, Alverez had already turned them into a contender and perennial Rose Bowl team LONG before Bretty boy got there. And the Badgers are so beloved in that state (a state that produces more OL talent than anywhere) that anyone could recruit well enough to keep the success going.
He tried, and failed, to turn Arkansas around.
He has built nothing. Illinois needs someone who can actually start from scratch and turn it into something better.

 

[wma500]

A dive into Leipold's roster at Buffalo....here are the Rivals ranking's of the players who started most of the games this year for the Bulls

On Offense:

0 2* 3* AVG
4 7 1 1.42

On Defense:

0 2* 3* AVG
3 4 6 2.00

Buffalo is ranked 23rd in the AP and 26th in the coach's poll. The dude (and his staff) can flat out develop players and coach. During his time at Buffalo, UB recruiting has been ranked in the bottom 1/3rd of the MAC, generally speaking.

 

[CurbeloYourEnthusiasm]

Did he also recruit all the coordinators and players for his Arkansas team you aren't mentioning? You can't just mention Wisconsin and ignore the most recent team he coached for 5 years.

Of course I can. Because coaching in the Big 10 at Illinois, is ALOT EASIER than trying to compete against Alabama, Auburn, LSU in the SEC West. I mean, not having success in the toughest conference in America doesn't mean he can't beat the NWs, Iowa, WI's at Illinois. It's a different ballgame.

If I were a fan of an SEC team, no I would not hire Bielema. And I would look at his stretch at Arkansas and determine his system won't work in the SEC. But Big 10, I believe his system will work. Some coach's systems work in the Big 10, and don't elsewhere. You'll see Mike Leach will probably fail at MS State because his system won't work in the SEC. Doesn't mean Leach isn't a good coach in other conferences. He'll probably be fired at MS State and go back to the Big 12 where his stuff will work. It's all about fit. Bielema's system is made for Big 10 football IMO. It's not for the SEC.

 

[TMC999]

Let's ignore the off-the-field stuff and looking at his team's success.

(1) He takes over for a really good Wisconsin program from Barry and he pretty much maintains the program's success. He has some good years (2010) and some below average years (2008 + 2012). The question I have is what did we learn about this that shows he can be successful at Illinois? Illinois isn't a strong program where maintaining the status quo is still successful. Gary Anderson followed Bielema and is considered a major failure as a coach by Wisconsin fans, yet he has a better career winning percentage at UW than Bielema.

(2) He leaves for the Arkansas job which is coming off of a wild ride of Petrino putting up two seasons where they finished the year in the top-12 for the AP poll, but then he crashes his motorcycle and leads to John L. Smith taking over for one year. We kinda laugh at Arkansas' lack-of-success now but besides the John L season, Arkansas had only three losing seasons since 1998 (15 seasons) before Beilema took over with five top-8 bowl appearances (Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Citrus Bowl). Bielema takes over and has two losing seasons in his five years. He never finishes the season ranked.


The only positive I can see is that Bielema won at Wisconsin, but so has every coach that's been there since their program turned the corner in '93. Personally, I'm not interested in hiring a coach that has had success at a program that was already successful, because that is not the objective at Illinois. I want a coach that has shown the ability to win at a program that was struggling when the coach was hired. Lovie, Beckman, Zook, Turner, Tepper, Mackovic, and Moeller either came from the NFL or won at a program that was already elite compared to their peers. Hiring Bielema would further continue that trend of hiring an NFL guy or someone who was successful at a more prestigious program and was fired for not maintaining that success.

To me the question is why did he win at UW? Looks like coattails to me. When given the chance to build his own at Arkansas it flamed out and there are burned bridges and lawsuits. Lots of opinions.... but I think he rode the mojo of Barry at UW more than anything. I’m looking for something newer, personally.

 

[Keisersose]

I don’t think Bielema would be the most exciting hire, and won’t generate the hype we saw with the Lovie hire. (we saw what “hype” means in terms of actual on the field performance the last 5 years)

But he’s probably better than most other “realistic” names being thrown out there. He went to Iowa but as others said he didn’t actually choose Iowa over Illinois if we didn’t offer a scholarship. He’s won in the Big Ten. That counts for something.
I still think he’s probably our next coach.