The Illinois Football Coaching Search

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#1,202      
the juiceman cometh
If it were to be Leipold, any chance he'd get Jaret Patterson to follow him here? Kid has over 1,000 yards rushing in 5 games including a 409 yard 8 TD effort against Kent St.
 
#1,204      
Deleted member 747671
the juiceman cometh said:
If it were to be Leipold, any chance he'd get Jaret Patterson to follow him here? Kid has over 1,000 yards rushing in 5 games including a 409 yard 8 TD effort against Kent St.
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I will say, if there's one spot on the roster that has a healthy amount of talent, it's running back.
 
#1,205      
Deleted member 6376
reopseed60 said:
Personally would not care for Beillman, he does not seem to be compatible with our AD. and what he see's as the Illinois coach A job hopper with a personally that does not fit with Wittman's.. He has baggage that does not fit to Central Illinois.. I know everyone says the coach at Cincinati is untouchable but Wittman is a very good salesman and could sell the Job as a final destination, the big ten, and a good town to raise a family. Also, the Alumni are not crazies. You do not hear his name because he still has games to play.
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Lets hope that “not fit to Central Illinois” is never a standard for hiring a coach.
 
#1,206      
altenberger22
reopseed60 said:
Personally would not care for Beillman, he does not seem to be compatible with our AD. and what he see's as the Illinois coach A job hopper with a personally that does not fit with Wittman's.. He has baggage that does not fit to Central Illinois.. I know everyone says the coach at Cincinati is untouchable but Wittman is a very good salesman and could sell the Job as a final destination, the big ten, and a good town to raise a family. Also, the Alumni are not crazies. You do not hear his name because he still has games to play.
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Count me as a demonstrative NO for Beillman. I hear he’s essentially invisible to fans/alums.
 
#1,207      
BZuppke
ponchog said:
Of course we are. 141–97 career record at places that are far from powers. WSU was always a tough game.
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So is the objection to Bielema his ability to win or his character. Some here are saying it’s his character. I’m asking if some of these same people are ok with Leach’s character.
 
#1,208      
FollowMeDontFollowMe
I 2nd the comments suggesting butt-hurt WI fans influencing too many opinions on here for a guy none of us, I'm sure, have met.

Bielema checks the boxes in that he's recruited the midwest, especially Illinois. He's a proven winner in the Big10, and he's successfully sold his program to 4 and 5 star players year after year.

Why would a guy like Fickell join Illinois when his ceiling right now is not being able to attract 4 and 5 star players to Cinci? So he goes to another school with the same problem? He's getting paid one way or another, but he's going to go to a school that already recruits itself (Texas, Nebraska, Michigan, Auburn, etc).

A guy like Leipold might be an option since he's a step down the ladder and probably won't have the same opportunity as a Fickell would, but I don't see how he is any better than Bielema? He doesn't check any of the boxes other than being able to instill a winning culture. Hasn't recruited 4 and 5 start talent, hasn't won in a p5 conference.

A Dave Clawson type hire might take us back to Zook level team performance which would be an improvement now, but whats the upside?

A guy like Gus is either taking another top job, or joining as a coordinator on a star staff before going back to another top job. He is not rebuilding Illinois from the ground up.

I think Bielema is the ceiling on this hire.

EDIT: I am not equating Zook and Clawson as coaches. Just saying that he's a coach that hovers around .500 and won't elevate the program beyond what Zook did.
 
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#1,209      
ponchog
BZuppke said:
So is the objection to Bielema his ability to win or his character. Some here are saying it’s his character. I’m asking if some of these same people are ok with Leach’s character.
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You mean when he locked that kid with a concussion up in the dark closet? Or when he called all his offensive lineman pigs at WSU? He for sure has some warts, but he has proven ability to build a program. BB does not. BB sustained an already good program. There is so much hype around Leach's programs, kids love his style. Illinois has been so BORING for a long time, we are starved for someone who can win and is a little loud at times. Make no mistake about it, Leach can win. Jury is still out with BB. However, we are wasting our time here because the Mad Pirate is not heading to Champaign, or is he??
 
#1,212      
AirNeezy
ponchog said:
You mean when he locked that kid with a concussion up in the dark closet? Or when he called all his offensive lineman pigs at WSU? He for sure has some warts, but he has proven ability to build a program. BB does not. BB sustained an already good program. There is so much hype around Leach's programs, kids love his style. Illinois has been so BORING for a long time, we are starved for someone who can win and is a little loud at times. Make no mistake about it, Leach can win. Jury is still out with BB. However, we are wasting our time here because the Mad Pirate is not heading to Champaign, or is he??
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Locking a literal kid with a concussion up inside of a dark closet should have had him banned from coaching for life. The fact that you're trying to pass that off as "some warts" is everything that is wrong with modern day college athletics.
 
#1,213      
PackofIllini12
ponchog said:
Don't mean to butt head with you here, but I kinda do because of my putrid taste of the SEC, but have you ever been by Lexington Kentucky when UK was bad at football, or many of those towns when their football teams are not great? Every state has passionate fans when winning. I lived in Florida most of my professional life and heard Gator fans complain non stop about not going back to a game until changes are made (pre Mullen era). That's the great thing about college sports, the fan bases are so passionate, but regardless of your team we all just want to win.
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All animals are equal but some are more equal than others. – Animal Farm

All college fan bases are crazy/passionate/fill-in-the-blank, but some are more so than others. What you are talking about with Kentucky (& let's be real, Vanderbilt and USCar) can be said about half the teams in the Big 10 (i.e. Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, hell even Illinois at the moment).
 
#1,214      
FollowMeDontFollowMe
ponchog said:
You mean when he locked that kid with a concussion up in the dark closet? Or when he called all his offensive lineman pigs at WSU? He for sure has some warts, but he has proven ability to build a program. BB does not. BB sustained an already good program. There is so much hype around Leach's programs, kids love his style. Illinois has been so BORING for a long time, we are starved for someone who can win and is a little loud at times. Make no mistake about it, Leach can win. Jury is still out with BB. However, we are wasting our time here because the Mad Pirate is not heading to Champaign, or is he??
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I'm guessing every FB coaching thread on every school's board has a Mike Leach suggestion. Not gonna happen, but would be fun if it did.
 
#1,217      
Cook
WINTer said:
People act like Bielema stepped in for Alvarez for like 2 years. He was there for 7 and didn't lose a step. That was his program for the vast majority of his time there.
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but that was also with Alvarez still right there with him the whole time too
 
#1,219      
Ubermensch
Out of curiosity, not because he's a realistic option, I was just looking at Stoops's record. Wow. He was even better than I remembered. What a great career. Very impressive. I always thought of Stoops as a big offense guy, but he has a defensive background.
 
#1,223      
ILL_INI
FollowMeDontFollowMe said:
A guy like Leipold might be an option since he's a step down the ladder and probably won't have the same opportunity as a Fickell would, but I don't see how he is any better than Bielema? He doesn't check any of the boxes other than being able to instill a winning culture. Hasn't recruited 4 and 5 start talent, hasn't won in a p5 conference.
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Yeah, Leipold is no good. He just wins, but doesn't check any other boxes. I can't figure out why he can't recruit 4 and 5 star talent to Buffalo, so he'd probably recruit like Ferentz. His Buffalo team did beat Rutgers, but he hasn't won any P5 conference championships so that's a major strike against him. Maybe let him test the waters in the SEC before giving him a chance here.
 
#1,225      
ChiefGritty
Ubermensch said:
Out of curiosity, not because he's a realistic option, I was just looking at Stoops's record. Wow. He was even better than I remembered. What a great career. Very impressive. I always thought of Stoops as a big offense guy, but he has a defensive background.
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While Stoops was DC at Florida he saw what Hal Mumme and Mike Leach were doing at Kentucky and realized before most in the profession that what seemed like a small-school gimmick in fact had the upper hand over everything he was doing and was the future of the sport.
 
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