Presser will be Sunday since we still have a game left.
The Illinois Football Coaching Search
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So decision is done, just a waiting game.
Must be Austin Clark?
Will we all be happy? Or just some? Lol
We are plenty patient. We gave Lovie plenty of time to build his time and classes and we didn't really see improvement after year 1. I really think we will be patient and at least give 4 full years and judge success by many things that aren't necessarily wins and losses.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Huge risks imply that there is something we could lose. With a program as bad as Illinois football for the past four decades, how big of a risk can it be short of a massive scandal?
It's Urban Meyer isn't it
I am really confused on the Bret Bielema love? He took over a Wisconsin program that was 9-3 and 10-3 the two previous seasons, so he was coming from a position of success when he took the job. Not taking anything away from his success for his next 7 years as UW HC, but I don't think that situation was comparable to what he'd be taking on here. The far better comparison is his time at Arkansas, which was also a struggling program (like the Illini) and his results were far less than what I'm hoping for as an Illini fan.
Is it because of his midwest ties that people think he will be successful? I think this is going to be an uphill battle for him and I think he is more of a gamble than many of the other coaches listed (Liepold, Monken, etc.). Due to our recent history of underachievement any coach is a risk at this point, but I would rather take my risk on a coach who took on a bad program and turned it around, rather than a coach who took over a successful program and kept it going (not to mention this same coach having the failure in a similar situation to ours).
Is it because of his midwest ties that people think he will be successful? I think this is going to be an uphill battle for him and I think he is more of a gamble than many of the other coaches listed (Liepold, Monken, etc.). Due to our recent history of underachievement any coach is a risk at this point, but I would rather take my risk on a coach who took on a bad program and turned it around, rather than a coach who took over a successful program and kept it going (not to mention this same coach having the failure in a similar situation to ours).
Deleted member 747671
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I agree. I definitely side on the aggressive side.
My list is probably changing daily depending on who's being talked about but I think my top 3 today would be:
1. Fickell - checks off literally every box: experience, recruiting, connections, staff, region, upside. Josh just has to work some magic, he's the top candidate out there for a reason, easier said than done.
2. Bielema - If the rumors of him really wanting this job are true, I don't see how you don't hire that resume with a fire behind it. He checks off pretty much everything on the football side, only concern is off the field, which I would hope are behind him. At worst, he'd be the one candidate you could legitimately give a short leash. Like if anything happens, fire him after 2 years and start again.
3. Jim Leonhard - I just think he's a rising star. Also, you'd be taking the best coordinator in the conference away from the top team in your division. I think he's very smart and driven. I think he'd put together an intriguing staff and has potential to be a great recruiter.
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
If it's Urban Meyer, I'm buying season tickets for the next 5 seasons on Sunday.
Deleted member 747671
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Good point. Like a "flirted with bigger programs, here's your raise" kind of thing?
My objection is solely due to his offensive style. Maybe his time in the NFL would work in the same way that it worked with Nick Saban. Saban really opened his offense up when he came back from the Dolphins.
Deleted member 747671
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Don't forget BB is a defensive guy. I think he'd be more open when it comes to offensive schemes. I'd assume he would shy away from the super fast spread stuff, but that's more a timing thing than scheme thing.
So will it leak before or after the kickoff saturday vs penn st? Pre- planning on how much alcohol to stock up on
Agreed. People want to excuse his record at Arkansas because of being in the SEC West, which is fair, but he didn't recruit well at Arkansas at all. He doesn't "check all the boxes" for me.
Are you meaning in recruiting rankings or what he tried to recruit to Arkansas? He had top 30 classes but he failed in the fact that Arkansas cannot play the same style of smash mouth football as bama or lsu at the time.
Heard from a team manager that there is a team meeting @1:00 on Sunday.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Not to be a downer, but this does not seem to be a Leipold-specific risk if we're being frank with ourselves.
People who know football and Illini football history may be patient, but they're the ones in the stands anyway (well, pre-2020). You can't build additional excitement by preaching patience to this kind of fan base.
MainelyIllini
- uh, Maine
RIP your inbox...
wiLL we be happy?
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
There is a great deal of truth to this, but there's also the memory of Year 2 under Zook, which on Wikipedia is 2-10, but living through it was a moment in which everyone walked out of that Ohio State game knowing we were on the right track with light rapidly growing at the end of the tunnel. Not just recruiting, it was right there to see on the field too.
You can see it when it's going well. Buffalo WASN'T going well in Year 2. And then it was. That's EXTREMELY rare. There are basically no coaches, even at Group of Five dumpster fires, who were ever in the 110's -50% type area, especially after year 1, especially declining from Year 1, and survived to do anything. And yet.
We will know to a great degree of certainty that Leipold will fail if we're among the worst teams in the country in 2022. We should probably fire him in that moment if it's financially feasible. And yet.
This stuff is really hard.
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
I'm not sure there is a coach in the nation that turns this ship around in less than 2 years. My expectations for the next 2 years are very very low.
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