The Illinois Coaching Staff Search

[ChiefGritty]

Hearing Robinson from Sc is about to agree on terms to become our new DC. Superstar recruiter. Had to open up the pocket book a little more to get it done

Need talent evaluators and relentless recruiters like him paired with BB on this staff! The quicker it becomes official the better!!

Holy cow that would be monster.

 

[ProfessorQC]

Holy cow that would be monster.

Would make sense for Robinson in the idea that;


if BB blows up and has Illinois playing in B1G Championship games or something in a few years, Robinson then gets “dubbed” as the new “hot assistant”... that way he can maybe better pick his landing spot as a HC when he’s ready, if he indeed is successful and becomes a feared recruiter here at UI (potentially)

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

Don't know much about Robinson. How excited should I be about the prospect of him being our new DC? Looking back at their last two seasons, it seems like opposing offenses pretty consistently put up 30+ against his defenses. That's not cause for concern?

 

[ChiefGritty]

Had to open up the pocket book a little more to get it done

Per the USA Today database, Robinson made $1.2 million at South Carolina last year.

That staff got fired of course, so he's available (I did hear Shane Beamer was looking to keep Mike Bobo as OC, but I didn't hear anything about Robinson)

But that is a real-deal SEC caliber DC who has been attached at the hip with Muschamp for the last decade.

If we're raiding that staff, I wouldn't mind Eric Wolford as OL coach either, who you may remember from the Zook days.

Will Muschamp minus Will Muschamp being the guy making the decisions sounds like a pretty good scenario for the Big Ten West.

 

[WeWillWhen]

https://gamecocksonline.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/travaris-robinson/489 "Regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country . . . "

Travaris Robinson, a 'dream team' recruiter, expected to make immediate impact at Auburn

"T-Rob was by far the biggest asset that the Florida coaching staff had going for it under Muschamp," said Barton Simmons, scouting director for 247sports. "If you're putting together a dream team staff of college recruiters, I don't think there's any question that right now, T-Rob would be on...

www.al.com

Florida ace recruiter: Travaris Robinson

The Florida Gators will need to make a concerted effort to keep Travaris Robinson on staff this offseason as he is one of the most important recruiting weapons they have.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

 

[TooHot4Tots]

Per the USA Today database, Robinson made $1.2 million at South Carolina last year.

That staff got fired of course, so he's available (I did hear Shane Beamer was looking to keep Mike Bobo as OC, but I didn't hear anything about Robinson)

But that is a real-deal SEC caliber DC who has been attached at the hip with Muschamp for the last decade.

If we're raiding that staff, I wouldn't mind Eric Wolford as OL coach either, who you may remember from the Zook days.

Will Muschamp minus Will Muschamp being the guy making the decisions sounds like a pretty good scenario for the Big Ten West.

Pretty sure Wolford just joined Kentucky a few days ago.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

Would make sense for Robinson in the idea that;


if BB blows up and has Illinois playing in B1G Championship games or something in a few years, Robinson then gets can become targeted as the new “hot” assistant in that scenario and can maybe better pick his landing spot as a HC if he is a successful recruiter here at UI (potentially)

Are talking about Travaris Robinson? Not sure this is currently a lateral move since he doesn’t have a job. . Don’t know really anything about him to tell if this is good move for Illini, but looks a few are happy about it.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

https://gamecocksonline.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/travaris-robinson/489 "Regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country . . . "

Travaris Robinson, a 'dream team' recruiter, expected to make immediate impact at Auburn

"T-Rob was by far the biggest asset that the Florida coaching staff had going for it under Muschamp," said Barton Simmons, scouting director for 247sports. "If you're putting together a dream team staff of college recruiters, I don't think there's any question that right now, T-Rob would be on...

www.al.com

Florida ace recruiter: Travaris Robinson

The Florida Gators will need to make a concerted effort to keep Travaris Robinson on staff this offseason as he is one of the most important recruiting weapons they have.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

Yeah but can Robinson recruit Florida as well as Hudson?

 

[ChiefGritty]

Don't know much about Robinson. How excited should I be about the prospect of him being our new DC? Looking back at their last two seasons, it seems like opposing offenses pretty consistently put up 30+ against his defenses. That's not cause for concern?

At the coordinator level, "retreads" are what you want. Sometimes a superstar OC jumps up from a lower level, but in general, especially on defense, you want someone battle-tested.

SC sucked this year, and the staff paid the price, but in general, defense was not the problem at all with what Muschamp was doing there, and Robinson is a major league recruiter, especially in Florida.

I may have found the connection. Robinson was the lead recruiter for Vernon Hargreaves III at Florida, a top 5 recruit in the nation, and his dad was Bielema's LB coach at Arkansas. I believe he got swept out with Barry Odom's staff at Mizzou, that could be another one.

 

[ProfessorQC]

@EyeoftheIllini said:

Are (you) talking about Travaris Robinson? Not sure this is currently a lateral move since he doesn’t have a job. . Don’t know really anything about him to tell if this is good move for Illini, but looks a few are happy about it.

He was on a few HC job lists as candidate and never landed anywhere a year or two ago if I recall correctly, could be wrong tho. Even without that, just going from Sc to here could damn near seem less than a “lateral” move for Robinson in some circles ...

Just look at some of the names he’s landed and recruits he’s sent to the NFL and you’ll know why any program in the country would love to have this guy! Maybe not necessarily as the DC like us, but he definitely carries a lot weight in recruiting circles so he can pick and choose...

But yes I am aware that he is un-employed at the moment.

 

[226ForbesHall]

Robinson looks interesting although his defense struggled this year. Bielema and Robinson could be a nice defensive combo, mentor/protege relationship. He would probably have to take a pay cut. If he can recruit, with Bielema involved defensive scheming, I think it's worth pursuing.

 

[ChiefGritty]

No offense to our good ProfessorQC, but I will believe this when I see it reported more reputably, it would be an absolute grand slam though.

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

Robinson is still young (turned 39 this year). I would consider that a positive.

 

[Deleted member 747671]

No offense to our good ProfessorQC, but I will believe this when I see it reported more reputably, it would be an absolute grand slam though.

This is a rough comp, but would this be similar to when Zook brought in Locksley at OC? Not necessarily great (or in Locksley's case, experienced) at the coordinator level but a great recruiter that pretty much requires the coordinator position to get him to Illinois?

 

[JJE]

No offense to our good ProfessorQC, but I will believe this when I see it reported more reputably, it would be an absolute grand slam though.

Agreed. Sorry, but QC's hit rate has been pretty bad.

 

[ChiefGritty]

This is a rough comp, but would this be similar to when Zook brought in Locksley at OC? Not necessarily great (or in Locksley's case, experienced) at the coordinator level but a great recruiter that pretty much requires the coordinator position to get him to Illinois?

No. Locksley had never been an OC before.

Robinson would be like if Mike Locksley and Charlie Strong were the same person, and Zook had hired that guy.

This is not a question of "requires the DC title to get him". Robinson is going to be a Power Five DC somewhere next year if he wants to be. Sure, maybe an SEC titan may also pay him some ungodly sum to be an AHC/co-DC/RC type, but he will have many suitors for his services as a DC. He did an excellent job in that role at SC overall, playing in the big big leagues.

 

[Deleted member 747671]

No. Locksley had never been an OC before.

Robinson would be like if Mike Locksley and Charlie Strong were the same person, and Zook had hired that guy.

This is not a question of "requires the DC title to get him". Robinson is going to be a Power Five DC somewhere next year if he wants to be. Sure, maybe an SEC titan may also pay him some ungodly sum to be an AHC/co-DC/RC type, but he will have many suitors for his services as a DC. He did an excellent job in that role at SC overall, playing in the big big leagues.

Thanks for the info. I knew Locksley had never coordinated. I guess my question/point is that Robinson seems much more of a recruiter than a defensive mastermind. We aren't talking about the leader of one of the top defensive units in the country or even conference based on what little I've seen. Am I being unfair?

 

[ChiefGritty]

The Broyles Award names finalists

After naming their list of 15 semifinalists last week, the Broyles Award has now announced their finalists for the award honoring the best college football

footballscoop.com

After naming their list of 15 semifinalists last week, the Broyles Award has now announced their finalists for the award honoring the best college football coach in the country.

Those coaches, as the NCFAA shares in their summary of 2020 College Football Award finalists, are:

• Steve Sarkisian – Alabama Offensive Coordinator
• Marcus Freeman – Cincinnati Defensive Coordinator
• Jeff Grimes – BYU Offensive Coordinator
• Mike Hankwitz – Northwestern Defensive Coordinator
• Kane Wommack – Indiana Defensive Coordinator

My bet would be on a Lifetime Achievement Award for Hankwitz. Not that he's undeserving, NW's D was awesome this year.

 

[ChiefGritty]

Thanks for the info. I knew Locksley had never coordinated. I guess my question/point is that Robinson seems much more of a recruiter than a defensive mastermind. We aren't talking about the leader of one of the top defensive units in the country or even conference based on what little I've seen. Am I being unfair?

South Carolina's defenses have been really good under Muschamp. Robinson is both things.

Circling back, maybe a good comp would be if somebody had poached Locksley from us after 2008. A well known recruiting superstar, by then proven as a solid OC.

 

[FollowMeDontFollowMe]

What are the optinions on Jim Chaney as OC?

 

[ChiefGritty]

What are the optinions on Jim Chaney as OC?

Jim Chaney, Travaris Robinson, and straight up stealing Michigan's strength coach would be In. Sane.

You'd be hard pressed to believe "Illinois" wasn't a typo of "Auburn"

 

[Deleted member 747671]

Jim Chaney, Travaris Robinson, and straight up stealing Michigan's strength coach would be In. Sane.

You'd be hard pressed to believe "Illinois" wasn't a typo of "Auburn"

Seems like a pipedream unless those guys are taking pay cuts. I guess Robinson could require less as he's currently unemployed, but he was over 1 mil at SC. Chaney makes like 1.6 mil, and according to a previous post, the S&C guy makes 700k.

I assume Chaney would only come here if Tennessee makes a late move to fire Pruitt.

 

[IlliniBrave75]

Seems like a pipedream unless those guys are taking pay cuts. I guess Robinson could require less as he's currently unemployed, but he was over 1 mil at SC. Chaney makes like 1.6 mil, and according to a previous post, the S&C guy makes 700k.

I assume Chaney would only come here if Tennessee makes a late move to fire Pruitt.

I believe the article by Werner that talked about an increase in the salary for coaches, made note that Whitman said they were “committed to at least $5 million” for Bielema's coaching staff and there was another 2M for the rest of the support staff (including S&C).

 

[STLflyinIllini]

What are the optinions on Jim Chaney as OC?

Chaney and BB on the same staff would be a LOT of beef.

would be a killer move though if it somehow happened

 

[Deleted member 747671]

I believe the article by Werner that talked about an increase in the salary for coaches, made note that Whitman said they were “committed to at least $5 million” for Bielema's coaching staff and there was another 2M for the rest of the support staff (including S&C).

Right. I guess my thoughts are more to budget. It would be pretty wild to steal the OC and S&C guys away from Michigan and Tennessee. Then we'd have to pay them, I'd assume, at least their current salary, probably more. You're looking at a good 3-3.5 mil for just 3 guys. That leaves 3.5-4 mil for the remainder of the staff and support staff, 8 coaches and probably 15-20ish support staff?