Would be real nice to pay him back in Camp Randall this year for the illegal jersey switch game.
Illini Football 2025
- Status
Yep. 1 year, or else. Will McIntosh join him if things implode?
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
Big Ten Coaches Hired Since Ferentz (post-1999) Who Have Coached 50 Games*
Jim Harbaugh 89-25 .781
Paul Chryst 67-26 .720
Bo Pelini 37-15 .712
James Franklin 101-42 .706
Mark Dantonio 114-57 .667
Brady Hoke 31-20 .608
PJ Fleck 58-39 .598
Bret Bielema 28-22 .560
Pat Fitzgerald 110-101 .521
Jeff Brohm 36-34 .514
Jerry Kill 29-29 .500
Mike Locksley 33-41 .446
Greg Schiano 26-34 .433
Tom Allen 33-49 .402
Ron Zook 34-51 .400
Kevin Wilson 26-47 .356
Lovie Smith 17-39 .304
A bunch of guys just missed the cut: Danny Hope (49 games, .449), Bill Lynch (49 games, .388), John L. Smith (48 games, .458), Scott Frost (47 games, .340), and Tim Brewster (45 games, .333).
*I'm throwing out Ohio State because their environment is so vastly different than every other B1G school in this time period.
Jim Harbaugh 89-25 .781
Paul Chryst 67-26 .720
Bo Pelini 37-15 .712
James Franklin 101-42 .706
Mark Dantonio 114-57 .667
Brady Hoke 31-20 .608
PJ Fleck 58-39 .598
Bret Bielema 28-22 .560
Pat Fitzgerald 110-101 .521
Jeff Brohm 36-34 .514
Jerry Kill 29-29 .500
Mike Locksley 33-41 .446
Greg Schiano 26-34 .433
Tom Allen 33-49 .402
Ron Zook 34-51 .400
Kevin Wilson 26-47 .356
Lovie Smith 17-39 .304
A bunch of guys just missed the cut: Danny Hope (49 games, .449), Bill Lynch (49 games, .388), John L. Smith (48 games, .458), Scott Frost (47 games, .340), and Tim Brewster (45 games, .333).
*I'm throwing out Ohio State because their environment is so vastly different than every other B1G school in this time period.
Last edited:
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Whether combined or separate I suppose Bert's Wisconsin tenure ought to be in there.
I'm wondering if Henry on the sideline was signaling McCray to protect the ball there at the end while seeing the defender coming in behind him with the chop to loosen the ball. McCray's timing was perfect when he brought his other arm in at that exact moment. Either way, the timing was perfect!
More likely a shouted heads up from #4, Z. Franklin trail blocking as he was closing in on both the defender and Josh.
(ESPN YouTube highlight package has better camera perspective for that aspect)
(ESPN YouTube highlight package has better camera perspective for that aspect)
Last edited:
It also looks like the defender touches McCray's back just prior to him securing the ball.
Ranking all 18 Big Ten football teams by returning production entering 2025 season
ESPN's Bill Connelly released his annual returning production rankings on Monday
badgerswire.usatoday.com
If my math is correct, his Wisconsin tenure would put him at #2. If you combine his records at both schools he'd be essentially tied with Dantonio at #5.
So true. Still crazy how we won the Rutgers game
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
At the same time, how many past Illini teams let so many close games slip away? While there’s always good/bad luck involved, good staffs find a way to maximize their luck … and we FINALLY have a good staff, better than most of our conference peers.
Yeah, I’ll go one step further and mention again how in Bielema’s time at Illinois he has coached exactly 50 games. The Illini have been within one score (or outright won) in the 4th quarter in 43 of those 50 games. That's how close and exciting nearly every game has been (even the losses) since his arrival.At the same time, how many past Illini teams let so many close games slip away? While there’s always good/bad luck involved, good staffs find a way to maximize their luck … and we FINALLY have a good staff, better than most of our conference peers.
So, it’s not even that we’re winning these close games, it’s that we’re even in them to begin with. That’s only 7 games in 5 years where “the game felt over before the game was over”.
We had five games that fit the “over before being over” criteria in just the last season before he got here.
God I’m glad he’s coaching here!
I think Marcus freeman was another interview/ finalist. Impressive list.
I really was against the Bret hire. Dont remember why. Maybe just because I wanted Leopold? I soon became a Bret fan, not just as a coach but think he is a good person as well.
my recollection is that there were more people expressing anger or dismay at selecting Bret than praising him.
And iirc, it was 95% related to his earlier perceived persona of being part of the "football coach partying fraternity" than anything else.
No one really disputed his coaching chops
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
It was reported that we very nearly hired Freeman, that he was the 2nd choice and that the pursuit of Lance Leipold wasn't as intense as we thought.
Freeman was a non-Power Five coordinator at the time, it would have been a serious reach, but everyone who has ever crossed paths with that guy has identified him as a major talent.
It's not just about raw, objective coaching ability with Bielema though. He fits, and fit is everything. Both the credibility he walked in the door with, and especially the plan to retain the existing roster (which was better than we realized) and start developing a culture of two-way loyalty between the program and its players was the perfect move for our situation at that moment in time.
He got made into an embarrassment at Arkansas for a variety of reasons.
But the harder you look at his tenure there, the better it looks in terms of the actual quality of those teams, and at age 55 with a wife and two kids, we are frankly just getting a better and more professional Bielema than his previous employers had.
A good job in the interview and investigation process by Whitman.
Last edited:
I was mildly excited about the Bret hire, but I am with you on Leopold, I thought he would have been the best choice.
I'm glad Josh was right, and we were wrong; Bret is the perfect fit here and a much better coach, representative of the university, and program builder than we could have hoped for.
Right when Pittman had his first pretty good year, their fans automatically felt like he was such a better coach than Bielema. And now here they are, once again facing the prospect of firing another coach who cannot have consistent success.
What's also interesting is that if Bieleman, Freeman, and Leipold were the main contenders, JW did a great job of identifying candidates in the earlier stages of the search too. All of them have done well. While Leipold's W/L total is not as outwardly impressive, Kansas was a tough assignment and he's made them bowl eligible in 2/4 of his seasons, and nearly did it last season by winning some big games against tough opponents, even after an awful start.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
I was advocating for Leipold because he had won at unconventional places that had lacked historical success, something that crossed over with Illinois' past 30 years. I thought Bielema was antithetical to that need - he won at a place that had been set up for success for him (Wisconsin) and lost at a place that has similar disadvantages as Illinois (Arkansas). I still like my thought process, and Leipold has been a great hire for Kansas, but the fit between Bielema and Illinois has been incredible.
Leipold's key will be next year. Like Illinois they lost a major coordinator after a successful year and regressed a bit. If Kansas can get to a 7-9 win season next year that seems set up Kansas for sustained success.
The one thing that got me excited about Bret more than Lance from the get go was that Bret was already familiar with recruiting to a school with tougher academics(Wisky). Lance had never had to deal with admissions at his previous stops.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
It's of course possible that Leipold would have looked at the Illinois job differently (as Bielema might have at Kansas), but the two approached their new roles radically differently.
Leipold flushed his inherited roster as fast as he could and brought in a raft of guys from Buffalo, along with others from far and wide. That proved wise over time, but he still went 2-10 in year 1.
At Illinois that means Devon Witherspoon and Johnny Newton and Quan Martin and the Brown twins etc etc walking out the door to make way for a MAC coaching staff and a bunch of MAC players dropping into "long form rebuild"-mode uncompetitiveness.
That wasn't the right direction at that moment, and honestly during that search I remember myself and a lot of others increasingly feeling that despite great respect for what Leipold had accomplished.
The other two widely reported candidates were Jeff Monken at Army and Dave Clawson at Wake Forest.
A really, really strong list made up of credible coaches who fit the bill for the job. It was a really good process.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
Fair point. My biggest concern with Leipold was his recruiting ceiling was/is lower. You are locking in a pure development approach, though he's very good at it. Bret's reputation at Wisconsin as all development has been overblown. He recruited better than people realize.
- Status