Coaching Carousel (Football)

Status
Not open for further replies.
#326      
Battle89
ChiefGritty said:
So Montana hired Bobby Kennedy whose assassination was fake and has been alive this whole time who has only been there one year as WR coach as their new head coach.

I believe the NCAA rules are now that 5 days after a new coach is hired (which would be today), players at a school that has had a coaching change have 15 days to enter the portal.

Hauck bringing some guys with him would make all of this considerably less mysterious, IMO.
Click to expand...
All these Cignetti comps are making me picture a JMU situation. Just Montana Undergrads, I mean. :LOL:
 
#327      
LFOD
therealmiket86 said:
Not the hire I would’ve made but I definitely don’t think it’s a panic hire. What I like is we are the only team in the BIG running this so it will be harder to game plan for.
Click to expand...
I believe Penn State will be running a 3-3-5 also.
 
#329      
TooHot4Tots
Thinking there were some purposly misleading info last few days prior to this hire. Personally, not sure it was needed, but what is done is done. I actually like this hire quite a bit. 3-3-5, 4-2-5…various looks and schemes. This is something that will be fun to watch. An aggressive, attacking defense that will be balls out. Love the fact he learned the D, takes it and is able not only to install it, but teach his coaches how to run it and how to develop. Pretty excited. Now DL coach will need to be a damn good teacher/developer.
 
#330      
Battle89
ChiefGritty said:
If you can't comprehensively analyze the career and implications for our program of a coach pulled out of a hat in three google searches do you even post bro?


Montana does in fact run 3-3-5 with a lot of shifting before and after the snap to confuse offensive lines regarding what is coming at them, which is also what Mike MacDonald is doing with Chris Partridge in Seattle out of a somewhat different formation. There is a commonality of theory there. So I'm relatively comfortable that this isn't some 11th hour radical change of plan versus what BB was discussing in the signing day presser. Sacrificing size up front for more speed, more blitzing, and more complexity for offenses to worry about is that NFL trend that Bret is wanting to move towards, and Montana was doing that.

I think the question is whether Bobby Hauck, 61 year old who hasn't worked in P4/5 football since 2002, hasn't worked as a DC ever, and is on record as finding dealing with the modern college football player draining on his enjoyment of coaching, actually the guy to be the leader of a Big Ten defense, is he actually going to flourish as the chess wizard he and BB have conceived as his next act?

I'm reminded less of Tony Petersen than I am of the famous secret summit in Tampa of Josh Whitman and Lovie Smith, two guys who are both top talents in their fields, two immensely qualified people, but who hatched a plan that just was not realistic and which was fated not to survive contact with reality, with a prominent reason being that the coach being hired did not particularly need, like, or want the job he needed to do.

I just don't like the vibe with this one. I understand the theory, it *could* work, but I just have a bad feeling. It feels inconsistent with the principles that have brought Bielema so much success.
Click to expand...
I don't know enough about the people involved to have an informed opinion on the topic. *** I hope for all the best for Coach Hauck and the Illini of course.

Do wonder if this is a little like the generals always fighting the last war; people clamored for Coach Henry to go, and by all accounts Coach Hauck seems like the exact opposite in age, scheme, demeanor, etc. Let's see how it works out.

*** Never stopped me before, I know ...
 
#332      
the juiceman cometh
Ander1345 said:
Are the people who wanted to move on from Henry and the people who don't like the Hauck hire a circle instead of a venn diagram? Seems like people are just never happy.
Click to expand...
Honestly doesn't seem like a lot of people who "don't like" the hire, just a lot of people not sure about it. Which is honestly the most defensible position, because it is not a typical DC hire so nobody can credibly predict how it will go. There is just a wide range of possibilities for this one. It's completely out of left field (his name was literally never mentioned in the history of this board for however far back the search function goes until he was hired) and a lot of us are trying to wrap our heads around it.
 
#334      
1m4tr
I’m sure Hauck will still do some recruiting but in a lesser role than as a HC. And also being on the receiving end of portal recruits rather than being a feeder to P4 programs will be a nice change of pace for them. He’ll probably relish this role since he can be micro-focused on a smaller set of tasks and not have to deal with all of the BS that he didn’t like being at a smaller school.
Maybe he won’t be on the road doing a lot of recruiting but better believe he’ll be there on on campus visits and phone calls.
 
#335      
ChiefGritty
the juiceman cometh said:
Honestly doesn't seem like a lot of people who "don't like" the hire, just a lot of people not sure about it. Which is honestly the most defensible position, because it is not a typical DC hire so nobody can credibly predict how it will go. There is just a wide range of possibilities for this one.
Click to expand...
I feel like there are two separate and subdividable questions.

1. Is a shift to a 3-3-5 lighter, blitz-ier defense a good idea?

a. Do we have the personnel to run this well? If we don't have it now can we get it soon?
b. Did miscues in the portal process force our hand into this change or was it truly chosen ahead of time?
c. Does it actually combat the opponents we play well? (Kirk Ferentz and Pat Fitzgerald are back on our schedule next year)

2. Is Bobby Hauck the right person to implement that shift?

a. Is chalk-stained defensive schemer and playcaller actually what he's good at?
b. Is he going to cheer up working with even richer players so long as he doesn't have to be at the negotiating table?

the juiceman cometh said:
It's completely out of left field (his name was literally never mentioned in the history of this board for however far back the search function goes until he was hired) and a lot of us are trying to wrap our heads around it.
Click to expand...
Might have been on a different website but I definitely remember discussing him as a potential Zook replacement as the 2009 disaster unfolded. God I'm old.
 
#336      
RedGrangeHelmet
I have no idea what some of the people on this Board are talking about. I think this is an excellent hire by Bret. We saw Chip Kelly step down from being the head coach at UCLA to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State and now he’s the offensive coordinator at Northwestern. Chip said he just wants to coach and doesn’t want the responsibilities of being the head coach .Hauck Elliot and now retired Iowa State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock are experts in the 3-3-5 defensive. No team in the Big Ten is running the 3-3-5 defense. Bret was right Illinois had to make a change on defense. Everyone in the Big Ten is running some version of the Ryan Walters defense. Purdue and Washington are running the exact same defense we were.
 
#337      
Username
ChiefGritty said:
Every college football fanbase reacting to a hire this offseason:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1177301482464526337
Click to expand...
Referencing a sample size of 1 is always a good way to back up one's argument. (/s in case that's not obvious). Also, Cignetti is the HC - not a coordinator - which is another distinction that is getting glossed over.

All that said, I still don't think it's a terrible hire given that BB had to pivot in a short amount of time. I just think it warrants a little bit of analysis/consideration instead of being immediately met with chants of "great hire!"

All that said, I assume we are all hoping for the best for our school/program, and we all hope this exceeds even the highest expectations. Also, if anyone has earned the benefit of the doubt, it's BB, but questioning the hire is in no way anti-Illini and should not be out of bounds.
 
Last edited:
#339      
SuperintendentChalmers
Battle89 said:
I don't know enough about the people involved to have an informed opinion on the topic. *** I hope for all the best for Coach Hauck and the Illini of course.

Do wonder if this is a little like the generals always fighting the last war; people clamored for Coach Henry to go, and by all accounts Coach Hauck seems like the exact opposite in age, scheme, demeanor, etc. Let's see how it works out.

*** Never stopped me before, I know ...
Click to expand...
Decades of Illini HC hires were examples of fighting the last war:

Moeller (Boring, ineffective ‘70s Michigan offense) to Pass-happy innovator White

White (NCAA/academic/conduct issues) to Mr. clean and corporate Mackovic

Mackovic (Only saw us as a stepping stone) to Wants to be here forever Tepper

Tepper (Never could get the offense figured out) to NFL offensive coordinator Turner

Turner (Pro guy not really suited to recruiting) to Master recruiter Zook

Zook (Game management/ player control issues) to Supposed accountability and team builder Beckman

Beckman (Total disaster) to Experience, respect and stability of Lovie



I don’t think Bret’s hire was any specific reaction to Lovie, which might be why it has worked.
 
#340      
lstewart53x3
ChiefGritty said:
I feel like there are two separate and subdividable questions.

1. Is a shift to a 3-3-5 lighter, blitz-ier defense a good idea?

a. Do we have the personnel to run this well? If we don't have it now can we get it soon?
b. Did miscues in the portal process force our hand into this change or was it truly chosen ahead of time?
c. Does it actually combat the opponents we play well? (Kirk Ferentz and Pat Fitzgerald are back on our schedule next year)
Click to expand...
Based on the way Werner and Wagner described it, switching the defense was the plan all along and was the reason for a few of the D-Line transfers.
 
#341      
Noblesville Illini
1m4tr said:
I’m sure Hauck will still do some recruiting but in a lesser role than as a HC. And also being on the receiving end of portal recruits rather than being a feeder to P4 programs will be a nice change of pace for them. He’ll probably relish this role since he can be micro-focused on a smaller set of tasks and not have to deal with all of the BS that he didn’t like being at a smaller school.
Maybe he won’t be on the road doing a lot of recruiting but better believe he’ll be there on on campus visits and phone calls.
Click to expand...
The guy is adept at recruiting per this…..oh, and it shows that he’s been a defensive guy his whole career

IMG_5792.png
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5791.png
    IMG_5791.png
    969.3 KB · Views: 230
#342      
ChiefGritty
SuperintendentChalmers said:
Mackovic (Only saw us as a stepping stone) to Wants to be here forever Tepper
Click to expand...
As in basketball, that's always the one that kills you

SuperintendentChalmers said:
I don’t think Bret’s hire was any specific reaction to Lovie, which might be why it has worked.
Click to expand...
Oh I could not disagree more, it was a crystal clear pivot from Lovie Smith (could not and would not adapt to being a college coach) to Bret Bielema (the Big Ten West made a wish to become human)
 
#343      
New Creation
So Urlacher played in this 3-3-5 defense. This is great for our safeties and middle linebackers.

Isn’t this the defense that Nebraska runs?
 
#345      
Battle89
SuperintendentChalmers said:
Decades of Illini HC hires were examples of fighting the last war:

Moeller (Boring, ineffective ‘70s Michigan offense) to Pass-happy innovator White

White (NCAA/academic/conduct issues) to Mr. clean and corporate Mackovic

Mackovic (Only saw us as a stepping stone) to Wants to be here forever Tepper

Tepper (Never could get the offense figured out) to NFL offensive coordinator Turner

Turner (Pro guy not really suited to recruiting) to Master recruiter Zook

Zook (Game management/ player control issues) to Supposed accountability and team builder Beckman

Beckman (Total disaster) to Experience, respect and stability of Lovie



I don’t think Bret’s hire was any specific reaction to Lovie, which might be why it has worked.
Click to expand...
Superb summarization! As to your last sentence, closest comp might be Mackovic to Tepper, substituting 'stepping stone' for 'giving a darn'.
 
#348      
Kendall Gill’s Uncle
Illini4Christ said:
  • Solomon Tuliaupupu (Linebacker): A standout starting linebacker who was granted a waiver for a ninth year of college eligibility.
  • Dylan Jemtegaard (Offensive Lineman): A key backup offensive lineman who also received a waiver to extend his collegiate career through the 2026 season.
Click to expand...
9th year???? I like an old team but JCL has nothing on this guy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back