Illini Football 2026
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trust CoachB.. I was not upset with loss. Let Coach play his plan out. He has EARNED, itRabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Here’s a refresher for anyone who’s interested. Not sure it was 75-80%, but there sure was a lot of skepticism.
The Illinois Football Coaching Search
No love for the Lewis guy? Maybe just no connection at all to Josh, so not really seen as an option? Great offense but very QB driven, also defense leaves something to be desired.
www.illinoisloyalty.com
Gotta keep him around, first.
just re read about 4-5 pages of that (34-38) . there was mostly negative to meh discussion about BB. don’t recall a post on those pages being enthusiastic. I stand by my earlier comment of this board being 75% against it .Here’s a refresher for anyone who’s interested. Not sure it was 75-80%, but there sure was a lot of skepticism.
The Illinois Football Coaching Search
No love for the Lewis guy? Maybe just no connection at all to Josh, so not really seen as an option? Great offense but very QB driven, also defense leaves something to be desired.
Me ? I always liked him due to his Illinois upbringing , success at Wisc, and him & I sharing Dutch heritage and BB reminding me looks wise of 3/4 of my uncles . His so called sophomoric behavior didn’t bother me as I’ve been accused of that at times .
Happy that he obviously nailed it in his interview with Josh and he’s subsequently proven to be the perfect hire for us . I don’t know who exactly else on that well circulated list we considered , assume LL & Fickell were . Recall discussion Fickell wasn’t really interested , but LL was . Josh made the right choice .
Everyone says how extremely organized BB is . I truly think he stays with us until he retires and gets recognition at that time as our best coach ever .
Here’s a refresher for anyone who’s interested. Not sure it was 75-80%, but there sure was a lot of skepticism.
The Illinois Football Coaching Search
No love for the Lewis guy? Maybe just no connection at all to Josh, so not really seen as an option? Great offense but very QB driven, also defense leaves something to be desired.
Here are the reactions to the actual hire, not the search.
Bret Bielema Takes Reins of Illinois Football
www.illinoisloyalty.com
When there are people in the search thread thinking we're pulling in Nick Saban-ish, obviously the reaction to prospects like BB will be negative. Once the hire was made, the reactions were much less extremist.
I just find it funny the revisionist history over the last couple of successful seasons of "I was the first to love this hire!" and "BB was always my guy!". Honestly, I think 75% were more of the "eh... this is Illinois" then "we hate this hire".
I was 100% skeptical and was afraid we were getting Arkansas BB and not this new BB.
1. Happy to be wrong.
2. Goes to show that people don’t always stagnate and can change for the better when they learn and grow from past experiences.
1. Happy to be wrong.
2. Goes to show that people don’t always stagnate and can change for the better when they learn and grow from past experiences.
Wasn't worried about his character, people who interacted with him all said that he was a real and genuine person. I was worried about his drinking at the time. Sam Pittman left Arkansas after BB no-show'd to a recruiting visit
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These were my exact thoughts. My nephew attended UWisc at the end of BB's tenure there, and had stories of immature BB.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Skimmed through the whole thread. Hate might be a strong word, but I’d say 75% of posts in the thread were expressing disappointment in the hire.Here are the reactions to the actual hire, not the search.
Bret Bielema Takes Reins of Illinois Football
When there are people in the search thread thinking we're pulling in Nick Saban-ish, obviously the reaction to prospects like BB will be negative. Once the hire was made, the reactions were much less extremist.
I just find it funny the revisionist history over the last couple of successful seasons of "I was the first to love this hire!" and "BB was always my guy!". Honestly, I think 75% were more of the "eh... this is Illinois" then "we hate this hire".
On CBS Sports sight they have all the Power 4 coaches career records against AP top 25 teams. Bret only has a .338 winning percentage but has coached the most games of all the coaches against top 25 teams. Even more than all the SEC coaches.
Go look at Arkansas’s schedules during Bret’s time there….insane stuff especially when Bret wouldn’t cheat like the other schools were. A big part of the reason Bret is so pro NIL and Rev sharing.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Yeah, his strength of schedule at Arkansas according to FPI was:
2013: 12 (3-9)
2014: 3 (7-6)
2015: 7 (8-5)
2016: 6 (7-6)
2017: 31 (4-8)
So his last year was bad. The others were decent to good based on schedule.
For context, his strength of schedule here so far:
2021: 53
2022: 46
2023: 65 (5-7 oof)
2024: 30 (still won 10 games!)
2025: 23 (still won 9 games!)
If Bret had our schedule at Arkansas, he would’ve won 9-10 games a year.
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50 years into this fandom business, my default setting on just about every coach and recruit is skepticism. Some call that negativity. Perhaps others say it's a defense mechanism, like a nut cup.
I definitely had skepticism with BB. In fairness, even the Wisconsin version of Bret probably doesn't survive here. I don't know if it was the kids, or just age, but he seems to be a different person and it's set him up for success.
I definitely had skepticism with BB. In fairness, even the Wisconsin version of Bret probably doesn't survive here. I don't know if it was the kids, or just age, but he seems to be a different person and it's set him up for success.
OKay, sorry, I couldn't let this die....
I actually read through the entire thread. If you actually look at the hire thread and look at individual posters vs. the same poster posting the same sentiment 30 times in 30 different ways, the break down is roughly 3 to 1 (slightly less) in favor with about 25% of the posters indifferent or "waiting to see". Which is exactly how I remember it being.
Illinoisloyalty is notorious for letting small groups of negative nancies dictate the feeling or direction of an entire thread or fan base.
illini80
- Forgottonia
I wasn’t skeptical of his abilities, but I questioned how long he would stick around. With JW at the helm and the changes in the game, it was perfect timing where he could really excel here. Very thankful for how things have worked out.
I was more referencing what seemed like behavior/personality stuff at Arkansas as opposed to schedule.
But yeah, dude had a crazy tough road to succeed there.
He definitely got an insightful look under the hood of the SEC machine, which means he truly was the perfect hire right as NIL was coming around.
No need to count posts, there was a poll!
90% rated the hire an A or B. Can't remember exactly but I rated him an A if not B. Simpletons like me saw a former big ten champion coach and figured that was a good thing
Ryllini
- Lombard
Control the line of scrimmage...Control the game.
'Lose big, lose small, win small, win big.'
open.substack.com
This is so weird to me.
The IlliniInquirer podcast guys have continued to state Platt has been a marquee addition. And Dixon and Clement are already proven products.
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