Some thoughts.
- I think there are two ways to look at this search. The first is the narrow version of this last week, which I think went about as well as could reasonably be expected. Clearly there were other candidates, at least Bennett and Archie and probably Monty as well and perhaps others (though the alleged Cuonzo offer is clearly BS). But whereas Mike Thomas pushed those types of situations into lengthy public courtships, Josh Whitman had the discretion to know the battles he couldn't win, and had irons in lots of fires and was seeing the whole marketplace. A quality job.
- I think the second way though, it to look at the job Whitman inherited. Clearly he saw the Cubit situation as non-viable, and thought brilliantly outside the box to make the Lovie thing happen. There's a different version of that story where Cubit coaches the 2016 team and there's a more traditional search, but lucky outcomes are never an impossibility for smart, prepared people. Clearly the Groce situation was viewed differently. I think Whitman, and many of us, saw the potential for a big breakout this year from Groce. Firing him last year would have been justifiable, but was it necessary? And if we'd have fired him, clearly Underwood as well as Bryce Drew would have been right at the top of the list of replacements. Seems as if Drew was another option in our search, so what Whitman managed to do was get another year of data on Groce clearly showing him as not the man for the job, as well as another year of data on Underwood and Drew, showing that both weren't in over their heads at major jobs. Gaining that much more certainty and still having access to the same candidates is just an A+. It's a masterwork.
- It was funny to see the "this won't excite Illinois fans, but it's a great hire" narrative from some folks on Twitter. I haven't read through this thread, but we're not idiots. This isn't a sneaky low-key home run (a la my boy Keatts!), this is a smack you in the face home run. Poaching successful P5 coaches who those schools want to keep just doesn't happen, nor does someone taking over the (talented, admittedly) garbage Travis Ford left and turning them into the #1 offense in the country. This guy is the genuine article.
- There's a reason we didn't really consider him as someone available. Leaving a school after one year is crummy, and when Bruce gets fired next year there's going to be a bit of sweating. I have confidence Whitman won't make him feel as under-appreciated as Okie State apparently did, but that just is what it is.
- Obviously, recruiting is going to be the question. You would imagine he'll try to hire a Chicago Whisperer and he'll have Walker and we'll see how that goes. But what I am most over the moon about with this hire is that the plan is no longer just beating our heads against the wall trying to "hustle" Illinois into being a destination for elite talent because of what sweet, innocent, desperate people we are. This is a system we're bringing in, and our recruits are going to fit us, we don't need to fit them. We're going to establish an identity and attract players with that identity and our success and the role they can play in our story, not the role we can play in ours. It's exactly what I've been begging for for years. Now, that's not a guarantee, Underwood could debase himself on the rocks of the Chicago AAU scene, but I am confident that won't happen. He's got too much credibility for that.
- Speaking of credibility. Lovie and Underwood. There was always going to be an analysis of what Whitman's two hires had in common, and you don't want to overdraw the comparison, but it just seems so clear. Credibility, coaching chops, no-nonsense lack of BS leaders. There is a massive gulf of quality between them of course, but Tim Beckman and John Groce were the kind of sloganeering, gimmicky song and dance men that you would expect from a marketing department suit like Mike Thomas. Lovie and Underwood are what you would expect from someone who has been in those locker rooms and has spilled his blood, sweat and tears for this athletic program and who retains great admiration for the serious-minded professional quality coaches who made an NFL player and a man out of him.
- Two years. We're DONE with this nonsense for two years. The 2018 Football season will be critical for Lovie, the 2018-19 season will be a loaded roster that should be a success for Underwood. I have every confidence we'll be even more excited about these coaches two years from today than we are right now. But obviously honeymoons don't last forever and if either of those situations are disastrous between now and then there will come a time to start asking some questions. But I think it's an incredible gift to this fanbase to be able to put "fire the coach" aside for two full years and just dedicate ourselves to being part of the build and putting everything into making these eras a success. Forget two full years, we haven't even been able to do that for two consecutive team-seasons since at least 2007. As you all know, I have become something of a self-appointed expert of coaching searches in that decade. And I have hated every minute of it. It's over. Now comes the fun part. Let's go!
