Maybe Brett should have checked with Miss Cleo before hiring this cat in the first place!
DC Bobby Hauck out at Illinois
Maybe Brett should have checked with Miss Cleo before hiring this cat in the first place!
He’s a guy that’s been a HC most of career. I’m sure he didn’t like being called out or told what to do. He’s also a guy who retired because he didn’t like the current landscape of college football. I also don’t think he’s ever coached at the P4 level.
I do. There is no reason not to.
Was Coach B happy with Bobby’s performance? No.
Were there “discussions” like what happen daily on a college football team? Yes.
Did Bobby know he was doing poorly or possibly over his head? Probably
Did Bobby get fired or asked to leave? No.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
Too soon.
Eberflus has been saving that timeout since two Thanksgivings ago
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
I liked the idea of 3-3-5 just to be different. I would not give up on it. Hauk was just the wrong guy.
All these HS kids payed 43 or 34 in HS. You could shift them back to that in a week. It would be plain vanilla with cover 1 or cover 2 but it could be done with you wanted to bring in Wilcox or soembody else
All these HS kids payed 43 or 34 in HS. You could shift them back to that in a week. It would be plain vanilla with cover 1 or cover 2 but it could be done with you wanted to bring in Wilcox or soembody else
I’m gonna say Beckman by a landslide.Bigger joke, Hauck or Beckman?
Have to credit Bielema for being decisive.
does that T.O. come with him to college if we did hire him? /s
Eberflus has been saving that timeout since two Thanksgivings ago
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
As a matter of fact it is precisely what we heard from those good sources that makes me think this way.
During the period days after the transfer window had opened, when it looked like we were on track for the smaller number of departures we had been used to, defensive front seven guys started trickling out, and the response from the insiders was that the staff didn't think these players were worth the money they were asking for and that we could do better replacing them. Later the insiders told us there was a deal in the works to bring Tomiwa Durojaiye back which didn't come to fruition.
And then of course the insiders (and other sources) told us we had a deal in place with Chris Partridge that he backed out of when they won the Super Bowl. What the Seahawks do isn't exactly a Rocky Long 3-3-5, but the principles are comparable in terms of a tradeoff of size for speed within the box and generating uncertainty as to who is rushing and who is dropping on any given play. Both are ways of answering the question "how do we get results on defense if we can't afford quality and depth among 300+lb DT's?"
It's not my speculation that our change in defensive philosophy was forced by the price level for size on the interior going through the roof, Bret Bielema has said that publicly. But that's not something that became apparent until pretty late in our process, when we suffered something that has hit every program in the country at one time or another: sticker shock at the portal prices.
That's a much more coherent and plausible story than us spending five critical weeks sending letters of recommendation around for someone to relieve us of the burden of firing our incompetent DC. That line actually doesn't align with the information we've gotten here at all, nor does it follow basic common sense, but it DOES stoke the dedicated anti-Henry campaign around here that certain of our wise sages have chosen to lend their credibility to for reasons that I can't fathom.
you can pretty much bank on it that we ditch the 3-3-5 in the off season if we hire a long term DC who hasnt run it.
You 100% can’t change the defense in a week. You also aren’t bringing in a new coach to call the defense in week 5. My guess is that Bradford will call the defense for the rest of the season.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
What makes you think they are going to change anything? All of these guys coached 3-5-3 at Montana. I can only go by what I have heard from BB. And some of it is BS. But unless you have Buddy Ryan and 13 defensive players the Bears had - for any defense to be successful what they do has to fit into an overall game plan.
Since i have already commented on this more than once, the Illinois offense is quick strike, fast pace approach which leaves the defense on the field for more than 30 mins/game.
Therefore the "best fit" defense is one that (1) doesn't give up big plays and (2) finishes on 3rd and long. With the returning players we have, that would be the correct strategy regardless of formation. Its all about personnel an match ups.
Now I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to see BBs frustration. The defensive mechanics that Hauk was using (firing linebackers and leaving corners in man cover) is designed to make the big play. But when it doesn't make the big play, it gives up large yardage.
BB wants his defensive backfield to be the strength and by isolating them so often, bigger or more athletic receivers are going to be able to get the ball. And we certainly saw enough of that on Saturday.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
We might as well go back to the days where I was one of the guys who ran plays into the QB to call in the huddle.
The other team
I literally said they aren’t going to change anything. The other poster had said about changing to a 3-4 or a 4-3 for this weeks game and brining in Wilcox as the dc for the rest of the season. Also Hauck ran zone a majority of the time. He wasn’t leaving guys out in man all game
1) Chris Ash is their defensive coordinator, not Henry.
2) ND’s talent on defense is about 100x better than Illinois. Starting with one of the best CB prospects of all time.
(No opinionated statement on whether firing Henry was the right or wrong move)
Sounds like from the press conference that BB was completely in the dark and taken by surprise
He has talent there and they perform at a high level.
He had a couple of solid players here and the results showed. It wasn't always a picture of beauty, but it was enough to win.
I don't know how this falls 100% on the DC. The talent isn't there whatsoever. This defensive line and LB corp is MAC level. We'll see what the next sacrificial lamb brings.
my comment refers to BB likely agreeing to Haucks assessment and not trying to talk him out of it . it’s not as if this possibility was never ever anticipated.
just my opinion. I have a hard time believing BB or others in the know were totally surprised
A big part of our problem is the roster construction. That falls on the head coach and GM. I do think the communication is a problem but the talent level is the real problem
I think Coach B made it clear to Hauck over the past few games that he was increasingly frustrated with the poor communications, blown tackles, lack of a pass rush, failure to get off the field, few turnovers and TFLs, penalties, and failure to show much improvement while the season was slipping away. For his part, I think Hauck had difficulty relating to today's players, was not used to coaching at the P4 level, and did not like being criticized by a younger head coach after calling the shots for so many years as the HC. Hauck figured he didn't need the aggravation, and at least had the sense and class to resign after seeing he would not succeed at Illinois. Coach B looked relieved to move on, and pointedly did not thank Hauck for his service to the program.
Both are happy to be done with this totally failed experiment, though I expect the Illini to retain Hauck's old DC and the 3-5-3 D for the rest of this year, tweak QB pressure packages, emphasize better tackling, swarming to the ball, taking away the opponent's primary weapon,and streamlined communications. Retooling to a whole new defense at this point and issuing/learning a new playbook, has no advantages and would likely cause complete confusion and tank the season.
Both are happy to be done with this totally failed experiment, though I expect the Illini to retain Hauck's old DC and the 3-5-3 D for the rest of this year, tweak QB pressure packages, emphasize better tackling, swarming to the ball, taking away the opponent's primary weapon,and streamlined communications. Retooling to a whole new defense at this point and issuing/learning a new playbook, has no advantages and would likely cause complete confusion and tank the season.
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I'm betting a better defense
People don't want to admit that because it's self soothing to believe that firing one guy fixes the problem, when the problem is the lack of money we have to spend and what we do spend greases the wheels of the offense.
This is a talent problem. This will be our third DC in 4 games. We'll see what he can do to better things.