Honestly, Zook's biggest problem is that he just flat out couldn't figure out how to be a head coach. I think he was a great ambassador of the school to recruits, donors, other schools, the public, etc. He seemed like a really genuine guy who truly wanted the best for his players (both on the field and off). He just... couldn't... coach...
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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Does anyone remember Zook had a recruiting TV show that was on like every Saturday... recruiting news and prospect information. Nothing like it after the Zooker left.
When I look back at that era and see the recruiting results before and after zooks time in Illinois I can't help but think he brought some bag men with him from the SEC. In terms of recruiting, that was a special era of Illinois history that will likely never be duplicated which is sad to think about.
Honestly, I loved going to his football camps growing up. He was a really cool, engaging guy.
Ron Zook, This Is Your Life.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
I love this analogy but I will add some tweaks. Unlikely sales, recruits often want to hear from coaches. This isn't the relationship between a telemarketer and a potential customer. It's more of a relationship between two people who have started dating. But Zook had to create that relationship with 100s of recruits ever year. Part of Zook's advantage was his commitment to recruiting. It's something he actually loved to do. His famous line of asking UF for a waterproof phone so he can call recruits while he showered is emblematic of his recruiting style. All coaches have a way to warm up to recruits on occasion but it takes a special recruiter to make a lot of folks feel that way every time they talk to you and the coach not reaching burnout. He also was way way more willing to reach out to a group of recruits at the early stages than most head coaches, giving himself an edge. That edge created by having a head coach who prioritized recruiting also created a deficit in other areas, which have been much discussed, but in the first 5-6 years it really infused a lot of talent onto the roster and the talent helped paper over some of the other coaching concerns.
Serious Late
- Peoria via Denver via Ann Arbor via Albuquerque vi
To be fair, most sales jobs aren't that either. They are closer to the second analogy (starting dating) than the first.
Deleted member 746826
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Looking back on it is really sad that the zooker couldnt coach at gametime. If he was a better delegater maybe he could have stayed home and called recruits while in the shower. Just kidding but it would really have been a great illini era if he could have game coached better.
If he could’ve coached, we would’ve never gotten him away from Florida. He would’ve won multiple national championships there.
The problems we saw, Florida saw. It is why he was available.
He checked every single box except at game time when his brain flatlined.
Watching him pace the sidelines at 120 steps a minute always gave me the impression that he was incapable of relaxing sufficiently enough to see the big picture in front of him.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
This is essentially true for all head football coaches but Zook really needed to have excellent coordinators to gain/maintain his success. Locksley was a home run hire that brought excellent recruiting chops with a cutting edge offensive gameplan (spread was still fairly new in college football, especially within the B1G). The defensive coordinators were a constant revolving door (Disch, C. Mallory, Okruch, & M. Mallory) before finding Koenning when it was too late and Locksley had already left. The hindsight answer is to spend significant resources after the 2008 season and bring in a decorated DC and find another up-and-coming OC but being constantly dependent on excellent coordinators is a problem that can only be suppressed for so long.
If Zook would have come along 5-10 years later he would be making multiple millions/year being a faux defensive coordinator under a defensive-minded coach with the expectation that he hit the recruiting trail hard and bring in a handful of 4-5 star players every year.
During 2010, we had Koennig (DC), Petrino (OC), and Brohm (QC). My hope at the end of the season was that they would remove Zook (maybe offer him something in the AD's office for fund raising) and move Petrino and Brohm up a slot. But.....we won one too many games and made a bowl. Can't fire a coach when he makes a bowl. I would have liked to see what Petrino/Brohm could do without Zook's hindering. Plus we would have probably kept our dominant defense.
Better not tell Zook that.
Deleted member 746826
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welcome RAJKOVIC!!!!!!!!
another tight end!!
another tight end!!
Deleted member 747671
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With Zook, it just seemed like everything added up to less than what it should have. For the most part, he hired good coaches around him, both here and Florida. He's had coordinators go on to be head coaches, has had position coaches go on to be coordinators and more. He had an eye for talent: recruited great prospects, but was also able to recruit somewhat overlooked/underrated prospects that became pros. He seemed to genuinely enjoy the job. For some reason he was never able to make everything click outside of the Rose Bowl year. Even though it wasn't THAT long ago, it is a bit of a different era. Wonder how he would've done with a state-of-the-art facility and a huge assistant salary pool here.
Be remindful of Lou Holtz on the sidelines at Notre Dame pacing up and down and up and down with the hapless student assistant with the loops of yellow headset wire following him. Contrast that with Mr. L. Smith who anchored himself to a spot with a countenance devoid of emotion.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Sorry, I don't equate emotion to success (or failure).
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
He's making that exact point to the person he's replying too.
No he couldn't I once thought maybe he'd make a decent AD, at least better than the last couple we had before JW, course that's not saying much and he would have been lousy at that, too most likely.
Interesting. Don’t appear to be in on any of the top 20
BillyBob1
- Champaign
They are in on several of those players, including committed players.Interesting. Don’t appear to be in on any of the top 20
Jimmy Liston is a kid I thought would get and offer.
Oh man, I was the headset cord b$&@# my freshman year of high school.
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