The Marlins made the playoffs this year. Odd comparison.
Northwestern 28, Illinois 10 Postgame
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And gave me false hope for this season.
Should Josh Whitman choose to retain Lovie, the minimum of what should happen is that they recruit a defensive coordinator with some fresh ideas. Second, they need to recruit a quarterback coach with some fresh ideas. Let Lovie be a football program administrator/manager, and Rod can continue to be OC, but without having to coddle the QBs.
Rod Smith needs to the first one fired, then Lovie. Rod is an awful OC
I thought the Lovie hire would bring some prestige that would help with recruiting. Havenāt seen the benefit.
I thought Lovie would pull in a expert staff that would really stabilize and boost the program. Havenāt seen that.
I thought Lovie and his staff would show a lot of in-game adjustments. I thought clock management would be as seamless as it is in an NFL game. Nope.
And I thought Lovie might, at least occasionally, gain a bit of deference from officials in a game. Nothing blatant but maybe the benefit of the doubt on a 50/50 call or a replay review. I havenāt seen it.
I wanted this to work. Everyone on this message board did. Itās not.
I thought Lovie would pull in a expert staff that would really stabilize and boost the program. Havenāt seen that.
I thought Lovie and his staff would show a lot of in-game adjustments. I thought clock management would be as seamless as it is in an NFL game. Nope.
And I thought Lovie might, at least occasionally, gain a bit of deference from officials in a game. Nothing blatant but maybe the benefit of the doubt on a 50/50 call or a replay review. I havenāt seen it.
I wanted this to work. Everyone on this message board did. Itās not.
Go Nats 88 Illini
Fairfax, VA
If we have nowhere else to go, then I agree. We are moving nowhere, and I doubt an add here or there will make this work. And the only adds I can see would understand they are hitching to a sinking ship, or setting up to replace what is in place. And if that is their best move forward I doubt they would be a true add. I do not know the answer. It just seems to me this is not it.
If they retain Lovie it will be more of the same. We have all seen this movie before. Hopefully JW will have some cajones
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
If you want to change culture, you have to blow it up. Piecemeal changes are not going to fix what's wrong here.
ILFaninFL
- Nature Coast in Florida
Or figure out how to stay behind receivers instead of letting run past you.
Not gonna lie, you kind of had me until you kept Rod on staff.
He lost me when he kept Lovie.
Watching these games is a perfect warm up for watching the Bears
Didn't work with Zook, don't know why it would work with Lovie.
I think the ākeep HC but make staff changes ā was tried with Zook.
āFixedā it for you
BES76
- Kennewick, Wa
Well ... Illinois has won five (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927, 1951) national championships.
Yep, Zookās recruiting went into the toilet when they did that am9ng other problems.
Watching Wisconsin score 45 on us in the opener was thinking, that's brutal for an experienced Illini defense now in Lovie's 5th year, but maybe the Badgers are legit and this 5-star freshman QB Graham Mertz is the next big thing.
Of course the last three games the Badgers scored 7 vs. Northwestern, 6 vs. Indiana and are being shut out at halftime at Iowa. Mertz is probably wishing he could play vs. Lovie's D every week.
Of course the last three games the Badgers scored 7 vs. Northwestern, 6 vs. Indiana and are being shut out at halftime at Iowa. Mertz is probably wishing he could play vs. Lovie's D every week.
This was supposed to be the year Lovie was aiming for, saying before the season that it was clearly his best team. Covid-19 has disrupted a lot of things this season throughout college football and likely cost us the Purdue game by having to play a fourth-string QB who made four turnovers. We had six starters out on defense today and we would've been more competitive if they had played, but it would not have meant a victory. What it really showed was the lack of depth on this team.
Lovie's awful conference record is more than enough to justify his dismissal. We should not be surprised by that record when his recruiting classes are always near the bottom of the Big 10 (rated 13th so far this year). You can't build and sustain a successful Big 10 program with two- and three-star players and by hoping to get lucky with transfers, most of whom haven't helped much. Even the kids we thought would be key additions (Ford, Beason, Cooper, etc.) haven't had much positive impact.
As I understand it, there's a $2 million buyout if Lovie is canned now and $1 million if he's fired after next season. Even with the athletic department losing millions due to the virus over last basketball season and this football season, the money aspect should not deter Lovie being fired. But I fear that may be reason enough for Whitman to keep him for another year, hoping for a breakthrough season with several (many?) returning players taking the extra year of eligibility.
I just don't see that turnaround happening. It's time to cut our losses, to admit that Lovie cannot be a successful college coach because he can't recruit, can't build even a mediocre defense despite his supposed expertise on that side of the ball or hire a top staff. Waiting another season would just be delaying the inevitable. Fire Lovie and his staff, find a young dynamic coach with enthusiasm and a proven track record of being a strong recruiter and try once again to lift Illinois football from its embarrassing depths
Lovie's awful conference record is more than enough to justify his dismissal. We should not be surprised by that record when his recruiting classes are always near the bottom of the Big 10 (rated 13th so far this year). You can't build and sustain a successful Big 10 program with two- and three-star players and by hoping to get lucky with transfers, most of whom haven't helped much. Even the kids we thought would be key additions (Ford, Beason, Cooper, etc.) haven't had much positive impact.
As I understand it, there's a $2 million buyout if Lovie is canned now and $1 million if he's fired after next season. Even with the athletic department losing millions due to the virus over last basketball season and this football season, the money aspect should not deter Lovie being fired. But I fear that may be reason enough for Whitman to keep him for another year, hoping for a breakthrough season with several (many?) returning players taking the extra year of eligibility.
I just don't see that turnaround happening. It's time to cut our losses, to admit that Lovie cannot be a successful college coach because he can't recruit, can't build even a mediocre defense despite his supposed expertise on that side of the ball or hire a top staff. Waiting another season would just be delaying the inevitable. Fire Lovie and his staff, find a young dynamic coach with enthusiasm and a proven track record of being a strong recruiter and try once again to lift Illinois football from its embarrassing depths
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