The Illinois AD Search
- Status
Yeah, we'll learn a lot quickly.
I do think there is a 0% chance Whitman would fire Groce this year. He'll start vetting football candidates soon though. Going out on a limb here - 100% chance Cubit is not retained
KBLEE
- Montgomery, IL
:thumb:
Can anybody think of a U of I football or basketball player (beyond Whitman) that had a good college career, made Bronze Tablet, and played professionally?
Read this article for more on him: JOSH WHITMAN. A SCHOLAR. AN ATHLETE. A SUCCESS.
Whatever you think of the hire, Whitman is just an incredible guy. As S&C pointed out he is the "Platonic ideal" for Illinois athletics.
Read this article for more on him: JOSH WHITMAN. A SCHOLAR. AN ATHLETE. A SUCCESS.
Whatever you think of the hire, Whitman is just an incredible guy. As S&C pointed out he is the "Platonic ideal" for Illinois athletics.
illynifan34
That's a winner!!
- OH
PaytonHighstep
- Downers Grove, IL
I read Whitman's WashU bio, I didn't realize he was representing the NFL for his law firm.
"He then joined the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, which has a nationally recognized sports practice and serves as the primary outside counsel to the National Football League."
I would wager he probably has more football related contacts in the coaching world than we realize.
"He then joined the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, which has a nationally recognized sports practice and serves as the primary outside counsel to the National Football League."
I would wager he probably has more football related contacts in the coaching world than we realize.
Whitman is the AD for a school that prides itself on high academic and athletic standards. He is simply more than a D3 AD. Its obviously a risk since Illinois is quite a step up. But he raises quite a bit of money for a D3 school as well.
Tiley > Whitman > Michael
I'm not sure if I'd have Frazier ahead of Whitman or between he and Michael, but in my opinion, Michael would be an absolute and complete failure. Hope the rumors are true about him not being a serious candidate.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
It's amazing that Whitman hasn't found a cure for the Zika virus yet! Seriously, his background is so incredibly impressive, it reads more like fiction than fact. If UI decides to take a risk due to lack of experience, I am in favor of this one.
Whitman would be a decent hire under terrible circumstances and a period of incompetence by the University that I couldn't have even scripted if, three years ago, I had tried to plot out a worst case scenario for Illinois athletics. But if it's truly Whitman, why the hold up? Why no announcement today?
BZuppke
- Plainfield
+1000 - I also think there is great potential for him to make a great football hire. Every coach from Saban on down says who their boss is, is paramount. If Whitman is everything he's billed to be, he ought to be someone a great coach wants to work for. Time will tell. Finally, one benefit of George being out is we won't have to refer to our AD as RG again.
Life I said about 20 pages back, the only disappointment I'd have in a Whitman hire is that it didn't happen 2 months ago.
While I get that, and the pain of extending Cubit, etc, I also don't have a problem with trying to vette out Tiley/others.
It still comes down to the timing of the Thomas firing/handcuffing the interim AD. If you fix either of those cases we are in a much better spot.
BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
Whitman was #3 on my own personal list - after George and then Tiley, but it won't upset me if he is the guy. I'll be more like "intrigued". I think in time he could be really great, but that they key - give him time. He'll have a lot of learning to do on the job and it might take a year or two to get up to speed. He seems like a smart enough guy that he'd be well up to the task.
But still, the thing that nags me is that if he IS the guy, we could have had him lined up months ago, and we wouldn't have been dealing with the program damaging media perceptions and the revenue program uncertainty we are dealing with now.
But still, the thing that nags me is that if he IS the guy, we could have had him lined up months ago, and we wouldn't have been dealing with the program damaging media perceptions and the revenue program uncertainty we are dealing with now.
He's a well spoken person who can win the interview and I think get people to get excited about the program. I've said it a few times now he's an Illinois guy and he's selling something he truely loves and that will come across to doners who feel the same.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6ocmPsa5zY8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6ocmPsa5zY8
Yes, but will need another committee to monitor the progress of the other committees.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
I'm right there with you, but the thing is, it's a Catch-22. If someone with foresight somehow convinced all involved parties that they'd need to make peace with an up-and-comer and he was quickly hired, everyone involved would've gotten excoriated for not giving 110% in pursuit of the highest-tier candidates.
Good point.
With 3-4 months of diddling now having passed, with the "process" honored, everyone's !!! that had to be covered ought to now be covered. Let's get it over with.
Let's do this!!
But we should have done that!
I'll wager that the majority of people criticizing Whitman on here haven't accomplished 1/10th of the things he has and really have no idea of what he's capable of doing. Wash U has one of the largest endowments in the country so Whitman likely has experience talking with big money donors and corporations in trying to get them to direct more money to athletics at an academic institution. While he isn't who I originally thought we'd get, I think he'll make a great AD because of the orange and blue in his blood, his NFL connections and his ability to excel at whatever he puts his mind to. It may be wishful thinking, but I think he'll be confident enough to tell our administration what needs to be done to right the ship.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
I think I should have guessed 204.
HoustonIllini
- Houston, TX
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