The Illinois Coaching Staff Search

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#1,901      
That sounds like less than a done deal, but man, on a very good staff that would be the best hire by a country mile. Absolute grand slam to get him as something other than OC.

And this is a good example of the way to think about "bleeds orange and blue" alum hires. If you're doing it right, them having gone to Illinois is OUR pitch to THEM, not the other way around.
You don't want him as an OC, Syracuse & NCSU have tried it and it has not worked out. Honestly, I think he has reached his plateau for coaching.
 
#1,903      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
home run bat flip GIF by Tomas Ferraro, Sports Editor
 
#1,904      

illini80

Forgottonia
That was certainly worth the wait! I've had my hopes dashed so many times by Illinois Football, but if this staff can't win at Illinois maybe no one can. We couldn't possibly be in a more different place than we were just a few weeks ago.
 
#1,906      
This isn't just for McDonald or NC State: we need to stop taking these comments from any coach as genuine. These are simply PR statements. Many of us live in places we enjoy but better pay, promotion, and/or more job stability will make all of us think twice about staying.
His comments could be genuine but he still takes the offer. The two aren't incompatible.
 
#1,907      
That was certainly worth the wait! I've had my hopes dashed so many times by Illinois Football, but if this staff can't win at Illinois maybe no one can. We couldn't possibly be in a more different place than we were just a few weeks ago.

It's the best football staff/plan we've had since the 1980s. Every coaching staff since Mackovic had major question marks. Lou Tepper was a very good college DC, but you never knew how he'd do taking over a program. . Ron Turner had virtually no college football experience. Ron Zook from his time at Florida, you knew what you were getting - good recruits and bad coaching. Beckman was a midmajor guy who's calling card defense was bad at Toledo. Lovie Smith had no college experience.

So it is an absolute breath of fresh air to put together a staff of college guys, who are all about college football, and the guy you have leading it has been a big winner already in the Big 10. I agree with you. If this staff can't win, nobody can. It's the best possible staff you could expect a program like Illinois to put together.
 
#1,908      
His comments could be genuine but he still takes the offer. The two aren't incompatible.
I was thinking about this a lot when mentioned that earlier. The comments could be genuine, and there could be other reasons why he takes this job. It gives him a fresh start, he is returning home, and this could be a way to overcome his coaching plateau at NC State.

Wearing both hats, I am happy that Illinois' WRs are about to get substantially better, though I now have to worry about my alma mater getting a new coach/recruiter lol.
 
#1,910      

mhuml32

Cincinnati, OH
I was thinking about this a lot when mentioned that earlier. The comments could be genuine, and there could be other reasons why he takes this job. It gives him a fresh start, he is returning home, and this could be a way to overcome his coaching plateau at NC State.

Wearing both hats, I am happy that Illinois' WRs are about to get substantially better, though I now have to worry about my alma mater getting a new coach/recruiter lol.

Agreed. Certain coaches are genuine when they make that statement but it's about that we, as fans, should never take a coach stating their love and admiration for their current employer and location at face value because everyone says it. So when a coach states they love their location and then leave a week later for another job, we shouldn't be shocked because they made a past statement about loving the area. It's not personal, it's business.
 
#1,911      
All of our new guys had great interviews but I think Buh out of all of them seemed so genuine. I bet he will be a really good recruiter for us.
 
#1,912      
It's the best football staff/plan we've had since the 1980s. Every coaching staff since Mackovic had major question marks. Lou Tepper was a very good college DC, but you never knew how he'd do taking over a program. . Ron Turner had virtually no college football experience. Ron Zook from his time at Florida, you knew what you were getting - good recruits and bad coaching. Beckman was a midmajor guy who's calling card defense was bad at Toledo. Lovie Smith had no college experience.

So it is an absolute breath of fresh air to put together a staff of college guys, who are all about college football, and the guy you have leading it has been a big winner already in the Big 10. I agree with you. If this staff can't win, nobody can. It's the best possible staff you could expect a program like Illinois to put together.
Moleface was the FB coach when I was at UIUC. I don't remember anything about his staff but it must have been really bad.

Everything you guys are writing about BB's staff are really making me excited for our FB future.
 
#1,913      
All of our new guys had great interviews but I think Buh out of all of them seemed so genuine. I bet he will be a really good recruiter for us.
 
#1,915      

Illinivek23

Gurnee
All of our new guys had great interviews but I think Buh out of all of them seemed so genuine. I bet he will be a really good recruiter for us.
I agree with this. Seemed knowledgeable - talked about spending lots of time evaluating the current guys. Just a really good guy.
 
#1,916      
This isn't just for McDonald or NC State: we need to stop taking these comments from any coach as genuine. These are simply PR statements. Many of us live in places we enjoy but better pay, promotion, and/or more job stability will make all of us think twice about staying.
Biased but Raleigh is a terrific place
 
#1,918      

Deleted member 747867

D
Guest
Depends what benchmark is. It's easy to compare against Lovie staff and think 'A'!

If we look at context of a P5 School I am going to go with a 'C+'. Lots of solid hires, but nothing that would qualify as a 'big splash' hire. The last two roles need to be a little heavier on the recruiting side - hopefully is an absolute recruiting stud because as it stands now I think we have some solid recruiters - Henry, Patterson, Bart Miller, Jamison, Walters - but no one that is Locksley, Reggie Mitchell or even Dan Disch level good/experienced (to use a Zook comparison).
How do you know who's a good recruiter? I mean, c'mon, to a significant degree recruiting is a chicken-and-egg proposition, especially for a program in Illinois' position. Everyone knows recruiting is the name of the game in college football. But it's based in significant part on the reputation of the HC in building quality programs -- and the latter requires a competent staff of coaches. Take Locksley, for instance, by way of random example. When he coached/recruited for New Mexico, did he take the Lobos to the top of the Mountain West and put them on par with BYU (former MW member) or Boise State? No. But he goes to Alabama, a dynasty program at the zenith of its HC's career, and he's deemed this awesome recruiter (which he may well be). So, now he's got a reputation AND a HC job -- so he's bringing talent to Maryland. But time will tell whether he can sustain it -- based on the quality of the program going forward, and that depends largely on the quality of the coaching staff, you know, the x's and o's guys. As for me, I'll take quality coaches with fire in their belly over a smooth recruiter any day -- cuz wins have a way of attracting talent, too. ;)
 
#1,919      
How do you know who's a good recruiter? I mean, c'mon, to a significant degree recruiting is a chicken-and-egg proposition, especially for a program in Illinois' position. Everyone knows recruiting is the name of the game in college football. But it's based in significant part on the reputation of the HC in building quality programs -- and the latter requires a competent staff of coaches. Take Locksley, for instance, by way of random example. When he coached/recruited for New Mexico, did he take the Lobos to the top of the Mountain West and put them on par with BYU (former MW member) or Boise State? No. But he goes to Alabama, a dynasty program at the zenith of its HC's career, and he's deemed this awesome recruiter (which he may well be). So, now he's got a reputation AND a HC job -- so he's bringing talent to Maryland. But time will tell whether he can sustain it -- based on the quality of the program going forward, and that depends largely on the quality of the coaching staff, you know, the x's and o's guys. As for me, I'll take quality coaches with fire in their belly over a smooth recruiter any day -- cuz wins have a way of attracting talent, too. ;)
Good points....If you are a recruiter for BAMA, you might have a wee bit easier job finding talent as a recruiter.
 
#1,920      

Dan

Admin
New thread-

 
#1,921      
How do you know who's a good recruiter? I mean, c'mon, to a significant degree recruiting is a chicken-and-egg proposition, especially for a program in Illinois' position. Everyone knows recruiting is the name of the game in college football. But it's based in significant part on the reputation of the HC in building quality programs -- and the latter requires a competent staff of coaches. Take Locksley, for instance, by way of random example. When he coached/recruited for New Mexico, did he take the Lobos to the top of the Mountain West and put them on par with BYU (former MW member) or Boise State? No. But he goes to Alabama, a dynasty program at the zenith of its HC's career, and he's deemed this awesome recruiter (which he may well be). So, now he's got a reputation AND a HC job -- so he's bringing talent to Maryland. But time will tell whether he can sustain it -- based on the quality of the program going forward, and that depends largely on the quality of the coaching staff, you know, the x's and o's guys. As for me, I'll take quality coaches with fire in their belly over a smooth recruiter any day -- cuz wins have a way of attracting talent, too. ;)
Locks knocked it out of the park at Illinois, that's how I know he's a great recruiter. He somehow convinced Rejus Benn to come to Illinois after having won 8 games in the previous 4 years. He's not a great HC by any stretch of the imagination, but he's up there with Mack Brown as a recruiter
 
#1,922      
How do you know who's a good recruiter? I mean, c'mon, to a significant degree recruiting is a chicken-and-egg proposition, especially for a program in Illinois' position. Everyone knows recruiting is the name of the game in college football. But it's based in significant part on the reputation of the HC in building quality programs -- and the latter requires a competent staff of coaches. Take Locksley, for instance, by way of random example. When he coached/recruited for New Mexico, did he take the Lobos to the top of the Mountain West and put them on par with BYU (former MW member) or Boise State? No. But he goes to Alabama, a dynasty program at the zenith of its HC's career, and he's deemed this awesome recruiter (which he may well be). So, now he's got a reputation AND a HC job -- so he's bringing talent to Maryland. But time will tell whether he can sustain it -- based on the quality of the program going forward, and that depends largely on the quality of the coaching staff, you know, the x's and o's guys. As for me, I'll take quality coaches with fire in their belly over a smooth recruiter any day -- cuz wins have a way of attracting talent, too. ;)
As noted by another, Locksley was great at Illinois. NM actually kinda proves the point. He sucked as a coach but was awesome as a recruiter.

No doubt some reps get built based on outside factors (Groce is actually something of an example there) but there definitely are some guys who demonstrate that they can bring in talent even at lower tier schools.
 
#1,923      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
As noted by another, Locksley was great at Illinois. NM actually kinda proves the point. He sucked as a coach but was awesome as a recruiter.
Locks was actually very, very good as an OC. He got elite skill position talent, and got them into talent mismatches we could exploit. If you can get that kind of talent it does not have to be more complicated than that, and you will actually be doing a worse job to make it more complicated than that.

People were surprised he got the full OC job at Alabama, but the task is the same there. You have the studs, get them in one-on-one situations with inferior players.

Now, Sark made an absolute symphony out of that this year (the way he got OSU to lose track of DeVonta Smith over and over and over again was unbelievable, that is 100% coaching), but heavy metal works too. All you need are three chords and the truth, as they say.
 
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#1,924      
As noted by another, Locksley was great at Illinois. NM actually kinda proves the point. He sucked as a coach but was awesome as a recruiter.

No doubt some reps get built based on outside factors (Groce is actually something of an example there) but there definitely are some guys who demonstrate that they can bring in talent even at lower tier schools.
Yeah people like Dion Sanders who has a better recruiting class then we do at a HBCU with not so good facilities!
 
#1,925      
Yeah people like Dion Sanders who has a better recruiting class then we do at a HBCU with not so good facilities!
Sure, but if they don't see relatively quick results in wins there, he won't keep it up. Recruits aren't going to keep going to a place and failing. That is why recruiting and coaching are both important. Even then though, if he proves he can coach, he still might not win enough to keep getting the recruits, because he may not get enough. It's all a crapshoot.
 
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