RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
Thanking you for a friend for saying that 60 is still young.
The Illinois Football Coaching Search
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If it were to be Leipold, any chance he'd get Jaret Patterson to follow him here? Kid has over 1,000 yards rushing in 5 games including a 409 yard 8 TD effort against Kent St.
AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
As we should. He seems like the type of coach the big boy donors would happily open their checkbooks for. Who knows though.
Deleted member 747671
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I will say, if there's one spot on the roster that has a healthy amount of talent, it's running back.
Deleted member 6376
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Lets hope that “not fit to Central Illinois” is never a standard for hiring a coach.
altenberger22
- South Carolina
Count me as a demonstrative NO for Beillman. I hear he’s essentially invisible to fans/alums.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
So is the objection to Bielema his ability to win or his character. Some here are saying it’s his character. I’m asking if some of these same people are ok with Leach’s character.
I 2nd the comments suggesting butt-hurt WI fans influencing too many opinions on here for a guy none of us, I'm sure, have met.
Bielema checks the boxes in that he's recruited the midwest, especially Illinois. He's a proven winner in the Big10, and he's successfully sold his program to 4 and 5 star players year after year.
Why would a guy like Fickell join Illinois when his ceiling right now is not being able to attract 4 and 5 star players to Cinci? So he goes to another school with the same problem? He's getting paid one way or another, but he's going to go to a school that already recruits itself (Texas, Nebraska, Michigan, Auburn, etc).
A guy like Leipold might be an option since he's a step down the ladder and probably won't have the same opportunity as a Fickell would, but I don't see how he is any better than Bielema? He doesn't check any of the boxes other than being able to instill a winning culture. Hasn't recruited 4 and 5 start talent, hasn't won in a p5 conference.
A Dave Clawson type hire might take us back to Zook level team performance which would be an improvement now, but whats the upside?
A guy like Gus is either taking another top job, or joining as a coordinator on a star staff before going back to another top job. He is not rebuilding Illinois from the ground up.
I think Bielema is the ceiling on this hire.
EDIT: I am not equating Zook and Clawson as coaches. Just saying that he's a coach that hovers around .500 and won't elevate the program beyond what Zook did.
Bielema checks the boxes in that he's recruited the midwest, especially Illinois. He's a proven winner in the Big10, and he's successfully sold his program to 4 and 5 star players year after year.
Why would a guy like Fickell join Illinois when his ceiling right now is not being able to attract 4 and 5 star players to Cinci? So he goes to another school with the same problem? He's getting paid one way or another, but he's going to go to a school that already recruits itself (Texas, Nebraska, Michigan, Auburn, etc).
A guy like Leipold might be an option since he's a step down the ladder and probably won't have the same opportunity as a Fickell would, but I don't see how he is any better than Bielema? He doesn't check any of the boxes other than being able to instill a winning culture. Hasn't recruited 4 and 5 start talent, hasn't won in a p5 conference.
A Dave Clawson type hire might take us back to Zook level team performance which would be an improvement now, but whats the upside?
A guy like Gus is either taking another top job, or joining as a coordinator on a star staff before going back to another top job. He is not rebuilding Illinois from the ground up.
I think Bielema is the ceiling on this hire.
EDIT: I am not equating Zook and Clawson as coaches. Just saying that he's a coach that hovers around .500 and won't elevate the program beyond what Zook did.
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You mean when he locked that kid with a concussion up in the dark closet? Or when he called all his offensive lineman pigs at WSU? He for sure has some warts, but he has proven ability to build a program. BB does not. BB sustained an already good program. There is so much hype around Leach's programs, kids love his style. Illinois has been so BORING for a long time, we are starved for someone who can win and is a little loud at times. Make no mistake about it, Leach can win. Jury is still out with BB. However, we are wasting our time here because the Mad Pirate is not heading to Champaign, or is he??
AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
If he can take us to back-back-back Rose Bowls, he could walk up and down Green Street telling the fans to piss off through a megaphone for all I care.
IlliniFanHere
- New York
That guy is one exciting football coach.....
AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
Locking a literal kid with a concussion up inside of a dark closet should have had him banned from coaching for life. The fact that you're trying to pass that off as "some warts" is everything that is wrong with modern day college athletics.
All animals are equal but some are more equal than others. – Animal Farm
All college fan bases are crazy/passionate/fill-in-the-blank, but some are more so than others. What you are talking about with Kentucky (& let's be real, Vanderbilt and USCar) can be said about half the teams in the Big 10 (i.e. Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, hell even Illinois at the moment).
I'm guessing every FB coaching thread on every school's board has a Mike Leach suggestion. Not gonna happen, but would be fun if it did.
Deleted member 747671
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People act like Bielema stepped in for Alvarez for like 2 years. He was there for 7 and didn't lose a step. That was his program for the vast majority of his time there.
Deleted member 747784
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BB grew up in Prophetstown for craps sake . He’s the most CENTRAL ILLINOIS type coach we will ever get
Cook
- Richmond, VA
but that was also with Alvarez still right there with him the whole time too
Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
Out of curiosity, not because he's a realistic option, I was just looking at Stoops's record. Wow. He was even better than I remembered. What a great career. Very impressive. I always thought of Stoops as a big offense guy, but he has a defensive background.
IlliniFanHere
- New York
Favorite Leach comment..." Look I got no time for BS questions. I'm here to win a damn football game."
and Alvarez is still there
The number of beach houses that changed hands that fateful week.....
Yeah, Leipold is no good. He just wins, but doesn't check any other boxes. I can't figure out why he can't recruit 4 and 5 star talent to Buffalo, so he'd probably recruit like Ferentz. His Buffalo team did beat Rutgers, but he hasn't won any P5 conference championships so that's a major strike against him. Maybe let him test the waters in the SEC before giving him a chance here.
1A. LL
1B. BB
1B. BB
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
While Stoops was DC at Florida he saw what Hal Mumme and Mike Leach were doing at Kentucky and realized before most in the profession that what seemed like a small-school gimmick in fact had the upper hand over everything he was doing and was the future of the sport.
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