The Illinois Football Coaching Search
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So your linebackers ran around in circles?
I'd be okay with BB. Maybe that is the kind of rough-edged attitude needed to instill a winning program here. Track suits would be back in style for sure.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Greg Davis was Brown's assistant then successor at Tulane back in the 80's then his OC at UNC and most of his time at Texas. And when Brown was forced to fire Davis after 2010, it was really Major Applewhite, Brown's former QB and assistant that over time became the successor. And when the seat really got hot he turned back to Greg Robinson as DC who had been there before. It was a family affair where his fingers were in everything, along with the aforementioned quest to lock up the best high school players in Texas earlier and earlier.
It's a radically different machine at UNC. He had no prior connection to Longo or Jay Bateman the DC (hired from Monken's Army staff fwiw). The plan was that UNC had the resources and he would give the assurance of control that could land them guys on the cutting edge of X's and O's, and that Brown would shape the culture of the program, win in recruits living rooms, and keep the trains running on time. It came from studying and introspection in his time away from coaching.
There is nothing about Mack Brown's Wikipedia page that would have indicated the fundamental principles on which his UNC project has been built. The same can easily be true of literally anyone we're looking at. Or not, we just don't know.
My point is that the quality of the plan is as important of the quality of the resume, so long as the resume meets the bare standard of competency that everyone we're talking about has.
Don't believe everything you hear from Wisky, they are buttthurt he left for the SEC. Hell Alvarez recommended him to Josh even after they had a falling out(although I think they are back to being somewhat close again)
To your credit, J Leman wasn't good enough for the job either LOL
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
Leach= entertaining, enthusiastic , aggressive and demands a winning culture and Yes does win games.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Hiring BB would certainly reignite a football rivalry with Iowa and perhaps create one with Wisconsin, haha ... been dying for a good conference rival that isn't Northwestern, not that they don't routinely kick our butts, lol.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Jim Tressel recommended Beckman to Mike Thomas. Gotta be very careful with that sort of thing.
I get it, Alvarez has a little more skin in the game(reputation to keep) than Tressel did/does.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Sure, but go digging into Arkansas board archives and you can see "stories" as well. We can't keep disregarding the rumors by saying fans are butthurt because that absolves almost every coach that doesn't have legal issues.
I'm torn on the situation and don't want to credit anything like this because who knows what's true and not true. I will say I wouldn't be publicly stating the importance of "integrity" if I'm strongly considering Bielema knowing I wouldn't be able to confirm or deny everything that is floating out there.
Of course we are. 141–97 career record at places that are far from powers. WSU was always a tough game.
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A friend of mine that went to school in Madison, said that he was seen at College Parties and he loved those college girls.
JW didn't say his Integrity thing just to say it and if he thought Bielema was that bad he wouldn't even have gotten an interview. And Josh has a lot more resources to look into Bielema than any of us do.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
I would say he who laughs last laughs loudest but I would gladly have taken a stupid tattoo debacle if that gave us those years tOSU had...
AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
Lmao are you serious? You've paid attention to Illinois football for the last decade plus right.....somehow a coach scoring a lot and winning games is a *negative* to you?
Right now Illinois football dreams of the day where we can be on the positive side of a huge blowout game.
Also for all the talk of Bielema being a "sleazeball", can someone please detail why exactly? All I've heard is talk of message board "rumors" but what are they? The worst rumors I've ever heard regarding Wiscy and his time there were mostly about Barry Alvarez (and Bo Ryan for that matter). Newsflash, BB is a P5/NFL football coach....a sizeable majority of these dudes are power hungry A** holes who think they're better than you and won't hesitate to let you know it. If he can succeed here who cares.
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I disagree that there are less expectations here. Illinois fans are just as rabid as any SEC fan, it's just that we are so hungry and emaciated that we'll take any respectable program...for now, until a decent program isn't any good for us anymore, which you know will happen. #alwayshungry
Also, you can be forthright and not abrasive. Think Vic Koenning...he was a straight forward coach, but never came with an abrasive label. I really liked that guy, why didn't he ever get a better shot in college football. Bret however has gotten himself in hot water with his communication be it oral or via twitter. Guy can't seem to figure out what's best to say.
Lastly, the guy came into Wisconsin to take over after Barry, did so, but then left suddenly to go to Arkansas and the SEC? Not sure I see the logic there and he may have had his reasons, but he his recruiting at Wisconsin was suspect (yes, he did get russell wilson and JJ watt), but they got worse as his tenure continued. He seemed to manage a top 25 class at Arkansas, but is that him, a coordinator, or a product of being in the SEC?
I'm not saying the guy can't coach, but do I want him as the coach of my alma mater, no thanks.
sacraig
- The desert
No thank you. No way, no how.
sacraig
- The desert
Add Sarkisian and you are onto something.
Bo Schembechler recommended Gary Moeller back in the day also.
sacraig
- The desert
If our worst problem, say, 3 years from now is that we have a tendency to run up the score, I'd call that a win. Also, this isn't the NFL where only record matters. How you win matters in the NCAA since getting into bowls is highly subjective. It's not pretty but it's a kind of necessary thing to do sometimes to make a statement to the voters.
0440 you my man are a genius I was thinking the exact same thing reading these negative and false so called insight on BB,I have never read so many snowflake post in my life. If BB checks all the boxes for JW than I will love the hire.
sacraig
- The desert
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
And really, let's all be honest with ourselves and price our expectations of personal ethics and moral character at the Brad Underwood level rather than some hypothetical ideal. Underwood is no monster, but it's just to say that Whitman said the same stuff about the basketball search and went out and hired a scion of Bob Huggins and Frank Martin.
Bielema is a well known prickly character, and I don't think for a second that will prevent him getting the job. The problem is that his personality and conduct has been reported to have made his two previous head coaching jobs more difficult, and that's a handicap we probably cannot afford. And even if he's a reformed person, some of the things being brought up in this thread present potential land mines going forward regardless.
You hold your nose to love college sports, in a number of different ways, let's not lie to ourselves. Whitman is an adult, and he also cares a lot about his own reputation, I trust that the right questions are being asked about this and the risks are being calculated rationally. He might be a stay-away and he might not be, I feel like that's the only fair way to say it.
I'd just additionally note for context, Bielema got married his last year at Wisconsin and became a father his last year at Arkansas.
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