The Illinois Football Coaching Search

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#1,176      

sacraig

sacraig
The desert
sacraig
IlliniFandom said:
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
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I think this is important to note. Look back at the Zook years. Zook built a respectable on-field product through stellar recruiting and after a few years we wound up in the Rose Bowl. The problem was after that we went back to having "ho-hum" 7-5 and 8-4 type seasons (boy, that feels like the good ol' days). The fans (and donors) had tasted something bigger and we had a new AD looking to make his mark, so that all ended.

To be clear, I think Zook was a great recruiter and a bad gameday coach, so his on-field product usually underperformed its talent level, plus his recruiting was starting to suffer as a result, so it's not really a bad thing he is gone. He's just a good example of how the fanbase's expectations increase with a moderate taste of success.
 
#1,178      

reopseed60

R
Naples, Florida
reopseed60
Personally would not care for Beillman, he does not seem to be compatible with our AD. and what he see's as the Illinois coach A job hopper with a personally that does not fit with Wittman's.. He has baggage that does not fit to Central Illinois.. I know everyone says the coach at Cincinati is untouchable but Wittman is a very good salesman and could sell the Job as a final destination, the big ten, and a good town to raise a family. Also, the Alumni are not crazies. You do not hear his name because he still has games to play.
 
#1,179      

AirNeezy

AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
AirNeezy
For all the hemming and hawing about Bret Bielema, I seem to recall an awful lot of people advocating for Lane "Joey Freshwater" Kiffin last time we had a coaching search on here.
 
#1,180      

PackofIllini12

PackofIllini12
PackofIllini12
IlliniFandom said:
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
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You see a lot of fanbases make this claim. And as an Illini fan who wore all orange to school after the 2005 championship loss and grew up in the heart of SEC/ACC country, trust me when I say that it is not even close. Illinois is incredibly passionate about the school and its programs, but Illini athletics isn't a cult. It has been a long time since Illini fans had much to cheer about with football.

In the SEC, they mean it when they say...
Screen Shot 2020-12-16 at 1.59.44 PM.png
 
#1,181      

sacraig

sacraig
The desert
sacraig
ChiefGritty said:
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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I think one thing you have to hope, if it ends up being Bielema, is that he's continued to learn a thing or two while coaching in the NFL. Pros are less tolerant of jerk coaches than college players on account of the fact that they are adult professionals and have a lot more power (see: Matt Patricia). If he is truly (still) awful to play for, you would think he wouldn't still be coaching in the NFL.

We will see, I suppose (if he is hired).
 
#1,182      

Illwinsagain

Illwinsagain
Cary, IL
Illwinsagain
illini0440 said:
Arkansas and Illinois are more different than they are alike. Much less expectations to win here than there, much easier to win in the B1G west than the SEC. Win the west here and you are a game away from the rose bowl at least. He recruited at Wisky which has similar academic hurdles as here. Of all the candidates he would put together the best staff. He really isn't as brash or as bad as people make him out to be he is just honest and says what's on his mind.
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Notes, new moniker, again. Is that Bob Stoops?
 
#1,183      

AirNeezy

AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
AirNeezy
IlliniFandom said:
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.
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Lol Vic Koenning literally got fired this summer from WVU after allegations of verbal abuse from his players.
 
#1,186      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Deleted member 29907
ChiefGritty said:
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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I think Lovie was much more prickly than Brad. I don't have any problem with a coach getting on his players to perform. Brad seems to do very well in the press and I don't get the comparison using BU here. I think the Resting B face gives him a bad rap. ;)
 
#1,188      

FightingIllini40

F
FightingIllini40
Bob Stoops is interested in coaching again and his wife loves Chicago. The question for Whitman is, does he think Stoops is committed enough because Illinois is a job where you're going to have to be 100% committed to get the results we all want as we saw with Lovie.

Fickell turned down Illinois so after Stoops, Bret Bielema should be the favorite followed by Todd Monken, Bill O'Brien and Lance Leipold in no order.
 
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#1,189      

Deleted member 747671

D
Guest
Deleted member 747671
I would put BB right behind Fickell on my list (assuming Sarkisian and Gus aren't options). I think the problem with BB isn't so much his hardass attitude as it is his unsavory behavior off the field while at Wisconsin. I would hope that he has changed. I mean, he is married and a father now, and it's been a good 10ish years. You're not gonna take the fight out of the guy, but hopefully he's more "grown up" now.
 
#1,190      

illini0440

illini0440
illini0440
FightingIllini40 said:
Bob Stoops is interested in coaching again and his wife loves Chicago. The question for Whitman is, does he think Stoops is committed enough because Illinois is a job where you're going to have to be 100% committed to get the results we all want as we saw with Lovie.
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The bigger question is does Stoops really want this job. WHile his wife does like Chicago she is very happy in Norman, and their son is at OU.
 
#1,191      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Deleted member 29907
Ander1345 said:
Josh Whitman just waiting for the avatar to stop on who he wants. That's how we're doing it.
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I am placing my bet on someone who is coaching a team this weekend - thus the delay. I don't think there would need to be a delay in announcing BB. Or perhaps I am just trying to fool myself so i can sleep at night.

I'd also like a good HC to bring in his guys so this is all lift and shift with coaches who know each other. Hiring an NFL guy who then has to piecemeal a hodge podge of available assistants just seems all too familiar and destined to take so much longer to get to respectable.

This is my grown up Christmas list.
 
#1,192      

illini0440

illini0440
illini0440
VAIllini35 said:
I am placing my bet on someone who is coaching a team this weekend - thus the delay. I don't think there would need to be a delay in announcing BB. Or perhaps I am just trying to fool myself so i can sleep at night.

I'd also like a good HC to bring in his guys so this is all lift and shift with coaches who know each other. Hiring an NFL guy who then has to piecemeal a hodge podge of available assistants just seems all too familiar and destined to take so much longer to get to respectable.

This is my grown up Christmas list.
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Or you have guys that haven't officially said no yet and with so few openings you can be a little more patient and take swings at those guys.
 
#1,193      

Ander1345

A
Ander1345
VAIllini35 said:
I am placing my bet on someone who is coaching a team this weekend - thus the delay. I don't think there would need to be a delay in announcing BB. Or perhaps I am just trying to fool myself so i can sleep at night.

I'd also like a good HC to bring in his guys so this is all lift and shift with coaches who know each other. Hiring an NFL guy who then has to piecemeal a hodge podge of available assistants just seems all too familiar and destined to take so much longer to get to respectable.

This is my grown up Christmas list.
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All I'm hearing is that means Monken is on the board still.
 
#1,194      

wma500

wma500
wma500
illini0440 said:
The bigger question is does Stoops really want this job. WHile his wife does like Chicago she is very happy in Norman, and their son is at OU.
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Bob Stoops is now in the tequila business. He’s not coming back to coaching.
 
#1,195      

the Castle on Daniel

T
the Castle on Daniel
I am way out of the loop, but is the rumor that we already found a coach? How do some of you know we'd been turned down by others? I'm assuming this is within the last few weeks and not years ago?

If someone could give me the readers digest I would appreciate it :)
 
#1,196      

illinoistradition

I
illinoistradition
sacraig said:
I think this is important to note. Look back at the Zook years. Zook built a respectable on-field product through stellar recruiting and after a few years we wound up in the Rose Bowl. The problem was after that we went back to having "ho-hum" 7-5 and 8-4 type seasons (boy, that feels like the good ol' days). The fans (and donors) had tasted something bigger and we had a new AD looking to make his mark, so that all ended.

To be clear, I think Zook was a great recruiter and a bad gameday coach, so his on-field product usually underperformed its talent level, plus his recruiting was starting to suffer as a result, so it's not really a bad thing he is gone. He's just a good example of how the fanbase's expectations increase with a moderate taste of success.
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2007: 9-4 Rose Bowl
2008: 5-7 (loss to WMU)
2009: 3-9
2010: 7-6
2011: 7-6 (first team in history to go 6-0 and then 0-6; he also didn't remember going for 2 in the IU game)

It was not so much elevated due to the Rose Bowl year. It was the collapse following that year. There was way too much talent on those 2008 and 2009 teams to have that bad of a record. Combine that with declining recruitment the last two years, and it was time. Yes, it looks decent looking back. But don't let the mistakes of future hires cloud what was obvious: he wasn't going to make it work here.
 
#1,197      

AirNeezy

AirNeezy
Orange Krush '13 -'14
AirNeezy
FightingIllini40 said:
Bob Stoops is interested in coaching again and his wife loves Chicago. The question for Whitman is, does he think Stoops is committed enough because Illinois is a job where you're going to have to be 100% committed to get the results we all want as we saw with Lovie.
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If Bob Stoops is in any way interested, you say yes and figure out the rest later IMO.
 
#1,198      

ponchog

ponchog
ponchog
PackofIllini12 said:
You see a lot of fanbases make this claim. And as an Illini fan who wore all orange to school after the 2005 championship loss and grew up in the heart of SEC/ACC country, trust me when I say that it is not even close. Illinois is incredibly passionate about the school and its programs, but Illini athletics isn't a cult. It has been a long time since Illini fans had much to cheer about with football.

In the SEC, they mean it when they say...
View attachment 6824.
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Don't mean to butt head with you here, but I kinda do because of my putrid taste of the SEC, but have you ever been by Lexington Kentucky when UK was bad at football, or many of those towns when their football teams are not great? Every state has passionate fans when winning. I lived in Florida most of my professional life and heard Gator fans complain non stop about not going back to a game until changes are made (pre Mullen era). That's the great thing about college sports, the fan bases are so passionate, but regardless of your team we all just want to win.
 
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