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Illini fire Cubit

There is no possible way Cubit didn't know this was coming. Unless he is a complete idiot. He should thank his god that those morons actually gave him a 2 year contract before they found an AD. Enjoy the buyout $$. More than what you deserve. That place has been a complete mess for quite a while but they are FINALLY making some good moves. Good for the Big Ten and good for us to have Illinois get back on track.
 
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chitownUofI05 said:
After NU (clear first), UM (clear second) and POSSIBLY Wisconsin (we usually tie them in most rankings, averages out), we're the next best school in the Big Ten (not that I could afford to go there!). I know you guys look at everything from your throne, but Illinois is a very, very good school, especially for a public school.
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Oh, I think that there are plenty of great degrees and connections to be had at OSU, PSU, MSU, Rutgers, Maryland, and so on. The State of Illinois is in a terrible financial crisis that has contaminated everything. It's silly to discuss rankings anyway. What are we trying to measure? Our hand sizes?
 
combes said:
Can get a waiver on that since spring practice is about to start and Lovie is a minority hire.

Whitman is a smart guy. Check his resume. He had his ducks lined up before he fired Cubit. Cubit is a good guy and a pretty good coach, but Illinois needed a splash and got it.

As for money, Shahid Khan and some other big donors are behind this. He's worth about 6 billion.

Watch for some interesting names on the staff.
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I can't wait for Lovie's historically poor game management to blow games for you guys. I'm a little bit jealous, though, because I think Lovie is a better coach than Fitzgerald and will hire better assistants. Fitz is a more experienced recruiter, however, and we have a more attractive campus, a new football facility under construction, and recent success. Let the rivalry begin anew.
 
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I don't think Lovie's a better college coach than Fitz, and while he was liked by his players, I don't remember innovation or flexibility being two of his strengths. I do remember Rex was our quarterback for far too long. We'll see if he can reinvent himself like Harbaugh has. Do you really see Lovie sleeping over at a recruit's house? And what kind of coordinators will Illinois be able to get on their budget and current timeline?

This is still a really solid hire for them. Instant credibility and stability at a place that needs both.
 
In the end, my gut feeling is that the Lovie Smith years at Illinois will be more similar to the Bill Callahan years at Nebraska, the Mike Sherman years at Texas A&M, or the Dave Wannstedt years at Ptt than the Pete Carroll years at USC.
 
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Well, at least per Wikipedia it is official. :)

""Lovie Lee Smith" (born May 8, 1958) was just hired to be the American football coach for the University of Illinois Football Team. He was previously the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2004 to 2012, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014 to 2015 after being fired Jan 07, 2016 after going 8-24 in two seasons. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, once as defensive coordinator for the winning 2001 St. Louis Rams and as head coach for the Bears in 2006 in a losing effort. Generally speaking, Smith has been a good defensive coordinator but mediocre head coach; viewed as an ineffective decision-maker whose staff hirings and signings were mostly failures."
 
Wil be curious to see how he does at the press conference. Dealing with the media was never his strength nor the dynamics of his personality. While those things should not be that important in the Harbaugh Hollywood era they seem to have become a big factor to young high school kids. Sometimes I feel like NU and Coach Fitz have to explain what it is they are selling. He was a players coach because he refused to evaluate his players honestly in the media. We shall see...........
 
Windy City Cat Fan said:
Getting a lot of airtime on local sports radio this morning
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Chicago sports are a little slow right now so ideal time for U of I to maximize air time. Baseball hasn't started, Bulls battling for the 8 seed, and no team from the state will make march madness.
 
nycat33 said:
Chicago sports are a little slow right now so ideal time for U of I to maximize air time. Baseball hasn't started, Bulls battling for the 8 seed, and no team from the state will make march madness.
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Totally agree - this will be old or no news by the time recruiting gets going.
 
Mediocre NFL coach with .500 lifetime record takes over mediocre Big Ten program! Perfect match.
Actually, it's a great move for Illinois. They NEED the stability that Lovie Smith could bring to the program. But nothing to indicate it's a Harbaugh-type move or that Illinois is a Michigan-type program.
And as for academics, Penn State is superior to Illinois too.
 
olshin said:
Mediocre NFL coach with .500 lifetime record takes over mediocre Big Ten program! Perfect match.
Actually, it's a great move for Illinois. They NEED the stability that Lovie Smith could bring to the program. But nothing to indicate it's a Harbaugh-type move or that Illinois is a Michigan-type program.
And as for academics, Penn State is superior to Illinois too.
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Uh, says who (on your last statement)?
 
Most everyone on this message board knows that U of Illinois is a great school. It's just very, very easy to get in if you play football or basketball well. As long as the alums don't think it cheapens the degree then who cares?
 
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julescat said:
Most everyone on this message board knows that U of Illinois is a great school. It's just very, very easy to get in if you play football or basketball well. As long as the alums don't think it cheapens the degree then who cares?
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As an Illinois and Northwestern alum, I root for both schools so I am pretty objective. The statement regarding admissions is simply not true. Illinois has lost a number of football players because they could not get past admissions and went to another Division 1 school.
 
julescat said:
Most everyone on this message board knows that U of Illinois is a great school. It's just very, very easy to get in if you play football or basketball well. As long as the alums don't think it cheapens the degree then who cares?
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Totally agree. The debate over which school in the B1G is the best academic school is all a bit silly. All the B1G are excellent research institutions that present great study opportunities.
 
Hungry Jack said:
Totally agree. The debate over which school in the B1G is the best academic school is all a bit silly. All the B1G are excellent research institutions that present great study opportunities.
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There's really no debate about it.
 
olshin said:
Mediocre NFL coach with .500 lifetime record takes over mediocre Big Ten program! Perfect match.
Actually, it's a great move for Illinois. They NEED the stability that Lovie Smith could bring to the program. But nothing to indicate it's a Harbaugh-type move or that Illinois is a Michigan-type program.
And as for academics, Penn State is superior to Illinois too.
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Why are we convinced that Lovie could/would bring stability to UIUC? Seems more like he would jump at the first NFL job that comes calling.

I'm VERY interested in seeing the buy out language in his contract.
 
JeffT818 said:
As an Illinois and Northwestern alum, I root for both schools so I am pretty objective. The statement regarding admissions is simply not true. Illinois has lost a number of football players because they could not get past admissions and went to another Division 1 school.
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What are the incremental requirements above and beyond the NCAA minimums?
 
JeffT818 said:
As an Illinois and Northwestern alum, I root for both schools so I am pretty objective. The statement regarding admissions is simply not true. Illinois has lost a number of football players because they could not get past admissions and went to another Division 1 school.
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I'm not saying it is the easiest school to get into if you are a good football or basketball player just that it is very, very easy.
 
loyolacat said:
Wil be curious to see how he does at the press conference. Dealing with the media was never his strength nor the dynamics of his personality. While those things should not be that important in the Harbaugh Hollywood era they seem to have become a big factor to young high school kids. Sometimes I feel like NU and Coach Fitz have to explain what it is they are selling. He was a players coach because he refused to evaluate his players honestly in the media. We shall see...........
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Lovie has to have a few million in the bank. So moving from warm Tampa to Champaign Urbana just baffles me.

It's a good to great hire by the Illini. But I wouldn't make that geographic move for all the tea in China. I'd head to deep water every day at about 8 am with one large thermos of coffee and another of Ice tea. And a few liver sausage sandwiches. And I'd catch Marlin for five or six hours before heading back in. Some days I'd take a nap out on the sea. Other days I'd waiting to get back to land before napping.
 
JournCat said:
I don't think Lovie's a better college coach than Fitz, and while he was liked by his players, I don't remember innovation or flexibility being two of his strengths. I do remember Rex was our quarterback for far too long. We'll see if he can reinvent himself like Harbaugh has. Do you really see Lovie sleeping over at a recruit's house? And what kind of coordinators will Illinois be able to get on their budget and current timeline?

This is still a really solid hire for them. Instant credibility and stability at a place that needs both.
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Seriously?? Fitz a better coach than Lovie Smith. look I love Fitz but put down the Kool-Aid. Smith's defenses were very good to sensational with the Bears. As much as we all joke abotu "Rex is our QB" that is exactly what his downfall was in Chicago....that he had Rex as his QB, then Orton, then he had the enigma that is Jay Culter. Finally his offense started to produce and that vaunted Defense got old, he was 10-6 that alst year but failed to make the playoffs which is highly unusal for a team with that record not to get in over the years. I really think Lovie's tenure in Chicago was vastly underrated all things considered and he was a good head coach (albeit the media had problems with him because he wasn't the quote machine)

olshin said:
Mediocre NFL coach with .500 lifetime record takes over mediocre Big Ten program! Perfect match.
.
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He had a .583 winning percentage prior to taking over a disaster of a team in TB. I wouldn't call winning almost 60% of your games without a damn QB in the NFL
mediocre.
 
And this is why you'll never be a coach in the NFL.

Medill90 said:
Lovie has to have a few million in the bank. So moving from warm Tampa to Champaign Urbana just baffles me.

It's a good to great hire by the Illini. But I wouldn't make that geographic move for all the tea in China. I'd head to deep water every day at about 8 am with one large thermos of coffee and another of Ice tea. And a few liver sausage sandwiches. And I'd catch Marlin for five or six hours before heading back in. Some days I'd take a nap out on the sea. Other days I'd waiting to get back to land before napping.
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This is a very good risk for Illinois. Lovie puts them on the map with recruits. The last few classes they had secured have been very bad. He will get some kids just because of who he is. He is allegedly getting a 6 year deal. So as GCG says, the buyout terms will be interesting.

He should be able to get them to the middle of the pack in the B1G. Just don't see him ever getting to better than that as nearly every program is getting better. One thing I would bet is they will no longer be a laughingstock and Lovie has been around the block enough to dramatically improve them. This was a chance they had to take.
 
Overheard at Lovie's introductory press conference in Champbana:

"We get off the bus running the football."

"We are getting better with each practice."

"We have an opportunity to evaluate our roster."

"It's OK to punt the football. That's why we have defense."

"Dudek is a good football player."

"Rex is our quarterback"
 
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Hungry Jack said:
Overheard at Lovie's introductory press conference in Champbana:

"We get off the bus running the football."

"We are getting better with each practice."

"We have an opportunity to evaluate our roster."

"It's OK to punt the football. That's why we have defense."

"Dudek is a good football player."

"Rex is our quarterback"
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Slight correction: I believe the press conference took place in Shampoo Banana.
 
thewildcat2011 said:
There's really no debate about it.
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While NU is the highest ranking undergraduate program (US News) in the B1G, is still not in the top 10 nationwide, although there is a gap between NU and the next highest B1G undergrad program, Michigan at #29. Illinois at #41 is not too shabby and tied with Wisconsin. Few to none of NU's graduate schools are the best in the B1G (business seems to be the exception), although many are top to middle tier. Illinois does excel in engineering and the sciences, doing better than NU in most.
 
stpaulcat said:
While NU is the highest ranking undergraduate program (US News) in the B1G, is still not in the top 10 nationwide, although there is a gap between NU and the next highest B1G undergrad program, Michigan at #29. Illinois at #41 is not too shabby and tied with Wisconsin. Few to none of NU's graduate schools are the best in the B1G (business seems to be the exception), although many are top to middle tier. Illinois does excel in engineering and the sciences, doing better than NU in most.
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Top 10 nationwide is a complete non-sequitur in this discussion. Football players come for an undergraduate degree. No one said other B1G are bad or "shabby", but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who will honestly believe that NU is not the best academic institution in the conference. So, there's really no debate about it.
 
As for Illinois academic standing, puhleese. They were passed over by Nebraska and Minnesota, two schools far lower in overall standings, for a bowl bid for 5-7 teams because of their APR rankings. Furthermore, in watching 'Senior Day' at Soldier Field last year, I lost count of how many 'Leisure Studies' majors ran out on the field. Simply comical. They are not in our class to a point that's even worthy of discussion.
 
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thewildcat2011 said:
Top 10 nationwide is a complete non-sequitur in this discussion. Football players come for an undergraduate degree. No one said other B1G are bad or "shabby", but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who will honestly believe that NU is not the best academic institution in the conference. So, there's really no debate about it.
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Depends upon your academic interests. NU is at the bottom of the Big Ten in my field. University of Illinois, with its Illinois Natural History Survey, is worlds better.
 
Gladeskat said:
Depends upon your academic interests. NU is at the bottom of the Big Ten in my field. University of Illinois, with its Illinois Natural History Survey, is worlds better.
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We've again stumbled into Glades' "contrarian zone."
 
CatsDad said:
My son is going into business. He also plans on getting his Masters. There are only two schools better than NU according to Forbes. Besides NU being a better school academically, have you been to Champaign ? Not being mean, what a dump. And to top things off they were ranked a top party school, not good.

http://www3.forbes.com/business/americas-best-business-schools-2015/19/
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I highly question anyone's sanity who's walked through Campustown or gone out in downtown Champaign the last few years and would describe it as a dump.
 
thewildcat2011 said:
Top 10 nationwide is a complete non-sequitur in this discussion. Football players come for an undergraduate degree. No one said other B1G are bad or "shabby", but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who will honestly believe that NU is not the best academic institution in the conference. So, there's really no debate about it.
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Undergraduate, NU is absolutely the best in the B1G. On a graduate level which may or may not be relevant to this discussion, not so much. Across the board NU cannot come close to claiming it has the best Grad Schools in the B1G, with a few exceptions.
 
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