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Would Illinois hire John Holocek? Great player at Illinois, decade(ish) in the nfl, head coach at one of the top programs in the state, has done at least a little recruiting.
Also, he wouldn't have to deal with 'these 24 kids just signed with me' pangs that a current college coach deals with.
There are crazier ideas, anyway.
Many national & local media pundits, knowledgable sports fans and uninformed hangers-on recognized the raging dumpster fire that is the current state of Ill-Annoy athletics since August, 2015 and earlier. Remember that Ill-Annoy still has that fetid albatros of reported institutionalized bigotry against minorities and women athletes hanging around their necks. All I can say is "Alow me to put that dumpster fire out with gasoline." I truly hope that NU gets and signs every 4 & 5-star Land-o-Lincoln pigskin athlete who ever might have considered Ill-Annoy in his student-athlete aspiration plans. In the past, many ended-up continuing their athletic careers in the football programs residing in Sow Bend or Annie's Treehouse. Time for Fitz and his recruiting staff to make gridiron hay and keep those superior in-state players playing for the Purple while the Ill-Whine-I's self-made fire rages on.
Fleck is one of the best recruiters out there. He also has a very good eye for talent, and he develops it. Fleck would definitely improve the Illini. Fleck would be a great hire. He would also bring some swag to Illinois.
Officially, their Spring Practice is delayed rather than cancelled. If they do not have someone ready to jump in right now, then they will end up cancelling it. If so, I would be shocked if they win 4 games next year. The next few days will either prove the new AD is decisive and makes things happen or is a moron.
That's wild. He was a college position coach from 1982-95. He was also fired relatively late in the offseason, as Tampa feared losing their OC Dirk Koeter (sp?) who has a great relationship with Jameis Winston but was also considered a head coaching prospect elsewhere.Rumors are pointing to Lovie Smith as the next HC at Illinois.
Lovie Smith would inherit a team that has been offense-focused with less defense for the last few years. Cubit improved defensive play last year but it would be interesting to see what Smith would do out of the gates with the players there.That's wild. He was a college position coach from 1982-95. He was also fired relatively late in the offseason, as Tampa feared losing their OC Dirk Koeter (sp?) who has a great relationship with Jameis Winston but was also considered a head coaching prospect elsewhere.
Smith is definitively not damaged goods.
The Illini administration agreeing with an action is no proof that it is not moronic.No way the guy took the job without telling the administration he was going to do this. He is cleaning house to put his own people in jobs. I doubt he cares what their record is next season, he needs to get a good coach in place and no time like the present to start.
Will we be in line for any of their recruits ?
NJCat, why do this?
The state is broke! How can they pay for this stuff?
Not so fast. The state university has to post the position for x amount of days. Can't imagine why Lovie would want that job. Where the hell U of I getting the cash?Lovie to Illinois is Wikipedia-official.
The state is broke! How can they pay for this stuff?
Not so fast. The state university has to post the position for x amount of days. Can't imagine why Lovie would want that job. Where the hell U of I getting the cash?
Putting your hatred aside, the UI athletic department arguably has much more potential for success than NU's. A string of bad hires doesn't TOTALLY damage the job, IMO. And we were willing to pay Sumlin a LOT of money a few years ago; our donors aren't short on cash.
Amazing.....
I have great respect for Lovie. An interesting hire. They need to clean up a cesspool and Lovie will do that. I'm all for big name and high achieving coaches living in the Big Ten. Good for everyone. The Illini will get a lot better and that's good for us. Fitz and company need to not be too impressed with themselves after the 10-3 season coming off of those two abortions of seasons.
Why are you so negative about Fitz, northwestern...?Is Lovie "Chicago's Big 10 Coach"? I think so.......
Is Lovie "Chicago's Big 10 Coach"? I think so.......
Is Lovie "Chicago's Big 10 Coach"? I think so.......
Can get a waiver on that since spring practice is about to start and Lovie is a minority hire.Not so fast. The state university has to post the position for x amount of days. Can't imagine why Lovie would want that job. Where the hell U of I getting the cash?
Why are you so negative about Fitz, northwestern...?
I just don't like Fitz. Never met him. But I dislike the way he interacts with media. I wish he could be like Chris Collins, professional every time I see an interview with him. Collins is willing to make changes when things aren't working. Fitz is stubborn, snarky and complacent. And he spends way too much time bitching about social media and what dopes like me are saying!
And I have never been negative about NU. I just don't drink the kool-ade that says they will win every game.
I just don't like Fitz. Never met him. But I dislike the way he interacts with media. I wish he could be like Chris Collins, professional every time I see an interview with him. Collins is willing to make changes when things aren't working. Fitz is stubborn, snarky and complacent. And he spends way too much time bitching about social media and what dopes like me are saying!
And I have never been negative about NU. I just don't drink the kool-ade that says they will win every game.
This. Seems a really odd choice--outside of some name recognition and NFL pedigree. Maybe IL is just over MAC coaches (there are some good ones). But Lovie brings a sense of professionalism and order that was absent under TBeck and his schticky leadership. If Lovie wants that job, God bless him.Lovie is thought of a good guy and won many games in the NFL, but he is not an experienced college recruiter. In fact, he has no college experience in the last 30 years. Besides that, he was dropped from his last two HC jobs.
We can count on Tampa 2 4-3 defenses and not a lot of blitzing and weird stunting. We should assume that the defenses under Smith will be good eventually. Offensively, Lovie is not bringing Koetter, so good luck, Illini!
Ah yes, Chris Collins. Wasn't that the guy for which you have so much respect you accused him of losing his team?
Yep. I hated it when he was hired. And now I'm his biggest fan. He is a class act. You would never know he came from Duke. I was completely wrong about him.