I have no quibble with his coaching and recruiting ability, but I think the present powers that be would ixnay based on the Austin James incident and his open and early "wearing of the Red Hat".
Illini
- Thread starter SWsuburbs4
- Start date
I know you didn't. If you thought I was insinuating that of you, I wasn't. But there are reasons guys take jobs and money is a huge part of the equation. Since he doesn't need the money, I don't know why he bothered to take that job either. But, some guys want to coach. I think John Fox said he wants to stay in the game. I say they give him at least a couple more years and let's see if there is progress.
Illini football is still trying to recover from the stench of the Ron Guenther regime as AD, followed by the even worse Mike Thomas regime as AD. Under Guenther, the football team was more than 50 games under .500 for his 19 year reign of incompetence. That's a typical season of 4-7 for the 11 game schedules they played back then...for 19 straight years...and Guenther liked to be known as "The football guy"! Then Thomas replaced him, promptly fired Ron Zook, and then hired Ron Zook lite, Tim Beckman.
Guenther was a small time thinker and a small time fundraiser. Guenther was so worried about running the sports programs in the black that he strangled the budgets for his coaches' assistants, and every head coach that came and left during his regime had a revolving door of assistants because there was no money to spent. When rankings would come out regarding how much $$ was being raised, and spent, on their football programs, Illinois was consistently at or near the bottom of the conference. Guenther also kept a distance from the Chicago alumni base, for what reason I don't know. He had his own little army of downstate contributors, but he ignored the deep pockets of the Chicago alums. If not for the Big Ten Network, I shudder to think where Illinois' athletic finances would be. These days, Guenther is retired, and receiving about a $500k annual pension from the State.
As an alum, and a long suffering Illini fan, over the last 25+ years I have watched Wisconsin figure out what works, and what doesn't work for their football team. Same for Northwestern and Iowa. Meanwhile, Illinois has always tried to fix things on the fly, a band aid here and a band aid there, and has never figured out who they are, what they should be, and most importantly, what can be maintained.
I know Lovie is a polarizing figure, but Illinois is a coach's graveyard, and AD Josh Whitman's door was not going to be beaten down by qualified candidates. I think Lovie and his staff are figuring things out with regard to developing a sustainable identity, at least I sure hope he is.
People forget about the controversy under Beckman regarding the physical abuse of players, law suits, and that what little positive vibe Beckman had developed in the program went way south after that all happened. Roster attrition was also an issue with Beckman. Recruiting was essentially dead when Lovie took over the program, and the timing was such that his first class consisted of one 5th year transfer, and his first full class did not get recruited until after his first season as HC. Anyone doubting all this can look at the rosters of Beckman/Cubit's last team or two, and the rosters of Lovie's first couple of teams...very few upperclassmen.
I think most Illinois fans are realistic in that this was going to be a multi-year rebuild. Personally, I'm hoping for a couple of conference wins this year as something to show progress and to build on. At the same time, I've been watching this program for so many years that disappointment is more the expectation, than unexpected success.
Guenther was a small time thinker and a small time fundraiser. Guenther was so worried about running the sports programs in the black that he strangled the budgets for his coaches' assistants, and every head coach that came and left during his regime had a revolving door of assistants because there was no money to spent. When rankings would come out regarding how much $$ was being raised, and spent, on their football programs, Illinois was consistently at or near the bottom of the conference. Guenther also kept a distance from the Chicago alumni base, for what reason I don't know. He had his own little army of downstate contributors, but he ignored the deep pockets of the Chicago alums. If not for the Big Ten Network, I shudder to think where Illinois' athletic finances would be. These days, Guenther is retired, and receiving about a $500k annual pension from the State.
As an alum, and a long suffering Illini fan, over the last 25+ years I have watched Wisconsin figure out what works, and what doesn't work for their football team. Same for Northwestern and Iowa. Meanwhile, Illinois has always tried to fix things on the fly, a band aid here and a band aid there, and has never figured out who they are, what they should be, and most importantly, what can be maintained.
I know Lovie is a polarizing figure, but Illinois is a coach's graveyard, and AD Josh Whitman's door was not going to be beaten down by qualified candidates. I think Lovie and his staff are figuring things out with regard to developing a sustainable identity, at least I sure hope he is.
People forget about the controversy under Beckman regarding the physical abuse of players, law suits, and that what little positive vibe Beckman had developed in the program went way south after that all happened. Roster attrition was also an issue with Beckman. Recruiting was essentially dead when Lovie took over the program, and the timing was such that his first class consisted of one 5th year transfer, and his first full class did not get recruited until after his first season as HC. Anyone doubting all this can look at the rosters of Beckman/Cubit's last team or two, and the rosters of Lovie's first couple of teams...very few upperclassmen.
I think most Illinois fans are realistic in that this was going to be a multi-year rebuild. Personally, I'm hoping for a couple of conference wins this year as something to show progress and to build on. At the same time, I've been watching this program for so many years that disappointment is more the expectation, than unexpected success.
Last edited:
After reading through all the miss-informed posts in this thread I just felt I needed to get some of my thoughts out there. Go Littyville!
Loved the post.
It’s been a long time since this program was relevant. It’s not a destination for Illinois kids like it used to be.
Winning has a lot to do with that. But it just seems like an uncomfortable culture down there that will take years to build back to respectability.
I was just down at Illinois with my nephew on a unofficial recruiting visit. When I say I was impressed with Coach Smith is a understatement. I loved hearing about his vision for where he wants the football team to be. I like what the new OC had to say. Talking to the coaching staff and picking their minds was great. I like that coach staff. The football complex that will open next spring/summer is going to be second to none. I believe he will turn the program around.
I like this post and I trust you fully. You are the only one on this board who has spoken to the man directly. I hope your nephew enrolls.
LTHS,
That is not true, there are several of us that post on this board that have spoken to him directly about the Illini and the direct recruitment of our son(s) to the team. The first time I met and spoke with him I had a similar impression to what codeblue posted. However, as things progressed over more than a year I saw varried messages that showed to me that their vision is not really very strong and that they are trying to find an identity. If that has changed in the last 14 months good for them, but I will only believe it when the product on the field proves that there is a change.
That is not true, there are several of us that post on this board that have spoken to him directly about the Illini and the direct recruitment of our son(s) to the team. The first time I met and spoke with him I had a similar impression to what codeblue posted. However, as things progressed over more than a year I saw varried messages that showed to me that their vision is not really very strong and that they are trying to find an identity. If that has changed in the last 14 months good for them, but I will only believe it when the product on the field proves that there is a change.
Oh come on. You are making this up. Have you been hanging around with some guy from central Illinois?? I want proof! I want selfies and other pics. I want travel logs, etc. LOL!
. If you got the chance to talk to him, I stand corrected.Did your son have a commitable scholarship offer from Illinois? Or did he have a preferred walk-on spot?
Penn State gave him a committable Blue Shirt, so he committed on January 28th 2017. He joined the squad in June 2017 and began practice. Illinois expected him to still come as a Preferred walk-on and we’re actually upset he committed to Penn State before he spoke to them. If you know Cam’s Dad he will confirm what I’m posting.
Going back to the original post and your reply, I'd be on your side as well. It's always great to have a strong 1st impression and walk away warm and fuzzy, but when you do a little more research and take a step back and evaluate, not so much. And, Lovie's first two recruiting classes showed as much. Also, with the amount of past NFL coaches on staff, not sure how much those guys want to recruit either.
There's a reason Garrick Mcgee was fired, Rod Smith was hired, and they hired Corey Patterson to recruit.
No doubt Lovie's tenue has gotten off to a bumpy start and the only measurement that counts is the W-L record. 3-9 and 2-10 are not good and Lovie is the first to say that. Results on the field are only going to come if recruiting picks up measurably and the coaches establish an identity and get the kids prepared. This is a long term rebuild and in the current world of college football, not many places have the patience for that. Whitman however, is showing that he does. That might not be everybody else's timeline, but it's his and Lovie's. I frankly wouldn't expect much better in '18 as these young pups continue to get playing time and mature. However, by 2019 their should be results. 7-5 and a bowl game in 2019 would be a solid season.
Recruiting has picked up and the key will be building off that and keeping committed kids in the fold. The addition of Patterson to compliment Ward has been great and shown an impact already. Facilities are being upgraded to at least be in the ballpark of today's game and competition. Also, the bar is pretty reasonable in the Big 10 West, although up and coming programs like Purdue and to a lesser extent Minnesota require the Illini to keep pace.
Interesting:
https://www.sbnation.com/college-fo...recruit-trinity-catholic-st-louis-lovie-smith
From STL youth football, to Trinity to U of I sidelines primarily as a recruiter.
For years, it was common to see high school coaches be hired on to a support staff position at a college , especially when said HS coach was associated with an elite recruit or program. But in 2017, the NCAA changed the rule, making it so that a college could not have recruited a high school for two years before or after hiring one of its coaches hiring a high school coach, unless the college is willing to hire the high school coach into one of its 10 on-field assistant coaching positions.
Those spots are precious, and so far, teams have been extremely reluctant to do it. It was far easier to create a support staff position and have the high school coach work there.
But Illinois is desperate. It doesn’t have the talent to compete in the Big Ten. If it doesn’t get an infusion of talent, Smith and his staff won’t be around. And so it took a calculated risk and hired Patterson directly onto its coaching staff, ensuring it would still be allowed to recruit Trinity Catholic. Illinois fans were calling for the move.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-fo...recruit-trinity-catholic-st-louis-lovie-smith
From STL youth football, to Trinity to U of I sidelines primarily as a recruiter.
For years, it was common to see high school coaches be hired on to a support staff position at a college , especially when said HS coach was associated with an elite recruit or program. But in 2017, the NCAA changed the rule, making it so that a college could not have recruited a high school for two years before or after hiring one of its coaches hiring a high school coach, unless the college is willing to hire the high school coach into one of its 10 on-field assistant coaching positions.
Those spots are precious, and so far, teams have been extremely reluctant to do it. It was far easier to create a support staff position and have the high school coach work there.
But Illinois is desperate. It doesn’t have the talent to compete in the Big Ten. If it doesn’t get an infusion of talent, Smith and his staff won’t be around. And so it took a calculated risk and hired Patterson directly onto its coaching staff, ensuring it would still be allowed to recruit Trinity Catholic. Illinois fans were calling for the move.
