I've had trouble liking this guy for some reason (mostly because he always makes NU look stupid I guess). But the guy is just a good coach and it's obvious he knows how to make good players better players. Illinois will never have the support or resources that NU has so why not go all out and try to pull him away from a division rival?
Bielema
- Thread starter SLOHusker
- Start date
I've never liked Bielema as a person. In fact, I always hated him (and still do) BUT I will admit that he's definitely a very good coach. Great hire by Illinois. Much better than the last several coaches we had at NU. I think a part of that is because he places emphasis on the play of the OL and DL.
Many Hawk fans want him to be our next head coach.
You would also do well with him.
He knows how to win in the B10.
You would also do well with him.
He knows how to win in the B10.
You underestimate Illinois’ resources, period. Massive, well-off alumni base that simply hasn’t had a team to get into for so long … and now they do. They’ll pay him whatever he asks for. Add on a good recruiting footprint, brand new facilities and low expectations from the fans, and you have a WAY better job than you’re painting it as.
Illinois’ lack of tradition is not the takeaway you probably think, IMO … it can even be spun as a plus.
And what exactly is the Nebraska tradition now? We now will have a fifth season to add to our collection of losing seasons!! We haven’t beaten a ranked team in what , like 18 or 19 tries. My goodness we don’t really have any on field tradition that’s relevant any longer .
I've said for years (not just because I live in IL) that Illinois is a sleeping giant. With the right coach, between the recruiting base in IL and the potential money (I think support will boom with some consistently good seasons) they could be a powerhouse. Whether they become one or not remains to be seen, but there has been so much potential here for years.
Missouri has never had the institutional support for their football program. One of my degrees is from Mizzou.
Regardless back in the day if there was anyone else besides Oklahoma and Nebraska people though with the population and the correct hire Missouri would be a consistent winner..
Mizzou football history has always been much better than Illinois..
Why was your hero crotch rot such an abject failure at DONU?
Don't you have a frost warning t-shirt to soil?
I don't think the interest is there to the degree it is at Nebraska. Illinois has the Bears and other pro sports teams and for college football ND is right across the border from Chicagoland.
When I was at Mizzou they were pretty good but it seemed that their female chancellor had it in for the football program and anything that wasn’t liberal arts.
To be fair I wouldn't have wanted to be the head coach of Nebraska in 2014 either.
Ole Bert will be looking like Mark Mangino in another 2-3 years. He is a good coach though. I would take him, won’t be an option ever but I would take him.
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anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi
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As opposed to poor Scott, who just couldn’t get any support here. Too bad. Maybe the next coach will come in and tell us how lucky we are that he chose to come, because he was hired by a completely clueless alcoholic who doesn’t show up to do his job. That would be a huge Red flag if something that stupid came out of a coaches mouth
Bret is from Illinois so I doubt he leaves anytime soon....he does have an Iowa tattoo where he graduated from.
I would love for him to come here but since I assume that is never gonna happen. I would much prefer that he stay at Illinois than go to Iowa and actually make them good.
Let’s see how he recruits in the next few years, though that doesn’t necessarily paint a whole picture..
FWIW, Illinois built brand new practice facilities a couple years ago that legitimately stack up against the top ones in the country and plans to renovate Memorial Stadium (specifically the eyesore of the stadium, the Horseshoe) are underway.
The interest isn’t there ANYWHERE compared to Nebraska.
However, I live in Chicago and it’s astounding how quickly people jump on the bandwagon for good Illini teams - way more than for Notre Dame, even. It’s hard to be passionate about a program that regularly wins 2-3 games and changes coaches every 5 years, but Illinois fans have proven they’ll throw their full support behind the Illini if they’re competitive.
I’m not at all saying Illinois is a better spot than Nebraska; I don’t believe it is. However, I think the difference is small enough that maybe the headache of uprooting his family from the state he grew up in (and the team he grew up cheering for) to go to a very high-pressure job might not seem worth it.
Been there multiple times. Like you said, cool but outdated. But, if they were to become a perennial winner I imagine you'd start to see some upgrades, even if they came slowly. For better or worse, they've kind of resigned themselves to being a basketball school over the years it's seemed, but if they start piling up wins the administration would almost have to invest because of the money to be made in football.