How hot is Lovie Smith's seat?
- Thread starter DEREKoh2
- Start date
Who’s Minn’s next coach going to be? It’s obvious Fleck isn’t going to get it done there.
Beleima would be a good hire for Minn in 2 years when PJ’s fired.
Beleima would be a good hire for Minn in 2 years when PJ’s fired.
Lovie Smith wanted the salary but not the gigantic task
of making Illinois relevant in football.
of making Illinois relevant in football.
If you stepped on Lovie's foot, it would take him twenty minutes to say "ouch".
Minn is such a bad job though. Beleima knows that. They’ll probably have to go after their 3rd straight MAC coach.
this question has occurred to me recently too, so I will pontificate with my 5 cents worth (it used to be two cents, but, you know, with inflation and all)
I would say that if he does not get to at last 6-6 this year, he is gone. Obviously Illinois is not that much of a football school, as most coaches there have failed in recent years.
let's face it: it is in our best interest by far that they remain in the tank because we poach that state for recruits as well as anybody (and so do a lot of other teams for that matter)
I would say that if he does not get to at last 6-6 this year, he is gone. Obviously Illinois is not that much of a football school, as most coaches there have failed in recent years.
let's face it: it is in our best interest by far that they remain in the tank because we poach that state for recruits as well as anybody (and so do a lot of other teams for that matter)
lets just say the coffee is percolating. It'll be fully brewed this year and come winter time it may have been left on too long.
Ripcord is correct, nothing wrong with Illinois football being bad since it can't hurt Iowa recruiting.
I work with a couple of Illini grads. Andrew says he needs a .500 season "or he's toast." Dave says five wins might give Lovie another year but the team needs to show a lot of improvement.
I work with a couple of Illini grads. Andrew says he needs a .500 season "or he's toast." Dave says five wins might give Lovie another year but the team needs to show a lot of improvement.
Orlando Sentinel's preview:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...ge-football-rankings-illinois-0512-story.html
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...ge-football-rankings-illinois-0512-story.html
In the last 27 years, Illinois has won 8 games 3 times. They have averaged 4.5 wins per season in this century. It is surprising to me that they can't even field an average football team.
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A
anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba
Guest
That's the way it should be. May it always be so.
Tell that to the Clown fans. Sounds pretty similar to their record over that time span but they are on the verge of greatness. At least Minnesota can boast of excellence before electricity.
I’m not sure why we hope bad or struggling coaches get pushed out the door? Root for Lovie to be in a long time.
Heck Izzo knows it’s in his best interest to lobby for coaches he can beat like Todd L. Kirk should have been lobbying hard for Danny Hope and Darrell Hazel. Now Purdue actually has a good coach in Brohm.
Heck Izzo knows it’s in his best interest to lobby for coaches he can beat like Todd L. Kirk should have been lobbying hard for Danny Hope and Darrell Hazel. Now Purdue actually has a good coach in Brohm.
You could tell last year that Love had a lot of young talent and he has shown a pretty good capability to recruit to a school with a fairly bad program in recent history. His job will depend upon developing that talent into a winning team.
He may end up just like Zook as a guy that got good talent but didn’t do much with them. A good QB that can lead the team on the field, which is something Lovie has never developed, would go a long way towards saving his job.
He may end up just like Zook as a guy that got good talent but didn’t do much with them. A good QB that can lead the team on the field, which is something Lovie has never developed, would go a long way towards saving his job.
Lovie should be 3 and 0 in the noncon. Had the most freshman starts in the history of the University of Illinois last year. IIRC 84? Second most returning starters in the Big 10. Do you think we might be underestimating what is going on in Champagne?
Does Minn give Fleck a 3rd year if he goes 3-9 or worse in year 2??
I think they do but if he doesn’t make a bowl game after his 3rd season they have to can him right?
Especially since they got rid of Claeys after he won 9 games. Even though I know they got rid of him for other reasons, it’s still hard to go from 9 wins to 5, to 3, to 2. Fleck’s on a downward trajectory.
I think they do but if he doesn’t make a bowl game after his 3rd season they have to can him right?
Especially since they got rid of Claeys after he won 9 games. Even though I know they got rid of him for other reasons, it’s still hard to go from 9 wins to 5, to 3, to 2. Fleck’s on a downward trajectory.
No. Not at all. Playing a lot of young guys does not mean squat.
Illinois has had some spotty AD work and an administration that quite simply made a lot of hiring errors for a long time. Their current situation was darn near 50 years in the making.
If they're smart, Lovie gets a long ass rope. They're arguably the worst program in the league right now. There's nowhere to go but up really. They need to give him a chance and for once, not descend back into the Zook/Beckman/Cubit chaos that destroyed the current era of the program.
If they're smart, Lovie gets a long ass rope. They're arguably the worst program in the league right now. There's nowhere to go but up really. They need to give him a chance and for once, not descend back into the Zook/Beckman/Cubit chaos that destroyed the current era of the program.
One of the problems with the team is that they're pretty inexperienced at QB ... and they don't have much depth there either.
The D may be salty ... their DL sure was good 2 years ago ... and that's somewhere they've been recruiting well.
The problem for the Illini is that their situation is comparable to the Gophers ... but the boat-rowers arguably have a head start. Purdue will be suffering a little on D ... but their O will be continuing to improve. Brohm strikes me as a far superior college coach (compared to Lovie). Every other program in the west owns significant advantages over the Illini.
Lastly, its been a long time since the Illini's Memorial Stadium has conferred a signicant home field advantage to them.
I anticipate that the Illini will be an improved team ... but I doubt they have a winning record.
This, I think the illini will be significantly better this season and will flirt with a .500 record. Lovie has been recruiting fairly well,
Lovie can recruit but He is one of the worst in game coaches I ever seen, He makes Zook look like Belichek , I hope they keep Him forever .
I doubt they beat South Florida in the non-con. But a 3-0 non-con would be a major pick-me-up I'd think going into the B10 season.
This season for them I believe hinges on the former OC at UAz implementing the new system. Illini offenses the last few years have been putrid.
This season for them I believe hinges on the former OC at UAz implementing the new system. Illini offenses the last few years have been putrid.
I thought this was year one? PJ asked for a do over and got it paddled away from his record
Lol, forgot about that! Add 1 more year to all my Fleck termination predictions.
Only PJ decides when his tenureship starts up there. Only Minnesotans are stupid enough to let him dictate when year 1 starts. Perfect marriage up there.
As much as I'm not a fan of the fightin' boat rowers ... despite having a secondary that was hit hard by graduation and off-field issues ... their D played surprisingly solidly last year. P.J. Fleck is quite a salesman (possibly more on the snake-oil side) ... so the level of talent for the Gophers is likely on the rise.
The big thing for the Gophers, not unlike the Illini, is finding the franchise QB who will help them "rise" up from mediocrity ... or from the dumpster-fire in the case of the Illini.
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Might be a little early to make that proclamation. I also doubt Bielema would be interested in Minnesota.
Lovie may be on a very hot seat so anything below 4 wins is a major program setback. Thank goodness for revenue sharing. The Illini AD Josh Whitman may be a little forgiving than the boosters seeing as Lovie was his first HC pick at U-ILL. Still, I only see an opening noncon of 2 possible wins and it will hard for U-ILL to win 3 conference games. Whitman may hold on to Lovie to secure recruiting class talents but the life line will be a short rope.
Purdue could also be a world of hurt as Louisville is upset with the bowl performance under Coach Bobby Petrino. Jeff Brohm is a native born son of Louisville and if he has another winning season, his name will be tossed into the hat. Petrino is sitting on a time bomb that could blow up and loudly. A new AD and program that wants to stay clear of NCAA infraction (Petrino has a rotten smell to himself). Brohm is a very good recruiter and it would be easier for him to have great success in the ACC than the Eastern Division of the Big Ten (B1G).
There is a good reason Brohm did not take the Tennessee job and Louisville has better recruiting grounds than Purdue. Ohio (Cincinnati), Indiana, Tennessee (Nashville and Memphis), St. Louis area, and arm length extension to Atlanta. I don't see Brohm staying at Purdue when Louisville has greater resources and bigger boosters. I would not be surprised if Brohm jumps quickly at Louisville job, when Petrino is fired.
Purdue could also be a world of hurt as Louisville is upset with the bowl performance under Coach Bobby Petrino. Jeff Brohm is a native born son of Louisville and if he has another winning season, his name will be tossed into the hat. Petrino is sitting on a time bomb that could blow up and loudly. A new AD and program that wants to stay clear of NCAA infraction (Petrino has a rotten smell to himself). Brohm is a very good recruiter and it would be easier for him to have great success in the ACC than the Eastern Division of the Big Ten (B1G).
There is a good reason Brohm did not take the Tennessee job and Louisville has better recruiting grounds than Purdue. Ohio (Cincinnati), Indiana, Tennessee (Nashville and Memphis), St. Louis area, and arm length extension to Atlanta. I don't see Brohm staying at Purdue when Louisville has greater resources and bigger boosters. I would not be surprised if Brohm jumps quickly at Louisville job, when Petrino is fired.
I said that in a later post that I think Beleima’s too smart to take the crappy Minn job. But he would be in the West & if he ever wanted to stick it to his former schools, there’s no better team that has a major rivalry with both Iowa & Wis.
Second most returning starters from a bad team isn't necessarily a good thing. Could be, but no guarantee.
This will be the last year they let Lovie ride the pony. The seat is too hot.
Awesome! lol.
Ash has gotten caught in a tough situation ... he made the smart hire of getting Kill .... only for Kill to have to resign due to health issues again. Thus, they'll be making yet another transition on O for something like the 3rd year in a row.
Lou Holtz still has a pulse ! Get him back there.
You must not have heard... last year at Minnesota was Year Zero. This season will be year one.
Not sure how he got the natives to buy that, but he did with a fairly significant number of fans.
He's going to struggle again this season with a young qb. 5-7 is probably the max.
Man............such a buzzkill! You can't see us (at least) getting to 6 wins to be bowl eligible? I'm turning my seasons tix back in. I'm gonna follow hockey.
