Illinois Football Thread

Gustavus Adolphus

Gustavus Adolphus

Shoe Salesman of the Year
Donator
28,750
18,083
105
My favorite teams
Chicago White Sox Chicago Bulls Chicago Bears Chicago Blackhawks Nebraska Cornhuskers, Villanova Wildcats
I know this has been posted already a few times, but there almost seems a certain amount of certainty with Mike posting about it.
 
Novak

Novak

Mod in Training/Fire Forum
Donator
15,595
11,524
85
Teddy KGB said:
I always thought Lovie would be a better college coach than a pro with how he likes to run things.

More power to him and hope he does great there.



Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Welp, this fucktard just jinxed him.

I can assure you, Teddy, your stamp of approval is a kiss of death.
 
iueyedoc

iueyedoc

Well heeled big wheel
Donator
13,595
15,564
75
My favorite teams
Chicago Cubs Chicago Bears Chicago Blackhawks Indiana Hoosiers
Pros:
-Parents will love his father figure personality.
-His defensive concepts of the Cover 2, making the other team work several downs and avoid mistakes should play well in the college ranks. There are a lot more mistakes to be made by futurre insurance salesmen than Tom Brady.
-The players he gets will follow him loyally.
-He will create a buzz locally and nationally early.

Cons:
-Twenty years away from the college game
-Recruiting will be a mystery, while he has the big name recognition, I don't see the energy of a Saban or Harbaugh. How he plays with big time recruits will be interesting.
-More exotic offenses to scheme against.
-The extracurriculars, like alumni dinners and golf outings, don't seem like a Lovie thing. He has always been more reclusive about his team rather than eager to talk to everyone about the stuff alums pay to hear. When he does talk, it is ultra canned Nyquil like droning.
 
Last edited:
iueyedoc

iueyedoc

Well heeled big wheel
Donator
13,595
15,564
75
My favorite teams
Chicago Cubs Chicago Bears Chicago Blackhawks Indiana Hoosiers
PAPABEAR77 said:
oh so you decide to calm yourself for this thread,could be hope for this troll

like I said in my thread the illini may not be the laughing stock of the big ten anymore
Click to expand...
Maybe, or maybe he is the next Dave Wannstedt, an NFL coach with his arrow pointing down, only to fail further in a college game that he has been away from too long. Whichever it ends up being, there will be cameras around for the first few years, which can't hurt ILL.
 
PAPABEAR77

PAPABEAR77

Well-known member
3,587
1,003
70
iueyedoc said:
Maybe, or maybe he is the next Dave Wannstedt, an NFL coach with his arrow pointing down, only to fail further in a college game that he has been away from too long. Whichever it ends up being, there will be cameras around for the first few years, which can't hurt ILL.
Click to expand...
With his experience I think the team is going to be better, I think this is a good fit really and I don't think Lovie was a failure. He really didn't get a shot in Tampa and only the second coach in bears history to go to the superbowl so I don't think it's a Dave Wannstedt reincarnation.
 
F

fatbeard

Well-known member
9,917
6,034
70
This strikes me as a disastrous hire. Smith has proven over and over again that he simply can't handle wielding the type of organizational power that college HCs have to.
 
T

TL1961

Well-known member
20,216
7,056
105
fatbeard said:
This strikes me as a disastrous hire. Smith has proven over and over again that he simply can't handle wielding the type of organizational power that college HCs have to.
Click to expand...
I'm puzzled by this statement. How has he proven he can't handle organizational power?

For whatever faults he has, one thing I respected/appreciated about Lovie is that he made personnel/coaching changes when they were needed rather than wait too long, and always did so without a lot of drama and fanfare. He didn't go to the pres and air problems or point fingers. He just made the cuts.

Much criticism from the Chicago press for being boring, because they wanted another Ditka that sold papers. But he acted decisively and professionally. It is why he had the respect of his players, unlike a Ditka.
 
F

fatbeard

Well-known member
9,917
6,034
70
TL1961 said:
I'm puzzled by this statement. How has he proven he can't handle organizational power?
Click to expand...
Smith's failed power grabs have been exhaustively documented at this point. The decline of the Bears draft success post-2006 directly coincided with Smith gaining more input into the process. He compounded that with disastrously awful staff decisions (remember his initial staff was hired for him): Firing Rivera, elevating Babich, assuming DC for himself, and the OCs...my God, the OC debacle! He wielded similar power in TB, being hired before Jason Licht, and the results were similar. His 2014 FA acquisitions were among the worst in the NFL: Michael Johnson (5/44), Darelle Revis (6/96) who should have been a self-evidently awful fit as a Cover 2 CB, etc. He again put together a poor staff in Tampa, was unprepared to replace Tedford and opened himself up to charges of nepotism by hiring his son. Smith's tenure in TB was so awful that Licht, who was essentially hired to work for Smith, was able to stage an insurrection and grab power away from his old boss.

I say all that as someone who likes Smith as a HC, but only as a HC. One that needs to be closely supervised to save him from himself. He can't choose his own staff, he can't run his own defense and HC at the same time, and he should have very little input into personnel decisions. All things that he's likely going to have to do in college. Plus recruit. Ick.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
8,609members
73,697threads
3,205,139posts
125online users
Top