Illinois Football Thread

Gustavus Adolphus

Gustavus Adolphus

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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

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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.



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Welp, this fucktard just jinxed him.

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

iueyedoc

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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.
 
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iueyedoc

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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
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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

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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.
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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.
 
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fatbeard

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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.
 
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TL1961

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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.
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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.
 
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fatbeard

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TL1961 said:
I'm puzzled by this statement. How has he proven he can't handle organizational power?
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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.
 
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