State Journal Register recommends Illini talk to Coach Kill when Beckman is fired

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per the State Journal Register:

In 2004, the University of Illinois was looking for a football coach to replace Ron Turner, who had gone 4-19 in the previous two seasons.

Illinois picked Ron Zook. Jerry Kill was very quietly getting ready for the fifth of his seven years at Southern Illinois, where he went 55-32.

In 2011, Illinois unloaded Zook and was again looking for a coach. Kill, who rebuilt Northern Illinois (23-16 in three seasons) with three straight bowl appearances, was just finishing his first season at Minnesota. NIU remains a Mid-America Conference power.

Very soon Illinois will be looking for someone to replace Tim Beckman. Here’s hoping the Illini don’t miss on a chance to at least talk to Kill, who is 4-1 this season at Minnesota and 21-22 in three-plus seasons.

The Illinois job isn’t that good, but it’s better than Minnesota, isn’t it?

http://www.sj-r.com/article/20141008/BLOGS/141009691/13056/BLOGS

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per the State Journal Register:

In 2004, the University of Illinois was looking for a football coach to replace Ron Turner, who had gone 4-19 in the previous two seasons.

Illinois picked Ron Zook. Jerry Kill was very quietly getting ready for the fifth of his seven years at Southern Illinois, where he went 55-32.

In 2011, Illinois unloaded Zook and was again looking for a coach. Kill, who rebuilt Northern Illinois (23-16 in three seasons) with three straight bowl appearances, was just finishing his first season at Minnesota. NIU remains a Mid-America Conference power.

Very soon Illinois will be looking for someone to replace Tim Beckman. Here’s hoping the Illini don’t miss on a chance to at least talk to Kill, who is 4-1 this season at Minnesota and 21-22 in three-plus seasons.

The Illinois job isn’t that good, but it’s better than Minnesota, isn’t it?

http://www.sj-r.com/article/20141008/BLOGS/141009691/13056/BLOGS

Go Gophers!!
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They probably have a better local talent base to draw from in recruiting but outside of that I don't see much there that would be an improvement over what Kill has here at Minnesota. Not sure he would be a huge hit with the fanbase either until he proves that he can actually get Minnesota over the hump.
 


No, the Illinois job really isn't a better job than the Minnesota job. It would be a lateral move at best.

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
 



I must not be up on my Illinois history. have they ever won anything in football? do they have any rich traditions in football?
 

DoubleB said:
I must not be up on my Illinois history. have they ever won anything in football? do they have any rich traditions in football?
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They have gone to the Rose Bowl twice in the last 15 years
 

We will go to the Rose Bowl with Coach Kill before Illinois goes with anyone.
 





The Illinois and Minnesota programs are fairly similar (which makes it unlikely to me Coach Kill would consider making that jump, for purposes of the article). They've played in five Rose Bowls, Minnesota has played in two, and they both claim a lot of national championships from long ago.

But I would gladly trade places with Illinois as far as recent history goes. A Big Ten title and Sugar Bowl berth in 2001, and a trip to the Rose Bowl in 2007. Sure, they've averaged 3½ wins per year in every other season since that conference title, but I'll take two great years and a bunch of bad ones over "fringe bowl" status anyday.
 

Generally, the quote "The Illinois job isn’t that good, but it’s better than Minnesota, isn’t it?" is generally accurate. If Illinois had fired Zook a year earlier and both schools asked Kill at the same time to be their coach, I would guess Kill probably would have picked Illinois, mostly because he had already spent a number of years in the state building two other programs. But even a guy without an Illinois history may have picked Illinois because of the proximity to Chicago and St. Louis recruiting areas.

But still, it isn't CLEARLY a better job. You could argue that Minnesota, with its fancy new stadium, and location in the heart of a top-15 national metro area, and with the great job market, would be a better job. But I'd go with - on balance - it might be slightly easier to win at Illinois than Minnesota.

All that said, it's clearly a worse job today. The new Illinois coach will be starting with a team that has won 1 Big 10 game in the past 3 years (a chance for more this year, but losing to Purdue makes that unlikely) . We have a chance to compete for a title this year. Moving to Illinois would be no rational sense for Kill.
 

I doubt Kill would seriously consider Illinois. Some people might consider it a slightly better situation in some respects, but there is nothing significantly better in terms of weather, recruiting, facilities, etc or they would be much better than they have been. The good thing about Kill and company is they make programs more attractive long after they have left. So the longer they are here, the better we will look for years afterward. What makes a program great is having the benefit of someone who turned things around and then stayed to keep things competitive for many years. A winning tradition establishes respect along with continuing expectations.
 



Kill and Company have experience and connections to college football in Illinois. They've done a good job here. The writer is correct, makes sense to take a run at Kill. Kill says this is his last stop. Think he'll stay but not going get worked-up about it.

We had a Head Coach that nobody wanted to hire after his experience here. Anybody want to go through that again?
 

I don't see Kill moving to another job within the conference if he does choose to move on at some point.
 

Generally speaking it is frowned upoun in the conference for coaches to move from one school to another. If coach Kill chose to leave for a higher profile job and more money it would likely be at a Power conference school with SEC like resources and fan support. However if Pellini get's the boot from Nebraska I would say all bet's are off on that unwritten rule in conference about not switching schools.
If Nebraska wanted Kill he would have to seriously consider it, Illinois not so much.
 

All Illinois needs to do is look for an alum with the passion to take Illini Nation back to the Rose Bowl.
 



Breakin' The Plane said:
All Illinois needs to do is look for an alum with the passion to take Illini Nation back to the Rose Bowl.
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"I asked them in the locker room after the game, 'Who feels like they've been stuck in the gut with a searing knife?' Brewster said after a 21-16 loss to Iowa. "Everybody did, and I said that's good. That means we've got a chance."
 


Dr.Don said:
Yes, and he went to high school at the feared and dreaded Chicago Vocational High School.
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While at CVHS he was training to be a plumber. Attached here are images of some of his early work.

Butkus Plumbing Inc.jpeg Butkus Plumbing Inc2.jpg

Apparently he took some severe head shots even as a prepper.
 



There are exactly zero good reasons why kill would leave Minny for Illinois right now. I'm not knocking Illinois, it's a decent job but this is nonsense.
 

Illinois needs to find a coach with a record of building a program, winning record, up for a challenge and be able to win in the Big 10. Has a staff who can attract talent to Illinois. Who is available and would take and do the job? My first call would be to Akron, asking to talk with Terry Bowden. I would also have a call to Tommy. Also making my list of calls Jim McElwain CSU, I might even reach out to The Sweater Vest.
 


I said this in the Kansas thread as well. I think it Kill were to leave anytime soon, it would be for an established program, not another rebuild situation.
 

Coach Kill is making $300,000 more then Beckman this year. Illinois would have to increase his pay quite a bit.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
Generally speaking it is frowned upoun in the conference for coaches to move from one school to another. If coach Kill chose to leave for a higher profile job and more money it would likely be at a Power conference school with SEC like resources and fan support. However if Pellini get's the boot from Nebraska I would say all bet's are off on that unwritten rule in conference about not switching schools.
If Nebraska wanted Kill he would have to seriously consider it, Illinois not so much.
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This. Jim Delaney would frown on it severely. Still it can work out for Kill. Step 1, take Illinois' call. Step 2, have agent call Doogie. Step 3, get raise. Known as pulling a Hoiberg.
 

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