Lovie Smith is back in Illinois, only this time, it’s not on the sidelines for the Chicago Bears, but as the new head coach of the University of Illinois. Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman took to Twitter to pose with the new coach, and the school confirmed the hiring.
#ILLINI pic.twitter.com/OULEpiGgjS
— Josh Whitman (@IlliniAD) March 7, 2016
It's OFFICIAL » https://t.co/2CeOpB7GBs#WeWillWin #Illini pic.twitter.com/x8RkJiiLxQ
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) March 7, 2016
Over the weekend, Smith was rumored to be the next head coach of the Illini after the surprising firing of Bill Cubit by Whitman.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Smith signed a mammoth six-year deal worth $21 million. It’s technically Smith’s first college football head coaching job, but he does have plenty of experience in college. His last NCAA gig came in 1995 when he was the defensive backs coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and he’s been in the NFL since, most notably as the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2004-12.
Smith flamed out the NFL after back-to-back losing seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who fired him following the completion of the 2015 season. He said in a statement he’s excited to get going in Illinois.
“I am extremely excited to be named head coach of the Fighting Illini,” Smith said in a statement released by the university Monday morning. “Josh approached me about this possibility, and I immediately seized on the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the young men who are part of the program today and in the future. I take this responsibility very seriously and can’t wait to get a staff in place to start our move to make Illinois a contender for Big Ten titles. We will play an exciting brand of football that will make our fans, alumni, student body and members of the University community extremely proud.”
The Fighting Illini’s coaching situation has been shadowed with controversy since Tim Beckman was fired last year after a report found he made players play through serious injuries. Cubit, the team’s offensive coordinator, took over for Beckman on an interim basis and led the team to a 5-7 record and was surprisingly fired over the weekend after having the interim tag removed and receiving a two-year contract extension in November.
Smith has significant coaching experience and his player-coach mentality should benefit him. The big question is this – will his history of underperforming carry itself to the college ranks? Smith won just three playoff games in his nine seasons as Bears head coach, and made the playoffs just once in his final six years at the helm of the team before going 8-24 in his two seasons as Buccaneers head coach.
Luckily for Smith, the Big Ten West isn’t the toughest division in college football, *and* Illinois has the hapless Rutgers Scarlet Knights on their schedule as a crossover opponent from the Big Ten East. All Smith needs to do is beat up on Rutgers, the equally inept Purdue Boilermakers, non-conference opponents Murray State and Western Michigan, and steal a couple more conference games, and he’ll be taking the Illini bowling! It can’t be that difficult, right?
