For the Illini, recently-installed athletic director Josh Whitman left his mark on the program from the jump, removing Bill Cubit as Illini football’s head coach.
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The defensive-minded Smith also took the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006 where they lost to the Indianapolis Colts.
Cubit was let go after one season in charge.
IL will introduce Smith at a 2 p.m. press conference today.
Smith and the UI have a six-year agreement calling for payments of $2 million annually for 2016 and 2017, $3 million for 2018, $4 million for 2019 and $5 million annually for both 2020 and 2021.
IL has officially named Lovie Smith as its next head football coach.
Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks said he had a chance to talk to Smith about the new job and said he’s most encouraged by the enthusiasm he heard in his voice about the new challenge he’ll have as a college head coach.
Whitman officially starts in his post as the Illini’s athletic director.
New Athletics Director Josh Whitman wasted little time in his first day on the job. Plus, it shows alumni and boosters of the school that the program is committed to winning and wants to get back to being an elite team in the Big Ten.
Whitman did not identify candidates, but sounded like he would move quickly to hire a replacement.
It’s still unclear which, if any, members of Illinois’ staff survived the coaching change, but some moves will inevitably be made very soon. Smith coached the Chicago Bears from 2004-12 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014-15. Smith was sacked by the Buccaneers at the end of the 2015. They are a team that I think is poised to have a great year with seven or more wins. “You just can’t build a program overnight”, Smith said days before he was sacked. He helped the 2001 Rams to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVI. Also, NFL Hall of Famer and legendary Bears linebacker Dick Butkus went to IL as well, so things have worked out well when IL and the Bears work together in the past. And while Lovie Smith is mostly known as an National Football League coach, he spent 13 seasons coaching on the college level from 1983 to 1995, including stops at Wisconsin, Tennessee and Ohio State.
It is not clear yet how the firing of Cubit or the hiring of Smith will affect the recruiting class Cubit assembled this year. Who replaces Cubit? Whitman is not just doing this on the fly, is he? Beckman hired him in 2013 after Cubit was sacked as head coach at Western Michigan.
During a preliminary briefing from the external reviewers, Thomas said he learned of efforts to deter injury reporting and influence medical decisions that pressured players to avoid or postpone medical treatment and continue playing despite injuries.
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Beckman was sacked amid allegations of mistreatment of players. The 62-year-old took over as Illinois’ football coach on an interim basis in August before he received a two-year contract to remain the head coach in November.
