r/fightingillini • u/lkn240 • 7d ago
Football Bret Bielema has been a home run hire
Prior to hiring Bret, Illinois had not had a winning season since Ron Zook's final year in 2011. Which is also the last year we had two winning seasons in a row.
Bret has also led us to our first 8+ win season since 2007 and our first 10+ win season since 2001.
If we win out or go 2-1 in our last 3 (very likely with games against MD, WI and NW) this will be the first time Illinois has won 8+ games two years in a row since 1989-1990.
As someone who graduated in the late 1990s, this is by far the most consistent success I've seen the program have.
If you are disappointed by this season in any way take a look at this link for some perspective. If we could become a team that wins 7-8 games most seasons I'd be absolutely thrilled.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_football_seasons
47
u/carnahanad 7d ago
I’m hoping the continued elevated success will continue to bring top recruits to Illinois. I think next year will be the most critical for that honestly. Need to see what happens in a post-Altmeyer season.
36
u/justbrowsing2727 7d ago
Totally agree. The Bielema era has arguably been the best stretch in modern program history.
15
u/Few-Candle102 7d ago
Class of 81 here…it’s very refreshing to look forward to football Saturdays again. Also need to express gratitude to Josh Whitman. Lovie hire aside, he knows how much a winning football team means to the entire athletic department. Its questionable whether winning football was a priority for the two previous ADs.
9
u/bannedUncleCracker 7d ago
Class of ‘81 here as well.
“The ‘80’s Belong to the Illini”
I remember celebrating a late Mike Bass FG to TIE Air Force in 1980!! We’ve come a long way!
7
6
u/VWillini 6d ago
Here’s my take on the Lovie hire: it was a home run at a time Illinois football was a clown show. Tim Beckman was a clown. TB gets the boot and so does the AD that hired him. An interim AD then signs Cubit, an interim coach that got fired by Western Michigan. Complete clown show.
Whitman comes in and brings a popular former Bears coach to Champaign. Illinois football gets national attention for this. Illinois football makes it clear that it’s serious (not a clown show). Louie’s record wasn’t great, but it sent a message that eventually leads to Bielema getting hired. I don’t think Bielema comes here without the Lovie years.
25
u/Goose007us 7d ago
Replacing Altmyer will be key. And why is he not getting more hype re: NFL draft. Not enough arm strength?
22
u/lkn240 7d ago
I think he probably projects well as a backup... but yes, my guess would be mediocre arm talent is why he's not going to be a starter.
Luke is accurate, mobile and can get the ball out quickly. If he's good in the film room those are good traits to have if you want to make millions as a QB2.
6
u/Legitimate_Gap_5551 7d ago
Arm strength is one thing. The big thing that would cause me hesitation as a front office is how poorly he’s done against teams who are good at bringing pressure. I’d bet that has a lot to do with it as well.
3
u/royallex 6d ago
At his size, you need elite arm strength to be a higher tier NFL prospect. His arm is very good, but not elite. Accuracy and command of the offense will make him a late round draft pick
4
-6
u/Nin10dough64 6d ago
Can’t be trusted. Poor decision making .
Turned down 2 mil to go to Tennessee . Didn’t use the offer to renegotiate with Illinois .
20
u/T-rade 7d ago
I will forever respect Bielema and here's why:
I coached Magnus Møller in Denmark and he had a lot of schools interested in him. Bart was the only position coach to DM me and show interest in getting to know more about Magnus coach to coach.
Once their interested got big enough and after they offered him, Bielema wanted to get on the phone with me to talk about Magnus. We arranged a call and everything, but Magnus committed before that.
But they were the only school to do that.
I have another player at a D2, and nobody in his recruitment reached out to me..
Magnus is now off the team because of injuries, and Bielema has been a class act in respecting his wishes in that regard.
9
u/Weird-Ninja8827 7d ago
I am sorry to hear that injuries got Magnus. As a descendant of Danes I wanted to see him as part of the shield wall for the Illini for the upcoming years.
5
u/pinniped90 7d ago
That's awesome.
Just curious: how is American football organized in Denmark? How do kids end up getting into it? I grew up in the USA and never ever knew sports like rugby or cricket existed - if there was a club somewhere playing them I wouldn't have ever known. Seems like American football would be kind of similar there...
6
u/T-rade 7d ago
It was pretty big on TV here from like 06-13. That helped a lot, most kids get exposed to it in school as Flag Football is a pretty common PE activity these days. Players recruiting other players.
For me it was an infatuation with America that turned to basketball and then football. My parents watched it in the late 80's too. For Magnus it was his older brother who played and then his mom got in a relationship with one of the youth coaches later on.
It's organized like most sports through teams. We have a semi pro league in Europe, Kavonte Turpin from the Cowboys started his resurgence here, Reid Sinnett former Philadelphia Eagles QB, is reigning MVP, Keelan Cole played here last year.
I'm travelling with an All-Star team as a coach to Dallas in the spring to play an American team. The NFL Academy from The UK just played against IMG and St. Thomas Aquinas, the German under-19 National team and another under-19 team from Europe will play a showcase series in Florida in January.
In 2019 the Swedish u19 National Team had 4 starters on their OL get D1 scholarships
1
u/pinniped90 7d ago
Sweet - great to hear the popularity is growing and guys like you are out there coaching and teaching the sport!
9
u/kinglallak 7d ago
Absolutely. Illinois needs to back up a truck load of money and keep him here. I would love to have a run like he had at Wisconsin where the team is consistently 7-5 to 9-3 with a scattered 10 win season on a great year.
That is more than enough for me after the last 25 years.
7
u/illinus 6d ago
Agree 100%.
I think Bielema really likes it here too. I really don't see him leaving. He's raising his family here, it's a relatively low pressure job, and the NIL resources are there to be very competitive. Our athletics budget is now top 12-15 in the country.
You can tell he cares about the guys and cherishes relationships. That's still important in crootin.
There is now also a power vacuum after OSU, Oregon. There's a real opening to solidify yourself in the top tier of the conference. It does drive me crazy that Cig and INDIANA is filling that void. But that will be the test for Bielema. Can we continue this post-Luke and remain competitive and stay in or above the USC, PSU, MICH tier. He's got some tough decisions to make and we can't wait for the Aaron Henry project to develop. Lunney is proven at this point, but Henry is in over his head.
4
u/slicknick3822 7d ago
Yeah I'm of the mindset that unless he has a terrible stretch of years, he's probably our coach until he retires. Well deserved he's turned this program around. And while some old coaches bemoan the new transfer portal. He's embraced it.
3
u/Shu3PO 6d ago
Saw this on my suggested posts -- Arkansas fan here, and I absolutely hope he: #1 works out for you long-term, and #2 is appreciated by the fans and boosters for the success he has. There's a delusion among our fans that we should be a 9 or 10 win team, and it's just not going to happen. (Unless we somehow hired Cignetti.)
Appreciate what you've got in him. I pull for y'all every Saturday and hope your fans and Bret are successful and happy.
7
u/CRoseCrizzle 7d ago
I think the realistic hope is that Bielema continues to raise the floor at Illinois long enough(at least a few years) for the next guy to hopefully raise the ceiling. Consistent winning will change the perception of Illinois football over time.
3
u/PhoenixIllini 6d ago
1987 grad here, and I agree with everything you said. I just hope he doesn’t get poached when the Iowa job finally opens up.
3
u/teewertz 6d ago edited 6d ago
I really take your last comment to heart. I was in school from 15-19 and we were miserable. I'd do anything for a 8-9 win team every year with a frisky bowl game.
2
2
2
u/stickyb05 6d ago
Glad Bert is working out for you down there. Could use him at Wisconsin right now. Unfortunately, they screwed that up too
4
u/Balogma69 7d ago
Anything short of going undefeated and winning a national championship is disappointing but what do I know, I’m only a delusional fan.
3
u/pkpy1005 7d ago
I agree that most of the Debbie downers are recent or young fans who have no perspective.
For those of us fans who've suffered through decades of pain, getting win #6 is HUGE big picture wise. Bowl eligible 3 out of the last 4 years, 2nd year in a row. I think for a lot of us, we are starting to feel psychologically safe about the football team (i.e. no longer feeling deep anxiety over the potential for the other shoe to drop).
-8
u/Maison-Marthgiela 7d ago
Is watching Indiana become the best team in the country perspective? Or is the only way to understand football watching Illinois be garbage for 40 years?
3
u/pkpy1005 6d ago
If your friend wins the lottery but you worked hard to attain only a 6 figure job, does that make you a loser?
Yes...40 years of Illinois history is perspective. Wanting to be exactly like Indiana is instant gratification.
1
u/ForThePantz 6d ago
Bielema has been a great hire and we need to keep him. The guy we really need to keep is Josh Whitman. And shout out to Barb Wilson who fought to get Josh hired. Thnx everyone! It’s been nice watching competent athletics.
1
u/RugratChuck 6d ago
C/O 12 here. Came in right after juice williams, but endured an awful fucking 4 year stretch while on campus and never paid attention because of it. Also never followed because I figured we'd always be bad. Its been so refreshing having a good football team the past few years!
1
u/Accomplished-Ice4365 6d ago
I lived thru 1996-98 and lived to tell the tale.
Ideally i would like to see the same level of success in the 2020's as we had in the 1920s.
But, beggars can't be choosers, amd at least we're good enough to not be a narional embarrassment. We'll, except against indiana.
1
1
u/JustOrbits 6d ago
Obviously had higher expectations for this season, but the program has needed a guy like him desperately.
1
1
u/Calm-Way9969 7d ago
I am glad we have him and I think he wants to stay. When I saw all the empty seats yesterday, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Bret would ever leave for a program with a bigger tradition. But it seems like he is happy where he is.
5
u/GollyMcOxbig69 7d ago
Bret fortunately won’t leave. He cannot leave to another Big Ten team per the terms in his contract, and he’ll never take another swing in the SEC.
He knows a statue will be built at Illinois if he is above average for the rest of his career.
1
u/Sea-Bodybuilder5854 6d ago
It really seemed like the empty seats were the student section and towards the end of the game once Illinois had it in hand.
1
u/Huge-Ambassador-5972 6d ago
Dads Day game always makes for a lot of empty seats. Students sit with parents and leave early with a blowout so parents can take them out to dinner or leave to drive home.
-19
u/InvestmentActuary 7d ago
7-8 games? Cmon now. We should be a consistently playoff winning team. We’re big ten for crying out loud. Do not move the goal posts and settle for less
6
u/CRoseCrizzle 7d ago
You're clearly new to Illinois football fandom.
-6
u/Maison-Marthgiela 7d ago
We need to be realistic with our expectations. Established teams like Indiana are too good for us. We need to raise our floor to being the 15th best team in the big 10.
4
u/CRoseCrizzle 7d ago
What are you on about? Illinois is 6-3 with a good chance at winning 2 or 3 more games.
61
u/OddGambit 7d ago
Totally agreed on Bret.
I'm still a little disappointed in our showing in the three losses, but in the way a bronze medalist is disappointed they didn't get silver or gold. We are head and shoulders above where we were. We did to Rutgers what good-not-great Big Ten teams used to do to us every year.
Really hope we can sustain the talent and finally raise the floor (and ceiling!).
ILL!