CHAMPAIGN—New Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman had barely sat down in his chair before making his first major move at the school.On Saturday morning, in Whitman’s first official day as athletic director, Illinois announced that it had dismissed coach Bill Cubit. You just don’t see college football coaches being fired in March very often, and you have to believe that when they are, there’s a plan already in place to replace them.And it appears that may be the case.Former Bears and Bucs coach Lovie Smith could soon be in orange and blue again.Considering the state of the Illini football program the last few years, this would have to be considered a home-run hire. Smith was just fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January, but before coaching there, he spent nine seasons coaching the Bears. He won three division titles with the Bears, and led the team to an appearance in Super Bowl XLI.They also failed to make the playoffs 6 times.He’s certainly a name that will resonate with players not only in the state of Illinois, but across the country when it comes to recruiting. And while Lovie Smith is mostly known as an NFL coach, he spent 13 seasons coaching on the college level from 1983 to 1995, including stops at Wisconsin, Tennessee and Ohio State. So he’s familiar with what coaching in college is like. During his news conference on Saturday, Whitman didn’t come out and say he had a replacement for Bill Cubit, but reading between the lines, it sure sounded as if he had a candidate in mind. Whitman mentioned having to talk to HR about when Illinois could even announce its new coach.If it is indeed Lovie Smith, though, Whitman sure hasn’t wasted a lot of time in making a huge impact on an Illinois football program that’s needed a shot of adrenaline for quite some time.
“I appreciate the leadership that Bill Cubit provided our football program during what has been, unquestionably, a very tumultuous time,” Whitman said. “He accepted the challenge on an interim basis under incredibly difficult and unusual circumstances, and he has continued to work diligently for the betterment of our student-athletes. Through his efforts, he has kept the program moving forward. Bill is a good man and a good football coach. All of us in the Illini Nation owe him a debt of gratitude for his work leading our team these last months. At this juncture, however, I think it is most important that we position our program for long-term success by creating a more stable environment for the coaches, players, and prospective student-athletes.”
This is a rather surprising move.Cubit took over as interim coach for Tim Beckman just a few weeks before the 2015 season began, and after the Illini went 5-7 he was named head coach and given a two-year contract in late November. Now, less than four months later, after other schools have hired all their new coaches, Illinois has decided it needs to go in a new direction.Illinois also announced that offensive coordinator Ryan Cubit, who is the son of Bill Cubit, has also been dismissed. The rest of the coaching staff will have a chance to interview with the new head coach.As for whom the new coach will be, it will be interesting to see who Illinois can bring in to replace Cubit at this time of year. You’d like to think the school wouldn’t make such a move at this time without a replacement lined up, but Whitman said he’ll announce the replacement “as soon as possible.”
Will it be Smith? The Champaign-Urbana media will quickly find out what those in Chicago have know, that Lovie is a tough interview,who like current Bears Coach John Fox, does not like to say much to reporters.