Favorite for Future Hog Offensive Coordinator Joins Bielema in Illinois

After losing to Barry Lunney, Jr.'s UTSA team, Illini waste no time hiring him as new offensive coordinator

If offensive coordinator Kendal Briles decides to move on to greener paychecks later this year, one Razorback fan favorite to replace him will no longer be an option.

Barry Lunney, Jr. announced late Saturday morning that he will leave UT-San Antonio to rejoin former Razorback head coach Bret Bielema at Illinois.

"I'm thankful and excited for the opportunity to join Coach Bielema at the University of Illinois," Lunney said in an Illinois press release. "Coach B is one of the most respected coaches in college football and I look forward to building on the foundation that he set during his first year in Champaign. The opportunity to work with Coach B again after spending five years together was one that I could not pass up."

UTSA Roadrunners assistant head coach Barry Lunney Jr. on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns at Gerald J. Ford Stadium :: UTSA offensive coordinator Barry Lunney, Jr. pulls down his mask to communicate with his quarterback. (Tim Heitman / USA TODAY Sports)

Lunney was considered a possible candidate should UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor, himself a former Arkansas assistant, take another head coaching job following the most successful season in the short history of Roadrunner football. 

However, after Traylor, who is a George Munger Coach of the Year finalist, signed a 10-year deal to stay in San Antonio late in the season, that possibility was gone. 

In a case of if you can't beat them, hire them, Bielema fired Illini offensive coordinator Tony Peterson on Friday, and had Lunney, who helped lead the Roadrunners to a 37-30 win over Bielema's team back in September, on his staff less than 24 hours later.

"I am so excited to bring Barry Lunney to the University of Illinois family and put him in a position to lead our offense," Bielema said. "He has had success at every level he has coached and has a system that will help take our offense to a new level of success. He is a great teacher, communicator, and leader that our staff and players will gravitate to.

Illinois coach Bret Bielema reacts to a call against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first half at Beaver Stadium :: Rich Barnes / USA TODAY Sports

Bielema gave Lunney his first major break in college coaching when he hired him from Bentonville High School in 2013 to be tight ends coach and to oversee in-state recruiting, which was seen as one of Bielema's best PR moves after arriving from the Big 10.

Lunney's connections to Arkansas high school coaches were extensive. Not only did he built relationships as a coach at Bentonville, but his father, Barry Lunney, Sr., was a long-time high school legend who built Fort Smith Southside into a power. 

It also didn't hurt that Lunney engrained himself as a fan favorite by starting 40 games at quarterback at Arkansas, including leading the Hogs to an upset of No. 4 Tennessee in Neyland Stadium in the first start of his career. 

Lunney brings a more balanced attack to Illinois. Bielema's teams are known for being run heavy with a brute force approach to moving the balls.

When UTSA knocked off the Illini, Lunney's offense put up 280 yards through the air and 217 yards on the ground. That balance is more reflective of Bielema's most successful years at Arkansas when the Hogs averaged 270 yards passing and 200 yards rushing.

Lunney's UTSA offense was 11th in the nation in scoring, averaging 37.9 points per game and 439 yards of total offense per game.