Illinois Fires Lovie Smith After Five Seasons

Lovie Smith’s tenure as the head football coach at Illinois is over. Smith was 17-39 in five season with the Illini.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Lovie Smith’s tenure as the head football coach at Illinois is over.

The University of Illinois athletics department released a statement Sunday morning confirming Smith was informed of his termination by athletics director Josh Whitman. 

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— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) December 13, 2020

An official inside the Illinois athletics department has confirmed to the Illini Now/Sports Illustrated that Smith had a meeting with the Illinois players at 11 a.m. to discuss the news.

This news was first reported by Big Ten Network analyst Howard Griffith, who is a former Illinois tailback and is very close to top Illinois athletics department personnel including Whitman.

“Lovie Smith led the Illinois football program with unquestioned integrity during his nearly five years of service,” Whitman said in a university statement. “I have tremendous respect for Coach Smith and will always be grateful to him for providing a steady, experienced hand at a time when our program required stability. His unshakeable leadership, never more needed than during this pandemic, will be forever remembered. Nonetheless, based on extensive evaluation of the program’s current state and future outlook, I have concluded the program is not progressing at the rate we should expect at this advanced stage in Coach Smith’s tenure,” Whitman continued. “To achieve our competitive objectives, I believe new leadership of the football program is required. I will always look fondly on the time Lovie and I have spent together. I wish him and MaryAnne nothing but the best.”

Illinois slated to play a game next weekend in the Big Ten Championship weekend slate of contests and Illinois officials have confirmed Smith will not coach the Illini in that game and offensive Coordinator Rod Smith will conclude this season as the acting head coach.

Whitman is scheduled to meet with media at 3 p.m. regarding the news. 

Smith is 17-39 overall in five seasons at Illinois that produced one bowl bid (2019 Redbox Bowl loss to California) and didn’t post a single winning season. If Smith’s final game as the Illini head coach was Saturday, he exits after a disappointing 28-10 loss to in-state rival Northwestern, which is the program’s sixth straight loss to the Wildcats and guaranteed a ninth straight losing season.

Smith was Whitman’s first hire as the program’s athletics director on March 7, 2016 as the former Chicago Bears head coach agreed to a $21 million contract over six years. In Nov. 2018, Illinois agreed to an extension with Smith for two more years, which gave him an annual salary of $4 million and kept him under contract through 2023. According to the details in that extension, Illinois is authorized to pay Smith a $2 million buyout if terminated after the 2020 season unless the university and Smith’s representatives could come to a settlement.

Smith’s agent is his son Matthew, who is a lawyer and employed by IMG Sports and Entertainment.

In what was supposed to be the breakout season for Illinois under Lovie Smith, the Illini are 2-5 in this 2020 season that started with a deflating 45-7 loss at Wisconsin in the season opener and has included embarrassing blowout home defeats to Minnesota and Iowa.

The candidate list for this Illinois job includes Buffalo head coach Lance Leipold, Kent State head coach Sean Lewis, Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester, Army head coach Jeff Monken, former Wisconsin and Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema and Nevada head coach Jay Norvell.

Illini Now/Sports Illustrated will update this story as news further develops.