Lovie Smith Didn't Win Enough, But Lifted Cloud Over Illinois

Illini were in disarray. Lovie won dignity, but not enough games

It was a marriage of convenience. And it was worth a try.

Reeling from the double-barreled disaster of disgraced football coach Tim Beckman and athletic director Mike Thomas, new AD Josh Whitman needed to restore some credibility at Illinois.

By hiring Lovie Smith, a respected NFL coach who had led the Bears to their only Super Bowl appearance since 1985, Whitman accomplished that.

From the day he arrived in Champaign, Lovie gave Illinois a big boost in integrity. Lovie won the press conference. But winning football games was another matter.

And so, Whitman did what he had to do on Sunday, firing Smith after five seasons of too few wins. The Illini were 17-39, 10-33 in the Big Ten, under Smith, an NFL guy who had returned to the college ranks for the first time since 1995, when he was an Ohio State assistant.

Lovie Smith’s legacy should not be measured entirely in wins and losses. Not only did he shift the focus away from the athletic-department debacle that Whitman inherited.

He also gave his players a sense of responsibility that will serve them well in life. Fans don’t care about that as much as wins and losses. But they should.

In addition, Smith’s emphasis on creating diversity on his football staff set an example that hopefully will spread to other programs in a sport that has not always been quick to do so.

That said, he didn’t win enough games.

And so, the big question now is, where does Illinois go from here?

It’s one thing to fire the head coach. Finding the right replacement is the big key.

That’s not an easy deal at Illinois.

Since the legendary Ray Eliot retired in 1959, only two coaches have left Champaign with a winning career record at Illinois. One, John Mackovic, left for another job (Texas). And the other, Mike White, left under a cloud due to recruiting violations.

And yet, it’s an attractive job. If Whitman can find the right guy, there’s no reason why Illinois can’t be competitive. When you look at what Tom Allen is doing at Indiana, what Pat Fitzgerald and his predecessors have done at Northwestern, what Kirk Ferentz continues to do at Iowa, Illinois alums are right to think, Why not us?

Every program has different challenges. But Illinois has many things in common with those three nearby schools. With the right coach, it could be competitive and interesting.

Illinois doesn’t have to win 10 games every year. It just needs to have one really good season every few years. Stay at or above .500 the other years. When the world gets back to normal, and it will, that should be attainable.

Between the financial privileges that come with Big Ten membership and the recruiting possibilities in the state, especially Chicago, Illinois has the ingredients to achieve the football stability it craves. Whitman already has shown a strong commitment to facilities.

So who is the right guy?

That’s the question Whitman has to answer correctly.

The name that stands out to me—and a lot of people—is Buffalo coach Lance Leipold, who is 17-4 in Mid-American Conference games the last three years. Not only will the Bulls play for the MAC championship after going 5-0 this Covid-abbreviated season. Buffalo leads the nation with 50.8 points a game, led by running sensation Jaret Patterson.

Before taking the Buffalo job, Leipold won six Division III championships at Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he went a dazzling 109-6 in his eight seasons. Here’s the thing that catches my eye. As AD at Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 2010-2014, Whitman saw a good amount of Leipold. Whitewater and LaCrosse are in the same conference.

At 56, Leipold is a bit older than the trend for new coaches these days. But that shouldn’t be a huge hurdle for Whitman, a bright and creative thinker. Neither Smith nor Illini basketball coach Brad Underwood, Whitman’s other major hire, constituted a youth movement.

That said, the hot guy isn’t always The Guy. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When Beckman was hired, an important segment of Illini Nation was stumping for Kevin Sumlin, when Sumlin went to Texas A&M. Since that high point, Sumlin’s stock has dropped considerably. Meanwhile, Beckman’s under-the-radar offensive coordinator at Toledo, Matt Campbell, turned out to be an exceptional coach at Iowa State.

Another interesting name is Kent State coach Sean Lewis, the 34-year-old boy wonder who has gone 8-4 in MAC play the last two seasons at the school where Nick Saban began his coaching career. He’s young, but he’s three years older than Fitzgerald when Fitz got the NU job. A better comparison, Campbell moved from Toledo to the Iowa State job on the day he turned 36.

Army coach Jeff Monken, 53, who comes from a long line of Monkens who have coached high school football in Illinois and beyond, is an intriguing possibility. Key question: Would option football be a good way to go at Illinois? Or would Monken change his stripes?

I keep hearing Bret Bielema, and that makes sense to a degree. Bielema, 50, a native of Prophetstown, Ill., who played at Iowa and was Barry Alvarez’s handpicked successor at Wisconsin, certainly knows the culture. He had a very good seven-year run in Madison. But the way he left Wisconsin for Arkansas greenbacks, and the little squabbles there, would warrant serious consideration.

That said, if Whitman does his homework and wants Bielema, go for it.

The real keys to winning at Illinois are recruiting and being a good CEO. Find players you can win with. Find coaches who can put those players in the right position to be successful. And be a strong ambassador for Illini athletics.

It's never easy to find that person. But it can be done.