Big Ten Media Day has come and gone, and I see some criticism of Illinois football head coach Lovie Smith floating around out in the Twitter world.
I am not going to name names, but one member of the media had an issue with another member of the media prefacing their question to Lovie with the words, record aside. This was the question by Natalie of the Chicago Sun-Times.
"“Record aside, is this kind of how you expected or envisioned year three of the program overhaul, as you called it, would be like?”"
Honestly, I don’t think this is a bad question. It makes sense that the journalist from the Sun-Times would preface her statement by saying record aside. Of course, no one is happy with the record, including Lovie. But, there are other aspects to the program right now that helps improve that record.
The media member who had an issue with that question also got into a, let’s say discussion, on what Lovie inherited and why record shouldn’t be thrown aside. The main argument was Lovie came into a program that was 5-7 the previous season and had made a bowl game two years prior. Lovie has now won five games in two seasons.
I understand the logic that record means everything. If you aren’t winning, what is the purpose of having the head coach? But, that mindset is correct for programs who have established a consistent reputation for winning. Teams like Alabama and Florida State to name a few. With Illinois, the mindset needs to be a little different for the first few years. Will we eventually get to the mindset of you better take us to a bowl game now or you should be fired or at least on the hot seat? I sure hope so. But, that isn’t where we are as a program.
If you judge Lovie based on a 5-7 season before he showed up, the fact we made a bowl game two years prior or the five wins in two seasons, then you aren’t looking deep enough into what is happening with the program or you aren’t bringing any context to the table.
Yes, Illinois made a bowl game a few years prior to Lovie and they were 5-7 the year before Lovie took control. But, let’s look at what he really stepped into. The program went through two head coaches during the 2015 season. They also lost their athletic director as well. This creates stability issues.
Along with stability issues at the top, Illinois had some serious roster turnover as well. The Illini had 4 4-star recruits and 46 3-star recruits on the roster during the 2015 campaign. That number dropped to 3 4-star recruits and 38 3-star recruits entering 2016. There were some key losses from that 2015 team as well. V’Angelo Bentley, Josh Ferguson, Geronimo Allison, Jihad Ward, Mason Monheim and Ted Karras all departed the program and most of these players either spent time in the NFL or are still with NFL teams.
But, with a good class of 2016, these players could have been replaced. That didn’t happen, though. Thanks to the coaching turnover, Illinois landed the No. 73 class in 2016. This is what Lovie stepped into a month later. While the team was 5-7 the year before, Illinois lost some key components to that team. They also had one of the worst recruiting classes in recent memory in 2016.
Next: Projected floor and ceiling for the Illini recruits in year one
So, while five wins in two years is not ideal, and we all agree on that, give Lovie some time. He inherited a true mess of a program and is building it from the ground up. We all know that the record is not what we want it to be. That is why she said record aside. And let’s look a little deeper than just seeing the Illini were 5-7 the year before Lovie took over. There is more to the story.