Some massive news regarding the Illinois football team was released today by the athletic department.
Athletic Director Josh Whitman released a statement on Sunday declaring his backing of football head coach Lovie Smith. He announced that he is extending Lovie’s contract by two more years making it good through the 2023 season. This is huge news for multiple reasons.
In the letter pinned by Whitman on the Illinois website, he explains his mindset on the program, where they are as a group and what the future holds. He lets fans know that he realizes the season was not what he wanted in 2018. They wanted more wins and the losses were ugly and lopsided most of the time. But, he sees the macro picture. He doesn’t just look at some results this season. He knows what is coming down the road.
Whitman coming out with this letter was big for the Illinois football program and the rebuild the team and fans have been going through for three years now. The overall magnitude of this letter creates stability within the program.
There are media outlets just bashing the decision to extended Lovie’s contract, but they just see some results and the record. They don’t see that Illinois did have more wins this season overall and in the Big Ten. They had a much-improved offense that will be getting more talented pieces next season. This letter lets those doubters know that Lovie isn’t going anywhere. We are here for the long haul. It eliminates speculation.
The elimination of speculation will also help with recruiting as well. Opposing coaches were probably telling recruits that Lovie is gone. But, with an extension, this shows that he is here for a while and recruits can trust coming to Champaign. It creates that stability and eliminations questions. I would assume a few recruits will commit here soon as well.
As a fan, I appreciate this extension as well. I don’t want to hit the reset button on this program. I have been through the ups and downs of this team since I was born. I don’t want to start over because I see and believe this program is being built up to be a contender. I see the improvements and what is coming in from the class of 2019. We will be improved next year compared to the 2018 campaign.
I am excited to say that Lovie is my head coach for the foreseeable future. He is going to continue building this program into a contender, and I can’t wait until we are knocking off ranked teams every year. We aren’t that far away. I truly believe we will win. People just need to trust the process.