Illinois Football: Illini set to hire Bret Bielema as their next head coach
It looks like the Illinois football team is about to have a new head football coach.
In a tweet by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Illinois is set to hire Bret Bielema as the next head coach of the Illini. This is huge news for the Orange and Blue and the future of the program.
Leading up to the news, there were reports from the Illinois “experts” that Buffalo head coach Lance Leipold was looking to be the new head coach of the Illini. That information doesn’t look to be correct as we are about to hire an experienced, solid, head coach.
BREAKING: #Giants assistant Bret Bielema, the former #Wisconsin head coach, is expected to return to the Big Ten as the new #Illinois head coach, per sources. Bielema won 40 games in his last four seasons with the Badgers and won three B1G titles.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 19, 2020
Bielema is currently with the New York Giants of the NFL and is an assistant with the G-Men. But before his stint in the professional ranks, Bielema was a fairly successful college head coach.
From 2006 through 2012, Bielema was with the Wisconsin Badgers where he had four double-digit winning seasons. He was 68-24 during this run with two bowl wins and two Rose Bowl appearances.
In 2013, Bielema decided it was time to move on and took the Arkansas job. He had three winning seasons in five years with the Razorbacks but was let go after a 4-8 campaign in 2017. This stretch also included two bowl victories.
What does this mean for Illinois?
Illinois is now getting a head coach that has major DI coaching experience. That was a huge selling point for me. I didn’t want someone who wasn’t a big-time coach somewhere. I need to see an experienced guy in the driver’s seat.
Bielema is also a good recruiter. He had Wisconsin inside the top 50 the majority of his time in Madison. He was then inside the top 30 nationally with Arkansas the majority of the time.
dark. Next. Illini report card against the Minnesota Golden Gophers
Lastly, Bielema is a winner. He has made a bowl game in nine out of the 12 years he has been a head coach. That is something I want to bring to Champaign. A consistent winner. I think we have that in Bielema.