Illinois football was dealt a tough loss on Friday night at the hands of No. 4 UCLA.
This was a game the Illini could have won, as we had the ball down by five points in the final minutes of the game. While the result didn’t go in favor of the Orange and Blue, there were positives the program could take from this West Coast trip.
In the postgame press conference, Bret Bielema answered a myriad of questions, one of which was about the possibility of interim defensive coordinator Roger Cooper making the case for the full-time gig.
“Yeah, I think two things. The kids have a lot of fun. I think our defensive guys really believe in our coaches.”
Right now, the men’s Illinois basketball team is dealing with some communication issues on the team. They aren’t talking with each other. That isn’t the case with the Illinois football defensive staff.
“I just love being on that defensive headset to hear the communication that is happening between Coop, Archie (McDaniel), Corey (Parker), and Robbie Hauck. Those guys really are a team effort to put the ball in a position to be successful, and our guys have really battled.”
It has been a wild ride for the Illinois football program when it comes to the defensive side of the ball.
Illinois hired Bobby Hauck as the defensive coordinator in February. He came from Montana as a successful head coach. Hauck lasted just four games before Illinois parted ways.
Since that point, Cooper has been the play-caller on defense, and Illinois has gone 4-2, and we are now going back to a bowl game for the third year in a row.
Numbers tell the story on how improved the Illinois football defense has been under Roger Cooper
When there is a coaching change, it is usually just to save face for the head coach. Someone’s head has to roll, and the head coach isn’t firing himself.
This isn’t the case with the Illinois defensive coordinator position. Illinois made the change, and since that moment, the defense has improved greatly.
Illinois played an FCS opponent in the first four games, so that game doesn’t count toward the stats. So, in the three FBS opponents the Illini played under Hauck, we gave up 32 points per game.
Since the change in defensive coordinator, Illinois has played six games. We have allowed only 20.5 points per game in that stretch. This includes an overtime game where we gave up 37 points.
In the last four games, the Illini have only allowed 15.5 points per game. It has truly been a complete 180 when it comes to defensive performance.
I am not much of a fan of just elevating another coach to the position that was fired. I think a new voice is usually the best route. In this case, I think Cooper has earned the spot as the next Illinois defensive coordinator. What he has done with this program has been nothing short of a miracle.
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