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Bret Bielema is missing one vital thing at Illinois to be in the top tier of Big Ten coaches

Illinois football has done a great job competing on the field under Bret Bielema, and he is finally getting some national love for the success.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema, right, and Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley shake hands after the 34-32 Illini win at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema, right, and Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley shake hands after the 34-32 Illini win at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Even the biggest detractors of Bret Bielema have to give the Illinois football head coach his flowers.

Since Bielema took over the Illini in late 2020, the program has seen a resurgence that no one had expected. 10 seasons without sniffing the AP Top 25, 13 seasons without a bowl win, 24 seasons without hitting the 10-win mark, all of that was erased by Bielema.

Illinois football was a wounded fish that had swallowed the hook but was released. We were just flopping there on top of the water, waiting for imminent death. Bielema was the fishing Gods, beaming light down on us and performing miracles and allowing us to breathe through our gills once again.

Ari Wasserman gave a little tip of the hat to Bielema in his recent Big Ten head coaching rankings released on Tuesday.

Curt Cignetti was the top-ranked coach, as he should be. He just won the national championship with Indiana. I would argue Illinois hasn’t had a top 10 Big Ten coach probably since the days of Ron Zook in the late 2000s. That has all changed. Wasserman ranks Bielema as the No. 7 coach in the conference.

The six coaches ahead of Bielema are No. 1 Cignetti, No. 2 Ryan Day, No. 3 Dan Lanning, No. 4 Kyle Whittingham, No. 5 Kirk Ferentz, and No. 6 Lincoln Riley.

I don’t think anyone would argue with the top five on this list. I do question the Riley spot at No. 6. Is he really a good coach? USC has all of the resources in the world, and he can’t muster up 10 wins in a season since 2022? Also, Bielema is 1-0 against Riley.

It is going to be tough for Bret Bielema to rise any further on the list of the top Big Ten coaches

The fact that Bielema is No. 7 among the Big Ten coaches is quite impressive. Look at all of the coaches behind him. Matt Rhule, Matt Campbell, and Luke Fickell are some big names out there.

I question whether or not Bielema can climb much higher than No. 7, though. It has nothing to do with his coaching ability. I think Bielema is a great coach who gets the most out of the talent on the field.

What I am concerned with is his resources. Illinois is basketball-focused. We dump our money into that program, and the football team gets the scraps.

The teams ahead of Bielema, Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Iowa, and USC all have war chests when it comes to football dollars. Bielema flatly doesn’t have room to spend at will. He has to be smart with the dollars he gets for NIL.

Illinois has a great one on their hands. Bielema has turned his career around and become one of the best coaches in the Big Ten and one of the best coaches in the history of the Illinois football program.

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