The Illinois football coaching staff has gone through some big changes over the past couple of weeks.
The biggest adjustment for the Illini is going to be at defensive coordinator. Aaron Henry left for Notre Dame, and on Monday, Illinois announced the hiring of former Montana head coach Bobby Hauck.
Hauck had just retired from the Montana job but decided to come back and help the Orange and Blue. It looks like he will be running somewhat of a nickel defense that is ultra-aggressive. In his last season at Montana, the Grizzlies had some good numbers, but there were also some numbers that made me question the hire.
Here is the good, average, and ugly from the Illinois football hiring of Bobby Hauck
Good
- Red Zone Defense
Illinois was a bad red zone defensive team in 2025. Hauck is bringing in his ability to shut teams down in the most crucial spot on the field. While the Illini allowed opponents to score 86.7% of the time in the red zone, Montana only allowed opponents to score 77.6% of the time within the 20-yard line.
- Interceptions
It was jarring that the Illini couldn’t force turnovers through the air last season. Only pulling in six interceptions isn’t going to do much to help the team succeed. That number ranked No. 107 in FBS. Montana’s defense was No. 2 in the FCS with 21 interceptions during the 2025 campaign.
- Sacks
The Illinois defensive line was pretty weak, and we had to lean on Gabe Jacas to do most of the work when it came to sacks. Illinois only sacked the opposing quarterback 1.8 times per game last season. Hauck’s squad was able to get to the quarterback 2.13 times per game.
Average
- Rushing Yards Allowed
I was looking for yardage improvement with Hauck taking over, but the rush defense seems to be about the same. Illinois allowed 135.6 yards per game on the ground, and Montana was at 142.0 yards per game.
- Scoring Defense
It will be interesting to see how Hauck’s 3-3-5 defense does in the FBS. I would imagine there are fewer big plays with so many defensive backs on the field. Scoring defense might not improve, though. Illinois gave up 25.3 points per game in 2025, and Montana was just a tick behind by allowing 25.4 points per game.
- 3rd Down Conversions
I was hoping for improvement in this area, and in fourth down conversions, and we might see a little bump next season. Illinois was putrid in third down conversions allowed, having opponents convert 45.81% of third downs in 2025, which ranked No. 122 in the FBS. Montana was a little better at 42.1%, which ranked No. 77 in the FCS.
- 4th Down Conversions
You see a little bump in the fourth down conversions as well. Illinois was again sub-100 in the country, allowing teams to convert 61.54% of fourth downs last season. Montana was only at 51.9%, which was top 70 in the FCS.
Ugly
- Passing Yards Allowed
There is probably more nuance to these numbers than what is on the screen, but Montana wasn’t a good pass defense last season. They gave up 257.8 yards per game through the air, which ranked No. 115 out of 126 teams in the FCS. With the team having such a strong offense, you have to think opposing teams are going to be throwing the ball a lot at the end of games to catch up. That probably affects this number a bit. Illinois, on the other hand, gave up 225.4 yards per game through the air, which ranked No. 69 in the FBS.
- Yards Per Game Allowed
The passing yards allowed play into the overall yards per game allowed. Hauck’s team gave up 399.8 yards per game last season, which ranked No. 88 in the FCS. That would be a dip from Illinois, which allowed 361.0 yards per game in 2025, and that ranked No. 49 in the FBS.