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Illinois football loses key coach to the Ohio State Buckeyes

The Illinois football team has lost a key coach late in the game, as Ohio State has come sniffing around.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Dec 30, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema calls time out against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema calls time out against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Illinois football program has had an offseason of change, which many teams have had at this point.

Not only has recruiting always been a tough field to play every year, but the transfer portal has also put another element in the mix. This offseason has been particularly hard on the Illini special teams, as we lost our starting kicker to Texas A&M.

On Saturday morning, the Illinois special teams took another hit. According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Ohio State is stealing Illini special teams coordinator Robby Discher.

Discher started coaching in the college ranks back in 2010. He made stops at Sam Houston State, Oklahoma State, Toledo, Louisiana, Georgia, and Tulane before coming to Champaign in 2023 as Illinois’ special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.

Under Discher, Illinois has had some solid special teams. Players like punter Hugh Robertson and kickers David Olano, Caleb Griffin, and returning transfer portal kicker Ethan Moczulski have all developed under Discher.

It is honestly surprising the Illinois football team hasn’t lost another key coach

During Bret Bielema’s tenure as the head coach of the Illini, there haven’t been too many coaching departures.

This offseason has been the biggest turnover in coaches, as running backs coach Thad Ward departed for Kansas State, and now Discher is heading to Ohio State.

Honestly, the biggest surprise to me is that offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. hasn’t been poached. He has had great success building and developing the Illinois offense.

Tommy DeVito was a quarterback who was thrown onto the scrap heap. He is now in the NFL. Luke Altmyer couldn’t crack the starting job at Ole Miss, and he beat back-to-back SEC teams in bowl games and won 19 games the last two seasons.

Lunney has worked wonders at Illinois, and the fact that he hasn’t departed is astonishing. He could easily be a head coach at a decent-sized program.

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