Leader of the Illinois football team gets massive vote of confidence

I want you to sit there and think about where the Illinois football program was just five years ago.

After a six-win campaign in 2019 that was, honestly, one of the most miraculous six-win seasons in the history of college sports, the Illini hit the brakes harder than ever. The COVID season was a disaster, and that was it for athletic director Josh Whitman. He needed to make a move, and he did so quickly.

In December 2020, everything changed for the Orange and Blue. Lovie Smith was out and in came Bret Bielema, a coach who has had tremendous success but was somewhat of a cartoon character is some eyes.

Since the hiring of Bielema, both the coach and program have transformed their image. Bielema is taken more seriously nowadays, and the Illini find themselves now making two bowl games in a three-year stretch and even winning a bowl game over an SEC program.

On Tuesday, the success Bielema has brought to Illinois in four short seasons has been greatly rewarded. Illinois released a statement announcing a new contract for Bielema that runs through the 2030 season.

Bret Bielema’s contract will be looked at again before the 2030 season rolls around

Toward the end of the press release, Illinois explains more details about the updated Bielema contract. It mentions incentives, bonuses, and benchmarks. He will be starting out at $7.7 million a year as well. Here is the thing: none of that will likely matter.

If Bielema continues to recruit well and win games in Champaign, Whitman is going to look at the contract in a few years. The only incentives and bonuses that are probably relevant in the updated contract are the ones in the next couple of seasons.

Through four seasons at Illinois, Bielema hasn’t dipped below five wins. I know that doesn’t sound terribly impressive, but no Illini coach over the past 30 years can claim that they haven’t had a sub-five-win campaign.

Bielema has been building, too. This isn’t a struggling program hoping to get back to a bowl game every once in a while anymore. We had eight wins two seasons ago, and in 2024, the Illini notched our first 10-win campaign in over 20 years. This included our first bowl win since 2012.

With the way Bielema is winning on the football field and now in the recruiting game, there is no doubt in my mind he is going to need another raise in a couple of years. I can confidently sit here and say, Bielema is the best coach Illinois has had in my lifetime. Let’s hold on to him as long as we can.