Bret Bielema Takes Reins of Illinois Football

#27      
B-ILL
I hope there’s a clause in his contract that keeps him away from the XXXL wind suits in the apparel closet.

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#28      
Deep
I am fine with BB. Lets get this thing rolling and recruit the heck out of illinois
 
#31      
ugottabjoshinme
“Illinois and the Big Ten is home for me, and I can’t be any more excited about the opportunity in front of me with the Fighting Illini,” Bielema said. “We want to build a program that makes Illini Nation proud and regain the passion that I’ve seen when Illinois wins. We want the young men playing football in the state of Illinois from Freeport to Cairo and from Quincy to Danville dreaming of wearing the Orange and Blue and playing at Memorial Stadium. I look forward to re-connecting with the high school coaches around the state making it clear we intend to keep our players home.”

That’s a good start
 
#32      
redwingillini11
Tune into College Gameday: they just said they were working on getting Coach on in a few minutes to talk after announcing the Illinois job.

Back with thoughts on the hire in a minute!
 
#37      
ChiefGritty
I wish I could be at the press conference. I have so many questions.

Is the goal to make us Wisconsin South, or something different? How has your experience in the NFL informed that thinking?

What's your view of the new rules regarding player transfers and how will that affect your approach to shaping the roster?

What went wrong at Arkansas? Do you have any regrets about your time there?

You were an in-state recruit who left the state to go to Iowa. What's your message for a player today wrestling with the same choice?

How does the way football has changed since your time at Wisconsin guide your thinking about what's needed for success in today's Big Ten?
 
#41      
Illinivek23
Liked what I heard on GameDay. If JW is in, I am in! And I work in Madison - gotta put up with the colleagues on this choice.
 
#43      
illini 5
A lot of money, $1 million a win, could get that with anyone. I hope I am wrong. Should be fun at least with his wife's tweets. She use to be very outspoken and not to bad to look at. Is that not PC? Once again I hope I am wrong . Come see me in lot 34 next fall and tell me I was wrong.
 
#46      
kyillinifan
Welcome coach. What brought his name up to J W? Let’s hope he recruits OL like he did at Wi. Hit the transfer portal to win in Champaign.
 
#47      
Illinivek23
Talked to Reece and Herbie like an old friend, which was nice to see the respect and familiarity they gave him - brings connections and media savvy. Said will build with aggressive bad tough D, excellent line play - but with different offense than WI runs. Will play a 3-4 on D
 
#48      
xcatcher
IlliniReb said:
Missed it, can you please give a recap? Was it the game day guys, JW, or BB?
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Talked about recruiting the state of Illinois hard. Also when asked about what he has learned and how will what we see be different. He said defense will probably be a 3-4 and while line play, toughness and dependability will be staples we will see a different offensive approach than what they had at Wisconsin. Hopefully I got that all right.
 
#49      
NJJ871
ILLINIShox24 said:
Conflicted as I was with the Sox hiring LaRussa. Great resume but from many years ago combined with negative off field stories.

Hopefully BB has matured off the field and is driven to stick it to Wisconsin by building us into B1G West contenders.
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One time Frank Sinatra came in, and I said “Frank, just between you and me, how old is Tony LaRussa?” And he said “Tony LaRussa is 125 years old”
 
#50      
Illinir1
My comment during speculation in the Coaching Carousel thread: "Bielema's 5 year SEC conference record at Arkansas was 11-29. They were 21-19 in the SEC the 5 years before he arrived. No thanks."

If he's our Coach, I'll get on board and support. I hope he makes a fan out of me instead of being an Arkansas repeat.
 
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