Well......Illinois just extended Lovie Smith's contract!

[mopkins]

The optics are really bad, and embarrassing, but I think the extension makes sense from a recruiting and financial standpoint. He had a $12M buyout this year, next year it falls to $8M. Chances are very good that a more favorable buyout was negotiated into the new contract after next season and the season after that.

 

[lightning1]

With cable/network revenues, it's almost rendered irrelevant. Even merchandise licensing/revenue is just a drop in the bucket now.

When you can se the up a primo home theater for 2-3 years worth of season tickets and just pick a game or 2 to go to... becomes an easy choice.

Also, geographic populations make a huge difference in attendance. There's about 200,000 people within 2 hours of Iowa City...compare that to about 1 Million within an hour of Lincoln (who still also almost never actually fill the stadium). And they have zero competition from other D-1 programs in state or within 4-5 hours.

You add it all up...you'll see reduction in capacity, bigger seats, prime "box seating", and higher ticket prices.

It's going to become mostly an occasional "event" to go to games, unless you live close, have significant discretionary $, or no longer have work/family responsibilities.

There's way more people within 2 hours of Iowa City. Closer to 1 million. Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Quad Cities, are all within 2 hours of Iowa City.

 

[ssckelley]

That's the problem. They can hire a MAC guy. Say he gets them to 8-4, 9-3 in a few years. Then he leaves. Lovie isn't horrible, but he needs to get a guy like Phil Parker running the defense to work on fundamentals. Lovie is okay schematically, but I don't think he has quite figured out how much training college kids need versus the guys he worked with in the NFL.

Yep, a MAC coach is probably what they'd get.

It's odd you say he needs a good defensive coach considering he's been known as a defense first coach. But it was the defense than struggled mightily this year, the offense actually looked decent. They averaged 26 ppg but gave up 39.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Yep, a MAC coach is probably what they'd get.

It's odd you say he needs a good defensive coach considering he's been known as a defense first coach. But it was the defense than struggled mightily this year, the offense actually looked decent. They averaged 26 ppg but gave up 39.

They need a long tenured Big Ten coordinator or position coach. You look at a program like Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern or MSU and you can see the value of teaching fundamentals. Sure, they'll get torched sometimes, but the defenses are usually fundamentally sound, albeit sometimes outmatched athletically. If you get mediocre recruits but really focus on the fundamentals, you can be a mid tier program in the Big Ten. I watched a few Illinois games and their guys just looked lost half the time and were piss poor at tackling. Most of their guys are fine athletically and if they get the right guy in there to fix the details of the defense, they could be dramatically improved next year as their young team is a year older.

 

[guffus]

They need a long tenured Big Ten coordinator or position coach. You look at a program like Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern or MSU and you can see the value of teaching fundamentals. Sure, they'll get torched sometimes, but the defenses are usually fundamentally sound, albeit sometimes outmatched athletically. If you get mediocre recruits but really focus on the fundamentals, you can be a mid tier program in the Big Ten. I watched a few Illinois games and their guys just looked lost half the time and were piss poor at tackling. Most of their guys are fine athletically and if they get the right guy in there to fix the details of the defense, they could be dramatically improved next year as their young team is a year older.

Sounds like you are describing Phil Parker.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Sounds like you are describing Phil Parker.

Phil and guys like Hankwitz from Northwestern and Narduzzi back when he was on MSU. Narduzzi landed some good athletes when Michigan was down, but he was pretty solid even with mediocre talent. Lovie needs a really good coordinator that specializes in fielding solid defenses with the leftovers from the big boys in the conference.

 

[HawkGold]

The are stuck with a big payout. IL was awfully young it is apparent he has brought in some pretty darned good players, but just not very man and they are young.. I don't expect it will end well for the AD, but it is understandable.

 

[Fryowa]

Wow, I thought Lovie was done.

Who else would they get, though? Sometimes stability is worth more than the risk of playing musical coaches. That team has been a fuckin dumpster fire for over 30 years, the fans don’t know any better or expect anything more. They know that Bill Belichick himself probably couldn’t fix that malfunction with the recruiting and resources Illinois has, so why risk having another puke like Tim Beckman run the show? Because those kind of low-rent brown stains are the only other people you’re going to get applying for the job.

Lovie is adored by fans, students, and from everything I’ve heard, players. I’d keep the guy. He’s got as good a chance as anyone out there to turn it around, even if the chance is small.

 

[Fryowa]

I’ve been there and it legit sucks. IC is one million times better as a town and campus.

Only Big Ten town I’ve been to where I thought there was a statistically significant chance that I’d get shot if I went more than a block away from the stadium.

And no I’m not kidding. That place is a third world shit hole. At night it’s indistinguishable from Escape From LA or Total Recall.

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

There's way more people within 2 hours of Iowa City. Closer to 1 million. Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Quad Cities, are all within 2 hours of Iowa City.

Fair enough. So let's use an hour....Still... there's 1 million+ within an hour of Lincoln, and they compete with no one for fans, whereas Iowa splits with ISU and UNI. We avg about 15k less per game in actual attendance.

F nebby and their delusional fans...that's my main point.

 

[lightning1]

Fair enough. So let's use an hour....Still... there's 1 million+ within an hour of Lincoln, and they compete with no one for fans, whereas Iowa splits with ISU and UNI. We avg about 15k less per game in actual attendance.

F nebby and their delusional fans...that's my main point.

An hour cuts that number in half. An hour is a better choice. There's probably 500K people within an hour of Iowa City. Your point still stands. Absolutely.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Phil and guys like Hankwitz from Northwestern and Narduzzi back when he was on MSU. Narduzzi landed some good athletes when Michigan was down, but he was pretty solid even with mediocre talent. Lovie needs a really good coordinator that specializes in fielding solid defenses with the leftovers from the big boys in the conference.

Narduzzi, who started the season on the hot seat then got thoroughly demolished by Penn State early, has quietly been a nice success story this year. Pitt scraped into the top 25 before losing last weekend. There's a good chance some B1G team will draw them in a bowl game.

 

[trj]

Who else would they get, though? Sometimes stability is worth more than the risk of playing musical coaches. That team has been a fuckin dumpster fire for over 30 years, the fans don’t know any better or expect anything more. They know that Bill Belichick himself probably couldn’t fix that malfunction with the recruiting and resources Illinois has, so why risk having another puke like Tim Beckman run the show? Because those kind of low-rent brown stains are the only other people you’re going to get applying for the job.

Lovie is adored by fans, students, and from everything I’ve heard, players. I’d keep the guy. He’s got as good a chance as anyone out there to turn it around, even if the chance is small.

Or you stumble on to a Matt Campbell or a Jeff Brohm.

 

[PawkHawk1]

Or you stumble on to a Matt Campbell or a Jeff Brohm.

Both short term coaches....

 

[Fryowa]

Or you stumble on to a Matt Campbell or a Jeff Brohm.

For every Jeff Brohm or Matt Campbell there are 1,000 turds out there. Trying to “stumble” on a good one is exactly what got Nebraska into the shit sandwich they’re in now...paying three head coaches and two athletic directors, and still going 4-8 with no Bowl game two years in a row.

People don’t understand that Lovie Smith isn’t the problem. Their problem is being in probably the worst recruiting situation in the Big Ten. Even worse than Rutgers because they’re at least on the east coast with way more kids to evaluate and offer.

I’ve watched several Illinois games and I really can’t say there’s anything that stands out to me as shitty coaching as far as play calling, etc. If anything the playcalling makes more sense than Brian’s. There’s just zero talent there to work with. Give Nick Saban the Illinois roster and you’ll probably get the same results.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Is this proof that low ticket sales don't matter in regards to job security?

Fran McCaffrey could not be reached for comment.

 

[Fryowa]

Fran McCaffrey could not be reached for comment.

Is that Fran himself, or his body of work?

 

[okeefe4prez]

For every Jeff Brohm or Matt Campbell there are 1,000 turds out there. Trying to “stumble” on a good one is exactly what got Nebraska into the shit sandwich they’re in now

Yep. Nebraska had a really good thing with Pelini. The guy was decent in conference play and he knew his team's identity based on who he could recruit. He was like a more consistent Ferentz without the low lows and the high highs - probably wasn't going to win a national title, but he'd field a respectable team and had he been there this year, he would have won the West going away. Their fans simply can't cope with the reality that in a 10 year run they'll maybe win the Big Ten once. Maybe. It doesn't matter who the coach is. Gotta get through Iowa, Wisconsin and Purdue in the West (and frankly they've been equal to lesser than Northwestern) and then get through OSU, PSU or Michigan on the other side. It ain't 6 cupcakes with the Oklahoma super bowl anymore.

 

[HawkGold]

For every Jeff Brohm or Matt Campbell there are 1,000 turds out there. Trying to “stumble” on a good one is exactly what got Nebraska into the shit sandwich they’re in now...paying three head coaches and two athletic directors, and still going 4-8 with no Bowl game two years in a row.

People don’t understand that Lovie Smith isn’t the problem. Their problem is being in probably the worst recruiting situation in the Big Ten. Even worse than Rutgers because they’re at least on the east coast with way more kids to evaluate and offer.

I’ve watched several Illinois games and I really can’t say there’s anything that stands out to me as shitty coaching as far as play calling, etc. If anything the playcalling makes more sense than Brian’s. There’s just zero talent there to work with. Give Nick Saban the Illinois roster and you’ll probably get the same results.

They actually have some youngreceiver talebt and I'd take the young qb. A few players with speed are on D that Iowa could yse in the back. Lots of youth and not enough of them. Incoming a couple of outstanding players and then it drops way off.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Is that Fran himself, or his body of work?

Um. Failure to put fannies in seats?