'Why is he on the staff?'

Illini football assistants over the years...

*Illini head coach Bret Bielema recently filling two assistant vacancies on his staff....got me to thinking the best/not so good Illini football assistants coaches from 1980 to the end of the Lovie Smith era....below a look at the importance of each position coach/best and 'why is he on the staff?' not the 'worst' just assistants who when they were around thought, 'why is he around?' head scratchers or in some cases....nepotism.

When Lou Holtz would interview assistant coaches for a job would always ask, 'are you a teacher or a scheme coach?' (say that with the Holtz lisp).... Holtz wanted assistants that had been teachers/understood how to not only teach/develop the player but have that player understand the concepts/methodology of the why/what was being taught.

Coaching clinic heard another way to look at assistant coaches.....They are like cooks and chefs....cooks can be given a meal to prepare and food turns out OK (scheme coach)...chefs can go into a kitchen see what they have, how to make it work into a meal/make something good out of limited resources...you want a few 'chefs' on your staff especially at the critical positions like offensive line, defensive back, special teams and defensive line.

*Six critical hires on your football coaching staff...

Strength and conditioning coach-most important hire by the head coach...why? with NCAA mandated limits on how many hours coaches can spend with players...S&C spends the most time with squad....know players strength/weakness/how to motivate each individual...pass that on to the staff....why majority of head coaches hire a S&C coach they have a past relationship with cause have to trust getting right info on team....Illini just gave football S&C coach Tank Wright a raise/contract extension....Wright now will make 600K trains his players in a state of the art facility/large support staff under his 'command'....big difference from 20 years ago when the S&C coach made 70K, two grad assistants weight room dungeon two stories below the football offices.

Offensive line coach-fans get all excited or pissed off about their offensive coordinator when...majority of time OC is only as good as his offensive line coach....get a top o-line coach and usually can run any scheme/style of play...get a cook or worse as an offensive line coach...huge part of the Illini football struggles since 2011...offensive line play...why fans should be so excited with the Bielema 'style' cause the head coach understands the importance of the offensive line/o-line coach....both line coaches need that 'talent' to eval the right talent for the scheme they are running.

The Best-Harry Hiestand (1997-2004) Chef o-line coach...took 2-star types like Pashos, Diehl, Preston made them into NFL players....plenty of excellent o-line coaches at Illinois over the years Billy Callahan (1984-1986)…Bob Smith (1978-1983 1988)…Mike Deal (1989-1994)…Eric Wolford (2007-2008) none of them had the sustained success Hiestand did in Champaign.

Why is he on the staff?-Tom Bratton (2014-2015) Bob McCann (2019-2020)....Bratton old campaigner sitting on a couch someplace hired when A.J. Ricker left staff mid-summer 2014....McCann then OC Rod Smith's buddy living Smith's basement working as an o-line analyst elevated when Luke Butkus left for the Packers....both stunk at evaluating o-line recruits/coaching the position at the Big Ten level.

Defensive line coach-like the offensive coordinator, majority of time defensive coordinator only as good as his d-line/d-line coach....defensive line coach like a lion tamer, one minute massaging his players next rep has to get the chair and whip out to get his guys going cause d-linemen many times a different breed....Bielema successful d-line coach again knows the importance/right fit for the position.

The best-Denny Marcin (1988-1996)...so many good one's to choose from John Teerlinck (1980-1982)…Bob Karmelowicz (1983-1986)…Bill Kollar (1985-1987)…Tom Sims (2005-2008)....picked Marcin longevity/eval/development skills….. coached everyone from All-American Moe Gardner to developing high school tight ends like Mikki Johnson. Jason Edwards, Chad Copher into successful players on the defensive line........Marcin excellent teacher/motivator.

Why is he on the staff?-Keith Gilmore (2009-2012)....when Larry Johnson (then at Penn State) turned down the Illini d-line job head coach Ron Zook had to find another African-American candidate...came down to Rubin Carter or Gilmore....think Carter was in the NFL, Gilmore at the University of Cincinnati....Gilmore got the job....Illini roster stocked with d-line NFL players but that talent wasn't properly developed till Vic Koenning/Ron West arrived in 2010....Gilmore wasn't a good recruiter either...football on a stick seems to be only lasting memory of him.

Defensive backs coach-responsibility of the last line of your defense....has to see the whole field each play/make sure his defensive backs work together seamlessly....why so many defensive coordinators came up as defensive back coaches (Nick Saban, Pete Carroll examples)....smart coaches have two DB coaches (one coaches corners/other safeties two sets of eyes on the whole field)...why Lovie Smith having just one DB coach teaching zone coverage was crazy...zone coverage toughest to teach especially young players and Lovie has one guy doing that job...crazy....Bielema of course has two DB coaches.

The Best-Steve Bernstein (1988-1991).....came with Lou Tepper from Colorado...hard ass that players loved…..few Illini assistants ever as creative with profane language as Bernstein was....developed Chris Green, Henry Jones, Q. Parker, Marlon Primous into All Big Ten types/NFL players....Jared Gelfond did an Illini football retrospective for the website now 20 years ago Bernstein very helpful....few years later met him when he was coaching at Northern Illinois...great guy....wanted to fight Illini assistants Reggie Mitchell/Mike Locksley at a coaches convention when he felt they 'stole' lineman Jon Asamoah late from him/NIU....Bernstein served two tours of duty U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer in Vietnam....infantry officers weren't 'in the rear with the gear' tough old fucker wasn't taking shit from anyone.....Mitchell/Locksley avoided Bernstein rest of convention.

Why is he on the staff?- plenty to choose from Dan Martin (11992-1996)…Chris Green (1999-2000)….Paul Williams (2016-2018) winner Mike Woodford (2007-2009)...'Woody' hired summer 2007 after Vince Okruch meltdown...New hires claim to fame winning the Ohio Lottery bitched about having to give half of it to his wife when they divorced....Dan Disch moved from safeties to linebackers....'Woody' would coach safeties....Zook's buddy who just wasn't much of a recruiter/coach....head coach would go over and 'help' Woodford coach safeties during practice WTF?...came off as an arrogant douche' to boot.....Zooker loved the guy two went back all the way to Kansas mid-80's when head coach was an assistant in Lawrence, Woolford his grad assistant....after being let go in 2009, Zook got 'Woody' a job on Terry Bowden's Akron staff....Bowden/Zook had the same agent at that time.

Special teams coach-just so many lost yards on special teams.....punt returner letting ball roll past 10-20 yards....punter kicking ball into the end zone vs. inside the ten....favorite special teams stat...how many punts inside the 20? putting the offense on a long field....huge part of the game.....when your program doesn't have a lot of experienced depth, has to play youngsters....special teams coach has to be that chef figure out what he has, how to make the best out of ingredients.

Best-Greg McMahon (1992-2004) had a good run as special teams coach 99-01 but after that....not so much....best could come up with.

Worst-Zook....always said he could win a game with his special teams play calling....while the rest of his coaches rolled their eyes behind his back....to stay at Illinois after 2009...reportedly Zook agreed to the 'demand' from AD Guenther to give up special teams 'coaching'.....every time I watch a team do the swingin' gate on a field goal/extra point think, 'Zooker'.

Quarterbacks coach-QB coaches used to develop the position not anymore....now spend more time teaching QB's plays/half field reads have 10 minute periods at practice to work on fundamentals but that's not nearly enough...hopefully your QB coach has the 'talent' to figure out what kind of player at the position best fits offense program running....does he need the QB to be main playmaker (White/Turner era) make other players better...or a ball distributor offensive line/skill positions take pressure off the QB.

Best-Walt Harris (1980-1982)....White's first QB coach....no practice time limits those days....Harris would have Wilson/Eason/Trudeau/Cruz etc. out an hour/hour and a half before practice working on drops/footwork/mechanics of the QB position...developing the position lost art now.

Why is he on the staff?-Dan O'Dell (2001-2004) Ryan Cubit (2015)....O'Dell Ron Turner's nephew....QB at San Jose State when his uncle Ron was head coach there....He had been on the Illini staff as a grad assistant/recruiting director....when Craig Ver Steeg left the staff 2000 for Rutgers...O'Dell had taken the QB job at Bucknell...Turner had two coaches for the position on the line both fell thru so he hired his nephew.....Illinois needed a good QB coach after Kittner and O'Dell wasn't it....included former Mizzou/Rutgers QB Cubit cause a few in the program called him 'Uncle Rico' liked to show off his arm in practice....Cubit/O'Dell got out of football shortly after Illinois let them go....think both now in sales positions.

*The rest...

Running backs coach-recruiting position....should be one of if not your best recruiter....helps if running backs coach can teach pass protection....'get on the ass on your blocker and follow him thru the hole' example of running back coaching.

Best-Reggie Mitchell (2005-2009)....motivated Rashard Mendenhall into the Big Ten MVP....top recruiter/Zook's 'down and dirty' chief of staff till Guenther had enough of Reggie's act.

Why is he on the staff?-Cory Patterson (2018-2022) Successful St. Louis high school head coach hired by Lovie....more 'sizzle' than 'steak' at Illinois.....never recruited the St. Louis like 'promised'...favorite 'story' tells you about how Lovie 'ran things'...other assistants reportedly would bitch and moan when Patterson during practice would be on his phone 'recruiting' others didn't believe that line or trust Patterson....Lovie oblivious let it slide....now associate head coach/coaching wide receivers with his buddy Ryan Walters at Purdue.

Wide receivers coach-Another recruiting position on most staffs....place to hide a guy who head coach might not trust to 'coach' tells the OC to 'keep track' of him.

Best-Paul Petrino (2010-2011)…Brad Childress (1981-1984) Two of the orneriest assistants in Illini history....Petrino knew his stuff/busted ass coaching receivers, guys loved playing for him.....White an old wide receiver would always try to coach the position leading to conflict/fights with Childress...pair would literally get into fist fights....seems White liked to have conflict on his staff....Childress more than happy to provide it verbally/physically.

Why is he on the staff?-Dino Dawson (2005-2006)....Mitchell/Locksley running buddy back in the day, their 'court jester' Dawson kept them entertained....Dino great guy to hangout with at the bar....as a coach? Not so much...had this odd habit of coaching walk-on/reserves hard while being soft on the starters....after being let go winter 2007.....sold furniture in Savoy for a few years before getting back in coaching at the FCS level.

Tight ends coach-now a recruiting position on most staffs...like wide receiver put a coach there OC has to help out....'old school' tight ends coach was experienced in o-line/blocking X's and O's helping scheme up front.

Best-Jim Pry (2006-2009) sacrificed after staff changes when new coordinator Petrino wanted to bring in his own guys on offense....excellent with X's and O's of the spread Illinois was running...knew his stuff coaching the position...developed NFL'ers Michael Hoomanawanui/Jeff Cumberland when the Illini didn't have a QB that could consistently complete a pass.....probably wasn't as ambitious as Zook wanted in recruiting/'getting after it' wasn't his personality...can play a mean guitar.

Why is he on the staff?-Alex Golesh (2012-2015)...came from Toledo....Tim Beckman's 'mini-me'.....also coached special teams....smart knew how to feed information to the media which always made him look good...didn't recruit or coach well...how many Illini assistants end up named in a lawsuit like he was? (former player Tony Durkin)....Golesh in the end wins....after Illinois went to Iowa State with his buddy Matt Campbell...then UCF/Tennessee with Josh Heupel...Golesh now head coach at the University of South Florida...everyone gets a chance to be a FBS head coach now I guess.

Linebackers coach-read and react.....'find your blocker' if it's a run...'find your man, drop into your zone' if it's a pass....simple way of describing linebacker coaching...of course it's more complicated that but not much more complicated....linebacker coach many times defensive coordinator most times only has to keep track of two inside players giving him more time running the 'D'.

Best-Lou Tepper (1988-1996) not much of a head coach but the man could coach the linebacker position.

Why is he on the staff?-Miles Smith (2019-2021)...all know why Lovie's son was on the staff.

Best Illini offensive coordinator-Ron Turner (1999-2001) with Kurt Kittner at quarterback...Turner 'gave up' the OC job (Guenther strikes again) after the disaster that was the 2003 season.

Worst Illini offensive coordinator-Plenty to choose from....Ron Turner without Kittner at quarterback....Paul Schudel (1995-1996)...Mike Schultz (2009)…Tom Beck (1992) winner(s) Chris Beatty/Billy Gonzalez (2012)....just awful...rumors of the two fighting in front of players....Beatty having to ride the elevator down at the half by himself cause other assistants disliked him so much....given a veteran QB Scheelhaase/experienced o-line in 2012 ran offense into the ground....Beckman let the pair after the season.

Best Illini defensive coordinator-Tepper...if only he could have found someone as good coordinating offense as he was coordinating defense.

Worst Illini defensive coordinator-Lovie Smith....defensive unit while head coach then coordinator....poor attention to detail/discipline....production of that side of the ball no way came close to Lovie's past rep as a 'top coach'...didn't keep up with modern football even as Houston Texans a d-coordinator last two season....little creativity/poor adjustments...definite 'scheme' coach thinking his Tampa 2 defense 'if ran correctly' will always be successful....nope.

Next stop crazy town...White era defensive coordinator 'Mad Max' McCartney (1980-1985) 'intense' ‘crazy’ or whole lot of both?.....White smooth, charismatic friendly face of Illini football as head coach....McCartney his right hand man/buddy from their days at Cal...rough around the edges d-coordinator doing the programs dirty work behind the scenes……if White was nuts (then) ‘Max was nuts on roids' as one former player said about the pair....if White wanted a three-hour practice Max wanted four hours....didn't discourage fights in practice felt it separated the weak from the strong gave coaches an idea who was going to fight, who wasn't....McCartney would happily fist fight other Illini assistants when they didn't agree with him/didn't like what was going on.....gave no fucks about NCAA rules when recruiting the JC's of California......McCartney preaching the Illini identity of, 'we might not win the game but we will win the fight before, during and after the game'.....fired after disappointing 1985 Illini season...ended up working as a personnel director CFL/Pittsburgh Steelers before passing away in 2001.

Illini assistant coach you wanted to have a beer with-Dan Disch (2005-2010)....coached special teams/safeties then linebackers...yeah he is my buddy...know not everyone liked/got along with Disch like I did...taught me so much about the game of football, recruiting, when to keep my mouth shut around the head coach.....miss his company from those days...daughter worked in the Illini football equipment room during her undergrad days Lovie era.

*Know your Illini history....most reviled Illini assistant football coach to many 'old timers?'....man who named names......Mel Brewer (1947-1959) when athletic director Doug Mills retired Brewer an associate AD at the time felt he should replace him at Illinois...when he didn't get the AD job.....'mid-December, 1966, it was an open secret that Elliott would soon be named the new A.D. Initially, he would also retain the head coaching position, but it was likely that his assistant would attend to the daily athletic department duties during the football season and he, Elliott would address the larger policy issues. Once this was apparent, Mel Brewer paid a visit to the office of the University of Illinois president, David Henry, where he, Brewer, dropped a enormous batch of files on Henry’s desk and asked Henry to examine them, at least preliminarily. They were the records of a “slush fund” that the athletic department had established five years previously and which had spent approximately $21,000 during that time. The funds came from various boosters and companies and were divided into three parts- football funds, basketball funds and athletic director funds. Brewer was the administrator of the slush fund and, when it became clear that he would not be getting the position of athletic director, he decided to become an “informant”.(Courtesy Sport in American History October 2014 issue)