Coaching Perspective – Illinois

In the wake of the stunning Tim Beckman fire a week before the season starts forces us to look at Illinois’ coaching history.  Stands to reason that the legendary Zuppke will take the crown but who in the world fills out the rest of the roster?  You will find out the same time I do.

Not In Consideration (Chronological Order)

• Scott Williams: 1890, 1-2
• Robert Lackey: 1891, 6-0
• Ed Hall: 1892-1893, 12-5-5

Hall was also the first basketball coach at UI.  He would contribute much more to football as the chair of rules committee from 1911 until 1932.  He was put in the CFB hall of fame as a contributor in 1951.

• Louis Vail: 1894, 5-3
• George Huff: 1895-1899, 21-16-3 (2-7-1)

Huff is a UI sports legend having served as athletic director and baseball coach for ever 20 years, winning 300+ games to just 97 losses.

• Fred L. Smith: 1900, 7-3-2 (1-3-2)
• Edgar Holt: 1901-1902, 18-4-1 (8-4)
• George Washington Woodruff: 1903, 8-6 (1-5)

Woodruf is a CFB Hall of Fame coach thanks to a 124-15-2 mark with three national titles at Penn before coming to UI.  After his coaching career ended in 1905 he became a long time politician and even served in Teddy Roosevelt’s cabinet.

• 1904 – 4 Coaches: 9-2-1 (3-1-1)
• Clyde Matthews: 1904
• Fred Lowenthal: 1904-1905, 14-6-1 (3-4-1)
• Justa Lindgren: 1904, 1906, 10-5-2 (1-3)
• Jim Valek: 1967-1970, 8-23 (5-23)
• Bob Blackman: 1971-1976, 29-36-1 (24-23-1)

The HOFer Blackman derseves some credit for a winning league mark and stabilizing the program after the Valek stretch.  He is in the Hall thanks to a 104-37-3 mark at Dartmouth which came with 7 league titles and a final ranking in 1970 after an undefeated and untied 9-0 record.

• Gary Moeller: 1977-1979, 6-24-3 (3-18-3)

Would later coach Michigan to three league titles and two Rose Bowl appearances (1-1) before he was forced to resign due to an alleged drunken outburst.  Let that be a warning to you coach Sark.

• Lou Tepper: 1991-1996, 25-31-2 (17-21-2)
• Ron Turner: 1997-2004, 35-57 (20-44)

One of the strangest tenures as there were highs with a Sugar Bowl 10 win season but man were the lows rough.  He entered with an 0-11 season and exited with a 4-19 (1-15) thud his final two years.

• Ron Zook: 2005-2011, 34-51 (18-38)

Just as Turner did before, there were good seasons.  He made a Rose Bowl but the consistency wasn’t there.  The improved recruiting may have kept him around longer than expected and there were hopes that with decent talent in place his replacement might lead somewhere.  Spoiler alert, it won’t.

• Vic Koenning: 2011, 1-0 – interim, coached bowl game
• Tim Beckman: 2012-2014, 12-25 (4-20)
• Bill Cubit: 2015 – present, interim

Did Not Place (6th to 4th)

• John Mackovic: 1988-1991, 30-16-1 (22-9-1)

Much like Nick Saban is a what-if for MSU fans, Mackovic is a bitter disappointment for UI fans.  His teams made bowl games every year on campus, including 10 win, Citrus Bowl, top 10 finish season in 1989.  He backed that up with a co-championship in 1990.  Alas a big dog came calling and before the bowl in ’91 Mackovic headed to Texas.

• Pete Elliott: 1960-1966, 31-34-1 (22-26-1)

Elliott kind of set the tone for the future Turner and Zook stretches as he had a hard time maintaining the highs and building off successes.  Still, he finished three seasons ranked in the final polls including the marvelous 1963 squad that would go 8-1-1 (5-1-1), win the Rose Bowl and end top 5 in both major polls.

• Mike White: 1980-1987, 47-41-3 (40-26-2)

Third all-time at UI in league games won gets him into the argument.  He also ended the season ranked three times.  Unfortunately he went 0-3 in bowl games, including the 1983 Rose Bowl after winning the league.

Bronze Medal

Arthur R. Hall: 1904, 1907-1912, 36-12-4 (20-10-3)

After a disastrous stretch Hall put the Illini on the map with the school’s first title in 1910.  In the middle of his tenure his clubs went a combined 15-3-1 (11-2).  He created a foundation for, well, see below.

Silver Medal

Ray Eliot: 1942-1959, 83-73-11 (54-55-7)

Obviously the losing league mark and the indignation of the 1954 1-8 (0-6) are big knocks against him and some fans might even slide him lower but I think that would be foolish.  Eliot won the league 3 times, won 2 Rose Bowls and won a national title.  When you compare all the coaches I just wrote about, makes that under .500 league mark a little easier to swallow.

Gold Medal

Robert Zuppke: 1913-1941, 131-81-12 (76-66-8)

Zuppke picked up where Hall left off and turned Illinois into a national power.  7 league titles and 4 national titles easily put him into the Hall of Fame in 1951.  He is way ahead of any other UI coach in terms of wins both overall and league.  He also had the honor of coaching some of the all time greats in Big Ten history including none other than Red Grange.  Zuppke didn’t just rely on talent, he was a brilliant mind too.  He invented huddling.  Okay, not too interesting.  How about this, he is credited with creating the flea flicker.  Last but not least, Zuppke was a modern Renaissance man who was a highly regarded landscape painter.  What a unique man and one hell of a football coach.