University of Illinois hires former Bucs/Bears head coach Lovie Smith

University of Illinois hires former Bucs/Bears head coach Lovie Smith

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the University of Illinois has hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith to be their new head coach according to Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com.

“I am extremely excited to be named head coach of the Fighting Illini,” Smith said. “Josh (Whitman, Illinois’s new athletic director) approached me about this possibility, and I immediately seized on the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the young men who are part of the program today and in the future. I take this responsibility very seriously and can’t wait to get a staff in place to start our move to make Illinois a contender for Big Ten titles. We will play an exciting brand of football that will make our fans, alumni, student body and members of the University community extremely proud.”

To say that this is a surprise hiring is an understatement. Smith is well-known in the state of Illinois from his years as head coach of the Chicago Bears but has not coached in the college ranks since 1995, when he was the defensive backs coach at Ohio State. He now becomes the third Illini head coach in just the past seven months. Tim Beckman was fired just before the start of the 2015 season after allegations that he abused players. Interim coach Bill Cubit led the team in 2015 and then was hired permanently in November. Cubit was fired last week on Whitman’s first day on the job.

Smith signed a six-year, $21 million contract, structured so that his salary escalates in in the later years. That is likely a result of Smith’s contract with the Buccaneers, which requires the team to keep paying him for three more years after firing him two years into a five-year contract: Smith will get paid by both the Bucs and Illinois through 2018.