Lovie Smith announced as new head football coach
The man. The myth. The legend
After the alleged abuses from former Head Coach Tim Beckman, our football team has continued their attempts repair their image on campus and the collegiate circuit. The announcement of next year’s head coach is another step in that repaired image.
On March 7, 2016, former Bears’ coach Lovie Smith was announced as our new head coach. Introduced by athletic director Josh Whitman on Monday morning, Lovie spoke at a press conference to discuss his hopes for the future of Illini football.
“We’re going to have a couple basic goals,” Smith said. “Get a degree while we’re playing winning football. That shouldn’t be asking too much. We want to get to a place where we’re competing for Big Ten championships.”
Smith’s last work as a collegiate coach was 21-years-ago when he served as Ohio States’ defensive backs coach. Since then he’s led the Bears to three division titles and one Super Bowl appearance from 2004 to 2012. Following his work with the Bears, Lovie spent two years coaching the Buccanneers.
Lovie will take up the position previously held by Bill Culbit, who was fired on Saturday. He will be the first African-American head football coach for Illinois.
He signed a six-year, $21 million contract that will pay $2 million annually in 2016 and 2017, $3 million in 2018, $4 million in 2019 and $5 million in 2020 and 2021. The contract also has incentives for academic and athletic performance.