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Bert apparently pushing for the Illinois job

Posted on 12/16/20 at 12:34 pm
Posted by Jack Ruby
Member since Apr 2014
26400 posts
Posted on 12/16/20 at 12:34 pm
Per Biddy. No other real details other than he's pursuing it with great interest.


Probably the best fit in the entire country (pro or college) for Bert. Iowa is never coming open, so Illinois is by far his last best option to get paid again.

Expectations are nominal. He can win 6-7 games per year and get a lifetime contract.

The division is beyond easy. (I don't think there's a top 20 recruiter in the Big 10 West. SEC west has 4-5 top 10-ish alone.) hHe can recruit in the 40s and 50s routinely and they'll be happy.

Theyll love his bullshite and his style of football. He's from there. He's a total big 10 guy. He's one of them.

He gets to play Wisconsin every year.


Illinois knows that can get the program semi stable. The Lovie disaster taught them one thing, don't get too stupid on the hire. Bert will buold a decent foundation (if he's not on the sauce anymore) and get them at least back to some semblence of respwctibility.

This post was edited on 12/16/20 at 12:36 pm
Posted by FayetteNAM
Boston Mountains
Member since Jun 2013
8914 posts
Posted on 12/16/20 at 1:21 pm to
Maybe we should schedule them if he gets a job.
Posted by HogX
Madison, WI
Member since Dec 2012
5560 posts
Posted on 12/16/20 at 1:27 pm to
quote:

Maybe we should schedule them if he gets a job.


I'm sure Dickson Street could use the economic stimulus that Bret coming back would provide.
Posted by momentoftruth87
Your mom
Member since Oct 2013
86110 posts
Posted on 12/16/20 at 2:17 pm to
Bert is from Illinois originally.
Posted by Arkapigdiesel
Faulkner County
Member since Jun 2009
15402 posts
Posted on 12/16/20 at 6:13 pm to
Thought he was from Iowa.
Posted by Jack Ruby
Member since Apr 2014
26400 posts
Posted on 12/16/20 at 6:44 pm to
He's originally from rural Illinois. He went to Iowa and played there.
This post was edited on 12/16/20 at 6:45 pm
Posted by VagueMessage
Springdale, AR
Member since Jun 2013
4329 posts
Posted on 12/16/20 at 8:10 pm to
Prophetstown, IL, if I recall.

It's hard to believe I once thought that Bert would not only succeed here, but that his emotional attachment to his alma mater would be the only thing that would ever lure him away from Arkansas, aside from the NFL. I really had that much faith in the guy.
Posted by Arksulli
Fayetteville
Member since Aug 2014
26734 posts
Posted on 12/17/20 at 10:14 am to
Is he clean and sober though? A sober Bert probably would do alright at Illinois. Not great, but they don't expect great there.

You hear about states that are "sleeping giants". Illinois seems to be in a vegetative state when it comes to football. You would think a state of that size would churn out plenty of talent but the University of Illinois always seems to be sucking hind teat in football.

Regardless Bert would do much better, if he's sober, in the Midwest. Trying to recreate the Upper Midwest with his coaching staff was a complete disaster at Arkansas but should pay dividends at Illinois.
Posted by Columbia
Land of the Yuppies
Member since Mar 2016
3214 posts
Posted on 12/17/20 at 11:10 am to
I hate that every time we fire a coach, we have to have weekly threads of what they’re up to.
Posted by Jack Ruby
Member since Apr 2014
26400 posts
Posted on 12/17/20 at 5:30 pm to
Well,, when guys destroy programs, they kind of get a lot of attention.
Posted by FayetteNAM
Boston Mountains
Member since Jun 2013
8914 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 5:20 pm to
quote:

It's hard to believe I once thought that Bert would not only succeed here,


I never thought he was going to do shite here, I thought it was HDN 2.0.

The only thing I hated more than his hire was his stupid quotes and press conferences.
Posted by Jack Ruby
Member since Apr 2014
26400 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 7:31 pm to
Except Nutt actually found talent and Bert on his own obviously couldn't.

Bert is the reason that people still say "Woo Pig". I'm just ready for Illinois to begin "Throwing the 'I'"

Muss is the perfect example of how you can still market your program at an elite level and not be a dumbass about it.
Posted by FayetteNAM
Boston Mountains
Member since Jun 2013
8914 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 10:44 pm to
quote:

Muss is the perfect example of how you can still market your program at an elite level and not be a dumbass about it.


He did coach a game to no one, or am I misremembering that?

Either way I like Muss.
Posted by Feral
Member since Mar 2012
12679 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 10:54 pm to
quote:

The only thing I hated more than his hire was his stupid quotes and press conferences.


I had high hopes for him given his track record at Wisconsin, but I got tired pretty early on of the catch phrases and slogans (#1-0, Uncommon, etc), willful ignorance to our history and tradition, dumb attempts to create new traditions (throwing the A), and general Twitter dumbassery.

He made a fool out of himself before he ever coached a game here both with his dumbass quip about having a better Big Ten record than Saban as well as his Twitter battles with butthurt Wisconsin fans.

The summer of 2013 was when I legit started thinking "I hope this goes well, but this could end up being a GD trainwreck."
Posted by dchog
Pea Ridge
Member since Nov 2012
26709 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 11:05 pm to
I wanted Mike Gundy and thought he would have been a better fit here.

I was a little disappointed that Bert was hired. He ran his mouth every chance he got and he never delivered.

After the Toledo loss, I came to the conclusion that he wasn't the guy to get us over the hump.

The next year when they lost to Missouri, he should have been fired.

But the first year going 0-8 in the SEC for no reason should been a huge warning.

This post was edited on 12/19/20 at 11:16 pm
Posted by FayetteNAM
Boston Mountains
Member since Jun 2013
8914 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 11:13 pm to
quote:

summer of 2013


You gave him longer than me, I was out the moment Long announced it. Then he explained how he wrote him a letter saying good job for firing Bobby and I was out on Long too.
Posted by dchog
Pea Ridge
Member since Nov 2012
26709 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 11:13 pm to
He was a good hire on paper but a terrible fit here. He never embraced the traditions or culture here. A fish out of water like Joe Moorhead from Miss St.

His alcoholism and poor work ethic were his downfall.

Posted by FayetteNAM
Boston Mountains
Member since Jun 2013
8914 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 11:16 pm to
quote:

I wanted Mike Gundy and thought he would have been a better fit here.


I never believed Gundy was leaving his Alma Mater, so I never even got into him.

I was Bobby P since Houston was fired, but he was NFL so I didn’t think we had a chance. So I hopped on the Lane Train. Then I probably wanted him again in 12. I know for us to be good we have to play faster than the other team. We aren’t overpowering anyone in this conference. That’s why I liked the Briles hire.

Also believe Freeze could have been good here too.
This post was edited on 12/19/20 at 11:18 pm
Posted by FayetteNAM
Boston Mountains
Member since Jun 2013
8914 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 11:19 pm to
I believe Pittman is a 50/50 for us but at worst he will have us in a more respectable position for the next coach.
Posted by dchog
Pea Ridge
Member since Nov 2012
26709 posts
Posted on 12/19/20 at 11:26 pm to
Nutt still owns the worst recruiting class since we joined the SEC, the 2000 class.

That blunder ended up Arkansas with back to back losing seasons. But Nutt blamed it on the NCAA cloud instead. He was a very lazy recruiter that often picked the academic risks or the ones that were in trouble with the law. He waited til the last second on national signing day to fill his class. He was the sole reason the SEC had to limit the players signed because Nutt abused it.

Nutt got extremely lucky that Matt Jones stepped on the field against Weber st. If he never was on campus then Nutt would have been fired much sooner.
This post was edited on 12/19/20 at 11:31 pm
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