OT: Illinois Week - Zook Factor
Found this in the annals of MGoBlog history. Poor guy went from some genuinely positive takes by Brian to an analytical qualifier for opposing coaches and came to define "stupid coaching decisions that fly in the face of game theory."
Zook to the Illini
Ron Zook has taken the Illinois job.
Thoughts: good move for the Illini. Zook obviously connected quite strongly with his players at UF, even though he didn't win as much as they would have liked. For all the kvetching from UF fans, Chris Leak was a freshman last year, a sophomore this year. it's really tough to win with a young QB under center. Zook brought in a couple monster classes as Florida head coach and he's got name recognition. If he can turn UI into the natural destination for the Chicagoland area he can make UI a winner.
October 18th, 2016 at 9:27 AM ^
They've had some . . . interesting people coaching their team.
October 17th, 2016 at 3:09 PM ^
That take on Zook's hiring arguably ended up being pretty accurate. Zook did recruit better at Illinois than anyone had done in a while, getting top recruits like Rashard Mendenhall, Juice Williams, Arrelious Benn, Cory Liuget, and Martez Wilson. And he had brief success with those recruits, taking the Illini to a Rose Bowl in 2007. But he was definitely limited by his stupid coaching decisions.
October 17th, 2016 at 3:45 PM ^
Exactly. People act like Zook was a terrible coach overall. In reality he was churning out NFL talent at a pretty high level and his teams were at least mediocre in any given year. He was definitely better than Beckman and I suspect he will end up with a better tenure than Smith as well (failed career NFL coaches are generally not great in college).
October 18th, 2016 at 1:39 AM ^
would you really categorize Smith as a failure?
October 17th, 2016 at 3:11 PM ^
He got freaking Illinois to a Rose Bowl. Not a total debacle.
October 17th, 2016 at 3:18 PM ^
They got the Rose Bowl by default because OSU went to the national title game...ironically losing to Ron Zook's Illinois team at home. But still a good point.
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October 17th, 2016 at 3:25 PM ^
Do you look at Michigan's 2007 Rose Bowl appearance in the same context? That was a Rose Bowl by default too.
October 17th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^
Yes, that was also a default Rose Bowl. Still happy to go, obviously. But it felt a little weird to go there as the runner up in the conference.
Thats just me. Others probably don't follow the party pooper logic.
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October 17th, 2016 at 4:13 PM ^
Michigan and Illinois in the 2007 Rose Bowl! Odd that two B1G teams would be invited to the same bowl...
For clarification:
Michigan played on Jan 1, 2007, after the 2006 season.
Illinois played on Jan 1, 2008, after the 2007 season.
October 18th, 2016 at 8:53 AM ^
It's a little different though.
In 2006 we were clearly the next-best team in the Big Ten and #3 in the nation going into the bowl season. We were the obvious choice for the Rose Bowl.
In 2007, Illinois finished tied for second in the league with Michigan, and we beat them head-to-head. They really shouldn't have been chosen, but either because they had a better overall record or BCS ranking (I forget), they were. (Was the Rose Bowl bound to choose a Big Ten team? I forget.) They should have been more like an Outback Bowl team.
October 17th, 2016 at 3:32 PM ^
Aurellious Benn is still in the league and scored yesterday, and Green Bay's special teams were not a disaster, so there's that also.
October 17th, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^
Meaning punting from your opponent's 35 yard line on a 4th and 3 instead of going for it as every statisical analytic says you should if you dont have a great kicker.
What's funny about that is that while both he and Frenz were the WORST at doing this in every game except one. Against us these two became analyitcal wonderchild going for it every chance they had and throwing caution to the wind.
October 17th, 2016 at 3:43 PM ^
I did not know this blog has been around since 2004 (or before).
October 17th, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^
Brian started blogging in high school after being kicked off the football team...he kept UFRing his coach every game
October 17th, 2016 at 3:44 PM ^
Zook is Hoke. Can recruit...can't coach worth a damn. Urban won his 2006 national title with Zook guys.
October 17th, 2016 at 4:01 PM ^
Urban Meyer followed Zook at Florida with great success. There was an interim coach for Florida's last game of the season... wait for it... Charlie Strong, who lost to Miami.
October 17th, 2016 at 4:10 PM ^
Regardless, he's going to need you to come in on Saturday, mmmkay, great.
October 17th, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^
or just didn't care when at illini. i saw a video clip of him at practice during the season where he was calling out to one of his players...by his number. he didn't even know his name. that is someone who doesn't care...or is stupid.
October 17th, 2016 at 5:08 PM ^
As much as I want to pile on the Zooker, this is pretty common. I've been watch the FSU series on Showtime (for the schadenfraude), and Jimbo routinely calls his players by numbers....cmon #4 (Dalvin Cook)...I think Jimbo knows who Dalvin Cook is.
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October 17th, 2016 at 5:12 PM ^
Reply to myself...Jimbo Fisher IS a major thunderdolt ...so your argument is more valid than I first thought
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October 17th, 2016 at 10:56 PM ^
I call players by number all the time when I coach - # becomes synonymous with the player - cmon 9 or a little hustle there Twos (22) etc
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October 17th, 2016 at 9:13 PM ^
Amazingly a 8 year old WD was the first response on this '04 thread. He said Zook won't get the Illini anywhere until they switch to Nike.
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October 17th, 2016 at 10:31 PM ^
He took a job at a bank in Florida for a while, but then he got his current job with the Pack. Proably for the best. I'm not sure if I'd trust Ron Zook with my money after seeing him coach.
http://deadspin.com/ron-zook-works-at-a-florida-bank-now-and-hell-respo…