Ok, we have finally cleaned house at Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas finished the trifecta and fired basketball coach Bruce Weber today. So in the span of just 4 months he has fired the head football coach, Ron Zook, the women's basketball coach, Jolette Law and now Weber. You see none of them managed to win enough games, so they got fired.
Interesting development. Sometime in the past few years the Illinois fans started expecting winning to be the highest priority. Maybe it was the first trip to the Final 4 in about 60 years, or maybe it was the 6 wins in a row in football at the beginning of the season, or the Rose Bowl trip a few years back. But somehow the Illini Nation got it in their heads that winning and playing for championships was the highest priority.
Graduation rates? Sorry not important. Helping young men and women prepare for their futures? Forget it. Being good stewards of their respective programs, acting honestly, fairly, and decently to the alums, fans, press and the world? Nope, sorry that doesn't cut it. Playing for the title is all that matters.
Is this realistic at Illinois? History says no. Sure we have teams that win Big 10 titles. Sure we have teams that finish in the top 20 and compete with the best in the country. But sustained winning? Not recently.
So, I have a suggestion for AD Thomas. You should fire the fans. Not just some of them, all of them. You can give them a release. Maybe pay them for their orange shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, gloves, etc. You have $7 million to pay the former coaches, tacking in another couple million won't matter. Give them information on joining booster clubs with schools that win. Football, send them the Buckeye booster info. Basketball, send them Indiana or Kentucky or Kansas info. Then we can start over with the fan base too.
Now fans, I want to warn you that some of the schools I just mentioned will break your hearts. Ohio State, is on serious probation for cheating. Indiana, they have their issues too. But they win! And after all that's what matters isn't it? Oh now, they don't win the title every year, so you may have to fire your coaches every other year or so. But you'll get a boost from winning the big ones!
As for me, I think I'm going to find a program to root for where the kids graduate. Where they are decent kids learning to be better men and women. Where honor and honesty and decency come first. And where the coaches know that being great teachers and role models is what gets you an extended contract. I'll bet you that there is a good chances coaches Zook, Weber and Law might be coaching there.
No comments:
Post a Comment