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Bret Bielema Is Getting Mentioned For A Big Ten Job
Matt Hladik
Bret Bielema reacting during an Arkansas football game.
Bret Bielema has been away from college football for three seasons, but the two-time Power 5 head coach is now being mentioned for a Big Ten job.
On Sunday, multiple outlets reported that Illinois was parting ways with Lovie Smith after five seasons. According to Yahoo’s Pete Thamel, the school could consider Bielema to fill the void.
Thamel included Bielema among a list of eight names who would make sense for the Illini. On paper, he seems like a sensible fit, having played and coached in the Big Ten.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images After Illinois’ football team got off to an 0-3 start this season, coach Lovie Smith was unbowed. ‘‘Do I look like the guy that’s going to panic?’’ he said. Too often, however, an absence of true urgency seemed to surround Smith and his program over five deeply disappointing seasons, and that’s among the reasons the former Bears coach was fired Sunday from his first head job at the college level. Smith was quick to offer positive assessments of his teams even as the losses piled up, which they did at an alarming rate. His records at the school were miserable: 17-39 overall, 10-33 in Big Ten play and 2-5 this season.