UL loses OC to Illinois

CatsFanGG24

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McGee joining Lovie Smith.

Will Petrino swallow his pride and hire a read-option guy to match his recruiting trend? Does Petrino have any more sons?
 
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JHB4UK

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some grad assistant must be pumped, time for another promotion!!
 

WildCard

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McGee getting $900k per. Illinois going all in.
McGee was making $854K at UofL, 19th highest paid assistant in the country. Money certainly not the issue here. He's had a bit of career with CBP and probably just wants the opportunity to add another coach to his resume.

Over the course of the year there were conflicting rumors about McGee; some said he was always very tight with CBP; others said he would make promises and not deliver with the players. I don't know. But at the end of the day, CBP calls the shots and I cannot imagine McGee left UofL (or UofL "let" him go) for $46K/yr. So that's why I think McGee took the job as a "career move".

I have absolutely no idea with whom UofL replaces him, but as far as OC goes, as long as CBP is there it probably doesn't make too much difference.

Peace
 

3kidsandme

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McGee was making $854K at UofL, 19th highest paid assistant in the country. Money certainly not the issue here. He's had a bit of career with CBP and probably just wants the opportunity to add another coach to his resume.

Over the course of the year there were conflicting rumors about McGee; some said he was always very tight with CBP; others said he would make promises and not deliver with the players. I don't know. But at the end of the day, CBP calls the shots and I cannot imagine McGee left UofL (or UofL "let" him go) for $46K/yr. So that's why I think McGee took the job as a "career move".

I have absolutely no idea with whom UofL replaces him, but as far as OC goes, as long as CBP is there it probably doesn't make too much difference.

Peace
OR more likely Petrino is a dick head. He saw the oppurtunity to work for a friend for similar money at a P5 job and said CYA.
 

STUCKNBIG10

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McGee was making $854K at UofL, 19th highest paid assistant in the country. Money certainly not the issue here. He's had a bit of career with CBP and probably just wants the opportunity to add another coach to his resume.

Over the course of the year there were conflicting rumors about McGee; some said he was always very tight with CBP; others said he would make promises and not deliver with the players. I don't know. But at the end of the day, CBP calls the shots and I cannot imagine McGee left UofL (or UofL "let" him go) for $46K/yr. So that's why I think McGee took the job as a "career move".

I have absolutely no idea with whom UofL replaces him, but as far as OC goes, as long as CBP is there it probably doesn't make too much difference.

Peace

LOL, it would be nice if, just for once, you would come over here without the company line. It's always "no big deal, nothing to see here" with you people.
 

Michigan Fan

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I see it as a career move...get a chance to call his own plays and run the offense at Illinois and apparently has a good relationship with Lovie Smith...he does well at U of I he could land another HC gig...myself more interested on see who Petrino replaces him with...would not mind seeing Stefan LeFors myself if they want someone to coach the QB Position
 
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3kidsandme

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I see it as a career move...get a chance to call his own plays and run the offense at Illinois and apparently has a good relationship with Lovie Smith...he does well at U of I he could land another HC gig...myself more interested on see who Petrino replaces him with...would not mind seeing Stefan LeFors myself if they want someone to coach the QB Position
Illinois is a pretty lousy gig. He left a perennial bowl team for the same position on a perennial loser for a reason other than career move. This is a gamble on his part for virtually the same money. Sounds to me like he was ready to goooooo.
 
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JHB4UK

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isnt this like 4 assistants to leave UL this offseason? And it ain't like ANY of them left as a promotion to step up to be coordinators, or even for much better programs. Miss St, UK, Illinois, hello?

If you aren't a blind UL fan who sees no wrong it ought to be slightly concerning so many assistants bolting for parallel positions from a program & coach who allegedly has such a bright successful future in front of it. but the invaders to this sight say all is good, just promote the Grad Assistant who was REALLY doing the coaching and all is well.
 

Dallas-Wild

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McGee was making $854K at UofL, 19th highest paid assistant in the country. Money certainly not the issue here. He's had a bit of career with CBP and probably just wants the opportunity to add another coach to his resume.

Over the course of the year there were conflicting rumors about McGee; some said he was always very tight with CBP; others said he would make promises and not deliver with the players. I don't know. But at the end of the day, CBP calls the shots and I cannot imagine McGee left UofL (or UofL "let" him go) for $46K/yr. So that's why I think McGee took the job as a "career move".

I have absolutely no idea with whom UofL replaces him, but as far as OC goes, as long as CBP is there it probably doesn't make too much difference.

Peace
Well of course it doesn't make a difference....are there enough Petrinos to make a complete coaching staff?
 

Cazwheel1072

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If the guy was making that much money at UL but really wasn't responsible for calling the plays, I would equate that to "corporate waste".

I would be more than happy to stand around and do nothing for that price.
 
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CatsFanGG24

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I see it as a career move...get a chance to call his own plays and run the offense at Illinois and apparently has a good relationship with Lovie Smith...he does well at U of I he could land another HC gig...myself more interested on see who Petrino replaces him with...would not mind seeing Stefan LeFors myself if they want someone to coach the QB Position

Not sure you'd want 1/3 of your staff with zero off campus recruiting experience and contacts.
 

Michigan Fan

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isnt this like 4 assistants to leave UL this offseason? And it ain't like ANY of them left as a promotion to step up to be coordinators, or even for much better programs. Miss St, UK, Illinois, hello?

If you aren't a blind UL fan who sees no wrong it ought to be slightly concerning so many assistants bolting for parallel positions from a program & coach who allegedly has such a bright successful future in front of it. but the invaders to this sight say all is good, just promote the Grad Assistant who was REALLY doing the coaching and all is well.
You can say that for a lot of college programs including Kentucky...from the 3rd OC in 3 years to losing one of the top recruiters in Ansley...

Concern losing McGee at this late date...somewhat but not freaking out...it is the nature of the business
 

Michigan Fan

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Illinois is a pretty lousy gig. He left a perennial bowl team for the same position on a perennial loser for a reason other than career move. This is a gamble on his part for virtually the same money. Sounds to me like he was ready to goooooo.

Illinois has upped it Assistant Coaches salary pool to $4 Million plus paying Lovie Smith...it appears they are making a financial commitment to their program and as stated before McGee has a prior relationship with Smith and will have complete control of the offense...this is who they hired so far...it is a NFL flavor to their staff:

Garrick McGee will be the new Offensive Coordinator under Lovie.

Andrew Hayes Stoker, assistant to the head football coach of the Colts will be the WR coach at Illinois.

Luke Butkus, from Jacksonville will come back to the Illini and coach the offensive line.

Former Defensive Coordinator for the Illini, Mike Phair, will stay on as the defensive line coach.

Hardy Nickerson from the Niners will be Defensive Coordinator
 

Michigan Fan

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If the guy was making that much money at UL but really wasn't responsible for calling the plays, I would equate that to "corporate waste".

I would be more than happy to stand around and do nothing for that price.

He helped put together the gameplan...Petrino calls the plays...he has always operated like this...from Louisville, WKU, Atlanta and Arkansas.
 
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STUCKNBIG10

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Illinois is a pretty lousy gig. He left a perennial bowl team for the same position on a perennial loser for a reason other than career move. This is a gamble on his part for virtually the same money. Sounds to me like he was ready to goooooo.

Could be, though I would argue that Illinois is one of the larger sleeping giants in college sports. Big alumni base, huge talent pipeline in Chicago, and they are THE state university without an in-state rival that has comparable resources (think LSU or Wisconsin). No doubt they have underperformed, but I think Lovie Smith could do some damage in the Big 10's weaker division.
 
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There's not a huge talent pipeline in Chicago for football, it's a BB city. The NFL pedigree will help with recruiting and it will def take a big step up over the next couple of years. They need to upgrade facilities. The Illini had some good teams a couple of decades ago but they fell asleep on the arms race. Not only will they have to battle other B1G teams and ND for recruits they will also have to battle Mizzou as well. I think this group of coaches will be able to coach up this team but don't expect miracles. There's not a ton of talent of this team.
 
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Michigan Fan

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Could be, though I would argue that Illinois is one of the larger sleeping giants in college sports. Big alumni base, huge talent pipeline in Chicago, and they are THE state university without an in-state rival that has comparable resources (think LSU or Wisconsin). No doubt they have underperformed, but I think Lovie Smith could do some damage in the Big 10's weaker division.

Exactly...his division is Nebraska, Northwestern, Iowa and Wisconsin...much different than being in the B1G East with Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State. You also don't need consistent Top 25 or Top 30 recruiting class in that division to be very competitive
 

Oldtrainer_rivals

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Could be, though I would argue that Illinois is one of the larger sleeping giants in college sports. Big alumni base, huge talent pipeline in Chicago, and they are THE state university without an in-state rival that has comparable resources (think LSU or Wisconsin). No doubt they have underperformed, but I think Lovie Smith could do some damage in the Big 10's weaker division.


^^^Agree, good post.^^^
I've long been a Lovie Smith fan. He's certainly putting together a very impressive staff. Some UofL fans that I know liked Garrick McGee and are glad he moving on because they say his relationship with Petrino was far from copacetic!
 

WildCard

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OR more likely Petrino is a dick head. He saw the oppurtunity to work for a friend for similar money at a P5 job and said CYA.
Well, CBP can be a dick head. As far as that goes with his staff, he demands an enormous amount of time and attention to all details all year long. IOW, long off season hours in the coaching rooms are expected. It was widely speculated that this was Thomas' last year at UofL because of the "work schedule". I read that Smith and McGee had a long relationship and he might have considered the opportunity to work for a successful former NFL coach too much to pass up. Especially if he was looking for the opportunity to be a "real" OC. (see next post)

LOL, it would be nice if, just for once, you would come over here without the company line. It's always "no big deal, nothing to see here" with you people.
Naturally I did not see CBP "at work" when he was at AR or WKU. But after watching many practice session over his 6 years at UofL I can tell you all of the offense runs through him. He watches everything from behind the QBs or behind the offense. I have watched him jump all over "offensive mistakes" of ANY kind at ANY position.

The working relationship between CBP and his OC is simply different than at most school where the OC is "in charge" of the offense. CBC's OC can certainly have "inputs" to the offense, make player evaluations, help game plan, etc. but the final offensive decisions (including play calling) are with CBP. In his first stint at UofL, OC Paul Petrino was primarily the "enforcer" at practice, pulling offensive guys out of O vs. D drills when they messed up. I still recall him chasing guys up the field like a border collie, counting off 20 or so pushups in the opposite EZ before running them back to the huddle end of the field.

Right offhand, I cannot think of a single coaching position under CBP that is "less important" than OC. OTOH, it would have been a HUGE loss if DC Grantham had moved on at this late date. Quite frankly, I hope they fill the position with a "super recruiter" guy regardless of what position he coaches. Under CBP, OC is hardly more than a titled position that means extra money (too much IMO) but carries little of the responsibility as most OCs (such as Gran).

To that point, here has been much speculation here as to whether the defensive minded Stoops "influenced the work" of his former OCs. I have no idea if that was true, but I do think most defensive minded coaches do embrace a "defensive minded" offense (e.g., clearly saw that with ex-CCS). Regardless, I somehow believe that what you will see this fall is 100% Eddie Gran's offense and Stoops will limit himself to HC decisions such as going on 4th down. So, in that sense, OC at UK is a much bigger and more important job than OC at UofL. And it would be just the opposite if we were talking about the DC job. JMO.

Peace
 

Dallas-Wild

Heisman
Feb 1, 2005
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Well, CBP can be a dick head. As far as that goes with his staff, he demands an enormous amount of time and attention to all details all year long. IOW, long off season hours in the coaching rooms are expected. It was widely speculated that this was Thomas' last year at UofL because of the "work schedule". I read that Smith and McGee had a long relationship and he might have considered the opportunity to work for a successful former NFL coach too much to pass up. Especially if he was looking for the opportunity to be a "real" OC. (see next post)


Naturally I did not see CBP "at work" when he was at AR or WKU. But after watching many practice session over his 6 years at UofL I can tell you all of the offense runs through him. He watches everything from behind the QBs or behind the offense. I have watched him jump all over "offensive mistakes" of ANY kind at ANY position.

The working relationship between CBP and his OC is simply different than at most school where the OC is "in charge" of the offense. CBC's OC can certainly have "inputs" to the offense, make player evaluations, help game plan, etc. but the final offensive decisions (including play calling) are with CBP. In his first stint at UofL, OC Paul Petrino was primarily the "enforcer" at practice, pulling offensive guys out of O vs. D drills when they messed up. I still recall him chasing guys up the field like a border collie, counting off 20 or so pushups in the opposite EZ before running them back to the huddle end of the field.

Right offhand, I cannot think of a single coaching position under CBP that is "less important" than OC. OTOH, it would have been a HUGE loss if DC Grantham had moved on at this late date. Quite frankly, I hope they fill the position with a "super recruiter" guy regardless of what position he coaches. Under CBP, OC is hardly more than a titled position that means extra money (too much IMO) but carries little of the responsibility as most OCs (such as Gran).

To that point, here has been much speculation here as to whether the defensive minded Stoops "influenced the work" of his former OCs. I have no idea if that was true, but I do think most defensive minded coaches do embrace a "defensive minded" offense (e.g., clearly saw that with ex-CCS). Regardless, I somehow believe that what you will see this fall is 100% Eddie Gran's offense and Stoops will limit himself to HC decisions such as going on 4th down. So, in that sense, OC at UK is a much bigger and more important job than OC at UofL. And it would be just the opposite if we were talking about the DC job. JMO.

Peace
UL is just a special place....we get it hell you guys don't need assistants on O you got Petrino and family.

Why waste money on Assistant coaches? Petrino does it all anyways. And still has time to get out for a Sunday drive on the bike. That's what I read at least.
 

CatsFanGG24

Heisman
Dec 22, 2003
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Right offhand, I cannot think of a single coaching position under CBP that is "less important" than OC.

Peace

Well this is ignorant - and I totally agree that it is BP's offense...but to say a TE coach/WR coach/any other position coach is more important than the OC&QB coach is just stupid...really, really stupid.

UKs defense is Stoops'...but DJ Eliot is more important than position coaches.

Hey guys, Nick Petrino was more important than McGee anyways....LMAO