Joe,

You aren't the only fan with that sentiment. But the athletic and school administration at Illinois looks at the big picture. They give the coach credit for past accomplishments. Remember, two years ago everybody was worried about losing Ron Zook to another program. It turns so quickly The school wants to give Ron Zook the proper amount of time to turn it back. Four games is not enough time.

Josh,

I was surprised by that. I thought he would play more and will try to get any answer this week.

jje,

The Rons have had good moments and bad. But maybe a new name would change the recent performance.

Maybe another Bruce?

Groundhogday,

No question the 2007 line was the best of the Ron Zook era. Having Martin O'Donnell was a big help and I think he was a big loss last season.

I think the line has help up in not allowing a ton of sacks. But the true test will be the running game and that hasn't been right since Rashard Mendenhall left.

Ron,

I received no manual. I'm trying to answer as honestly as I can.

Matt,

We don't see what happens in practice or behind closed doors. I believe that the coaches get after the players, starting with Ron Zook.

You're right that the leadership starts with the coaches. If it isn't working on the field. and it isn't, then it is the fault of the coaching staff.

Tristen,

We are actually run by a charitable trust. I don't think we defend Ron Zook and I don't think that's my job. Two years ago, he had Illinois in the Rose Bowl, a fact you can't ignore. And his teams have struggled since. But I don't think there is any school in the country that would drop a guy four games into a season that came two years after a Rose Bowl appearance. That's not defending him. That's stating a fact. And if Illinois loses the rest of its games, I think the Zook regime is in deep, deep trouble.

Dan,

You make good points about the way the team played late last season. And I think you are right that the schemes aren't right for the current personnel. I'm not sure what the solution would be for Illinois at this point. You can't change your style four games into the season.

Steve,

I think the blame is shared by the coaches and the players, but ultimately it falls on the head coach. He's responsible for bringing in the players to get the wins. If it doesn't work, he goes.

Jeff,

Adam Weber is more accurate than Juice Williams. As simple as that. He is able to get the ball to Decker in a tighter spot, in my opinion.

Matt,

I think it all happened at the same time. I think there was a rift between offense and defense, but I think that has been repaired during the offseason. Although, every team is different. Maybe the finger pointing will start, but I don't sense that it will. Not yet.

Steve,

What administration? Stan Ikenberry just returned to the president's office and Richard Herman isn't in a great place. I also think that Ron Guenther gets a lot of credit for the other positive things in athletics. But ultimately his legacy will be tied to the football program.

Little Timmy,

The coaches keep it, though they probably aren't sharing. That would be a great statistic to get our hands on. I'll try to find out if anyone in the Big Ten keeps track.

Nathan

Hiring coaches, in my opinion, is often guesswork. While everyone liked Bob Stoops, nobody knew he would do what he did at Oklahoma. Mack Brown wasn't an easy choice for Texas coming from a basketball school. And Pete Carroll had been a failure in the NFL.
Sometimes, you get lucky and you build on that luck with subsequent hires. I'm not sure that a big-money coach is always the answer. In fact, more often it isn't.
Everybody has warts. The idea is to find the guy who has the warts that work at your place. And you don't know you have him until far into his career.
I could come up with a list of 20 potential coaches for any school to hire. My guess is that six would be great, six would be terrible and the rest would fall in between.