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Fleck is considered a strong candidate

I was looking forward to a Cubit vs. Fleck match up.

Links?

^ Just came through on BTN's Bottom Line as "Breaking News." Cubit and Cubit both let go. Other assistant coaches able to re-apply for their positions.

http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illin...fired.html

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1...-86120379/

I was saving this fun article for the Cubit/Illinois game (link here)
This was right before the 2014 season. What a difference a season or two makes. Particularly, look at the Hawkins section. Hawkins was coming off a MACC while it appeared the football team was going to be in the lower end of the MAC for a while. Today, the football team is in the hunt for a MACC and the basketball team is in the lower end of the MAC.

Oof.

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This sucks

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/26221...ing-league

We have such momentum right now. And Illinois is going to go after coach Fleck, who already has a handful of commits from Illinois.

Honestly this wouldn't concern me except Whitman and Fleck have a lot of similarities. Guess we shall see.

I think this is a real possibility. In a normal search I'm not sure Fleck has the results yet to be picked up by a P5 but in March when the coaching carousel has stopped turning the options are not so plentiful.

Fleck would be an idiot if he left Western for Illinois. That place is a dumpster fire and what is considered a rising career would have its flame doused out within a few years. He gets to do what he wants at Western. Not sure he would get the same at Illinois. I would seriously question his intelligence as an individual if he made that move.

As for Cubit....

It's never fun to get fired, but...Illinois did Bill Cubit a favor if anything. He gets a million bucks and doesn't have to subject his career to the black spot on his record and inevitable failure. There is no way even with improvement Illinois becomes anything but an also ran in football. MSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, Mich, and OSU will always outshine them. Always.

I have to agree that Fleck would be an idiot to take that job... Illinois has at least 3 to 4 years of re-building before they will even be considered capable of climbing to the middle to top of the Big10... I think they really need to find a veteran coach that can get the entire situation in order... Fleck has proven he can recruit in the MAC... but as far as recruiting against other Big10 schools year in and year out at this point in his career isn't guaranteed by any means...

I do agree that Illinois will likely make a push for Fleck... but in all honesty given what KB has stated regarding Fleck... is that he has quite a bit of unfinished business to tend to in Kalamazoo before he starts shopping around for his next leap... One thing about Fleck... he's confident... and in that respect I don't think the concept of missing out on an opportunity is even part of his concern... He likely believes that when he's ready to move on... he will have plenty of great opportunities...

Remember there is no evidence Fleck signed the rumored extension and raise mentioned so publicly at seasons end.

It'd still be P5 and a nice raise, hard to turn down.

I'm guessing the suspense won't last long. The new AD had to have already back-channeled some coaches' agents and has someone in mind. And, obviously, we're already into March. The mystery oughta solved within a few days.

You don't fire a coach a week before spring practice unless you already have the replacement.

(03-05-2016 03:34 PM)bjhubert Wrote:  You don't fire a coach a week before spring practice unless you already have the replacement.

This

Spring ball has been postponed indefinitely at Illinois.

I think PJ is gone. If so, I think he'll struggle with that program in the Big 10. Interesting to see how he would handle Tim McGarigle (who recently left WMU for Illinois).