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Lovie Smith has another position to fill now.
Just one day after adding Keynodo Hudson (cornerbacks coach) and son Miles (linebackers coach) to the Illinois Football staff, Smith has another spot to fill. Offensive line coach Luke Butkus was named the Green Bay Packers’ assistant OL coach on Thursday morning.
The #Packers have named Luke Butkus assistant offensive line coach & Rayna Stewart special teams quality control coach.
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) February 7, 2019
: https://t.co/FZephSyob2 pic.twitter.com/2Q5Oqpwpp6
Smith also has running backs coach to fill on offense after Thad Ward left for Temple University last week.
Smith said on Wednesday during a Signing Day press conference that offensive coordinator Rod Smith would have some input on the offensive positions to fill, and Smith seemed to have sensed that there would be more spots opening up in the coming days.
Butkus had two stints with Illinois as its OL coach, including the 2012 season and 2016-18. The 39-year-old Illinois native spent the three years in the interim with the Jacksonville Jaguars as their assistant OL coach, so Butkus seemingly wanted to get back into the NFL, where his uncle is legendary LB Dick Butkus.