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Josh Whitman has finally pulled the trigger, effectively ending Lovie Smith’s tenure as head coach at Illinois.
Now comes the reaction.
@IlliniFootball & Lovie Smith Have decided to part ways.
— Howard Griffith (@HowardGriffith) December 13, 2020
Lovie Smith did an outstanding job of building a foundation for a program that didn’t have one, and helped bring the facilities into the 21st century, but the results on the field were just never good enough.
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) December 13, 2020
If I'm Illinois, I absolutely call Jeff Monken.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 13, 2020
An aside: It would save his parents — who in normal times drive from Illinois to Army games each week — a lot of time on the road! https://t.co/p9Z7sv7XUX
Still no official word from Illinois but expect that any minute now. The Lovie Smith era comes to an end after 5 seasons.
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) December 13, 2020
2-5
6-7
4-8
2-10
3-9
17-39 is not good enough, even during a pandemic.
News story on Lovie Smith out at #Illinois after five years from @Mark_Schlabach and me. Includes candidate pool for job, which starts off with Lance Leipold, Jeff Monken, Bret Bielema and Sean Lewis. https://t.co/JyEiI6npC6
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) December 13, 2020
We’ll update as more reaction comes in from local and national media, so we’ll be on the lookout and add as we go.