LINCOLN — Halfway through his spring postgame press conference, Bret Bielema opened a window into how the Illinois coach builds his team’s culture.
“We had a couple players last week — two really good players — get into it, and I think that’s a great step in the right direction,” Bielema said. “Because when your best players expect the best out of each other, you’ve got something.”
Whether you’d agree or not, Bielema’s perspective is distinct. His one-liners tend to be, too. Now on his third school as a head coach, he embraces creative tension. And because he’s the coach, Bielema is his own tiebreaker in Illinois’ tense situations.
After a 5-7 inaugural season in Champaign, Bielema fired his offensive coordinator, Tony Petersen. Given Illinois’ Big Ten rankings in points per game (11th) and yards per game (10th), that made sense on paper. It’s a decision that comes with some risk, however, given Illinois, which plays at Nebraska on Oct. 29, will be installing a third offense in as many years.
Bielema’s new guy? Barry Lunney, one of the few offensive coordinators that made Illinois’ defense look bad last season.
https://omaha.com/sports/huskers/football/mckewon-bret-bielemas-offensive-overhaul-might-pay-off-big-for-illinois/article_3f792f4c-d6e8-11ec-814b-1369c3cb4274.htmlLunney called plays last season for Texas-San Antonio, which beat Illinois 37-30 after racking up 497 yards. A four-year starting Arkansas quarterback in the 1990s, Lunney also worked at his alma mater for Bielema. Between stints with Bret, Lunney combined a pro-style run game — power plays with pulling linemen — with a shotgun spread passing game that moves at a quick clip. UTSA won 19 games over the last two seasons.
Illinois calls Lunney’s system “Tempro.” Catchy.
“The one thing I really appreciate about Barry: He knows his system; he knows what he wants to do; he knows his system,” Bielema said. “He knows the strengths, the weaknesses, the flaws, and he’s able to dictate to our players really clearly. And I think they listen.”
