Is Illinois just bad or is Lovie Smith not the right coach? I wasn't expecting them to win today but 2-8 on the season?
A bit of both
Illini are not good but Lovie is not a good HC especially at college level
Honest belief was he took HC job at Illinois because he didn't want to have to re climb ladder at NFL level. No team is hiring Lovie Smith to be HC at NFL level anytime soon but he doesn't want to put in work of being DC and starting over again
Illinois was desperate for attention especially with all the scandals involving previous coach and positive media coverage that they jumped on hiring Lovie
+ They thought having former coach of Chicago Bears would raise profile of program especially within state (They are distant 3rd at this point behind Northwestern and Northern Illinois honestly)