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Illinois is hiring former Wisconsin-Arkansas coach Bret Bielema to lead their football program, the school said on Saturday.
Bielema, 50, has spent the last three seasons as an NFL assistant, this year working for the New York Giants after two years with the New England Patriots. He had expressed interest in returning to college and was running for openings last year in both Michigan and Colorado, and earlier in this cycle at Southern Miss, sources said.
Bielema will receive a six-year contract with Illinois with a starting salary of $ 4.2 million.
Illinois, which sacked coach Lovie Smith last Sunday, have also considered Buffalo coach Lance Leipold, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, among others, to replace Smith. , who did 17-39 in five seasons at school.
“Illinois and the Big Ten are home to me, and I can’t be more excited about the opportunity that presents itself to me with the Fighting Illini,” Bielema said in a prepared statement. “We want to create a program that makes the Illini Nation proud and rediscover the passion I saw when Illinois wins.”
Bielema won three consecutive Big Ten Championships in Wisconsin from 2010-2012 and went 68-24 in seven seasons with the Badgers with five Top 25. He left after the 2012 Big Ten Championship game for Arkansas, where he was 29-34 before being fired in 2017.
He grew up in Prophetstown, Ill., And played on the defensive line in Iowa, helping the Hawkeyes win a share of the Big Ten title in 1990 (Illinois also shared the championship). Bielema began his coaching career in Iowa before moving to Kansas State and then to Wisconsin, where he was named Barry Alvarez’s successor after the 2005 season.
“Bret Bielema is a proven winner,” athletic director Josh Whitman said in a prepared statement. “With three Big Ten Championships to his name, few coaches can match his knowledge and success in the Big Ten Conference. During our conversations, it became clear to me that he is a lifelong learner who continually seeks to grow. and improve. “
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