Illinois fires head coach Tim Beckham today

[badger]

Yes, just a week before the season starts.
http://www.fightingillini.com/news/2015/8/28/Football_0828155855.aspx

Maybe Kevin Wilson has another Big Ten win to pencil in now :)

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Doh! I thought the guy who coached at FU before Urban Meyer was still the HC at Illinois!

[badger]

The Zooker is the Packers special teams coach now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Zook

[BoulderSooner79]

I can envision a bunch of old school "just rub some dirt on it" coaches scrambling for cover...

[Therealsouthsider]

....shouldn't Mike Thomas lose his job for hiring Beckman without the proper background investigation and 'due diligence' that should be required for such a position within the University, and then the President should be fired for hiring Mike Thomas....isn't this the way things work now? Hate scapegoat stories, blame and finger pointing is more riveting


ss

[VegasSooner]

The timing seems odd. One ESPN sports radio guy said that this might actually be good, because apparently the players hated Tim Beckham. They may play harder for whoever is chosen to replace him.

[SoonerStormchaser]

Kevin Wilson is still coaching at IU? Man, they must not care anymore...

[TheHumanAlphabet]

What did he do?

[SoonerStormchaser]

What did he do?

Served under Tressel at tOSU, for starters...that alone shouldn't have gotten him hired!

[VegasSooner]

What did he do?

This excerpt from an article about the firing on the Illinois athletic site:

During a preliminary briefing from the external reviewers, (AD Mike) Thomas said he learned of efforts to deter injury reporting and influence medical decisions that pressured players to avoid or postpone medical treatment and continue playing despite injuries. He also said in some instances student-athletes were treated inappropriately with respect to whether they could remain on scholarship during the spring semester of their senior year if they weren't on the team.

Basically he was pressuring players to play hurt, attempting to influence the recommendations of team doctors in regard to players' readiness to play, and threatening to pull scholarships if players didn't comply.

[SoonerMarkVA]

This excerpt from an article about the firing on the Illinois athletic site:

During a preliminary briefing from the external reviewers, (AD Mike) Thomas said he learned of efforts to deter injury reporting and influence medical decisions that pressured players to avoid or postpone medical treatment and continue playing despite injuries. He also said in some instances student-athletes were treated inappropriately with respect to whether they could remain on scholarship during the spring semester of their senior year if they weren't on the team.

Basically he was pressuring players to play hurt, attempting to influence the recommendations of team doctors in regard to players' readiness to play, and threatening to pull scholarships if players didn't comply.

Gah! What a bastage. I don't blame them for firing him right away, even the week of the season opener.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

OK, Thanks much. A previous release just said things had come to light... I didn't know what that meant.