Illinois fires Smith after 5 seasons
Former Bears coach was 17-39 with one bowl appearance
CHAMPAIGN — Illinois fired coach Lovie Smith on Sunday with a game left in its ninth consecutive losing season.
Smith became Illinois' first Black head football coach when he was hired by athletic director Josh Whitman in March 2016. The longtime NFL coach went 17-39 in five seasons at the school.
Smith's original deal was for six years and $21 million, but he received a two-year extension through 2023 after Illinois went 4-8 in his third season.
Whitman praised Smith's integrity and “unshakeable leadership,” especially this season during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Nonetheless, based on extensive evaluation of the program's current state and future outlook, I have concluded the program is not progressing at the rate we should expect at this advanced stage in coach Smith's tenure,” Whitman said in a release. “To achieve our competitive objectives, I believe new leadership of the football program is required.”
The Illini made one postseason appearance under Smith, losing 35-20 to California in the Redbox Bowl in 2019. They were 6-4 last season after a thrilling comeback victory at Michigan State, but then dropped their last three games.
The slide continued into this year, with Illinois losing its first three by a combined 117-45 score. It is 2-5 after it was pushed around in a 28-10 loss at Northwestern on Saturday, allowing 411 yards rushing in its sixth straight loss in the series against the in-state Wildcats.
The school said offensive coordinator Rod Smith was elevated to acting head
coach.
The Big Ten is scheduling one more game for its teams next week, but the opponents for the teams not playing for the conference championship had not yet been revealed.
While the 62-year-old Smith flopped with the Illini, he could attract some interest from NFL teams looking for help on the defensive side of the ball.
Smith spent nine seasons as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, leading the team to three NFC North titles, a Super Bowl appearance and an 81-63 record. He also went 8-24 in two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he was hired by Illinois.
He coached linebackers for the Bucs from 19962000 and served as the Rams' defensive coordinator from 2001-03.
Auburn, Malzahn part ways:
Auburn fired football coach Gus Malzahn, ending an eight-year run that began with a trip to the national championship game.
Athletic director Allen Greene announced the firing Sunday, a day after the Tigers finished the regular season with a 24-10 victory over Mississippi State. Auburn is 6-4 in a pandemic-shortened season of all Southeastern Conference opponents, losing by double digits to highly ranked teams Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M.
The Tigers also were upset by a struggling South Carolina, which wound up firing coach Wi l l Muschamp during the season.
“After evaluating the state of the Auburn football program, we've decided that it was time to make a change in l eadership,” Greene said in a statement. “We appreciate everything that Gus did for the program over the last eight seasons. We will begin a search immediately for a coach that can help the Auburn program consistently compete at the highest level.“’'
Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele will be interim
coach. Auburn will owe Malzahn a $21.45 million buyout for the remaining four years of a seven-year, $49 million deal.
Coastal Carolina enters top 10:
The first top-10 shakeup in more than a month pushed Coastal Carolina to No. 9 in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday.
Alabama was a unanimous No. 1, followed by Notre Dame, Ohio State, Clemson and Texas A&M as those teams held their spots for a sixth straight week.
Surprising losses by Florida and Miami shuffled the rest of the top 10. No. 6 Cincinnati and No. 7 Indiana each moved up one spot and No. 8 Iowa State jumped two.
Then come the unbeaten Chanticleers (11-0), the first Sun Belt Conference team to crack the AP's top 10.
Georgia landed at No. 10 ahead of Florida at 11. The Gators dropped five spots after losing in bizarre and dramatic fashion to LSU in the fog Saturday night.