RON ZOOK

Age:  53

School:  Illinois

Alma Mater:  Miami (OH), 1975

Conference:  Big Ten

Salary:  $1,350,000

Official Bio:   www.fightingillini.com

Years Coaching:  6

Career Record:  35 - 37  .486

Years at School:  3

Record at Illinois:  13 - 23   .361

2007 Record:  9 - 4   .692

2007 Cost per Win:  $138,333

Attorney/Agent:   

Contract: 

December 2008 Buyout:  $1,500,000

Coaches Hot Seat Analysis

We here at Coaches Hot Seat did not make a prediction on Ron Zook and Illinois in 2007, but if we had it would have been at best 6 or 7 wins for the season.  The opening game last year, a very close 6 point loss to Missouri should have told us something was up, but we didn't know how good Missouri was at that time.  After the opening game loss, Illinois reeled off 5 straight wins, including a win against Wisconsin in game 6, but the Illini then turned around and lost to a very mediocre Iowa team.  A loss to Michigan was next and then a big win over Ohio State in Columbus, but the season did not end well with a drubbing by Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl, but overall it was a very good season for Ron Zook and his team.  Watching Ron Zook in 2007 was to see a coach and a man that has evolved quite a bit since his time as an assistant under Steve Spurrier, and even from when he was a head coach at Florida.  As an assistant under Spurrier, Zook was a man in perpetual fast-forward with as much energy as a 3-year old during practices and games.  When he returned to Florida as a head coach his energy level may have even picked up a little, and much of his focus was on the recruiting trail where he landed 3 very talented classes for the Gators.  Ron Zook has a very unique personal quality, that when you sit across from him you just want to believe what he is saying, and that is a mighty powerful tonic for parents that are turning their kids over to a football coach and school.  Zook has had two very good schools to recruit to, Florida and Illinois, but his recruiting efforts at Illinois have been much more impressive with the track record of the football program in Champaign in recent years.  As Ron Zook knows, there is plenty of football talent within a 4 hour drive of Champaign, and Zook has applied his dogged determination to getting his share of those players for the Illini and it is starting to pay off on the football field.  Another thing we have noticed about Zook in 2007, and even in '06, is that he has grown into being a head football coach, and that he more fully understands the important role that a head coach plays that is a lot different than the role of an assistant.  This is the greatest challenge for long-time and even successful assistant coaches, moving into the leadership role of a head coach, where all eyes (players, fans, media, everyone) are on you all of the time.  It is impossible to overstate the importance of the head coaching always remaining in control of his senses and in command of his team, because the strength and leadership of the head coach flows directly to his team.  There is nothing wrong with a head coach being animated and fired-up on the sidelines, but a head coach must pick his spots because how the coach acts can and does affect his team during football games.  If you look at the greatest college head coaches of all-time, Rockne, Bryant, Royal, Devaney, Hayes, Schembechler, Dooley, Vaught, McKay, Switzer, Eddie Robinson, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno (and many more), and even the mild-mannered Tom Osborne, they all have/had a cool fire burning inside of them during games, that can be turned up and down as necessary.  The great coaches rarely let themselves get out of control, because they know it will impact their team, and in the last couple of years Ron Zook has dialed himself back just a little on the sidelines, which in our opinion translates into his Illini team playing with a lot more consistency.  One thing about great head football coaches, is that all of them have assistants on the sidelines that can light a fire under their players and that can also coach their players during the games on adjustments and other changes that must be made to win  football games.

Coaches Hot Seat Bottom Line

We predict that Ron Zook and Illinois will have a 9-3 record in 2008.  Now this is how you start a football season, with Illinois and Missouri facing off in St. Louis.  Last year this game between the Illini and the Tigers was one of the best games of the year, and we believe that this will be another great one.  Missouri has a lot of players back from a great run in '07, and in what should be a very close game, we see the Tigers offense just being a little too much for Illinois, so the Illini start off at 0-1.  There will be no shame in losing to Missouri, who should be right back at the top of the Big 12 in '08, and in week 2 the Illini welcome Eastern Illinois to Champaign.  That is a win, and the Illini are 1-1.  In week 3 the Ragin-Cagins of La. Lafayette come calling in Champaign, and the Illini should win this game easily as well.  After 3 games, Illinois is 2-1.  The Big Ten schedule gets started in week 4, with a very tough trip to play Penn State in State College.  This may be JoePa's last year as a head coach, and the Penn State fans will really be fired up for all of the Nittany Lion home games in '08, but we see Illinois getting a close win in this game.  After four games, Illinois is 3-1.  Week 5 brings a trip to Ann Arbor to play Michigan, and year 1 under Rodriguez for the Wolverines is not going to be a picnic.  Zook and Illinois should handle Michigan, which takes their record to 4-1 after five games.  Tim Brewster and Minnesota travel to Champaign in week 6 and the Illini have way too much talent and experience to lose this game.  After six games, the Illini are 5-1.  An improving Indiana team travels to Champaign in week 7, and although this game may be closer than one would imagine, the Illini should win this game.  After seven games, Illinois is 6-1.  One of the biggest games of the year is in week 8 when Illinois travels to Madison to play Wisconsin.  If Illinois can find a way to beat the Badgers, then they will have the inside track on the Big Ten with Ohio State traveling to Champaign for the Illini game in '08.  In what we see as a great and very close game, Wisconsin gets the win which sends the Illinois record to 6-2.  In week 9 the Iowa Hawkeyes come to Champaign, and no doubt the Illini will want to avenge the embarrassing loss to Iowa in '07.  We see Illinois bouncing back in this game and beating Iowa, which takes their record to 7-2.  Illinois leave Big Ten play in week 10 when Western Michigan comes to Champaign.  This game will be closer than many people think, but the Illini will put away the game in the 2nd half to get a convincing win.  After ten games, Illinois is 8-2.  Week 11 is the second big game of the year with the Ohio State Buckeyes coming to Champaign.  Ohio State should be locked and loaded in '08 and this will be a very close game that goes back and forth until the 4th quarter.  We see Ohio State getting the win over the Illini in this close game, which takes the Illinois record to 8-3.  After the tough loss to the Buckeyes, Illinois travels to the Chicago suburbs to play Northwestern, and this will be a game where the Illini will have to stay focused to get the win.  Just on talent level the Illini beat Northwestern, which takes their 2008 regular season record to 9-3.

In some ways 9-3 will be a letdown after the very successful '07 campaign by Zook and his Illini, but from where the Illinois program has come since Zook got to Champaign, 9-3 in season four will be quite an accomplishment.  As far as going forward, unless Ron Zook quits recruiting (not likely), we see the Illini becoming a perennial upper-tier Big Ten team for the foreseeable future.  We would have not written that in May of 2007, which show how far Ron Zook has move the perception of the Illinois football program in the last 12 months. 

2008 Coaches Hot Seat Prediction:        9-3

Will Ron Zook be back for the 2009 season?      YES