Who should be Bret Bielema’s next defensive coordinator?

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For the third time in six seasons, the Fighting Illini football team will have a new defensive coordinator.

Aaron Henry accepted the Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary coach position at the University of Notre Dame. Henry was promoted to the Defensive Coordinator position when Ryan Walters left to become the Head Coach of Purdue in 2023.

Henry’s tenure has been much maligned, as the vaunted Illini defense under Walters seemed to take a step or two back over the last two seasons. Specifically in the secondary, where Henry was the primary coach.

With his departure, Head Coach Brett Bielema is left with a conundrum. Does he stay within or look elsewhere? There has been talk that the new defensive coordinator will bring a new scheme. This would possibly rule out an in-house hire. But we can’t be 100% sure.

Staying internal, the obvious choice in Archie McDaniel.

McDaniel (40) has extensive experience, with 15 years of college coaching before joining Illinois in 2023. He has coached Tight Ends, D-Line, Linebackers, and three years as Co-Defensive Coordinator at Texas State. He has produced some very good players in the Linebacker room for the Illini (such as Dylan Rosiek and Gabe Jacas), and no doubt could do the same as the Defensive Coordinator. McDaniel has the experience and should at least be considered. However, if Bielema goes that direction, fans may not be fully satisfied with back-to-back internal hires.

Some names from outside the Illini program:

Justin Wilcox – Former Cal Head Coach

The 49-year-old Wilcox’s resume includes two tours at Boise State (2001-02 Grad Assistant, 2006–09 as DC). His defenses were a huge reason for the Broncos’ 49-4 record in those years. He also coached at Cal (2003-06 LB Coach), He was a defensive Coordinator at Tennessee (2010-2011), Washington (2012-1013), USC (2014-2015), and Wisconsin (2016), helping the Badgers finish as runner-up in the Big Ten and Cotton Bowl win, before taking the head job at Cal. In nine seasons at Cal, he is 48-55.

Wilcox has a proven track record of success as a Defensive Coordinator, which could be a stabilizing factor for Illinois. Despite his record, his time as a head coach gives him a leadership edge. His West Coast ties (he played college ball as a DB at Oregon and is from Eugene) could also be beneficial for recruiting in that region. 

Mark Stoops – Former Kentucky Head Coach

Stoops has spent the last 13 years as head coach of the Wildcats. At 58, he coached in the NCAA for 29 years, plus two years as a graduate assistant at Iowa when Bret Bielema played there. He rose through the ranks as a defensive back coach at South Florida (1996), Wyoming (1997-99), Houston (where he was also Co-DC in 2000), Miami (2001-03), Arizona (2004-09), and Florida State (2010-12). He was also the Defensive Coordinator at Arizona and Florida State. After 13 years as a head coach, he may not want to take a coordinator role at his age. But as a former DB coach, the role would fit well with his skill set. Bielema has been a longtime acquaintance, and both men have a mutual respect for one another.

Pete Kwiatkowski – former Texas Defensive Coordinator

Kwiatkowski, 59, has been in college football for 38 years, coaching at stops including Boise State (2 times, 17 years), Washington (7 years), and Texas for the last 5 seasons. He has enjoyed a pretty good reputation as a Defensive Coordinator and has coached numerous athletes who have gone on to the next level. He played his college ball at Boise State and is a member of the Boise State Athletic Hall of Fame. A coach with this kind of reputation joining any coaching staff commands respect. But after 38 years, how much longer would he want to coach?

From the NFL:

One name, I already had the other, is a late entrant who might have the inside track

Demarcus Covington, Defensive Line coach for the Green Bay Packers. Cousins, 36, was the Coaching assistant and Outside Linebackers Coach for the Patriots when Bielema was in New England. Cousins has NCAA experience with Ole Miss (2013-14), the University of Tennessee Martin (2015), and Eastern Illinois (2016). He is familiar with Bielema and, like Billen, could bring brand and leadership to the defense, and at 36 could be more relatable to younger players. Realistically, he is an outside shot. But Bielema tends to go with people he knows.

Kevin Richardson II is a name that surfaced and has been widely speculated on after the Feb. 4 press conference by Coach Bielema. Richardson, 32, is currently a New England Patriots Defensive Assistant Coach. Richardson has ties with Bielema and the Illini. He played for Bielema at Arkansas. He was a graduate assistant at Illinois in 2021, a Defensive Analyst in 2024, and an Assistant Defensive Backs Coach in 2024. Bielema mentioned in his presser that the new defensive scheme has been used in the pros. He also stated he couldn’t name the Defensive Coordinator until after the Super Bowl.

So Bielema can go with the old guard or the young lion. Again, unless the presser was a smoke screen, which I doubt. The odds favor the young lion, and I think he will be a familiar face.

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