Bret Bielema To Become Next Head Coach At Illinois

Well that didn't take long.

Just a few days after moving on from Lovie Smith, Illinois has found their next head coach, and it is a familiar face: former Wisconsin coach and Illinois native Bret Bielema.

Introducing new #Illini head coach, @BretBielema!

https://t.co/qBG5DIqZRU pic.twitter.com/cZL9k9n1Tq

— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) December 19, 2020

Bielema started his head coaching career at Wisconsin, where he followed the success of legendary head coach Barry Alvarez. In his seven seasons in Madison, Bielema led the Badgers to three Rose Bowls and two top-ten finishes.

He then took the Arkansas job beginning in 2013, which proved costly, as he never won more than eight games during his five seasons with the Razorbacks and was fired following a 4-8 campaign in 2017. Since his firing, he had been coaching in the NFL with the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. Now, he is back in his home state, and will be tasked with keeping the state's best players home.

"Illinois and the Big Ten is home for me, and I can't be any more excited about the opportunity in front of me with the Fighting Illini," Bielema said in a release. "We want to build a program that makes Illini Nation proud and regain the passion that I've seen when Illinois wins. I look forward to re-connecting with the high school coaches around the state making it clear we intend to keep our players home."

Bielema's first game as the Illinois head coach is scheduled to come against Nebraska on Aug. 28, 2021 in Dublin, Ireland.