Beckman ready to rebuild Illini
CHAMPAIGN - Tim Beckman has rebuilt a program before.
He inherited a mess when he took over at Toledo, where the Rockets had finished three straight losing seasons and were in the middle of a point-shaving scandal.
At Illinois, the 46-year-old Beckman isn’t walking into a gambling crisis - but there are steep hills ahead.
The Illini are in the middle of a six-game losing streak that has given them an unwanted place in the record books. Much of an already unhappy fan base seemed initially underwhelmed by Beckman’s hiring. And one university trustee complained the school missed a chance to hire its first black head football coach.
But Beckman, coming from a MAC school where resources are limited and the Rose Bowl isn’t a possibility, insisted Friday that what’s ahead of him isn’t a rebuilding project.
“It’s not broken, it isn’t,” he told reporters after meeting with Illinois’ players. “This is a gold mine. You can win at the University of Illinois.”
Beckman will be paid $9 million over five years plus potential bonuses for bowl appearances and other benchmarks.
He replaces Ron Zook, who was fired last month by athletic director Mike Thomas after seven seasons. Illinois started this season 6-0, but carries that six-game losing streak into the Dec. 31 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against UCLA. The Illini are the first FBS team to open the regular-season with 6 straight wins, and close it with 6 consecutive losses.
Thomas said he hired Beckman from a field of five or six serious candidates - he wouldn’t name the others - because he believes he can win Big Ten titles. The athletic director, answering questions about fans on local talk radio and Internet message boards who said Beckman wasn’t a big enough name, said he heard much the same at the University of Cincinnati, where he hired a pair of MAC coaches that produced consistent winners, Brian Kelly, now at Notre Dame, and current Bearcats coach Butch Jones, whose team is 9-3 this season.
“They all said ‘Who’s Brian Kelly?’ They all said ‘Who’s Butch Jones.’” Thomas said. “I get that.”
Beckman said he agreed to come to Illinois only Friday morning. In three seasons at Toledo he was 21-16. The Rockets went 8-4 this season and will play in the Military Bowl against Air Force. Toledo offensive coordinator Matt Campbell will coach the Rockets pending a national search for Beckman’s replacement.
Rockets athletic director Mike O’Brien said Beckman’s move to a Big Ten school didn’t surprise him.
“It’s a credit to Tim Beckman,” he said. “It’s also a credit to the University of Toledo.”
Beckman was hired in Toledo in 2008. The school was in the middle of a point-shaving investigation involving football and basketball games from 2003-2006. Three former football players pleaded guilty. One player admitted accepting $500 to fumble the ball in a 2005 bowl game.
The Rockets were 5-7 in Beckman’s first season but finished 8-5 in his second and earned a trip to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.
His Toledo teams have always been able to score; the Rockets averaged 42.3 points this season, best in the MAC and eighth nationally. They averaged better than 200 yards a game in both rushing and passing.
Beckman said Friday he’ll run a spread at Illinois. He added that he’ll try to bring Campbell to Champaign, and has asked the NCAA for a waiver, like the one given to Ohio State, to allow him to add extra coaches to recruit while current assistants prepare for the bowl.
Toledo also gave up big points under Beckman - 30.9 a game this season.
“It was tough,” he said. “We didn’t tackle well.”
Tim Beckman at a glance
Age: 46
Education: University of Findlay, bachelor’s degree in physical education, 1988; master’s degree in education, Auburn, 1994
Hometown: Berea, OH
Family: He and his wife Kim have three children: Tyler (19), Lindsay (17), and Alex (13). Tyler attends Findlay on a football scholarship. Beckman is the son of a football coach, Dave Beckman, who worked at all levels: high school, college and pro.
Coaches he’s worked under: Dick Strahm, Pat Dye, Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel and Mike Gundy. Beckman spent 21 years working as an assistant coach.
Recruiting success: Rivals.com and Scout.com ranked Toledo’s 2010 recruiting class as No. 1 in the Mid-American Conference.
Record as an head coach
Year: School (Record), Bowl appearance
2011: Toledo (8-4), Military Bowl
2010: Toledo (8-5), Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
2009: Toledo (5-7)
Years: School, coaching position
2007-08: Oklahoma State, defensive coordinator
2005-06: Ohio State, cornerbacks
1998-2004: Bowling Green, defensive coordinator/asst. head coach
1996-97: Elon, defensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator
1990-95: Western Carolina, secondary/recruiting coordinator
1988-89: Auburn, graduate assistant
NFL players coached by Beckman
Ÿ Barry Church, Toledo (Dallas Cowboys)
Ÿ Stephen Williams, Toledo (Arizona Cardinals)
Ÿ Tyler Everett, Ohio State (Dallas Cowboys)
Ÿ Brandon Mitchell, Ohio State (Houston Texans)
Ÿ Nate Salley, Ohio State (Carolina Panthers)
Ÿ Donte Whitner, Ohio State (Buffalo Bills)
Ÿ Donovan Woods, Oklahoma State (Pittsburgh)
Ÿ Ashton Youboty, Ohio State (Buffalo Bills)
Source: University of Illinois, University of Toledo