What is the Illinois COVID-19 Coaching Succession Plan? Lovie Smith Won't Discuss Details
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- As of today, we’ll all simply have to take Lovie Smith’s word that his Illinois football program has a succession plan in place in the case he tests positive for the coronavirus. Because the Illini fifth-year head coach is not sharing this plan with anybody in public.
Smith has repeatedly confirmed, including in his Monday media Zoom video conference, that the Illini have a plan in place if he’s forced to step away from the sidelines. He has immediately followed up that comment by declining to get into any details on the specific protocol.
“We have a third-down game plan, a short-yardage game plan and we have a plan for that too,” Smith said. “You kind of keep your game plan to yourself until then and we’ll do the same. We feel good about where we are.”
Illinois head coach Lovie Smith wearing his make while conducting a practice session on Oct. 12 in Champaign, Ill. The Illini will open up Big Ten Conference play Friday night at No. 14 Wisconsin (7 p.m., BTN).
After several high profile college head coaches have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last few weeks including Alabama’s Nick Saban, Florida’s Dan Mullen, Florida State’s Mike Norvell and, most recently announced today, Purdue’s Jeff Brohm, all programs across the country are likely reviewing their plans if the leader is not able to attend practices and games due to being in quarantine.
Norvell missed a game this season due to COVID-19 quarantine, Mullen saw his game vs. LSU postponed due to COVID-19 protocols, Saban was able to get three consecutive days of negative tests in time to return to the sidelines last weekend for the win over then-No. 3 Georgia and Brohm confirmed Monday that his younger brother Brian, who serves as Purdue’s quarterback coach, will take over head coach duties on an interim basis.
“For a few days before the positive test, I was abnormally tired and exhausted, and I just thought that I was tired from work," Brohm said Monday. "I didn't really know for sure what was happening, but it really wasn't until Saturday that it started to kick in, and the cold chills, body aches, a little bit of sweating, the chest tightness -- really all of the symptoms you hear about -- took place, and I knew I was not in good shape quite then and probably would have a positive test the next day and did."
Smith, who is entering his fifth year as the Illini head coach and is 62 years old, is also entering his second season as the defensive play-caller during games and the only member of his coaching staff with head-coaching experience at the college or professional level.
“It’s crazy sometimes when you think about what could happen but the thing is, we’ve put in some protocols throughout our training camp that if, knock on wood, I couldn’t be around or Lovie couldn’t be around,” Illinois offensive coordinator Rod Smith said. “There are steps in place to allow us to continue to run our systems. Does it concern you? Absolutely it concerns you. At the same time, we have protocols for that exact scenario.”
Illinois offensive coordinator Rod Smith speaking to Illini senior wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe during a training camp practice this month inside Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
University of Illinois athletics department file photo
Rod Smith would seem like a likely choice to take over the interim head-coaching duties but that presents two obvious questions, one of which the Illini offensive coordinator confirmed Monday. Since arriving at Illinois in 2018 and at previous offensive coordinator stops at Arizona and Indiana and South Florida, Rod Smith has always been in the press box during games. However, the 24-year coaching veteran said he’d been comfortable with being able to make offensive calls from the sidelines, in a similar way to how offensive-minded head coaches such as Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn, Mississippi State’s Mike Leach, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin and Ohio State’s Ryan Day conduct their business.
“Obviously that would be (Lovie Smith’s) call but if he wanted me to do that, I’d be okay going down (to the field),” Rod Smith said. “I’m a soldier man. I’ll do what I’m told.”
However, what Rod Smith would do as an interim head coach/offensive coordinator doesn’t solve the problem of finding the person to make the defensive calls without Lovie Smith. Excluding Lovie’s son, Miles, from the conversation, Keynodo Hudson is the longest tenured defensive coach under Lovie Smith’s Illini program but Hudson has only held coordinator duties at the high school level nearly a decade ago (Mainland High School in Florida from 2009-11).
The good news is as Illinois prepares to open the Big Ten football season Friday night at No. 14 Wisconsin (7 p.m., BTN) they return all but two starters in the back seven of its defense in this 2020 season so a more experienced group would suggest less mistakes would come from Lovie Smith being absent on the sidelines.
“It would be something where we’d all be disappointed and a downer but I don’t think it’d be the end of the world either honestly,” Illinois senior linebacker Jake Hansen said about the hypothetical situation of Lovie Smith being forced to possibly miss games.
Hansen is transitioning from the outside to middle linebacker position after the graduation of Dele Harding, who has returned to Illinois as a graduate assistant, and represents a spot on the field Lovie Smith usually expects to hand over a lot of pre-snap responsibility over to during games.
“From a health standpoint, it is very worrisome and we would all be praying for him and everything. From a strictly football and business standpoint, it’d be okay,” Hansen said. “I really think (Lovie Smith) has done a great job developing the whole coaching staff underneath him to potentially fill that void if that situation were to come up.”