Guenther presents his plan for change

Posted In: Herald & Review Mark Tupper Illini
Date: Friday, December 18, 2009

You may not agree with Ron Guenther’s decision-making or master plan – many of you have made it clear you do not – and that’s fine. I would not have chosen this path, and the proof will come out as Illinois’ football future unfolds.
But I’ll be the first to admit I did not believe they would be able to attract new offensive and defensive coordinators the quality of Paul Petrino and Vic Koenning given the uncertain status of the program and of head coach Ron Zook. And yet that’s what happened this week. Petrino was introduced on Monday and Koenning, who entertained 11th-hour conversations with Georgia, was introduced Friday afternoon.
Once again, Zook shows his skills as a recruiter.
So in that regard, Guenther’s plan is off to a very good start, because it hinges on surrounding Zook with stronger, more competent people who can take some of the burden off of Zook’s shoulders. And it also hinges on Zook’s willingness to change his own style and his own thinking, something Guenther admitted Friday is part of the master plan.
“Someone asked me, why would you consider going this way as opposed to going the other way (hiring a new head coach)?” Guenther said Friday. “Everybody you look at has some flaws. What we attempted to focus on is, what is the real strength you have in coach Zook? And is he willing to look into the blind spots of what was happening? Look at the best programs in the country and you have real strength in those coordinator positions. Then they take their own shape. That allows (Zook) to tweak some things instead of getting too involved in any one area.”
Guenther was told that many fans wanted a change at the top.
“The easiest thing is to take a position for popularity,” he said. “It’s not a popularity poll. My position is that I have to make a decision that gets us back as fast as we can get back. We’ve made an investment in a big way in coach Zook. He knows the academics, he knows the philosophy here, he knows the institution, he’s well-grounded. In my opinion, if this works the way it might work – and I feel very comfortable that it has a great chance of working – we’ll be back a lot faster than if we made a wholesale change.”
Koenning will make $325,000 in a two-year deal. Petrino is getting $475,000 in a two-year deal. Guenther said they sought the best coordinators they could find, without regard to cost.
“Right from the beginning when I said this was an option, I thought let’s focus on getting the very best people in the business. And that’s what we attempted to do and I think we succeeded in doing that. Salaries are what they are. Assistant coaches’ salaries have moved just like head coaches’ salaries. It speaks volumes that these guys have confidence – that’s the other issue – they have confidence in this program. They are putting their stamp on this too. I think they know we’re a lot closer than people think.
“When it falls apart, there are a lot of reasons it falls apart. Coaching is just part of that whole thing. It takes health, it takes officiating, it takes a break, it takes getting the right people on the field. We’re rolling the dice. There is no question there is risk in any direction you go.
“If you lose confidence that you can’t get there, then you make your decision (to change head coaches) whether it’s three years, four years or six or seven. And we’ve been here before. It’s not a question of going too long or too short. But there’s a point in time if you don’t think you can get there, you change (head coaches). I was not convinced, and I told you that at Purdue, there were other issues we had to address. I didn’t know how far we’d go at the time. I certainly haven’t lost confidence in coach Zook and look forward to the new guys joining the staff.”
Guenther said he had heart-to-heart sessions with both Ron Turner and Ron Zook after they took their Illini teams to BCS bowls, then suffered a decline. In each case, Guenther said, he told the coaches changed needed to be made. But he implied that Turner didn’t accept the need for those changes and eventually that forced Guenther to fire him. He’s had the same conversation now with Zook, who has agreed to the changes. Obviously, letting coordinators do their job and trusting them in the long run will be a big part of the success of this plan and time will tell if Zook is truly willing to do that.
I also asked Guenther if Illinois is capable of sustaining bowl-level success.
“You ask a good question. It’s not easy. I think (Illinois) can sustain a bowl program. I don’t know that you can reach the top of the hill every year. But I see no reason for this football program not to be in the bowl business every year. The major difference between coach Turner and coach Zook at the moment, all of this stuff we have added to the program we did not have. We have the new facility on the west side (press box and suites), a brand new facility on the north side (weight room) and we were just getting into the indoor facility. So as I look at the program now, if it’s being funded, we have everything there and there is no reason for you not to be successful.
“But it’s going to take the right people and chemistry between people and right personality and energy. I feel good about what we’ve done here. It’s not all about recruiting and it’s not all about coaching. It’s a blend of both. The other thing we came to grips with, guys who have had a successful track record – if you get people in here who have done it before, there is no reason why they can’t do it again.”
Guenther said that while he was not making a change at the top of the program, he was asking the man at the top to change and to be amenable to change.
“That’s my job. People above me should ask me to change or at least look if we’re not having success. You have to change and the smart ones do. There is no harder working guy, no more energetic guy (than Zook). But if that guy doesn’t look in the mirror and ask, why isn’t it working? And it’s my role in this to challenge. We came to the conclusion that we needed more strength around him so he can concentrate on being the head coach, the heart beat and energy of the football team.”
Guenther said it would have been easier to dump Zook and start over. Easier, but in his view, not the best path at this time.
“The easy way out is to play to the fan base and make the change at the top. Do you realize the investment we’ve made in coach Zook?” he asked. “When you go through a coaching change you almost lose 8-9 months, in terms of general culture, new recruiting territory, people introducing themselves to high school coaches they don’t know.
“I felt the fastest way back was to retain (Zook) but make changes. I didn’t know if there were two changes, three changes, five changes. I did not care. All I cared was that we get back on the track as fast as we could.”
Koenning looks the part. He’s a big, raw-boned, Oklahoma-born linebacker who played briefly in the NFL and who has a reputation as a butt-kicker who demands perfection. He had a failed stint as head coach at Wyoming, which was humbling and which helped him understand some of the things Zook is dealing with now, he said.
But each of his four defenses at Clemson were ranked in the top 25 in the country in scoring defense, total defense and pass efficiency defense. And after taking over a Kansas State defense that ranked 117th in 2008, his 2009 defense ranked 40th.
I think Koenning wants to coach linebackers, which is where former co-defensive coordinator Dan Disch is slotted now. That’s why I don’t think we’re done talking about changes on this staff. I think there will be one or two more and still to be resolved is who coaches special teams.
If Disch were to take another job, a special teams coaching position would be open.
I’ve tried to give you as much of what Guenther said as anything else. It’s the first time he has spoken in any depth since all of this went down.
My position is this: I’m impressed by the hires. It’s going to be fascinating to watch this unfold through spring practice, at Rantoul and into the 2010 season. There’s at least a chance it could work and the success of that plan may hinge entirely on how much Zook is willing to let these coordinators do their jobs. If they’re as good as advertised, meddling shouldn’t be necessary.
Clearly, what they were doing was not working. Change was needed. This may not be the change you wanted, but it’s at least an interesting attempt at change. I, for one, will at least give it a chance to succeed.

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