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The following is a list of Illinois Fighting Illini men's football head coaches. The Illinois Fighting Illini football team has had 27 individuals that have maintained the title of head coach. The current coach is Lovie Smith.[1]

Coach Years Conference Record Winning Pct Overall Record Winning Pct Conference Titles Bowl Appearances National Championships
Scott Williams 1890 1–2–0 .333 0 0 0
Robert Lackey 1891 6–0–0 1.000 0 0 0
Edward K. Hall 1892–1893 12–5–5 .706 0 0 0
Louis Vail 1894 5–3–0 .625 0 0 0
George Huff 1895–1899 2–7–1 .222 21–16–3 .563 0 0 0
Fred L. Smith 1900 1–3–2 .500 7–3–2 .667 0 0 0
Edgar Holt 1901–1902 8–4–0 .667 18–4–1 .818 0 0 0
George W. Woodruff 1903 1–5–0 .143 8–6–0 .571 0 0 0
Clyde Matthews* 1904 3–1–1 .778 9–2–1 .818 0 0 0
Fred Lowenthal* 1904–1905 0–3–0 .000 5–4–0 .555 0 0 0
Justa Lindgren* 1904, 1906 1–3–0 .250 1–3–1 .250 0 0 0
Arthur R. Hall* 1904, 1907–1912 17–9–2 .666 27–10–3 .730 1 0 0
Robert Zuppke 1913–1941 76–66–8 .548 131–81–11 .618 7 0 4
Ray Eliot 1942–1959 54–55–7 .496 83–73–11 .532 3 2 1
Pete Elliott 1960–1966 22–26–1 .464 31–34–1 .477 1 1 0
Jim Valek 1967–1970 5-23–0 .178 8-32–0 .200 0 0 0
Bob Blackman 1971–1976 24–23–1 .516 29–36–1 .439 0 0 0
Gary Moeller 1977–1979 3-18–3 .200 6-24–3 .227 0 0 0
Mike White 1980–1987 40-26–2 .612 47-41–3 .533 1 3 0
John Mackovic 1988–1991 22-9–1 .714 30-16–1 .663 1 3 0
Lou Tepper 1991–1996 17-21–2 .461 25-31–2 .456 0 3 0
Ron Turner 1997–2004 20-44–0 .312 35-57–0 .380 1 2 0
Ron Zook 2005–2011** 18–38–0 .321 34-51–0 .400 0 2 0
Vic Koenning 2011** 0–0–0 1-0–0 1.000 0 1 0
Tim Beckman 2012–2014 4–20–0 .167 12–25–0 .324 0 1 0
Bill Cubit 2015*** 2–5–0 .286 5-6–0 .454 0 0 0
Lovie Smith 2016- 2–16–0 0.111 5-19–0 .208 0 0 0
Totals 27 coaches 341-423-32 (.446) 600–575-53 (.511) 15 18 5

*Hall, Lindgren, Lowenthal and Matthews shared the title of "Head Coach" for the 1904 season.
**Zook was fired at the end of the regular season; defensive coordinator Vic Koenning was appointed as interim head coach and coached Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
***Cubit served as interim coach for the most of the 2015 regular season after Tim Beckman was terminated in August 2015, one week before the season-opening game. The "Interim" portion of Cubit's title was removed on November 28, 2015, a few hours before the last game of the season, and he was named permanent head coach--a tenure that lasted exactly one game, as the following March he was relieved of duties in favor of Lovie Smith by new Athletic Director Josh Whitman.

Hall of fame[]

Illinois has had five coaches inducted into the College Football Foundation Hall of Fame. Edward K. Hall (1892-1893),[2] George Woodruff (1903),[3] Robert Zuppke (1913-1941),[4] Bob Blackman (1971-1976)[5] and Pete Elliott (1960-1966).[6]

References[]

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