It appears things aren't so bubbly in Champaign, Illinois.
An ESPN report came in this weekend about how first-year Illinois head coach Lovie Smith was "miserable" in his time at the school, with some believing that Smith could head back for the NFL after the Illini started 2-6 on the season.
Yes, every 2-6 coach is miserable, but this situation is especially sour — and that the rebuilding job looks much greater than he anticipated. Could Lovie be one-and-done? A source close to Smith says no and that while the rebuild is extreme, Smith should be rejuvenated after signing his own recruiting class. Then again, if the NFL expresses renewed interest in Smith, all bets are off.
Smith gave his own response when asked about the report on Monday.
"Am I happy right now with where we are? No," Smith said per the Chicago Tribune. "No one on our football team is happy where we are right now. Our time in Champaign is bigger than where we are right now."
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The ESPN report and what Smith said do have some agreement: it looks like Smith is disappointed with where the team is at right now, but he is still willing to give the rebuild a shot once he has his own recruits. That's a fair response, considering that it is what every coach should aspire to in a rebuild.
However, things got interesting when Smith refuted the NFL report. While it is still probably unlikely, Smith really gave a non-answer when he just had a chance to say no.
"I would not get into speculation," said Smith, again per the Tribune.
Again, it's fair that a coach wouldn't want to go into detail on speculation and reports of him taking another job, but why not just say no there? Instead of reaffirming a commitment to Illinois, Smith really left an open-ended answer, which he apparently reconsidered because he posted a message on Twitter later in the day.
For now, it looks like Smith is staying at Illinois, but he will definitely be a name to watch once the NFL coaching carousel comes calling in the offseason. I would expect Smith to at least stay at Illinois for another year or two, but if recruiting doesn't go well for him? It could change his opinion, especially if a coveted NFL job does indeed open up.
