Bret Bielema confirms new DC for Illinois

Bret Bielema will need a new DC in Champaign for 2023. After Ryan Walters filled the role the past two seasons, his departure to become the head coach at Purdue opened up the spot on Bielema’s Illinois staff.

During a Saturday press conference, Bielema admitted he expected for a while that Walters would be on the move this offseason. In particular, the openings at Colorado and Purdue were areas Bielema watched in expectation.

#illini Bret Bielema: Was planning for Ryan Walters to be gone since early this season, especially after Colorado opened.

When Purdue opened, he thought that’s where he’d go.

“That’d be my luck.”

— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 17, 2022

As for the new DC of the Illini, Bielema confirmed Illinois is promoting existing DBs coach Aaron Henry to the role of DC for 2023. Bielema even shared how he informed Henry of the move on a recruiting trip.

#illini Bret Bielema and Aaron Henry went on a walk in Jackson, Mississippi and came back in the hotel lobby.

“I said, are you ready to do this? It’s official Ryan is going to take the Purdue job and I’d like you to take over as the coordinator.”

— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) December 17, 2022

Henry has stops coaching in the secondary around the country, including at Vanderbilt, NC State and Rutgers. His work with the defensive backs at Illinois speaks for itself, including his ability to maximize the contributions of Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown over the past two seasons.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.