Illinois assistant Cory Patterson will be staying with the school despite Brett Bielema just being named head coach.

However, Patterson is not going to be the tight end’s coach anymore as his new role will be coaching the running backs.

Patterson originally joined the Illinois staff in 2018 after he was the head coach of Trinity Catholic High School. He was there for three years and even led the school to a state championship in 2016.

On the Illinois official website, Bielema released a statement talking about the move and he said:

“After meeting Cory a few weeks ago, I came away impressed with his passion for coaching and the Illini family,” Bielema said. “During our transition, he will now coach our running backs and work with us in recruiting to find the individuals who can best help us win championships. We couldn’t be more excited to have Cory return as a member of our coaching staff and for him and his family to remain here in Champaign.”

We’ll have to see what other changes Bielema makes to his staff as we get further into the offseason.