Bill Cubit to shed interim tag
Bill Cubit will not be playing for his future on Saturday.
The Illinois interim coach reportedly agreed to a two-year deal to stay at Illinois.
“Bill has stepped in during an extremely difficult period and done an outstanding job in leading our football program since August,” Interim Athletics Director Paul Kowalczyk said in a statement. “Our student-athletes have responded in a positive manner and we feel he is the best person at this time to be the head coach.
“We wanted to allow Bill to make decisions regarding the program as the head coach without the interim title, and lead the Fighting Illini into Saturday’s game without speculation.”
Sources had told FootballScoop that Cubit had proposed a 3 year deal w 2 guaranteed. The thinking was that was enough to hire / keep staff..
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) November 28, 2015
Cubit, who started off as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2013, took over for Tim Beckman after he was fired a week before the start of this season because of his role in a player abuse scandal.
Three weeks ago, the university fired athletic director Mike Thomas following the release of the mistreatment report.
“During the past three months, Coach Cubit has led this team with a steady and experienced hand,” Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson said in a statement. “He has earned respect and appreciation from all of us. This move will allow the permanent Athletics Director to evaluate the program at his or her own schedule and make decisions based on those evaluations once that search is completed.”
The Illini coach has a chance to clinch bowl eligibility with a win against Northwestern today.