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Illinois offensive coordinator Garrick McGee says he’s ‘not interested in telling fans to be patient’
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Everyone associated with Illinois football knows that the program is going through a rebuilding process. Fans, students, coaches, players, they all understand that magic wasn’t going to happen overnight.
Athletic director Josh Whitman has even said — on multiple occasions — that this is going to be a process and he wants fans to stick with the program, even during a few rough patches. But offensive coordinator Garrick McGee sees it a little bit different.
McGee says fans aren’t going to be patient, and furthermore, shouldn’t be complacent with some of the poor performances the Illini have produced over the last several weeks. In a video shot by Jeremy Werner of Illini Inquirer, McGee said he was “not interested” in preaching patience to the fans.
“I don’t know that fans are interested in being patient,” he said. “There are a lot of people that are counting on this football team to give this program and fan base and alumni joy on Saturdays. I don’t know that fans are built to be patient.”
That’s an interesting message from McGee considering the struggles the Illini have faced over the last few weeks. But from a competitive standpoint, it’s understandable that McGee would want the team to perform at a high level every week.
Illinois won the first two games of the season but have dropped their last four. This week, the Illini travel to Minnesota to face the Gophers.
The full clip of McGee’s interview can be viewed here.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB