Weber out as Illini coach

The University of Illinois fired head men's basketball coach on Friday after 9 years in Champaign. Athletic Director Mike Thomas has made it clear that losing is not an option in any Fighting Illini sport. Since his hiring, Thomas has fired head football coach Ron Zook, head women's basketball coach Jolette Law, and now the men's basketball coach is packing his bags as well.

Thomas has also made it clear that he wants to strengthen the school's relationship with the city of Chicago, a relationship that has been weakened. After the Illini victory over Northwestern (a school who has named themselves "Chicago's Big Ten Team") Thomas made sure to play "Sweet Home Chicago" in the stadium. He also added the state of Illinois' outline at center court and started programs with the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Fire that offer special ticket deals for Illini fans, students, alumni, and family.

Thomas will likely pursue a coach that he believes can recruit better in the Chicagoland area than Weber was. I also suspect that he wants a coach that is relatively young. The two big names that come to mind are VCU's Shaka Smart and Butler's Brad Stevens. Both are young coaches who took programs that rarely made the NCAA Tournament and brought them to the Final Four. I personally would like to see Smart hired. Other names brought up are Scott Drew of Baylor, Gregg Marshall of Wichita State, Anthony Grant of Alabama, and even Derrick Rose's coach at Simeon.

Nonethless, I think it is clear that the entire Illinois Athletic Department is undergoing a rebuilding period. As Northwestern also improves, I think that it is clear that both major college athletics programs in the state are making a push for national prominence.