Newly minted Athletic Director Josh Whitman did what he had to do, and on his very first official day as the new A.D. He fired Bill Cubit. Of course, the news was released on a Saturday morning when no one was working. The press release included a four hour advance notice for the Whitman news conference, which is later today at 3.
It’s the Illini way! News dump after news dump after news dump at extremely inopportune times!
This is your life as an Illini sports fan and/or reporter:
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/706179753829658624
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/706180428437319680
Removing Bill Cubit was one thing, but removing his son, Ryan Cubit, is another and much better thing. Offensive coordinator Ryan Cubit was also relieved of his duties effective immediately. The rest of the assistant coaches will have the opportunity to interview with the new head coach.
Cubit the Younger has never, in his life, held a position on a staff that wasn’t run by his Dad. Yet Cubit the Elder made him the highest paid assistant on the whole Illini staff. Wide Receivers coach Mike Bellamy should have been made OC, not Ryan Cubit, and instead Bellamy had to look up, and receives less pay than a kid who did this.
Yes, Ryan Cubit plead guilty to a DUI charge a year ago and received two years’ probation. Any time you take someone who previously served in a more obscure role, and then elevate them to a major leadership position, and that person is currently on probation, it’s a very bad look for the University.
RIP #Cubitism
You may wonder how this could affect the future of John Groce? Well, that’s a separate story entirely and we covered that already in detail at this link.
Yes, if you’re looking for potential “probable cause” for today’s actions, then most likely consider the fact that Bill Cubit promoted his extremely under-qualified son, and in the process thus elevated him in prestige and pay grade far above more deserving, experienced coaches. A son that generates headlines like this, i.e. very negative publicity, for the program had to be dismissed, as did the father who enabled it.
This act obviously didn’t sit well with leadership (and the fans all hated it). We knew Cubit would be out the door eventually because of it.
It’s very clear now what the rationale was behind extending Bill Cubit on November 29th. UI kicked the can down the road to the next A.D. and then Interim A.D. Paul Kowalczyk had to be the public face on that dubious decision. It wasn’t all Kowalczyk’s call, but he was the public face to give us the infamous “It’s not ideal but I don’t think it’ll put a dagger in the heart of the program” line that has been so often repeated and turned into a depressing, defeatist hash tag.
Since that day, we all knew that Cubit was a NIINO (non-interim in name only). He was a “permanent coach” mostly because you can’t have two-year or three-year “interim guys.” The Cubit decision didn’t have a ton of support, and many of the few supporters that he did have turned on him when he committed an egregious act of nefarious nepotism upon getting the job.
We really thought Whitman was going to fire Bill Cubit in December, but hey, he moved fast to get this done even earlier. Good for him.
Whitman will meet players on Saturday. He said that because of the timing of this decision, spring football practice (scheduled to start Friday, March 11) will be delayed until a new head coach is in place and can coordinate a schedule. An announcement will also be forthcoming with regard to the Spring Football Game, currently scheduled for Saturday, April 16.
What about the future? Well, we’ll see what what Whitman says at the presser, but this observation I made a few weeks ago seems more prescient now.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/700375232922718208
Bill Cubit will receive the remaining balance of payment due for the upcoming season, approximately $985,000. He has an overall record of 90-72-1 in 14 years as a collegiate head coach. Bill Cubit joined the Illinois staff as offensive coordinator in 2013 before becoming interim head coach last August. Ryan Cubit was named offensive coordinator in December. He will paid approximately $361,000 for the remainder of his contract.
Whitman indicated he would name a new head coach as soon as possible.
It’s also hilarious, how this joke that I Tweeted out on Monday is getting more attention now.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/704379769048137728
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram