Illini hire Bobby Hauck as defensive coordinator

Illinois has hired long-time Montana head coach Bobby Hauck as its defensive coordinator, Illini head coach Bret Bielema announced on Monday. His contract is pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Hauck spent 15 seasons as Montana’s head coach, serving as the Grizzlies’ head coach from 2003-09 and 2018-25, finishing with a 151-43 record in those two stints. Hauck also served as head coach of UNLV from 2010-14, going 15-49 in that time. He led Montana to the FCS national championship game four times, losing all four.

Hauck is the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history, leading Montana to eight conference titles. He earned Big Sky Coach of the Year four times and was named a finalist for Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2003.

Hauck’s defenses have ranked top-20 in the nation in scoring defense three times over the last five seasons and top-10 in the nation in turnovers in three of the last five years.

Hacuk recently retired from Montana, saying that “from my job and the head coach’s desk — this is probably the most important thing I’ll say here — dealing with what college football has become is not always enjoyable as a head coach.”

How he fits: Hauck runs an aggressive 3-3-5 scheme (three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs) and is from the Rocky Long coaching tree. Hauck’s defenses have ranked top-20 in the nation in scoring defense three times over the last five seasons. The scheme is known as very aggressive and blitzes on a high percentage of plays. It prioritizes speed and athleticism over bulk and tries to create deception pre-snap. The scheme always uses five defensive backs, often a hybrid safety/linebacker who roams the field, which fits well with Illini star defensive backs Matthew Bailey and Xavier Scott. The scheme plays man-to-man coverage a lot.

Bobby Hauck said in a statement: “I am grateful for the opportunity to join the Illinois football program. Coach Bielema is one of the great head coaches in all of football and I am extremely excited to work for him and the student-athletes and staff here at the University of Illinois. I have a great feeling about the players, the coaches, and the future of this program. I will miss Montana dearly because of the relationships and the passion I have for the football program. I hope to bring some of that to the Illini. I can’t wait to get started.”

Bielema said in a statement: “I am excited to welcome Coach Hauck and his family to our Illini FamILLy. Since meeting Coach Hauck early on in my head coaching career, I have had tremendous respect for who he is, what he stands for, and the program he has built. He is a family man with incredible attention to detail and a great ability to teach the game to both his staffs and players. Coach Hauck’s aggressive defensive scheme, which he learned at San Diego State and developed at Montana, will be an exciting new style that has never been seen here at Illinois.”