The tenure of New York Giants outside linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant Bret Bielema has come to an end.
From the moment Bielema was hired by the Giants, he had drawn interest from and expressed interest in various college programs looking for a new head coach. And over the past several hours, he and Illinois hammered out a six-year deal that became official on Saturday morning.
“Illinois and the Big Ten is home for me, and I can’t be any more excited about the opportunity in front of me with the Fighting Illini,” Bielema said through the University. “We want to build a program that makes Illini Nation proud and regain the passion that I’ve seen when Illinois wins. We want the young men playing football in the state of Illinois from Freeport to Cairo and from Quincy to Danville dreaming of wearing the Orange and Blue and playing at Memorial Stadium. I look forward to re-connecting with the high school coaches around the state making it clear we intend to keep our players home.
“We will build an outstanding staff for both player development and recruiting. The University of Illinois has incredible facilities and is known as one of the world’s outstanding academic institutions. We will hold the young men on our team responsible both on and off the field while coaching them to be champions in life. Jen and I, along with our girls, are excited to get to Champaign-Urbana and get started on the journey. Go Illini!”
Illinois will pay Bielema an annual salary of $4.2 and he takes over effective immediately. He will leave East Rutherford on Saturday morning to join his new team as they take on the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer and defensive assistant Jody Wright will take over Bielema’s duties for the remainder of the season.
