College Football Coaching Changes: Ranking the best hires

Oct 31, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bill Cubit prior to the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Penn State won 39-0. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

17. Illinois Fighting Illini – Bill Cubit replaces Tim Beckman

Illinois was the first school to give a spin on the coaching carousel when the Illini fired Tim Beckman a week before the start of the season. Bill Cubit stepped in as the interim head coach and led Illinois to a 5-7 record, which is about what you’d expect from Beckman, but considering he was promoted to head coach a week before the year it was an okay debut.

It wasn’t an ideal scenario for Illinois to hire a new coach considering they don’t have an athletic director in place so the Illini bit the bullet and gave Cubit a two-year deal to essentially bridge the gap to get a new AD in place and bring a semblance of stability to the football program.

Illinois fans wanted Western Michigan head coach and Illinois native P.J. Fleck to get this job, but they just may have to wait a year or two to get him to “row the boat” to Champaign.

Next: Frank Wilson