Illinois announced Monday that former Montana head coach Bobby Hauck will serve as the program’s new defensive coordinator, according to team officials.
The hire comes less than a week after coach Bret Bielema told local media that changes were coming following the Super Bowl. Hauck replaces Aaron Henry, who left for Notre Dame last week.
The move ends Hauck’s five-day retirement from coaching.
“I am excited to welcome Coach Hauck and his family to our Illini FamILLy,” Bielema said in a statement. “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.”
Hauck brings 38 years of coaching experience to Champaign. He spent 14 seasons across two stints as Montana’s head coach.
His resume also includes stops at Northern Arizona, Colorado, UNLV, Washington and San Diego State. The hire represents a major shift in defensive philosophy for Illinois.
Hauck’s signature 3-3-5 defense emphasizes speed and aggressiveness. That’s a departure from the system Henry used during his time with the Fighting Illini.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to join the Illinois football program,” Hauck said. “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.”
The hiring is pending University of Illinois Board of Trustees approval.
Contract details weren’t immediately disclosed.
