When it comes to former head coach Tim Beckman, the one thing that it seems Illinois fans can agree on is that he should have been fired sooner. While the delay in his dismissal may very well have kept the program from getting back on track sooner, the deed is done and he is now gone.
Beckman might not have been on the job long but in his short time, he was able to compile some pretty terrible memories. Here is a look at the five most pressing memories that will be remembered about Beckman’s tenure at Illinois.
Embarrassed Twice On One Play
Coaches are not allowed to get in the way of the sideline officials and any interference they run with the referees automatically results in a 15-yard penalty. So when Beckman was penalized 15 yards following an interception by his own quarterback, it added insult to injury.
Beckman was knocked on his butt by the referee and forced to scoot out of the way as the play continued downfield. Beckman certainly compiled some regrettable memories but this was one of the funnier moments for everyone not tied directly to the program.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=f7WlUgbxmuQ
The Practicality Of His Math Skills
Beckman delivered plenty of memorable quotes over the years but the worst of them undoubtedly had to do with the practicality of his math skills. The best example of that might be his comments in September of last season when he said, “You take out 21 points on three plays and we’re in this football game”. That is true.
It is also true that 21 points is a lot of points to make the difference in any game and there is a lot more that led to those three plays that he failed to address. Beckman developed a reputation for downplaying situations and somewhat trivializing them with quotes like the one above and it didn’t take long for the fans to grow tired of it.
Coordinating The Offense
It would be an understatement to say that Beckman had too many coaches in the kitchen when it came to making decisions on offense in his first year. According to a source, co-offensive coordinator Chris Beatty called the plays on first and second down and then co-offensive coordinator Billy Gonzalez called the plays on third down.
As if that situation wasn’t complicated enough, Beckman also weighed in with his input on every offensive play and every individual play call had to be approved by the entire offensive staff. The entire process might not be easy to understand but as a result, it’s clear why the Illinois offense had so many offensive issues.
Penn State Poaching
The Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State absolutely rocked the college football world and while players were allowed to transfer freely from the program, a lot of coaches opted not to pursue their players. Meanwhile, the majority of those that did kept it relatively quiet.
Then there was Beckman, who sent eight assistants to State College in order to try to recruit players. The Illini ended up landing only one transfer from Penn State but the entire process became a farce with rumors the coaches camped out at the campus and made a very public display of it.
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Big Ten Media Day Birthday Shout Outs To Mom
Each year, Beckman would attend Big Ten media day and wish his mother a happy birthday. That would be fine except for the fact that media day was held on different days. Beckman wished his mother happy birthday at his first Big Ten media day on July 26th, then in his second year at Big Ten media day on July 24th and then in his third year on July 28th.
It is understandable that Beckman would want to wish his mom a happy birthday on national television but he never really said when her birthday was. The birthday shout outs to mom aren’t nearly as bad as some of his other memorable moments at Illinois but they are certainly memorable enough to make this list.
