Just five days after stepping down as one of the winningest head coaches in FCS history, Bobby Hauck was named Illinois defensive coordinator on Monday afternoon.
Hauck, 61, replaces Aaron Henry, who left Illinois last week for a co-defensive coordinator role at Notre Dame.
After 14 stellar seasons over two stints at FCS power Montana, Hauck told reporters that he was finished as a head coach. He said that dealing with agents and other aspects of the job beyond coaching itself had become unenjoyable.
“I’m not exactly sure what I want to do,” Hauck said in a news conference last week. “I don’t know if that includes football or not. I love football. I dearly, dearly love football. It’s been a passion my entire life, but I do know that I don’t want to ever be a head coach. We wouldn’t be sitting here today if I had any desire to be a head coach, because if I ever wanted to be a head coach, it would be here at the University of Montana. I don’t want to do that anymore. It does not have allure for me anymore.”
But returning to coaching defense without the CEO responsibilities clearly is a draw for Hauck, who learned under Rocky Long at San Diego State. Hauck will bring his 3-3-5 defensive alignment to Illinois as the Illini’s third defensive coordinator in five seasons. The Grizzlies have been among the top FCS defenses in scoring and yardage and ranked in the top 10 nationally in turnovers forced three times in the past five years.
Despite returning an experienced defense in 2025, the Illini failed to finish in the top 35 nationally in any primary statistical category. Illinois, which has won 19 games over the past two seasons, allowed 23.6 points per game (56th), 344.9 yards per game (46th) and 3.94 yards per carry (52nd) and finished 105th in interceptions with six. The Illini also gave up 120 passes of 10 or more yards, which ranked 111th.
“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,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said in a news release. “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.”
As of last week, Hauck was the eighth-winningest active head coach in Division I football with 166 career victories. Last season, the Grizzlies finished 13-2 with both losses coming to eventual national champion Montana State. The Grizzles have finished in the top three in two of the last three seasons and in the top 10 all three seasons.
Hauck was also the head coach at UNLV from 2010-14.
Although it will send several starters — including All-Big Ten edge rusher Gabe Jacas — to the NFL, Illinois does have some key pieces returning this year. Notably, the Illini bring back leading tackler Matthew Bailey and former first-team All-Big Ten cornerback Xavier Scott, who missed nearly all of the season with an injury.