One day after surrendering four touchdowns to Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, Illinois parted ways with defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck.
"Coach Hauck reached out to me early this morning and asked to meet ahead of our planned meeting time," Illinois coach Bret Bielema said in a statement. "We met and mutually agreed that a change in leadership was in the best interests of our defense."
The Fighting Illini allowed 42 points and 518 yards to Ohio State in the Buckeyes' victory on Sept. 28. Along with four touchdowns, Smith had 12 receptions for 217 yards, which were all career highs.
Ohio State's last touchdown of the game was a rushing score from running back Ja'Kobi Jackson at the 2-yard line. On the play, Illinois had nine players on the field
instead of 11.
"I can't understand it," Bilema said after the game. "We'll make sure we get that moment corrected, and that's 100% got to be on me to move forward. We've really got to look on what we're doing defensively to make sure we're not doing too much and figure out what we can do to be good."
If you want to see the final nail in Bobby Hauck’s coffin, it was this play yesterday. Count the defenders.
— The Field Pass (@TheFieldPass) September 27, 2026
Had a similar personnel mishap in the Duke game that created an offside. This one was even more egregious.
He flunked out of Football 101. pic.twitter.com/N4oWpqJtgB
Illinois ranks 101st in scoring defense, allowing an average of 26.5 points per game.
Hauck was hired on Feb. 9, five days after announcing his retirement at Montana. He was head coach of the Grizzlies from 2018-25.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Illinois parts with coordinator after Jeremiah Smith's 4 TDs, costly 9-player defense
