The Bernstein Brief: Tough Job Awaits Josh Whitman At Illinois
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) By all accounts, new Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman is smart and nice. He's also earnest, as evinced by his grandiose letter emailed to the Illini faithful on Wednesday. Even if he wasn't their first choice -- or second or third -- he's really happy to be there.
And he'll need every bit of whatever he has as he confronts the mess in front of him.
Sources describe to 670 The Score a still bitter and factionalized situation at the school, with a powerful bloc of trustees, donors and alums seething about the makeup of the search committee and how the process was handled. They want football coach Bill Cubit gone, already disappointed in his meager recruiting and unconvinced that he was unaware of former coach Tim Beckman's abuses.
The group is also keeping a wary eye on the mediocre men's basketball program, wanting more wins to fill seats at an expensively remodeled arena. here's already the beginnings of a groundswell for a coaching change there, too.
Whitman's going to hear all of this and more from representatives of this group in short order and in no uncertain terms, and how he handles the divisive internal politics at Illinois will set the tone for his tenure.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
