Let me see if I have this right.

Bobby Hauck, the all-time winningest football coach in Montana Grizzlies and Big Sky Conference history, announced his retirement on Feb. 6, citing fatigue with the NIL and transfer portal aspects of the modern college game. 

“I don’t think anyone believes that college football, from a structure standpoint, is in a very healthy place,” he said, five days before getting hired by a college football team in Champaign, Illinois. 

That same day Hauck “retired,” University of Illinois coach Bret Bielema took time out of talking about his 2026 recruiting class to say he had a defensive coordinator picked out, one that will bring a scheme, “Different from anything you’ve probably seen here at Illinois.” 

“It’s a scheme and a package I’ve been intrigued with, especially in the NFL,” Bielema said, adding he wanted to not split his attention between his offense and the defense. Better, then, to turn the defense completely over and be hands-free for the offensive side. 

“I thought the way to do that would be go away from a scheme that I’ve really been familiar with,” he said. 

That would be the 3-3-5, a pressure-heavy defense that Hauck brought back to Montana from San Diego State in 2018. Monday’s release from the University of Illinois mentioned this scheme prominently. 

Five days earlier Bielema added: “I can’t announce it until after the Super Bowl, but the intention of what I have in mind and where I’m going will play out next week.” 

Among the inferences you can draw is that Alex Gubner nose tackle types — man, he was good — grow on trees in the Big 10. Another is that Hauck, in Hawaii (duh, recruiting) while Montana State coach Brent Vigen was posing with Missoula Big Sky athletes, had more on his mind than Name, Image and Likeness. 

Like how to avoid having Illinois or himself be on the hook for his $265,000 base salary in 2026. The language in his contract — a 3-year deal made official on Jan. 27, 2024, which made this past January prime time to seek another extension — notes UM would receive an “amount equal to Coach’s Base Salary at the time of termination” if he left early for any other reason than “retirement, death, disability or incapacity.” 

One of those words is not like the others. 

“Really excited to be here and be part of the Illini family,” Hauck said in a post that appeared on Twitter/X on Tuesday. “Excited to coach this defense — we’re going to play an exciting, aggressive brand of defense. Hope to see you there.” 

The Illini open with three home games in September: Alabama-Birmingham, Duke and Southern Illinois. No, Indiana is not on the 2026 schedule, but Ohio State, which has beaten Illinois 10 straight times, is (Sept. 26, in Columbus).  

Where were we: Oh, right, Hauck’s predecessor at Illinois, Aaron Henry, was making $700,000 annually. A nice bump would get me out of retirement; the Illini are getting a guy that knows his football, is ultra-organized and can be the funniest man in the room.  

I wish him well, really. And I just wanted to see if I have this right. 

Reach Fritz at 406-758-4463 or at [email protected].