Adam,

No doubt, the sooner, the better. But honestly, in regards to the committed players most of them are taking a wait-and-see approach, if they are wavering at all. So whether the new coach is hired Monday or in two more weeks, I don't think it's that big a deal. They understand that, and I don't suspect most to make any changes until they see a new coach.

It is more pertinent for the uncommitted players who are considering Illinois because you want your new coach to make an impression as soon as possible and/or have as much time as possible between now and signing day to pitch your school. But because AD Mike Thomas is moving quickly -- he fired Zook the day after the regular season ended, the search started the next day (probably that Sunday night, actually) and Thomas said he hopes to have a new coach in place by the time the bowl game is played -- it's not as big of a deal of one might think. For the players who dropped Illinois when Zook was fired (RB Roshard Burney of Florida and OL Alex Kozan of Colorado, to name a couple), they were going to do that regardless of timeframe for a new coach because they were attached to Zook. Those who haven't dropped Illinois from consideration yet are still curious to see who the new coach is.

So in short, it's not a huge deal here when we're still in early December. Brady Hoke was hired at Michigan on Jan. 11 last year and that was a much harder situation. He salvaged a respectable class, though I do understand Michigan and Illinois are different.

Illini,

I agree he's a stellar candidate who has done a good job at Toledo. But here's a big concern/point to raise. His background is as a defensive coach. If I'm the Illini, I want to go with a coach who has an offensive background to A) try to turn around what was the team's weak point in the final six games and B) possibly retain defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, who did an outstanding job this season with a unit that wasn't expected to do much.

Past that, he does fit many of the qualifications you might want. He has experience in the Big Ten (assistant at Ohio State), has had success as a head coach, comes from the same conference (MAC) that Mike Thomas made his previous hires from and has recruited some of the same areas Illinois would want to recruit. But that first point I raise might be too big of a hurdle to overcome.

Ron Zook's record is what it is, but like he said, Illinois was "close." Not to challenging for a Big Ten title, necessarily, but it easily could've been 8-4 with a win at Penn State that may have then voided the late-season letdown then. A total overhaul of the staff might not be the best thing; the defense was good, and I'm a don't-fix-it-if-it-ain't-broke guy. Try to keep Koenning. Then again, no one has a clue what Mike Thomas may do because he's the new guy on the block who is playing it close to the vest.

John B,

I addressed Ty Isaac in an earlier response, so refer to that for details. In short, I think Illinois is still on solid footing, but that's because he's so early in the process. A new coach needs to make a good impression, because in my mind Isaac will be every bit of the national recruit he's rumored to be when it's all said and done.

I don't think Paul Petrino will be retained. That's just my opinion. Petrino is a stand-up guy who always gave us in the media honest answers, for which I'm thankful. It's with that same mentality that I suspect Petrino will, with the hindsight of a complete season, say the offense was a big part of the problem and accept responsibility himself. The defense did it's job most of the time during the losing streak. That makes Koenning a more likely candidate to stay, if either coordinator will. A new coach will want his own staff, his guys. AD Mike Thomas already said the new coach will have final say on his staff. Under no circumstance could I see a new coach coming in here and keeping both coordinators. I don't know of anytime that's happened in college football.

There will be a lot of turnover on the staff. That will both help and hurt recruiting, with it helping more in the long run than right away. Zook simply wasn't recruiting as well as he used to, so that's why I think in the long run a new coach could help in recruiting.

Illinois will not be retaining specific coaches solely because of the recruits they've brought in. The long-term future will be what's most heavily weighed, that's the bar they'll have to pass. There's nobody in the current 2012 class committed who's good enough to justify keeping a coach solely for that connection.

Ashu,

I'm sure I've mentioned that a couple times, but I know HQ basketball beat writer Paul Klee has focused and written on that even more extensively. He's the better guy to ask there. However, ask me that same question in two weeks and I'll have much, much more to tell you about that because there's several Chicago-area teams coming down to Champaign for the Shootout at the Hall and we'll have seen Illinois be a little more tested after this big Gonzaga game. So no, I don't know if the undefeated start has had a big effect yet. I'm sure it can't hurt though.

Daniel,

Illinois is still recruiting Peyton Allen. For him to get an offer though, he has to do two things, which go hand-in-hand: A) Stay healthy and B) be consistent at a high level. He didn't do those two things over the summer, as he still recovered from a concussion and had several other nagging ailments. Because of that, he was inconsistent in his production. He's a very good player, but he's not that athletic freak in the sense that you offer him based largely on potential. So he still has to prove himself. He's only a sophomore, so give him time. A long ways to go in that recruitment.

Michael,

Juniors Tommy Hamilton Jr. of Whitney Young and Gavin Schilling of De La Salle are the main priorities. Schilling is still open, no favorites there, and Illinois coaches have stayed in constant contact. He doesn't appear to be making a decision anytime soon -- and he shouldn't, because he played in Germany last year and would be well-suited to let more people see him play and possibly get more offers. With Hamilton, there's no set timetable for a decision either, and no definitive favorites. Although Hamilton did enjoy a visit Michigan State earlier this fall, so take it for what it's worth.

That players outside of those two guys are longer shots to come to Illinois. That could change if Illinois gets, say, a guy like Devin Williams of Cincinnati on campus. But let's see that happen first.

Ryan,

As far as I know, nothing has changed with Garmon. He's still considering Illinois, but I'll try to get a more definitive word on that this week. There's a lot of guys to try to catch up with in these circumstances. I don't think Zook's departure has a big effect on Garmon's recruitment. The prevailing thought was that he was still a long-shot to come to Illinois; maybe some new blood at Illinois puts him in play more, who knows?

With Shaquille Powell from Las Vegas, it will depend a lot on whether running backs coach DeAndre Smith is retained. Powell plays with Smith's son, Ryan, at Bishop Gorman, so that's his Illinois connection. And like I said, I expect a pretty big staff shake-up, but I'm not sure of what coach Smith's hopes are.

Illini,

I too get the sense that Mike Thomas is looking for a great coach/good recruiter instead of a good coach/great recruiter, if it comes down to that. Though the recruiting classes tailed off a bit in recent years under Zook compared to what they had been, the biggest thing that hurt Illinois was the lack of developing its players (see: Juice Williams, who could've improved more than he did after his sophomore year). So you want a good coach that would develop players to their fullest potential.

I like the Todd Monken idea because he's an offensive guy. I could go on with more reasons, but we're running short on time. But I'm curious to see if Thomas goes against his past and hires someone who isn't a head coach.