He has been on the job more than a month, but the official start of the Tim Beckman era comes at 6:50 a.m. Monday. That's when the new Illinois football coach meets with his returning players and sets the course for the program. How did Beckman get here?

They moved. A lot. From Akron to Adrian College to Evansville to Iowa to Lamar to Cleveland. That's what happens when the breadwinner is an assistant football coach.

Hired to be fired. Then, hired again.

Dave Beckman always had work. Always had another stop on the football trail.

And Pat Beckman held it all together. With her young sons Tim and Ted in tow, she made the best of each place. Knowing, of course, that it wouldn't last forever.

They had each other. Which was enough.

"It was kind of unique," Ted said. "We basically moved every two or three years. Going to school together, we didn't know anybody else."

The brothers, separated by 19 months, became best friends.

"I think the boys learned a lot and experienced a lot from moving to different places," Pat said. "They had some opportunities that not all kids get to have."

"Dad loved being a football coach," Ted said. "Mom loved being a football coach's wife. It was great being a football coach's kid. It's a great atmosphere to be raised. There's a lot of discipline. It's all about family."

*****

The brothers weren't always friendly. Ted remembers a tussle or two.

"Tim was a typical older brother," Ted said. "Not a question I was picked on.

"It was playing around. Tim has a lot of fire, though."

The problem for Ted was that Tim was bigger and stronger.

"He was a standout athlete," Ted said. "He was a stud. He was really fast, and he was really big. I was kind of the scrawnier, tennis, eye-hand baseball guy."

They would compete at everything. Even at the dinner table. Tim and Ted would see who could put the most lima beans on a fork.

"I'd say, 'C'mon guys. What the hell is wrong with you? Let's eat,' " Dave said.

Tim and Ted would play Odyssey football, an early video game version of today's PlayStation 3 or Xbox. When Ted won, the older brother didn't take it well.

"There were a few times I'd let him win," Ted said.

They mostly stayed out of trouble. No visits from the local police or calls to the principal's office.

"We had a lot of respect for our parents," Ted said. "You didn't want to embarrass your parents. You didn't want to be dishonorable to your parents."

They weren't angels; they had their share of fun.

"We just never seemed to get caught," Ted said. "From the outside, most people would think we were pretty good kids."

*****

The first child, Tim, realized early on that he had a leadership role.

"He was always trying to do the right things," Pat said. "He was a pleasure to have around the house."

Pat knew she had another coach in the family.

"When he could first draw a stick figure, the stick figure always had a number on it because that was a football jersey," Pat said. "He always, always wanted to be a coach. There was never any doubt in anybody's mind what Tim Beckman was going to do.

"He played football constantly. We would go to (Dave's) practices every day. He grew up with it."

Tim paid his dad the ultimate compliment, choosing Dave's profession as his own.

"He must have felt he had a very good life," Pat said.

"A father can't be anything but thrilled when his son is going to follow in his footsteps," Dave said. "I'm just as thrilled with Theodore, because he has started his own business and he is doing a wonderful job."

Pat got to know the Big Ten during Dave's stay at Iowa. He was on Bob Commings' staff in the late 1970s.

"We had a wonderful experience there," Pat said. "I've always thought a great deal of the Big Ten. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for him, and I think he'll do very well."

How's it going to work for Tim at Illinois? Mom is thinking positively. When he sets his mind to doing something, he achieves.

"He's a very focused person," Pat said.

*****

One day during his time at Iowa, Dave was getting annoyed with his punt returners. Very annoyed. They were dropping balls.

"I said, 'You guys are scared of the ball. I'll show you how it's done,' " Dave said.

So, Dave called his middle school-aged sons onto the field.

"I said to Tim and Ted, 'Catch the ball for these guys, will you,' " Dave said. "They caught the ball. I brought them over to embarrass (the returners)."

*****

If Tim has a football question, he's turning to Dad. Period. Even though Dave hasn't been involved with a team for 20 years.

"We still huddled," Dave said. "Nobody huddles any more. Football has advanced. But the things that you need to have to win football games aren't really X's and O's. You need players who will accept responsibility, will be there when you call for them and will perform at their best at all times.

"Tim has done all of those things so right that coaching football becomes easy."

*****

Dave expected the call. He wasn't sure which school. Or when. But he knew the Big Ten would be a part of his son's future.

When Tim told him "Illinois," Dave remembers exactly what he said.

"I said, 'Tim, you've always wanted to coach a team that can win the national championship. You can win the national championship at Illinois. You can't at Toledo,' " Dave said. "He's got to make it work."

"It's the type of job he always wanted," Ted said. "The top half of the Big Ten is something he has always been groomed for. It's something he talked about when he was 10 years old."

*****

In Dave's opinion, there are three kinds of coaches. One can evaluate talent but doesn't have the personality to draw the players to his school. One has a great personality but can't judge talent and "brings in a bunch of dodos and loses and gets fired."

The third kind, where Dave puts Tim, can judge talent and has the personality to bring in the players and win.

"He's judged talent since he's been knee high," Dave said.

When Dave worked with the Browns, Tim hung around with Charles White, Earnest Byner and Bernie Kosar.

"He knows what it takes to play the game," Dave said.

*****

Dave's best advice came during Tim's playing days at Findlay. Tim suffered a neck injury and had to make a decision about returning for his senior season.

"He was such a competitor you almost had to put him down on the bench," Dave said.

Tim was a two-year starter. Findlay coach Dick Strahm asked him to serve as a student assistant his senior year.

"I said, 'Do you want to coach?' He said, 'Dad, you know I do,' " Dave said. "I said, 'Well, coaching from a wheelchair is hard.' "

So, his coaching career got an early start.

Tim, who at one point wore a special brace made by the Cleveland Browns, doesn't have any neck troubles now. Of course, you won't see him making tackles during practice.

"He's fine," Dave said. "He's in good shape."

*****

While Dave hands out the football advice to Tim, Ted helps with finances.

"It's always good to bounce things off people you trust and I know my brother trusts me," Ted said.

Ted is a partner in a Cleveland company, Game Plan Financial Advisors, that works with football people on money matters. Among their clients include a handful of NFL general managers.

His brother's portfolio just got bigger. He went from a $400,000 salary at Toledo to $1.6 million at Illinois. With $100,000 raises scheduled for each year.

"He's one of our more loyal clients," Ted said.

When it comes to business, Ted said, Tim "is a wonderful coach, but he doesn't know the difference between a stock and a bond. It might be good that I'm around a little bit to help him on the financial side."

*****

Ted calls Tim "very generous." When he's out to dinner, he'll take care of the wait staff.

But he won't be flashy. Not even close.

"He's a very humble guy," Ted said. "We started in a very, very small home. Dad was a great success story. There wasn't a whole lot of going out to eat."

Don't expect to see Tim in a Ferrari.

"He's not a Ferrari guy," Ted said. "He doesn't even know what a Ferrari is. He'll probably be driving a truck."

*****

Tim first met Kim when they were students at Findlay. They were both in education and got to know each other in one of their classes.

The "I'm a football player" line wasn't going to work on his future bride.

"I was not into football and didn't really like football players," Kim said. "It was kind of a hard start."

Eventually, Tim won Kim over. They've been married 23 years and Tim remembers the wedding date. Sort of.

"I can guarantee he looked at the back of his ring," Kim said. "I had the date inscribed."

To his credit, he knew where to find the information.

*****

Kim sees the influences of both parents in Tim.

"He's very organized like his mother, very detailed," Kim said. "And he's got the football from his dad."

Growing up, the football team was a part of the family for Tim and his brother. That's the way Kim wants it at Illinois.

There are long work days. But Tim will have time scheduled to be at home. On Monday nights, the coaches, their wives and their kids will get together for dinner.

On Thursday nights, members of the team will eat with the Beckmans. Quarterbacks one week, offensive linemen another. Kim has cooked vats of lasagna, though she is thinking about a new dish.

"Nothing lavish by any means," Kim said.

*****

Temporarily staying in a Champaign house, Tim and Kim are having a home built in Urbana. Kim has been told it will be done by Aug. 1.

"It's seven minutes from the lot to his office," Kim said. "That's perfect."

In Toledo they lived 25 minutes from the football office.

"That was too far," Kim said.

Only one of their three children will be with them in C-U. Tyler is a sophomore at Findlay and Lindsay is transfering from Toledo to Oklahoma State. Alex, 14, will be moving soon.

*****

Sure, Robb Brown is happy to see his friend make it to the Big Ten. But he hates to see Tim leave Toledo.

"The first time I met Tim and sat down to talk with him, I knew he wasn't going to be here very long," Robb said. "He's a quick study. I thought he might be able to stick it out one more year. The right opportunity came up for him, so he left. I was very disappointed to see him go. It's a huge loss for myself and the community."

The owner of Brown Automotive Group, Robb provided a car to Tim during his time as head coach of the Rockets.

Ted's right, Tim wasn't driving a sports car. Instead, he used a Honda Accord.

"The cars came back and they were cleaner than when they left," Robb said.

Their relationship extended beyond the car lot. Robb and his wife, Jacqueline, would frequently have dinner with the Beckmans. They have a favorite spot, Loma Linda.

Robb expects Tim to win big at Illinois.

"Tim is going to do such a great job there," Robb said. "He's a great guy, great character. Everything he says, he does."

*****

Pat and Dave live in Strongsville, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb. They just celebrated their 50th anniversary.

For three years they've had two-hour drives to see Tim's family in Toledo. Since 1998, Tim has coached in Ohio for all but his two years at Oklahoma State. He worked at Ohio State and Bowling Green, both two-hour trips for his parents.

The commute just got longer. It's 421 miles from Strongsville to Champaign-Urbana.

"We feel very fortunate that they've been in Ohio for a number of years," Pat said. "We'll find our way to Illinois."

Dave and Pat plan to visit Champaign-Urbana for the third, fourth and fifth games of the season, against Charleston Southern, Louisiana Tech and Penn State.

"When I mentioned that to Tim, he said, 'Mom, aren't you going to be at my first game?' " Pat said. "So, apparently, we're going to be at the first game, then the third, fourth and fifth. We plan on being there as often as we can."

Coming soon
Since being named Illinois football coach Dec. 9, Tim Beckman has been kept busy with recruiting and hiring a staff. Looking ahead, there is plenty of work left to do. Here are three important events before the start of the 2012 season:

Signing Day
On Feb. 1, Beckman will announce his first Illinois recruiting class. He’s tried to keep commitments from the previous staff while adding players to the list. Expect about 20 signees.

Spring practice
Fifteen workouts in March and April are capped with Beckman’s first spring game. New systems on offense and defense
figure to keep the players on their
toes.

Camp Rantoul
Maybe. For more than a decade Rantoul has been the training camp home of the Illini. But Beckman hasn’t made a decision on it yet. If not Rantoul, Illinois will hold training camp at Memorial Stadium.